I attended our company’s virtual conference last week, a networking and learning convention for professionals in Real Estate. This is the second one that I attended. The first one, which took place in the Fall, was fairly helpful to me: Realtors® shared their experiences, executives presented market reports, and colleagues nationwide networked with one another over the course of the three-day conference. While I appreciated the experience as a newbie to the industry, at its finish, I logged off in somewhat of a glazed-over daze.
Six months later, the second conference took place. Having gotten my feet wet by now, things sunk in differently and I realized that I understood far more of the material being presented. I could relate to more people, information made more sense to me, and I was able to connect with a few agents in similar shoes as me. However, one speaker in particular really resonated with me. Her name is Molly Fletcher and her message was powerful: curate a mindset of curiosity, resilience and boldness. Believe in your ability to evolve.
Rewind one year. What on Earth is a “Coronavirus?” This too shall pass; the media is blowing this up. Why are commuters wearing masks on the Red Line? That’s so dramatic! Boston is so clean, we’ll be fine. The next day, I found myself sitting at my desk, working in entertainment promotions at the time, surrounded by my coworkers for, which I now realize, was the last time. Then the email came in: “Beginning tomorrow, we’ll resume work remotely from home. Feel free to head home early to avoid the afternoon rush hour.” Woohoo, early dismissal!
The next day: Boston shut down. Two weeks later: a furlough halted my full-time job. A week after that: non-essential store closures took away my part-time weekend job. Wait, what? This is insane. I am Patrick: I need to be doing things – and now I’m sitting at home in quarantine, twiddling my thumbs waiting for things to open back up to get back to the grind, allegedly two weeks later. Before I knew it I was signing up for streaming services I didn’t need, having a mimosa (or two) with breakfast every morning, baking banana bread once a week, and trying various DIY projects that I saw on Instagram or Pinterest. I built a kitchen island out of a console table, for crying out loud! I’m actually pretty proud of that, though.
Don’t get me wrong, that extra $600 on my unemployment check was pretty sick. I could pay my bills, so I wasn’t stressed. But after two months of no work – no “purpose” – it began to bother me. One can only do so much gardening, household chores, and experimental cooking before it gets old. What can I actually do? Coincidentally, a colleague soon reached out to me with an opportunity. “Patrick, there’s a shop on the North Shore that needs a new website and an online store to save the business. Can you help them?” Bingo, I’m in.
It kept me busy for months! I was so grateful to use my brain again (plus, have some extra cash flow). I built a new website, built out her social media pages and overall, saved the business from going under. Her shop survived because of me! Soon after that, my boss at my part-time weekend job reached out to me with the same project. In short, we launched a brand-new online store that not only helped the business pull through the pandemic, but is now a leading source of sales. I can’t tell you how gratifying that is. Everything was going great!
But with every high, there was a low, it seemed. An extended furlough. Multiple deaths in the family. Friends contracting the virus. Hell, even I eventually fell victim to the virus. Guess I should have worn my mask on the Red Line. Summer was nice, I must admit. I saw more of my friends and family than I ever normally would have – outdoor cookouts, random beach days on a Tuesday, day trips to hike in the mountains. I had all the time in the world, which is why I finally decided to bite the bullet and enroll in a Real Estate course. The industry had always peaked my interest and I knew I was going to try it one day, so why not now? Deep down, I secretly knew my time in entertainment and promotions may be over. COVID-19 totally wiped that industry, and many others, to the ground and the lingering fear of a layoff haunted me on a daily basis.
I studied my bum off all summer long: completed my course, scheduled my exam, and passed on the first attempt. HELL YEAH. Things were looking up. A friend of mine admired my motivation and told me about a job opening up in Boston: Operations Manager at a Real Estate firm, where I’d act as the Marketing Manager for the agency and Transaction Coordinator to the agents. A foot in the door! This would be perfect for me. I interviewed, followed up, and got offered the job. Boom, making moves.
Present day: here I am. Six months in, going strong, and I’m so appreciative of my journey. I love it. It's difficult, but I love it. The tables have turned now, too. On top of managing day-to-day operations at Great Spaces, I'm adding value to myself as I build my own brand, my own business this time, as a licensed agent. They don't teach you that in class: it's up to you to solidify your own foundation for success; budgets, marketing strategies, repertoires, and contacts. It takes months - sometimes years - to get off the ground.
What’s my point, exactly? A lot of the time, I don’t know where I’m going, but I promise it won’t be boring (thanks, David Bowie). It’s so important not to lose touch with yourself. What are your areas of weakness, and how can you draw out your strengths to counteract those weaknesses? How can you build yourself stronger by adding value to the lives of others - and ultimately, yourself? When your world seemingly (and literally) shuts down, and your daily routines and structures are stripped of you, activate your survival mode. You are valuable, you are capable. I am valuable, I am capable.
On that note, I leave you with this quote from Molly Fletcher, Entrepreneur and Motivational Speaker:
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