Fortune Shines Brightly On Those Who Create It

“I am ever lucky”.  I thought about how much has happened in just the last year alone.  About the team that we’ve been able to build over the past year.  The strides we’ve made towards systematizing our business, and attracting tremendous talent and enthusiasm to work with us. I’m lucky because I live in a great house, with a wonderful wife and playful dog, work in a great environment with great people, and get to enjoy fun things like a winter beachfront condo in the Dominican Republic.  Life’s pretty great!  How did I get so lucky? Sometimes, I can’t believe how fortunate I am when I count all the great things I have in my life.  It made me think about what makes some people so lucky, and other people seem to never have any luck at all. Recently, we stopped working with a painter that always had a reason or excuse as to why he didn’t finish the job on time, didn’t show up, or didn’t do an acceptable job.  We had given him several chances, and I had personally even tried to help him out where I could, since his personal situation was tough.  His vehicle had broken down and needed repairs; the house he lived in with 7 other people had finally gotten to him and he needed to move; his health was poor because he didn’t take care of himself, or take any precautions like wearing a mask while he painted; and other jobs he was working on were not paying him. Every couple of weeks, he would seem to have an episode, and things would fall apart.  He’d disappear off the map, and then a few days later would re-appear and doing a little more work.  Every time this happened, we felt sorry for him and tried to get him back on his feet. The last episode happened while I was out of the country, and he exploded in a tantrum at the job site and walked away, because he couldn’t deal with all the stress in his life.  It was at that point, we pulled the plug, and told him we were no longer interested in having him work for us. The amazing thing is that from his perspective, I’m sure he feels like we somehow screwed him, and that it’s our fault that we terminated his contract.  I’m sure he’s figured out how it’s our fault that his life is such a mess, and that all we care about is the jobs and making money. This experience reminded me of how powerful it is to create luck and fortune in your life, and make it easy for it to happen to you.  If you don’t, then by default, you’ll probably have bad luck, or no luck at all. While I feel bad for this guy and his situation which keeps getting worse, it makes me realize how so many people that are down on their luck are there simply because of the choices they make in their life.  Where you are right this moment is a function of the decisions you make moment to moment. If you’re happy with where you are right now, you’ve likely made good decisions that line up with your values and goals.  If you’re not at all happy where you are, then chances are some of the decisions you’ve made up to this point didn’t run parallel to where you really wanted to be. Real estate is such a fascinating business to be in, because you see all sides of people.  It’s a unique business where people’s emotions are involved, along with money and other elements that affect their daily life.  We sometimes have tenants who victimize themselves, and are able to convince themselves why it’s our fault they can’t pay the rent, or it’s somehow our responsibility to give them a clean, safe place to live at a rental amount less than what it costs us to provide it. Here’s something that I’ve found in my experience to be true, no matter who you’re talking about.  There are three ways you can respond to any adverse situation in your life:

1. you can place blame  – blaming people, the economy, your boss, the weather;
2. you can justify what it happened – finding excuses for the outcome, rationalizing why it wasn’t your fault;
3. you can be accountable and try to find what role you had in the outcome.

For me, I was always really good at the first two, up until about 5 years ago.  When something went wrong, it was never my fault.. and I always was able to blame and justify the result away.  It wasn’t until I started to become accountable for my outcomes that it seemed like my “luck” started to change for the better. What I find, without exception, is that people who simply never seem to get ahead or consider themselves “unlucky” are coincidentally the same people that are quick to point the finger at someone or something else when things don’t go as they want.  And as long as they lay blame outside of themselves, they are able to play the role of victim.  The problem is, as long as you’re a victim, you can’t change the situation because you’re not in control. It’s amazing .. once you start becoming accountable for the results you create, you are no longer a victim.  You then have to step up and take control, and be responsible for the decisions you make.  And once you start doing this, fortune seems to shine on you .. and your luck changes. Years ago, whenever something went wrong or didn’t turn out like I wanted, I would force myself to take the question: “What part did I play in this?”  I would think about it until I was able to identify what role I had played in creating the outcome.  Once I was able to do that, I could see what I could do differently the next time.  And by doing that, I empowered myself to make better decisions going forward. Even today, I do this.  When something doesn’t turn out like I want, I automatically ask myself “what role did I play in this?” and try to repair what mistake I made, even if it is only just to learn the lesson for the next time. Asking this question has been a powerful tool for me, and I know that the painter’s life would change almost overnight if he were to start asking this question of himself.  Problem is, he won’t stop blaming everyone for his circumstances long enough to do it.  ]]>