Recently, a friend going through a difficult time called me for help. She told me she wasn’t safe. Of course, I did what I could to help get her out of the situation and into a better place. I had helped her similarly years ago and I believe the problem was the same back then as it is now. I put in a lot of time and effort for her, but there’s only so much I can do to help. She’s got to do the hardest work to get to and stay in a healthy place.
We all want to succeed. The question is, will we do the work we need to do to accomplish our goals? Will we go out of your comfort zones and do what we'd prefer not to do? This doesn’t solely apply to mental health, although I believe it’s a mindset that can pull anyone out of stagnation and on the path to a more successful and fulfilling life.
Here’s a good example. My good friend Nicole Moore has an organizational business called “Let Me Do It.” We have discussed business strategy at length, and I suggested that she should go around to the Realtor broker’s opens to introduce herself. She’s a fantastic resource for Realtors (and anyone who could use organizational assistance), and years ago I had met great property inspector, Charlie, in the same way.
Charlie ran his own company, called Juno Inspections. Every week he would go around to the broker’s opens with a flyer and introduce himself, asking if he could be of assistance. I always admired his approach and he became my go-to inspector. Now retired, Charlie is a great guy and really good with people but there was always a reserved nature in him that he had to overcome to build his business. I’m sure there were a lot of other things he would have preferred to do on Wednesday and Thursday mornings rather than introducing himself to Realtors. Charlie made the sacrifices necessary to become successful. Nicole is on the same path now, and I know it’s not easy.
Nicole has also been helping me with my friend, and she gave me the inspiration for this blog entry. Nicole told our friend it’s time for her to put in the hard work she has been been avoiding, so she can get her life straightened out. It’s a difficult truth.
I regularly sacrifice what could (should?) be leisure time to work. I like to joke with my friends that working really gets in the way of my surfing schedule. The fact is I am often working in the office on nights and weekends, and sometimes even holidays. Some of my days can be pretty long, and I consider myself fortunate when I can surf more than once a week. The willingness to put in the work has helped me to become a successful Marin County Realtor. I have no complaints about the choices I’ve made in my profession. I certainly would not have gotten this far, and you wouldn’t be reading this, had I not made those sacrifices and put in the work. For that I am grateful.