I own a real estate brokerage that is not doing very well right now; in fact it has lost a lot of money over the last 4-5 months. So much so that I have been quite stressed about it recently, and found myself outpouring my stress to my father today over the phone. During the call he responded with the expected condolences and then we hung up.
However, a few hours later the magic happened. He called me back up and told me that he had been thinking about the stress I was under and the situation that I am in.
His thought was "Don't worry about it!" He said that "March 1st is the worst day of the year in real estate. It is the very last day before things start to turn around.
Although you may not have that many pending deals on the books right now, starting next week, the business outlook will start to get better.
In Fall you have very little new production, but you are still fat from all of the business closed over the summer. You sleep the Winter, and right now you're just starting to cook again.
Mark my words, starting next week things will get better.
So like many "know it all twenty-something sons", I said, "Thanks dad for the encouragement, but I don't think you understand the complexities of the situation."
As you have already guessed, and as has occurred many times before, I realized the wisdom of what he was saying a few hours later, after it had a chance to sink in;
March 1st is the worst day of the year, but at the same time it is also the best. It is the end of the road for the toughest times, and hope is the only thing to be seen going forward.
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