Recently I attended a church service that celebrated a group of high school graduates that were moving on to college. During the celebration each student’s credentials were read and they were required to write an essay about what they wanted to do with their lives and how they were going to affect positive change.
As I listened to these kids’ dreams and aspirations I started to wonder what happened to this kind of thinking among so many of us? Remember a time when you felt that anything was possible and that you could do just about anything that you put your mind to? Did that reality ever change or did we change? I think we know theanswer to that question.
One of the best ways to know if you have been caught up in complacency is to gauge your level of interest in your daily activities. Are you passionate about what you do every day or do you go about your day like a teenager that has been assigned their daily chores? The only difference being that the punishment for not doing your chores is no longer as simple as not receiving an allowance – today’s consequence could mean your bills don’t get paid or your children don’t eat.
Now before thinking you’ve made the wrong career choice, remember this – it is possible to be heading in the right direction but using the wrong mode of transportation to get where you are going. What I mean by that is many of you are in this industry because you love interacting with people and helping to make their dreams a reality.
What happens many times however is that people begin their careers for these types of reasons and then find themselves 10 or 20 years down the road managing files and pushing paperwork all day and wondering why they don’t love their job like they used to. Sound familiar?
If this hits home on any level at all, I challenge you to do something about it. It has been said that a year from now you will wish you would have started today. This applies to anything you want to achieve. Why in this world of technology, virtual assistants and so many other options that are available would you spend your days doing things that you don’t truly love? Here is my advice – STOP IT!
Make a decision to think like high school graduates do. Go back to the way you used to look at the world and its endless possibilities. You will never get what you don’t try for and expect to get. One of the things that I remind myself about daily is those who tell you the sky is the limit don’t realize that there are footprints on the moon. Your limits only go as far as you allow them to go. If you don’t want to live a life full of regrets, stop limiting yourself and being so darn realistic.
by Jared James
Jared James is the CEO and Founder of Jared James Enterprises, an internationally sought-after speaker and trainer. James built one of the fastest-growing real estate teams in the country, was inducted into the International Hall of Fame for one of the world’s largest real estate companies and wrote a best-selling book—all before the age of 28. As an acclaimed speaker, James keynotes events for major real estate organizations and conducts regular webinars and training for nationally known organizations like NAR, CRS, Yahoo Real Estate,Trulia and Zillow Academy and blogs regularly for RISMedia.
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