Last Friday while we were still in Jupiter Florida we got up early as is our nature to do our daily walk by the ocean. The first things we noticed was 5 to 8 foot waves which hadn't been the norm. The second thing we noticed was an abundance of surfers, over 100 for sure. This is an usual site on Jupiter Beach, in fact, we had never seen anything like it before. Charlene and I started wondering how they got there, was it instinct, or a TV weather report, or accident? Being inquiring minds we decided to do some research and found a 50 something leaving the beach so we asked. He said that anyone around there who surfs watches a special beach cam set at Jupiter Inlet that also has a wave report that surfers can follow that extends for a week at a time. He has been on it for many years. My thought was that this gave them time to figure out their call in sick excuse, but is was December 29th.
My next thought was about business planning and how far we go with it. Do we have a weekly business cam, or are we spur of the moment. In my 27 years of real estate I remember teachers saying to start planning for the next year in August or September and if that is all you do then you are ahead of most agents who do little to know planning trusting the seat of their pants. That is a bad way to live, folks. I would never criticize anyone who did a one year plan but when I teach business planning for agents getting their hours in I always am amazed at how little long term planning is done or taught. We do a great job of teaching people how to market, or better put spend a lot of money. We do a great job as brokers at pushing people to the next plaque level but my brokers never emphasized that i shouldn't spend my way into the next club. I am sure there are brokers here that do but honestly most don't and I find that out in class.
I always look for the 30 somethings and ask them do they have a 50 year plan? They look at me as if I am from Mars then I do a retirement calculator that shows they need anywhere from $72,000 to over $100,000 put into investments every year for at least 25 years to have $10,000 a month retirement income. Even if the are 55 and in a new career path I tell them that when surf's up then head to the shore and it is never too late to do it. Surfers are dedicated and to see them from teenagers to Boomers out there at one time should tell us something. If you care about something passionately then if becomes a lifelong pursuit, maybe even an obsession. You find what you need to know the conditions but you always keep you mind and body in shape to enjoy the experience. I am 70 and still passionate about real estate. I could retire today and never have another worry but I am very excited about how in 5 years I may be able to do something new that maybe hadn't been done before. I read about Blockchain, listen to Bill gates on artificial intelligence, and follow updates on augmented reality.
At my age I don't need a 50 year plan but a ten year plan will do just nicely. I will check the real estate surf cam weekly, keep my mind and body in shape, and when the real estate waves hit 8 feet I plan to hang ten. For those going into 2018 excited just remember that like the surfers when the waves are high we need to be ready for the long term to hit it. Happy New Year everybody, Surf's Up!!!
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