Ryan Holiday’s new book “Stillness is the Key”. This book explores the philosophy of Stoicism and the dichotomy of control. There will always be things in life that you can control and the things you cannot control.

In real estate, it can be frustrating when we perform an action and don’t see a result straight away. We may show 10 houses and not be able to write an offer on any of them, we may even have our contract rejected, we may go on an appointment and not get the listing; the point is that there are things that are outside our control. We need to detach from the things that are outside our control and pour energy into what we CAN control. We need to focus energy into the things we can do today. 

Holiday talks about the idea of “willful will” in the book. The premise is that if you try too hard and exert your will past the benefit of your will, you will fail. They teach in archery, that once the arrow leaves the bow, it is outside your control. Everything leading up to that arrow leaving is within your control, but the moment the arrow leaves the bow, let it go. Applying this to your real estate business is crucial. If you have too much willful will, you will drive yourself crazy. You will prevent yourself from mastering the art that you are pursuing. 

The stoic philosophy enters into the real estate business by recognizing that everything leading up to someone making a decision is up to us. Once we do the action, we have to detach. Keep the main thing, the main thing. Go control what you CAN control! Recognize when things become outside your control. Are you winning in what you can control?