Through
For those of you that know me, you are aware that I have been working out at a place called Gym Jones. Gym Jones is one of the best fitness facilities in the world and is renowned for its challenging curriculum. Rico is a senior instructor there and got me into the program early this year. I am under the tutelage of one Bobby Maximus (Rob MacDonald) who is also highly regarded as one of the best fitness trainers around. I'm damn lucky to be there with Bobby and fleet of other amazing instructors.
What does training have to do with real estate you ask? Well, even after three decades of full-time real estate, I find that I can still learn something valuable during every training session. Some lessons are small and personal, others are f'ing huge and global and worthy of being passed on to our tribe. Here's one.
Working in high-level business, we learn early on that adaptation, creativity, and innovation are key skills we must learn if we want to play at the highest levels. I became a master at maneuvering, a king of courtship, and an earl of evasion. It allowed me to do deals that no one else could or would do, landing me some of the best clients in America. I got referrals from my competition, and took pride in being the go-to guy for really hard deals. It made me wealthy. But unbeknownst to me, I was developing a habit that could be very detrimental in some scenarios.
Fast forward to this year, and I find myself sitting on a Concept 2 rowing machine, a sort of industry standard for rowers. Gym Jones has some standards for rowing; I was expected to work towards a 7 minute 2,000 meter row. Without going into too much detail, I can tell you that this is a challenge for many people. I began at about an 8:30 2k and started to whittle the time down. As I got better, I started working harder and found that there are some barriers we have to face when we start doing really hard physical work, particularly for time. I found a giant wall at about 7:45 that introduced me to something new - panic. And voices in my head trying their darndest to convince me to quit (it worked sometimes).
It took me a while but eventually I realized that I have a massive, well-tuned skill set that got me around things, found alternate paths, let me escape to fight again. But I wasn't very good at going head on through things. I was right there standing in my own way, trying to redirect myself anywhere but forward because it sucked. No one can do push ups for you, or row for you. I got mad. I got frustrated. I lost my shit more than once. I quit. But there the rower sat, not caring about my drama. It just wanted to be rowed...faster. There was no around - only through.
So I get back on every damn day. I haven't hit the 7-minute 2k yet, but I'm close and it will happen soon. My warm-up session today was 7:34, inconceivable when I began. What does it all mean, tugging on a metal bar for 7 minutes while "travelling" 2 kilometers? It means I can go through, not around.
In business and life, we need to have the "through" skill. We are sometimes dealt some wicked shit, unfair and ill-timed that we just can't circumnavigate. Find something in your world that tells you the truth about your resilience and progress without distortion. Find something that makes you suffer for it. Find a team or tribe that will support or go with you. Find something you can't get around, only through. Then go.
