What is your vision for yourself, your family and your appraisal career? What dictates and maintains your motivation and momentum? Scott Burrows is a friend of mine from FSU. He played football with Bobby Bowden and was a highly ranked kick-boxer on ESPN before his car accident 25 years ago that left him a quadriplegic. Scott currently has a new book out Vision Mindset Grit that presents his lessons learned from the accident. His father gave him the most incredibly wise words, "Let it happen...try not to resist the experience too much if you can. Do that and you can get through it." Scott can now walk with the use of a cane and is an international motivational speaker. What a comeback!
His optimism is contagious, his enthusiasm evident. Scott wants us to get out of our "chairs", the chairs of limitation and restriction, chairs of our own personal jail cell created by our mind. He talks about many things, but they tend to focus on training your mindset, to build a compelling vision for yourself and your business. He encourages others not to let others hold you back, paralyze you or stop you from achieving the things you dream of doing.
He challenges all of us to ask new questions. Ask powerful questions as it relates to your business. Often time knowing what questions to ask is more meaningful than the answers. What are your business strengths you can improve on and challenge your way of thinking? I believe this will translate into better helping your clients.
Scott tells us to jettison the negative people that use "facts and stats" of why things can't be better. I believe these people are a waste of time and don't deserve your energy. If they are on your staff, take their keys and let them go. If you're married to one, go to counseling. "Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don't learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us." Stephen Colbert.
Inspiring drive and purpose for yourself and your firm might not seem applicable to the commercial appraisal industry. I might agree with that if I didn't hear so many appraisers dragging around a feeling of hopelessness, or at a minimum, apathy. I think the stage is now set to take notes from Scott's evangelical optimism. Believe you can achieve those goals, both personal and professional. Grit it out, since all things don't work out all the time. Be practical.
Quoting a Buddhist proverb, "when the student is ready, the master appears." Translation: if you're willing to reinvest your energies and new found optimism into your appraisal career (and life in general) you will find a new sense of direction, compelling vision and start asking questions. You have the rest of your career to answer them.
