I recently had a friend over and there was something that happened that has got me thinking and I hope it will for you too.
We were eating dinner and he shared with me that he wanted to increase his income, in fact he is in a situation where he needs to earn additional revenue to as he has debts that are overdue. This person is very smart and has the capabilities so I am not sure why he isn’t moving forward.
Over dinner the penny dropped.
He shared with me that he has a 9-5 job that he finds very easy to do. In fact, he finds it so easy that when working remotely he does it whilst sitting around the dinner table and jumping in and out of conversations. My first thought … lucky employer! (Note; for those that don’t know me, I am being sarcastic)
My second thought … if you can do more, earn more, why wouldn’t you? Especially when you have a need. He said that he knew he could offer great value, he knew he had the skillset etc and he knew that he could earn surplus funds and start to dig himself out of his financial hole. But then he said …. But I can’t be bothered do go out there and find clients unless I know they are going to hire me.
I can’t be bothered to put in the work if I am not guaranteed the results.
For a moment I just sat there, I rarely spend time with people who can’t be bothered to play the game unless they know they are going to win.
INPUT VS OUTPUT
The reality is you can’t control your results, the output. The only thing you can control is your input. It’s the same in all walks of life ….
Athletes train consistently for races/events they don’t know if they will win.
I am a parent, I put my best efforts into parenting even though I have no idea what kind of adults they will be.
I am married, I put all my efforts into the marriage with no guarantees.
I am a property investor. I build my property portfolio consistently in the hope my properties will rent and the assets will increase in value, and if for whatever reason they don’t, I will figure it out.
But here’s the thing. They do. You don’t know if property prices will double over a 10 year period, but they did. You don’t know you will be able to achieve high rents, but I have and I have consistently.
The point I am making is if I took the attitude of my friend then where would I be? Watching from the sidelines.
In all honestly that conversation stuck with me as I realised that is not the person I ever want to be. I don’t want to be somebody that will only play at the game of whatever if I know I will win.
Two days later my 7 year old daughter got frustrated after she played several party games and didn’t win any prizes. She was clearly struggling to deal with her frustrations. I said to her what I said to my friend a few nights earlier…
If you play the game, yes aim to win but accept that losing and failure is part of the journey. Alternatively, be the person that doesn’t ever play and I can assure you, you will never win.
It reminds me of a quote I heard years ago that has always stayed with me.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.”
J.K. Rowling
In life, and in property investment you can only control what you can control, and you can control what actions you take.
If you want to invest in property, if you want to know more then sign up to my email list and join my community. Start with the input. Don’t be somebody who doesn’t even try.
Finally, let me share this story with you that sums it up nicely.
The Parable of the Farmer and the Unseen Harvest
Once upon a time, there was a farmer named Elias who lived in a village that had experienced unpredictable weather for many years. One year, Elias faced a difficult decision. The previous harvests had been poor due to drought, and many of his neighbours were hesitant to plant new crops. They feared that another bad season would mean their work would be wasted.
Elias had the same concerns, but he also knew that if he didn’t plant anything, there would be no chance for a harvest at all. He decided to prepare his fields, plant his seeds, and tend to his crops with care, even though he had no guarantee that the weather would cooperate.
Every morning, Elias worked his fields, watering the plants, pulling weeds, and protecting them from pests. Some days, the sky was overcast, and Elias wondered if all his effort would be in vain. But he reminded himself that he had to focus on what he could control—his own work and dedication. The outcome, he knew, was beyond his power, but doing nothing would certainly lead to failure.
As the weeks passed, some of his neighbours began to mock him. “Why are you wasting your time?” they asked. “There’s no way to know if this year will be any different.”
Elias simply replied, “I can’t control the rain, but I can control how I prepare. If I don’t plant, I will have no chance at all.”
Finally, after months of hard work, the rains came. Elias’s crops grew strong and healthy, and he ended up with one of the best harvests in years. Those who hadn’t planted, fearing the worst, were left with nothing. They had waited for certainty and missed the opportunity entirely.
One of Elias’s neighbours came to him and said, “You were right to work even when you didn’t know what would happen. We were too afraid to try, and now we have nothing.”
Elias smiled and replied, “It’s true, we can never know for sure what the future holds, but if we wait for certainty, we’ll never plant the seeds that could bring us a harvest.”
Plant a seed now and sing up to my email list.
Kelly Lemon
