The Ugliest Four Letter Word

One thing that is different today is the abundance of profanity that you hear in all sorts of places. When I was growing up, profanity was something that was said outside the barn or in the streets in fear that Mama might hear it and might "wash your mouth out with soap" if you uttered "four letter words". Today, profanity is found in all sorts of media including movies, music, and television.

It is not the purpose of this blog to enter into dialogue about profanity in the media. I will reserve that for another time and place. However, I do want to focus on an ugly four letter word. Though most would not see this word as profanity per se, it is a word that can paralyze people in life in general and real estate in particular. THE UGLIEST FOUR LETTER WORD TO ME IS THIS ONE: CAN'T. As my late Mom used to say, "can't never could do anything".

Whether you read this blog as a real estate agent, real estate investor, home buyer, or home seller, sometime along the way you will encounter someone who will tell you that you can't do something related to real estate. While they might not literally use the word "can't" in their conversation, that surely is what they were saying to you. For example, they might say "You are wasting your time trying to sell your house right now.... You won't ever be able to buy property and make any money.... You must like to starve because that is what you are going to do if you are a real estate agent".

How do you combat the word "can"t" and those "nay-sayers"? Here are a few things that work for me and might be helpful for you:

1. TRY TO AVOID CONVERSATION WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE NEGATIVE- I recall hearing the late Carlyle Marney once say that there are basically two kinds of people in the world: basement people and balcony people. Basement people are people that bring you down, and the balcony people are people that lift you up. Try to spend time with balcony people who lift you up and encourage you. It makes no difference if that balcony person knows much about real estate; if they do know something about real estate, all the better. I know that this is a challenge if that basement person is a family member.

2. LISTEN TO OR READ SUCCESS STORIES- Fill your heart and mind regularly with conversations with or ideas from people that encourage you. Listen to them as they tell how they sold their house or how they are doing very well in the field of real estate. If you don't personally know anyone, check out the internet where you can hear stories from real estate guru's and their disciples. You can also check out your local library or bookstore where you can listen to motivational speakers or real estate giants.

3. MAKE A PLAN AND WORK THE PLAN- It is not enough to avoid negative people and listen to success stories in real estate. You have got to take action. If you don't, then those people who said "can't" were right. Set goals and steps to reach those goals. Check up regularly to see how you are doing in those steps. Revise your goals and steps as necessary.

Good luck in your goals and plans. Take care.- Randy Wall, Lora Lee Properties