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Real Estate from the Hospital Bed - Serious Like a Heart Attack.

By
Real Estate Agent with Kelly Kitchens Realty Group

If you’ve tried to reach me in the past several days, you’ve found I’m unavailable except via email. No I haven’t had a heart attack but for the first time in my life I have had a health issue. It’s my lungs. The docs don’t know the cause yet and I’m the reason for my stay here at St. Lukes is to get a biopsy in order to figure that out. I’m writing this blog from my hospital bed.

I wouldn’t say I haven’t skipped a beat while here in the hospital but since we Realtors® do a large portion of our work in front of a keyboard and there’s wireless here at St. Lukes, I’ve been able focus on some of the more interesting aspects of my career. And because I can’t run out and show a bunch of properties or talk much on the phone I haven’t been dogged by the tyranny of the urgent. I’ve been able to focus on what I want rather than on urgent tasks which all of the sudden don’t seem so urgent. It’s helped me consider what’s really important not only in my life but in my career and I’ve enjoyed real estate more from my bed than from my desk.

The busyness of life often keeps us from self-analysis but I think we each need regular times of reassessment. For me it’s been forced because of my health issues but enjoyable nonetheless. I’ve had time to think and to consider if my actions really fall in line with what I’ve said I want my life to be about.

I articulated my purpose statement years ago and it goes like this:

"I will embrace Life, delve into Its beauty, know Its Creator and impart It to others. I will live a life of gratefulness, purpose, passion and creativity. By God’s grace my life will make a difference and have eternal significance."

I think I may have forgotten however that to impart life, I must first have something to impart. Henceforth I intend to remember and focus more on the aspects of my purpose statement that will bring about more life in me so that I’ll have more of it to give to others. Specifically I will attempt to be more purposeful about my life and reject the tyranny of the urgent.

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Anonymous
Terry Funk

Well said Kelly, my thoughts are with you. get out of there so we can get that coffee

Jun 30, 2009 08:24 AM
#1
Anonymous
Becky Haines

What a shocker to see you in those hospital avant garde apparel choice picks for the day!  I'm not so surprised to see that you were being photographed while on the computer though.  Love to see you and I'll come to you if you're up for it!

Jun 30, 2009 08:31 AM
#2
Anonymous
Dan Claymore

Wow Kelly! Some guys will do anything to get some time off - even fake an illness so they can sit around, eat lots of jello and the rest of that fantastic hospital food. Man, now I'M jealous! ;~)

Okay, now that I got that out of the way - time to be serious. Sorry about this all of a sudden getting sprung on you. My thoughts and prayers are with you and family. My hope is that they'll find out what's wrong and get you turned around immediately.

"The Tyranny of the Urgent" - I like that. Who knows more about that than the computer specialist? It seems you and I have gravitated toward that lifestyle our entire lives. I enjoy the fast pace of juggling several balls at once. I must because I keep entering fields that generate that kind of energy. Carpentry is similar (in a way), but what I've found is that most of the pressure I encounter is self-imposed. It sounds like you have discovered that as well. When the "urgent" end up moving down the line (to the next victim), they don't leave a gaping hole where they were and it is then that we realize it is ourselves who allow the urgent to be just that, urgent. Someone else's crisis doesn't necessarily have to be mine. There are times, however, when I allow them to shift some of the weight over to my shoulders. When that happens, I feel justified in asking to be paid to share the load. Those that don't feel that way don't get to have me help them with the project. And, I don't feel badly when that happens. There is always someone out there who is a little hungrier, or has a need that is greater than mine. God will connect the dots - He knows when I need a phone call and a job and my phone always seems to ring when I need it to (and, sometimes when I don't - can I get an "Amen!" - ha!).

I learned so much from you when we were working together. It may not have seemed like it, but my eyes were on you most of the time. I think of you as my own personal mentor and it seems that even from a hospital bed, you are still teaching (and learning, and sharing, at the same time).

 

Best wishes & get well soon. Thanks for not posting a picture from the back side of the hospital gown!  ( )( )

 

Dan

 

Jun 30, 2009 09:21 AM
#3
Anonymous
Nicholas

Kelly,

Sorry for the mystery of your cough! When I spoke with you last week I could tell that it was not a minor thing.

Praying for you.

If you want to check out what I'm doing these days, see http://maflt.org

There is a video of me in the Middle East at the bottom of http://maflt.org/about

 

Get better soon!

Nicholas

Jun 30, 2009 11:50 AM
#4
Anonymous
Caralee Casey

Kelly,

I know you're bucking for attention, but really...this is going a little far isn't it? What the heck is going on? I know, you don't know yet. This is really bizarre! I'm glad you're in the hospital though so they can hopefully figure it out. My prayers are with you buddy!

Caralee

Jun 30, 2009 05:10 PM
#5