Meet each opportunity as it is, not what you want it to be

I’m in the habit of morning hikes and capturing beauty in nature. 

It’s a way I stay grateful and attached to nature, detached from my phone, email, spreadsheets and analyzing deals, even if it’s just for a bit.

When I can catch a particularly striking view on my camera, I can share it with others who appreciate it on Instagram, which is great.

Today, I was up early enough near Perdido Key and Big Lagoon State Park near Pensacola, Florida to catch a small window of sun that threw some nice light.

I felt grateful for catching that small window of light.

I felt with today’s weather forecast, I could rest knowing I caught the only views of nature today that would be worth anything.

But as the clouds and rain came in on my way back to work, I came across a woman with her camera.

As we passed, I offered her good luck and said I hope you caught a couple windows of sunlight coming through for her photography.

Her response was my lesson for the day.

“It’s OK – I’m here to catch the mist off the lagoon and maybe a rainbow.”

TAKE EACH DAY AS IT COMES

My lesson relates to my recruiting business and my real estate business.

There is ALWAYS something to work on that pushes your craft forward, especially when first starting out.

If it’s pouring rain on a day you intend to door knock, adjust and find another way to get in front of someone.

Matt Robinson, founder of the Professional Investors Guild and Bigger Pockets member, hammers home the definition of the word GUILD, before every meeting and seminar – a guild is an association of CRAFTSMEN.

Real estate investors are craftsmen and craftswomen.

We’re professionals in the craft and in the business of guiding and shepherding our clients, partners and peers towards personal and professional success with our tools of the trade.

There’s always something to do that presses our business and our skill sets forward.

If an appointment falls through, look for 10 more people to add to your list that are similar; make an effort to qualify other leads you have.

If that appointment fell through because it wasn’t qualified or you missed a clue they would bail out, use this time to sharpen your qualification skills on the next group of leads.

If a deal falls through, look for another way to get value out of the time already invested.

If a marketing campaign was a dud, figure out another way to attack the same list… different approach, different letter, review the people on the list, walk the area; don’t give up on the neighborhood but maybe attack it a different way.

This photographer I crossed paths this morning reinforced to me that it’s best to take each day as it comes, not as I want or expected it to be.

Take people as they are, not as I want them to be.

Accept the real estate market as it is, not as I want it to be.

Accept the labor market and its supply / demand dynamics as it is, not as I want it to be.

My flawed approach this morning is I viewed the day as only valuable IF the sun were out, so my chances of catching a successful picture were slim.

Tiger Woods didn’t take the day off in Jupiter, Florida when it rained – he’d retreat to work out or stretch or do “inside work”.

A saying I repeated in my early competitive golf career was “there’s always something to work on.”

The photographer today reminded me of that mantra.

She took the day as it came and was ready to capture the mist, the rain and maybe an all too common rainbow that I would certainly have missed with my narrow view of the day’s potential.

At the end of her day, she’ll be better than me at capturing rainy days and mist rising off a stream.

She’ll have a day more experience capturing “transition” days.

In hindsight, her time in the cloudy rain and mist and the aftermath of the showers are the BEST days in Florida to capture nature’s beauty.

The ones when a storm is going or going, or a cloud burst lets loose and retreats as quickly as it entered.

The ones where rookie photographers(like ME!) stay in because the light isn’t perfect.

That’s my lesson for the day.

When you’re committed to your craft(real estate investing, recruiting, staffing, photography), there is ALWAYS something that can be done.

Take each day as it comes, not what you want it to be.

Get 1% better at adapting, responding and reacting to what the day brings you.

The skills you build on days like these are ones that will serve you best in the long run when the inevitable tough days show themselves.

Anyone can have some success when the “light is perfect”, but we’ll be successful on the squirrely days as well when they’re inside licking their wounds.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with those you think it can help.