Have you ever noticed a particular theme popping up in your life over and over again? Life is a pretty amazing place to be and I’ve found that it often provides reminders to get, or keep you on track. And when you’re off track, life also has a way of providing reminders to help point you in the right direction. They’re like road signs.
“To a man with a hammer,” Mark Twain famously said, “everything looks like a nail”
I’ve noticed that too often people, myself included, though I am getting better every day, ignore the signs and feedback they’re getting, and keep hammering away towards their goals using whatever strategy they’ve latched onto as “the one.”
Once they get started, some people keep driving nail after nail, hoping one of them will finally secure the success they’re looking for, ignoring the signs along the way. After a while, people tend to ignore things they’re familiar with, right? The trick to signs is to first remember they’re there, then receive, perceive and act upon their message.
And in the meantime, especially if things aren’t exactly going your way, I suggest you “put the hammer down.”
The other day I was talking with a real estate investor that was going through a rough patch. He told me he was feeling pretty beat down…””ike a nail?”, I asked. He chuckled and said, “yea, guess so.” (this guy is actually pretty handy with a hammer) So what’s up? He replied, “Oh, I’ve been working on this rehab and I’ve just put so much work into it – but all I’ve got to show for it is a lot of credit card debt and some busted knuckles. . I gotta get this place sold but i feel like I don’t understand enough about marketing or networking with those who do to make that happen. All that sale and legal mumbo jumbo intimidates me. I feel so stupid around those sales and legal types in their fancy suits.“ He continued, “On top of that, I’ve spent so much money on courses trying to figure it out and have nothing to show for it yet. Man, I feel like such a failure. Any thoughts?”
I said sure. First, you need to put the hammer down. Whadda ya mean he asked. I mean, put the hammer down. you know, the one you’re using to beat yourself on the head with. I mean, Dang, that’s gotta hurt! He smiled. I continued, would it be truthful to say that you’re a very talented guy that knows his way around a construction project and can take a turd and polish it up so that it actually looks like something someone might want to live in? I guess so he laughed. One who managed to figure out how to get this property under contract and rehabbed? Well yeh….and did you figure that out all by yourself or did you use anything you learned in those courses…well I guess I must have used what i learned….and would it be fair to say that those sales and legal types probably couldn’t drive a nail as well as you??? we both laughed at that one.
So when it comes down to it, would it also be fair to say that you’re a lot closer to getting this deal done now than when you started? Yes? Ok. And by the way, did you do the entire job or did you sub parts of the job out. You subbed parts out? Why? Oh, because you don’t want to keep up with all the changing codes and regulations so you use others that do so you can focus on what you’re good at? Cool. So it’s ok to sub out more work, maybe to the sales and legal types?
He replied, I guess so, never thought of it like that before.
Awesome, so now that you realize you’re an intelligent man with some great skills, as well as some you’re still learning, is it ok to put the hammer down and stop beating yourself over the head with it? Alright? Awesome.
Now, even though you’re good with one, I”d like to suggest that the only person that should actually be using a hammer on your projects is someone you hire to do so.
So once again, will YOU put the hammer down and start concentrating on doing what will bring you the most money like finding the deals, estimating, writing offers, finding investors and a good crew to do the work? Oh, and one of those sales and legal types you can work with?
Alright he grinned.
Awesome. Now that you’ve stopped beating yourself over head and swinging that hammer yourself, I’m going to ask you one last time to put the hammer down.
I want you to use this new strategy like a trucker in a hurry – Step on the gas! Really accelerate towards your goals and as you’re heading down the road to success, be sure to watch for the signs and take action appropriately.
Fair enough? I asked! Fair enough he smiled back!