Back in 2019 I'd just had my third baby, and we decided to go direct to seller. We pulled a big list, hired a calling service, and set a goal of 30 hours of cold calling a week. It was brutal. There were days I stopped, cried, and said this isn't working. Here's what I learned. If you lose money and you quit, that money is gone for good. If you lose money and keep going, you have a chance to make it back. If you lose a deal and quit, that deal is gone. If you keep going, there are ten more behind it. It might take you three months. It might take you three years. Don't walk away. Be honest with me. How close have you come to quitting this year? Reply 1 if never, 5 if you almost did.

Here's what yesterday looked like. Kids off to school, then Bible study at 9 like every Tuesday. After that we went out to our properties to get our draws. When we're renovating, the lender pays out the money in stages, and somebody has to go see the work and take pictures before the next draw gets released. I also stopped by a new house we have under contract to check it out. At 1 o'clock I signed on a house we just bought near the beach. Here's the part I want you to hear. That one came from an agent who sends me houses that are listed on the MLS. We'd made five or six offers together before this one got accepted. If I'd stopped working with her after the first couple of no's, I wouldn't have this house. Then I got home and had a meeting with my operations manager about the new community I'm building, did some office work, and called it a day. Long day. Good day. How many offers have you made with the same agent? Reply with a number.

When rates go up, the first thing I check isn't the ARV. It's the monthly payment. Say you're looking at a house you think will sell for $600,000. If the buyer puts down enough to borrow about $550,000, at today's rates the payment with taxes and insurance can run around $5,000 a month. So the question is, in that neighborhood, can somebody afford $5,000 a month? Near the water, probably yes. Across town, with the same ARV, I don't think the people who can afford that payment are shopping there. Same thing on the low end. Buyers of cheaper houses feel rate changes the most, because a few hundred dollars more each month, plus higher taxes and insurance, is a lot for them. I'm not saying don't buy. I'm saying figure out who your buyer is and what they can pay each month before you decide what the house is worth. What's the monthly payment on the last house you looked at? Tell me below.

When I first sat down to build my why, the first answer was the obvious one. I needed to make money for my family. That's true, but it's not what keeps me in this. What keeps me in it is time. I want to be there for my kids now. I volunteer at school when I want to. When they're home sick, I'm home with them. This past summer they were home the whole summer, we took trips, and I decided when I worked and when I didn't. A lot of people say they're doing this for generational wealth. I get it. But my kids aren't going to remember the money I left them. They're going to remember the time I spent with them. You're going to hit days when you want to quit. This is a mental game. So go deeper than "my family", write your why down, and hang it somewhere you'll see it every day. What's your why, in one sentence? Tell me below.

People ask me all the time which CRM they should buy before they start. Here's my honest answer. When I first got into real estate, I used a notebook. For a whole year. Every lead, every agent, every property went in there, and I would go back through it and call those people again. I can't even tell you how many leads, and how many deals, came just from going back through that notebook. The software doesn't do the work. The follow up does. When you have so many leads that the notebook can't keep up, that's when you upgrade. Not before. So if you've been waiting until you have the right system to start reaching out, you already have it. A notebook, a spreadsheet, the notes app on your phone. Pick one today. What are you using to keep track of your leads right now? Tell me below.