I am sure many of you have read the book in the title written by Spencer Johnson. If you haven't I would highly recommend it. The premise as provided by Amazon is this...
"Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese?is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are "littlepeople," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out."
Are you still with me? Great!
I am sure you have experienced your cheese being moved... moved right out from underneath you. One minute you are literally fat, dumb and happy... and the next minute your whole life is turned upside down.
If you were active as a real estate investor or a real estate agent during the run-up, I am sure you knew both real estate investors and real estate agents who thought they were geniuses... and then the floor fell out of the market and they took a beating or lost all of their customers. And in the words of Spencer Johnson... many of these real estate investors and real estate agents, and maybe even you, found yourself asking... Who Moved My Cheese?
So... what about those real estate investors and real estate agents who thrived during the run-up and survived the downturn. Why did they survive? How have they managed to go from "they could do nothing wrong" to "almost any move could kill them" and yet they survived and thrived?
Like many of you who found themselves in the same situation and survived... I think the short answer is this...
We adapted. We adapted to the fact that our cheese is going to be moved and moved often... and for us to survive and thrive we needed to perfect our ability to adapt.
Take for instance a recent situation where a major lender in our market decided to suspend all real estate investor financing for a several month period. This local bank was a mainstay in the investor community. So much so that perhaps their success caught up with them. Then this bank moved the cheese in a big way for many real estate investors in our market.
What would you do in this situation? How would you respond if perhaps your only source of funding (cheese) was moved. Would you act like Hem and Haw... or would you react like Sniff and Scurry? Or maybe you would respond with the some of the characteristics of each!
I can tell you what successful real estate investors would do... they would be turning over every rock literally seeking out lenders who will support their business plan... and if they were really smart... they would create relationships with several lenders so that if any one of them moved their cheese it would be of no consequence. And... the really brilliant real estate investors and real estate agents would have already created these relationships with both lenders and mortgage brokers alike.
So... the bottom line is this... those real estate investors and real estate agents that survive and thrive, those investors who know that everyday is going to present another challenge to be overcome, those investors who wake up every morning and welcome the challenges that come their way... are the real estate investors and real estate agents who are going to survive and succeed.
Are you in this category? I believe that you are and that you have exactly what it takes to thrive in this or any market.
One other thing... if you would like to learn how to approach lenders and have them wanting to do business with you... just drop me an email at info@theclubmastermind.comwith Lender's Report in the subject line and I will send you some great information on creating effective relationships wth lenders.
To Your Success...
Peter R. Giardini
www.blogtalkradio.com/peter-giardini
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