In coaching home stagers since 2004 and working with real estate agents since the 1990s, I'm constantly reminded how important mindset is to what we can achieve.
The bottom line is you have to be willing to stick with it if you want to achieve home staging business success or build your real estate commissions.
Perhaps I contemplate mindset so much because I can be very negative when I'm living inside my head listening to that little voice that only talks about problems or fears.
There is no way I would have been able to support myself as an entrepreneur since 1989 if I didn't always battle with that particular demon. I need to keep myself motivated, and to fulfill my mission of inspiring the thousands of home stagers who follow me, I need to watch my own mindset and look for inspiration, even in the face of whatever negative news is out there.
I was at the gym and I'd been working out for over an hour with weights before hopping onto a stair climbing machine. I have to say this particular piece of equipment intimidates the heck out of me. You have to climb up these huge stairs and you're about 5 feet off the ground when you start. Since I'm only 5'1", this looks like a huge climb to me standing beside it. I worry it will go too fast, or I'll trip and fall off. So just deciding to climb on is a bit of a victory for me, though to bystanders I'm sure it's no big deal.
Anyways, I get up there and I'm climbing stairs and pushing as hard as I can. I'm about 10 minutes into it with another 10 minutes to go and I'm tired, dripping with sweat, thinking about how late it is, the errands I have to run, how I should get to my office and start working, etc. Mostly I'm thinking "I can't do this, I'll never make it another 10 minutes!"
Then I start looking down at the steps below me as I keep putting one foot in front of another. And I realize with great clarity that with every step, I'm walking into my future. I can take that step saying "I can't do this, it's too hard!" or I can take it saying "I CAN DO THIS!"
That's actually how it is with anything. We do walk into our future with every step and we are the only ones who can shape what it will look like. If we go forward saying, "I can do this!" we bring infinitely more ENERGY to what we do.
You just don't know what's waiting for you around the next corner if you just keep at it and stay committed and really say "I can do this" and live the truth of that even if there are doubts that keep you up at night. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other and step into your future.
What future are you working towards? How do you keep yourself motivated and get back on track when you're feeling tired, scared or overwhelmed? Please share your comments below!
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Featured on HGTV, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, House & Home, Reader's Digest, CBS, CTV, CBC, Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager. She developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love and she continues to develop ebooks and other home staging resources to help stagers on their path to success.
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