BUSINESS
Master Your Priorities. Master Your Life. Make Your First Million.
T
here I was, yet again, on my phone outside a restaurant having a so-called “dinner” with my family. I was pacing on the “concrete-curb-balance-beam” (you know the one I mean)—talking with a client “who needed me,” when I happened to glance through the restaurant window to see my family laughing and enjoying dinner, creating memories without me.
My heart sank. In that moment, I realized that after 20 years in lending, working ridiculously long hours, experiencing financial ups and downs, being overwhelmed and stressed in daily chaos, chasing uncommitted realtors (often on weekends) and harming my family, life, health and business; I had not been in many of their memories. Somewhere along the way I had lost sight of what truly made me happy. I thought, “Oh my gosh, I am prisoner to a business that owns me, and I am losing everything that’s important to me.” I was so focused on the busynessof-the-business—doing activities for the sake of activities—that it felt like eating soup with a fork. I was tired, drained and not fulfilled. When I was with my family, I really was not. I was there physically, just never emotionally.
10 Lead Up for Women
How many games, recitals, romantic evenings, birthday parties have you physically and emotionally missed? Do you even remember them? I have been there for 20 long years. It makes me sick to think about it now—just sick. When do you really uncover this reality? Is it when your daughter tells you about something fun that happened during a family vacation and you do not even remember the vacation? To make matters worse, at that time, I was consistently funding 18 loans a month, but could not seem to break through the glass ceiling to the next level. I lost sleep over what I thought I could be doing wrong. I felt that everyone else was doing more business than me, which resulted in me having the insatiable drive to work even more. I began to wonder if it was all really worth it. Living in chaos, working long hours, babysitting your loans, chasing
clients, realtors and money does equal success. Period. So then I started to think, “How can I have both experiences—life and success?” The great Les Brown said, “If you're casual about your life, your life will become a casualty.” Ask yourself, “Is my life becoming a casualty because of my business? I have come to learn that “a life of priorities and values adds value everywhere in your life.” Prioritize your family and you will be fulfilled. Prioritize your health and you will feel better. Prioritize your finances and you will sleep better. Everything in your life will grow, including your business. My father used to say, “Jen, you can rust out or you can wear out, it's your choice.” It is a choice—a choice to be present during the journey we call life. What I learned was that if I was going to withstand a long-term career in lending, it would be essential for me to choose my life desires first. Then I could build an amazing business to add value everywhere. I can help you with this, too. The key was to get out of my own way and let go of the invisible chip on
July-August 2020
