"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life."

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I stopped making my time as available when I realized I was continuously talking with clients, potential new clients, etc., and they would often not follow up on the things they needed to do. It seemed to me they kept feeling like they could further monopolize my time even though they weren't holding up their end of the bargain. An agent would pull me aside for an hour to talk to me about how they wanted to start investing and ask for advice on how to get started. I’d eagerly sit down and give them the same spiels I give all my investor clients, plug them into my infrastructure, whatever I could do to help. I remember one agent in particular who went out the next day and bought a Jeep with their nest egg. They still don’t invest. I began to feel this wasn't the best use of my time.

If you are looking to begin investing, reach out to your trusted expert, realtor, or whoever for recommendations on who to work with. After that, take the initiative on what you need to do to move the ball down the field. Asking professionals to lend their time to you for insights or comps on properties when you can’t even verify your ability to purchase is insane to me! That being said, we know there is a lot to learn. We do have members on our team who are more available to take on the needs of less advanced investors.

There are tools I use to protect my time and space to get work done and pursue interests. My phone doesn’t ring until 9:00 am and stops ringing at 9:00 pm. You can set that up on your iPhone fairly simply (just ask an AI like Chatgpt or ClaudeAI for directions, if you don't know how). I also put "do not disturb" on when I’m reading, working out, working, writing, or making music. If ADD me finally sits down and gets after one of these activities, I can’t let a phone call or Instagram notification pull me out of the flow. It is insane to me that people allow other people to have access to them nearly 24 hours a day. I understand if you have family members to mind, but you can set them out from the overarching "do not disturb" setting on your phone, so they can contact you if needed.

Cold calling is aggressive in my opinion. Obviously, calls are needed sometimes. I get it, I’m not a psycho. But to protect your time, there needs to be a system in place. My clients have a link they can use to schedule a time to speak with me, if a text or email is unable to resolve their need. I use youcanbookme.com currently. Calendly is another great option. Our AI includes this function as well.  Implementing these frame works has greatly increased my output, my ability to stick with tasks and progress, and how I flow throughout my day. Give a few of these things a try, see how it makes you feel. Mentally, I find I am overarchingly calmer and more present in the moment. Being present is how special moments are made!

Song To Digest With

Aqueous Transmission- Incubus

My favorite song of all time*

I'm building an antenna
Transmissions will be sent
When I am through
Maybe we can meet again
Further down the river
And share what we both discovered
Then revel in the view

Further down the river

-Rob Bergeron

Talk business with me on twitter, tell me what you want to learn about: https://twitter.com/RealEstateRobKY

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 Edited by Colleen Reilly