Don't let the Fear Monkey take over!
I know more than anybody that the most difficult thing to do is execute. I remember the first time I flipped a house. I had a contract for almost $220,000. I had met with the sellers and we talked about how we were going to close. They expressed their need for selling and I expressed my need for getting things my way. Of course I didn’t get them all. I got most of it.
I remember looking at it and thinking to myself:”Two Hundred Thousand Dollars, That is allot of money!” I was so scared to do it. I knew everything was ok. But I almost did not do the deal and that is what I want to talk to you about today. You see I actually didn’t buy the house. I negotiated a low price and then I assigned the contract to an end user. I made $10,000 on that deal. That was my reward for executing.
So go back to me sitting at my desk. My palms sweaty, stomach making noises. I could actually hear my breathing. It was so loud that I thought it may be a problem as well. Its amazing how much noise the body makes that we take for granted. I read over the contract again and again. Let’s just say that I let that fear get a hold of me. What if I had said: “You know I just can’t handle this”. Well, I would have let $10,000 sit there for someone else to get.
It’s as if that $10,000 was sitting in a suitcase in the driveway. What if you walked outside and saw it sitting there. You know you would have to work by means of walking out there and getting it. But would you honestly say: “You know I think I will just have some coffee instead.” You might I don’t know.
You might be reading this and think well. That’s not me. I can’t go out there and do these kinds of things. My mom actually said that to me. She told me that she just didn’t know if she had the stomach to do some of the things that I do. When asked how I do it, I responded:”I take my right foot and put it in front of my left foot. Then I take my left foot and put it in front of my right foot. REPEAT.” She does not appreciate my sarcasm as much as I do.
But its true, That is what we are talking about is execution. It starts with one foot forward. I had a conversation with another gentleman the other day that told me he didn’t want to work with me just yet because he was worried about the economy. I didn’t tell him this but, thats probably good since I would not want him as a client anyway. Why? When the economy is “BAD” as some say, you have an ability to make the better of it. If it’s shifting then you have to be the one ahead of the shift. How do you do that? Read the paper, talk to those in your field. Get informed! The more you know the better off you will be. However, the easy way out is to blame the economy and not yourself. Self pity will get you nowhere in business. That’s why he would not be a client for me.
So look around. what can you do? Can you make a difference? Can you grow your business, can you help grow your personal network. Write down on a piece of paper what your strongest abilities are. Then read what is going on around you. See where you can fit in the best? Its the ones who do this in tough times that make it through. I would love to hear some of your comments and questions. Please feel free to post them to www.mckane.com/blog.
jm