Another week, and another series of changes to the policies and procedures being required by nearly all professional industries, and therefore also requiring adjustments to our daily lives. From an industry perspective, Real Estate has been on a rather confusing roller coaster of a ride (not the fun 6 Flags Magic Mountain kind), and we’ve been receiving updates from the California Association of Realtors on a near-daily basis with new changes.

      In the beginning of the pandemic, when the whole nation was really in the dark about what was going on, we as Real Estate Agents were asked to stand down on all transactions, regardless of where the buyers/sellers stood in the process. A week or so later, Real Estate was deemed an “essential” industry, and therefore Agents were allowed to continue processing transactions that were already in the works, but encouraged to “hold off” on any new contractual agreements until the “path forward” was a little clearer.
  
      The trouble with latent temporal space in business is of course that time kills all deals. When faced with the decision between shutting down all pipeline opportunities, thereby moving into a state of complete inactivity, and the more risky option to press cautiously forward…for me, the answer was obvious. Flash forward another two weeks, and I personally had three homes in Escrow (one of which was my own.) I suppose it may be important to note here that my official “entry” into Real Estate as an independent Salesperson/Agent was in 2008-2009. As many will recall with a cringe, those two years marked the onset of the Great Recession. A time in our nation which, if described in colloquial terms, sounded a bit more like “not the best time to be setting out into business by yourself, for yourself, you fool.”

      The mentality I had to maintain in order to stay afloat during those tough years was one of determined perseverance, extreme optimism (bordering on delusion), and a healthy dose of the enthusiastic recklessness that accompanies any young professional trying to make a name for themselves in the early days of business. Basically, it helped that I was slightly out of touch with reality, because it allowed me to ignore the negativity, disregard the naysayers and economic dooms-day predictors, and dream big. Economic crisis, shmeconomic Shmisis. That worked better in my head than on paper, but now it’s done been typed and I’m choosing to move boldly forward, leaving it where it is - literary judgers be damned!

       All of this to say, I’m grateful for the fact that I was foolhardy enough in 2008 to jump in with both feet, despite the difficult financial circumstances and the less-than-subtle warnings against doing so. The truth is, society is constantly having to adapt to new challenges; this is how we grow as people, as communities, and as a civilization. If we stick our collective heads in the sand when the going gets tough…all we’ll end up with at the end of the day is sandy boogers. I’m sure I don’t need to say it, but there is nothing worse than being in an economic crisis AND having sandy boogers.

       So, I’m choosing a multi-pronged approach to post-Covid life. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to have all members of my immediate family in good health. Secondly, my thoughts and prayers are with any family who suffered a loss as a result of this unprecedented pandemic. Third, I want to make sure my focus stays on a productive plan of action.  If this means bringing an element of borderline-delusional optimism to the table, that’s what I’ll do. If it means saying “Yes, let’s give it a try!” Instead of “No, we better wait…” - that’s what I’ll do.

       The point is: in order to achieve more than we expect, we have to expect to achieve more. The best, and perhaps the only, way to do this is to keep looking forward with hope, positivity, and unrelenting perseverance. As always, my focus is on honesty, transparency, and collaboration with my clients. Optimism does not equal sugar coating, or blowing smoke. It’s about keeping the right energy up, and expecting good things to happen. The last prong of my post-Covid approach is maintaining the optimism of my younger days, tempered (only slightly) by the benefit of more than a decade’s worth of experience. This allows me to help clients in an enthusiastic, yet realistic way. If you want to grab a piece of this unbridled positivity, and you happen to be in the market for a new home or are looking to sell the one you’re currently sitting in, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Team Abbott is always happy to help.
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Until next time, friends! #gbogfy