I-A-Q #10: Some People Don’t Want You to Change
Happy Monday!
Here is an Idea, an Action, and a Question to consider this week.
Idea
In the last year of my Air Force career and at the beginning of my journey in real estate, the two worlds started to converge.
During downtime as an instructor pilot, I’d occasionally erase the whiteboard in the SCIF (i.e. top secret area) and teach my fellow officers about real estate, housing markets, and investing. I was eager to teach, and these guys were soaking it up.
But my commander didn’t appreciate the free lessons.
He was frustrated that I was discussing anything except the mission, even though my discussions were always during breaks. He viewed my passion for real estate as an intellectual contagion that began affecting my fellow pilots.
He even made me (and only me) sign in and out while at work, because if I wasn’t in the office during duty hours, that could only mean that I was “inappropriately making money outside of the office.”
Among other restrictions, he also disallowed me to use my personal cell phone at work, because if I was on my phone, the perception was that I was doing business.
My life was evolving, and not everyone was supportive.
Perhaps the most uncomfortable part of self-improvement is how your relationships can start to change, sometimes in a negative way.
In extreme cases, your mindset shift may force some people out of your life completely. If so, it’s a hurdle that you’ll need to overcome.
Stay on course! Even if those around you don’t seem to understand your new-found desire for improvement and change, this is your journey, not theirs. And remember: discomfort is an inevitable part of growth.
Action
If you’re dealing with friction from others about your desire to improve or grow, write this down in a place you can see on the daily:
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” –Chinese Proverb
Question
How can you be supportive of someone in your life who is actively trying to improve?
See you next week,
Matt “Roar” Gardner
Real estate investor-agent, Author of Supersonic Real Estate: Light Your Afterburner to Accelerate Your Investor-Agent Career (Coming Soon!), and keynote speaker
