Will Fear Rule Your Real Estate Future?

Here’s something fun to try:

Put on a blindfold.  One that completely blocks out every bit of light – like the darkest of nights.  Next, put on earmuffs, earplugs, cotton, or whatever else you can find to block out every bit of sound.  All you should be able to hear is the buzzing in your ears from years of loud music.

Now try living an entire day like this:  make breakfast, get the kids off to school, go to work, etc.  Can’t do that?  Then try simply walking out to the mailbox and coming back to the house.

Okay, I know you cheated and didn’t do it.   No problem.  I merely wanted you to take a moment out of your day and really think about how challenging your life would be without sight or sound.  When I think about it, I can only picture myself banging into walls and breaking things, especially my toes.  I would be paralyzed with fear.  But imagine a person living like this, day after day, year after year, an entire life, yet achieving great things such as getting a college degree or writing a book.

Such is the life of Helen Keller (1880-1968), a woman who scoffed at the notion of living in the safety of her home, secluded from the world.  Instead, she became the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Art’s degree.  She was a world traveller, an author, a lecturer and a well-known political activist.

Impressive stuff for a person without the gift of sight or sound from the age of 19 months, yes?

These last 5 years have been difficult for real estate entrepreneurs.  Many of us have had our financial futures put at grave risk, and we’ve been forced to question whether we should climb off the treachorous cliffs of real estate investing in search for more secure footing.

In short, we’re scared.

In these tough times, it’s more important than ever to remember why we each got into real estate in the first place.  Was it the search for freedom? Riches? Self-fulfillment?  Each person’s dream is different, but all of us have one thing in common:  We didn’t get into real estate just so we could scare ourselves back out.  Uncertainty may cause anxiety, but it should never determine whether we give up on our dreams, so don’t let it.

Helen Keller had to live her life with the constant anxiety of not knowing what may lay around the next corner – literally.  Yet she had to conviction to keep moving forward, even if it wasn’t “safe.”  So the next time your palms sweat and your heart pounds at the thought of sticking out this crazy market, ask yourself, “Would Helen Keller have the courage to do it?”

If so, put your head down and keep working your dream.  And don’t worry about feeling warm and fuzzy about it.  You may be scared, but your success may well depend on just how well you ignore your own fears.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.”

~Helen Keller

 

Til’ next time – Jeff