In this installment of Scott’s Perspective we take a trip down memory lane with an article that was written a few years ago. The message rings true even today. Read on!
It is no big secret that the mortgage process has become more challenging…But as with anything that occurs over a long period of time, the absorption of the information is so gradual that the magnitude of what you’ve experienced is not evident until you stop a minute and look at the whole of it. It’s kind of like climbing a mountain one step at a time and not realizing how high you are until you look down and go, “Whoa! This mountain is massive!” The difference, of course, is that once you get to the top of the mountain, you can turn around and go back down. With mortgage regulation, even though we’ve forged through mountains of it, sometimes it seems there is no end in sight.
It really hit home with me recently when a loyal employee – who had been a huge part of our team for the last 10 years – came to me and said, “I don’t look forward to coming to work anymore.” She explained to me how she had reached her saturation point and that she just couldn’t do it anymore. My reaction at first was shock…and extreme disappointment. She had always been a great team player and had perfected her job to an art form, so I couldn’t imagine our time without her. But then I remembered that I had once left a job to start my own business because I wanted more freedom and more fulfilling work, so I looked at her and said that life was too short to work in a job that wasn’t fulfilling. If she was unhappy she should find something else to do that would “jazz” her…get her excited to get out of the bed in the morning.
My response seemed to surprise her…expecting, I’m sure, that I would try to make things better or to calm her down. But I told her to give it some thought and if her decision was to leave, just provide ample time to find a replacement. Four months later, she came into my office again, closed the door and told me she had decided to leave the business but wanted time to figure out what the next chapter in her life would be. She targeted 6 months and wanted a flexible schedule so she could experiment with some other career choices. She explained that she was very nervous about this transition because she really didn’t have a solid plan yet. I told her we would work with her to provide the flexible schedule she desired. I also told her that she would be great at whatever direction she chose and I knew that because she was an extremely hard working, loyal, and dedicated person. It was very difficult for me because she will be hard to replace, but the cool thing about his story is that she found the courage to be true to herself and take a leap of faith.
Change is hard but we don’t move toward our dreams without it. This transition will happen, in part, because she had earned my respect over all those years of working as a completely devoted and responsible team player so she knew she could be completely transparent with me. Her decision made me wish her well. As a result, we are reminded of 4 important lessons:
- If you work for others, give it your all and take responsibility for your position.
- Have the courage to dream big and mean it.
- Have the courage to act on your dreams and initiate the change you desire in spite of your fears.
- Have a clear, step-by-step action plan with timelines to accomplish your goal.
Too many people are living their lives unhappy. If one of those people is you, it’s time to initiate the change that will take you to your most powerful and fulfilled life! AND…If the change you desire includes a new home, don’t forget to make us part of the action plan. Call us first so we can help troubleshoot financial options and get you fully “Certified” before you make your first offer!
Happy House Hunting!
The FMT