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There is a mindset theory that states when things are going well, people tend to think they will always go well. When we are in that state of mind, we tend to ignore bad news… even deny bad news. The reverse is also true. When things are not going well, we tend to think they will always go badly, and we ignore and deny good news. I think that is where we are today. We are at the tail end of the worse pandemic in a century where we lost one million Americans and suffered untold trauma, and instead of being happy that things have finally turned around, we are obsessing about gas prices. We have had to deal with so much bad news, we are ignoring the good and searching for the bad. Two years ago, I think most of us were in denial. After a decade of prosperity, we blatantly refused to acknowledge the reality of what we were dealing with.
Mindset is a powerful thing, and I don’t take that lightly. Our outlook on life has more to do with things we focus our attention on than cards we are dealt. If we focus on what we have versus what we don’t have, we tend to be happier, more productive people. But even the most disciplined among us are influenced by the media or others who are influential. Inflation is a real threat to our economy, and recessions are a normal part of our economic cycles. That is not to say we shouldn’t do anything about them. The goal of our governmental policies should be to make our growth cycles as long as possible and our recessions as short and shallow as possible. I think there are a lot of positives happening right now. The pandemic is winding down, people are working, and our investments as a whole are worth more now than ever. Like always, some threats cannot be ignored. The war in Ukraine is a human tragedy, and our economy can dip into a deep recession if the Fed doesn’t act appropriately. Those of us in the real estate industry should be thinking about how we can parlay our winnings from the last few years into something that sets ourselves and our families up permanently. Clarity of thought is our strongest asset. We need it more today than ever before.
Almost everyone, including Democrats, were expecting last Tuesday’s midterm election results to heavily favor Republicans. Many predicted a “red wave” where they would pick up 50-60 seats in the House and 3-4 in the Senate. Joe Rogan said the red wave that is coming will be like the elevator doors opening in the horror film The Shining.
Selling during a downturn required a more strategic approach, but the opportunities for growth and expansion are available to the savviest of companies. Here are some of the best ideas I’ve read about.
A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors said “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!”. The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.” A few days later the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out “Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” and the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
I’ve written about this in other iterations. I’ve talked about finding your rhythm, and the importance of letting things come to you, not forcing things, and then riding the momentum when you have the wind at your back. The point of it all is that success is not linear. Progress doesn’t follow a straight line. For most people, the journey is long and winding. It looks more like a stairway or a hockey stick.