How My Biggest Failures Became My Secret to Success

I’m standing in the middle of my home office, papers scattered everywhere after another failed attempt at consistent lead generation. It’s the early days of my career, and after spending the first half of the day struggling with inconsistent prospecting, I’ve just advised my first client to remove their inspection contingency before they’ve done their due diligence. The sinking feeling in my gut is unmistakable – I’ve failed, and not for the first time.

Failure is something I’ve become intimately familiar with over the years. In the beginning, I had no understanding of what it really took to maintain healthy habits that would set me up for success. My early career was marked by a lack of foresight and inconsistent practices, particularly when it came to prospecting. This inconsistency was one of my biggest professional failures, and it taught me invaluable lessons.

When I first started, I didn’t realize the importance of a robust system for protecting my prospecting efforts. I thought success would come naturally if I just kept at it. But without a solid foundation of habits, my efforts were sporadic at best. There were days when I didn’t even know what my next step should be, let alone how to achieve my long-term goals. It was only after repeatedly hitting brick walls that I began to understand the necessity of structure and routine.

On top of my disorganized schedule was the lack of preparing my clients for the process of buying real estate. One of the most glaring examples of my early missteps was with that first client. I advised them to remove their inspection contingency before they had completed their due diligence. That was a big no no. No one had taught me the proper order of things, and this error could have had serious repercussions because my client gave up their opportunity to inspect the property. Fortunately, my client was more understanding than others might have been, particularly because this was an investment property that needed fewer inspections than normal. Still, the incident shook my confidence and made me question my abilities. Negative thoughts flooded my mind: Am I worthy? What am I thinking? Am I good enough? Why can't I change my habits? Am I inadequate?