Are you using the right tools?

It’s a simple enough question for anyone that works in the trades, or builds and repairs for a hobby, but in reality, we ALL need to be asking this of ourselves and our teams pretty much all day long. The concept of having the ‘right tool’ has been weighing on me heavily over the last year, because of the realities of managing the renovation of the house on a day-to-day basis. On any given day, I can find myself staring at a big pile of wood, or garbage, or building materials, or all 3, and wondering ‘how am I going to move this by myself?’ or maybe I’m looking at some of the really quite impressively bad craftsmanship left behind by subs like our ‘tile installer’ and wondering how i’m going to fix it?’, or - on a positive note - looking at the finished items around the house and wondering how best to keep them clean and functioning. Ultimately the answer isn’t simply ‘just pay someone else to do it’, but rather finding the right tool or assistance to get it done successfully - that might include paying the right expert, but ultimately it’s a team effort.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been combining the thoughts about the right tools with the advice I’ve been giving people regarding their real estate needs, and even just conversations about life in general. Watching these landscapers today really tipped the scale toward me NEEDING to write about it. The boulders in a pile on our lot have been sitting there literally for decades, just waiting for something to do. I’ve been looking at them for about a year now, thinking of all the problems I could solve with them, if only I could move them. I was pushed to the point of having to hire someone because the driveway is coming in two days, and they won’t come until the edges of the asphalt are supported by retaining structures. SO, now I’m watching these guys scoot around for a couple of hours moving 1000lb boulders like they are pebbles and doing the work it would take me literal months to accomplish with straps and leverage and dollies and waiting for someone to help me. They are able to do what they do with ease because they have the right tools, I can direct them to keep my vision for the landscape in mind, and I will be able to move past this road block and into the next phase of the project because I hired the right person. If you look around your own situation, there’s always a road block you have to overcome, be it small or large, that will be made easier to move aside if you have the right tools and the right partners.

Think of the times you have found yourself confronted with a big decision or a life changing situation, and you didn’t know how to surmount it. What tools could you have used to make the process smoother, and make yourself more confident in your decision? If you’re trying to visualize yourself succeeding, but you aren’t finding yourself able to get started down the road towards victory, start looking around for tools - be they people, books, equipment, classes, or other resources - that can give you the leverage you need to start the climb. I have several clients right now that are trying to navigate a really WEIRD time to be dealing with real estate, and I’m trying really hard to do for them what the forklift guy did for me today. In just about all of their situations, the tool that I’m finding to be most useful is the ability to zero in on WHY they are selling or buying, and using that to define what is required to succeed. If selling is the goal, but you’re finding that you’re not happy with the price you’re told is the ‘new normal’, take a step back and say ‘ok, if that’s the case, how can I adjust my perspective to keep in mind what I will be getting out of the sale ASIDE from the price.’ In so many cases, moving house is not the end of the story, but the beginning of a new chapter. Real estate is also a transaction in which you - the buyer or the seller - are not the only one involved. In order to complete the transaction, you are dependent someone else that you have never met, someone that has also been influenced by their own situations, the news, the economy, their job, their family, etc to decide that they agree with you on a value of a place to live. It can be daunting, for sure. I think the best way to not let it consume you, though, is to remember why you are involved in this scenario in the first place - what is it you are trying to achieve? Talk it through with your family and anyone you have hired to help you - the agent, the attorney, the builder, the lender. Be honest and open with them as to why you want to move and where you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, next week, and how the move factors into it. Let those conversations and the honesty that they bring forth be the forklift that moves the boulders around, clearing the way for you to move forward and grab a taste of victory. Don’t let the road blocks of today become the reason the future stays waiting around for decades.