My Friday night ritual involves a stop at my local Asian restaurant for take-out. After a long week in real estate, and in anticipation of an even longer weekend, I find solace in eating House Special Fried Rice in front of the television while catching up on my recorded shows. Imagine my surprise when my fortune cookie message “Plan for the Best. Prepare for the Worst.” lands on my lap. Words of wisdom from the fortune cookie factory.
Often, as professional real estate agents we cannot predict the number of mishaps or misfortunes that may befall our buyers, sellers, or ourselves in the midst of a real estate transaction. “Unforeseen circumstances” tend to pop up when we least expect them. Thus, the small slip of paper baked into a Chinese fortune cookie morphs into a sort of mantra to carry me through my days.
When meeting with sellers and buyers they often ask, “What might happen? What have you seen?” when dealing with an unknown. The road to success in a successful real estate transaction involves speed bumps, pot holes, and detour signs. What can we do? How do we counsel our clients? As an eternal optimist I often say “plan for the best.” The superstitious, cautious side of me adds, “prepare for the worst.”
Every day our profession provides unique challenges. We hear about septic systems that fail, furnaces that sputter and die, and roof and basement leaks. Our days are filled with calls from other agents about keys that are stuck in locks or keys that have fallen through the porch slats. Some days activities like driving to show houses while juggling personal errands and appointments can leave us feeling like we ran a marathon.
Life is unpredictable. Along with daily challenges that everyone faces, the ups and downs of real estate may propel you into a state of constant anxiety, uncertainty, and ultimately burn-out and depression. Planning for the worst in your real estate career may help you face the days, weeks, and months ahead with a course of action to move you from “planning for the worst” to “expecting the best.”
Get in touch if you want guidance to help you through the unpredictability of your real estate days and create your own individual “plan for the best, prepare for the worst” system to live your Best Real Estate Life.