Be a sponge

Hey all you 4X’ers out there. Thank you for joining me again on the 4X formula Radio.  We are talking to Real Estate professionals and anyone else in the business of serving people about various mindsets and tactics in order to level up our businesses.  After the 50^th Episode I will begin getting into doing podcast interviews with other people that I believe will offer some value to you as a listener.  We will go deep into areas that I think will be helpful for you, the listener.

IF you know of someone who may be a good fit for the podcast let me know.  Drop me a note at kelly@4Xformula.com and I will follow up on it.  As much info as possible would be helpful for me so that I can prioritize my efforts to bring value to you.  If you are listening and you think that you would qualify as a guest that can add value for the listeners then send me an email as well…I look forward to hearing from you.  kelly@4Xformula.com.

Today we are going to talk about ‘being a sponge’.

Be a sponge.  Hmmm.  That’s sounds weird doesn’t it.  Well here is where the idea came from.  I ran across something in my desk the other day.  Back in 2007, one of my agents, had a son who was an artist and one of my other agents had a client who wrote a childrens book.  It turned out that they both collaborated together to create a wonderful childrens book.  I wanted to support them both.  So we   bought a bunch of the books to help them with their publishing costs and they asked me to write something for the book.  I wrote this poem…here it is.

Wake up each day with a song in your heart and a smile on your face.

Greet each person you meet and say “I love you” with your eyes.

Give thanks for everything and everyone just in case…

Respect your elders for they are wise

Don’t hesitate – take the plunge

Learn all you can – be a sponge

Encourage others to achieve

In yourself be the first to believe.

– I wrote that in 2007…right around the time that I took over ownership of a real estate office and about a year before the market crash of 2008.  But you know what, I believe I was true to those statements in that poem even throughout the tough times.  It was a Childrens’ Book and the message was meant for Children at the time…

But reading that 12 years later, READ AGAIN – It is totally applicable to all of us today and every day…isn’t it.  I want to focus in on the line that says – “Learn all you can – be a sponge”  I wanted to rhyme with Plunge.  I didn’t really think that deeply about it at the time that I wrote this… but man what a good image huh?  Absorb everything.  Soak it all in.  Even the failures and mistakes and the hard times and horribly stressful situations that you will run across that you think are crippling at the time, will serve you in some way.

I know its hard to see it while you are going through it.  But trust me, someone, who has weathered some really hard times… The lesson is there.  IT is there.  In amongst the whirlwind… the destruction… the loss… the embarrassment… the shame… the self degradation… there is a lesson.  The lesson that we need to learn.  Custom made to us.  It’s there. It is there.

àWhy don’t we see it sometimes or why does it seem impossible that there is a positive message for us to learn.  I believe that, its because we have to get to the end of ourselves.  Sometimes its those simple messages that we tell to children that need to sink in a bit more.

The story of Humpty Dumpty for example.  Our fall.  Our stumbling.  Our crash…or the old Adage – What doesn’t kill us…will make us stronger, is applicable here.  IT is meant to give us hope.  To use another phrase, “There is light at the end of the tunnel”   or “This too shall pass”….all ring true.  But those sayings don’t really  infer the importance of the lesson.  If it doesn’t kill us, but we are broken like Humpty Dumpty, then we need to rebuild or put ourselves back together again in order to make ourselves stronger.  The scar tissue will be stronger.  Do you know what I mean.

We have travelled away from the Sponge  – subject matter haven’t we?  But this is important.  Because if you are all caught up in your own stuff.  IF you are caught up in judging me, or criticizing the sound of my voice, or dealing with your own insecurities, and challenges… its hard to be a sponge and look for the lesson to absorb.  We may hear something…learn something…get a little “aha” moment once in a while…but do we absorb it?  Really absorb it and make it part of our DNA?

We get so caught up in our fragile little ego’s don’t we.  I was on top of the world when I wrote this poem.  I thought I was the King of the Castle.  The big Kahuna.  I thought that I had the world by the tail.  I was in a mentality that my business was unbreakable.  I did have a feeling that the market was about to go into another cycle but I thought I had more time.  SO I was spending money like I was getting paid to do it….lol.  I learned a lot of lessons and it was incredibly humbling.  I am so thankful for that.

Anyway…Be a Sponge.  Absorb life.  Learn all the aspects about yourself.  Listen to what people have to say.  Learn everything you can about them.  So that you can serve them well.  When there is a challenge…Learn all you can so that you can avoid that challenge from occurring again.  Learn from your mortgage professional so that you can impart understanding and knowledge to your client.

Learn from the Builder that you serve.  Learn from your broker.  Learn from the hot shot in the office.  Learn from the Accountant.  The Financial Planner.  From the Landscaper.  From the Renovator.  Absorb. Soak it in.  Fill your brain with good information that will serve you.  We are already absorbing.  Aren’t we?  It is already happening all day long.  We are bombarded with confusing information from the media, news outlet sources, social media, television and we are absorbing.  Be careful of that.

Is what you are absorbing serving you and the people that you serve?  Is it?  Ask that question to yourself.  Challenge yourself with that.  Be a sponge and soak in good information that will serve others.  Be intentional.  Be focussed.  Be obsessive about it.  Be Better.  Be your best.  And then you cannot help but succeed and be great!  I want that for you.  That is my mission.  Truly.

If you are looking for an educational Real Estate Course that will prepare you for success in Real Estate and give you the tools to get it done… and give you mindset principals that will serve you and help you serve your clients well… Which will in turn cause you to build a real estate business with unstoppable referrals and consistent commission cheques, and highly profitable… My failures and mistakes and lessons from 22 years of experience are there for you in a complete course called the 4X Formula.  Get on the waiting list…its free…to get the first FREE Training and then take it from there.  Go do that and then… Make a great day.