In April, I came back into the mortgage business after taking four months off to do chemotherapy and deal with the death of my mother. The Mortgage business and real estate in general has been so very good to many members of my family over the last several decades.
In the last few years, we have seen things revert back to the way they were when I first got into the business.
You know: fully documented loans with extra documentation at the whim of the underwriter, appraisal question and answer sessions that may or may not result in an extra appraisal or even a dead deal...that kind of stuff. In short we went from lower stress to REALLY stressful in a matter of months.
Stress: is a killer.
In the last 12 years of living with cancer, I have found that when I get stressed out: my tumors grow. It is just the way it has been. Tumors are not scary to me, but when they start affecting how my organs are functioning or cutting off blood supply: they get scary really quick.
SO: Stress = scary tumors.
Not everyone gets to have this "stress barometer" and I consider it a "special power" that I have to keep me from allowing me to get too stressed for too long. In fact: to go 3-4 years without treatments with the type of cancer I have is really pretty good.
Needless to say, this year has been a great time for me to reflect again on why I am in the business in the first place.
Money? Not really. Working for a national brand (benefits y'all) for the last 10 years has been excellent for my family, but the compensation is not nearly what it would have been working for myself.
Fame? Right. How many of us have fame beyond the supermarket or gym where we are lucky enough to run into a handful of people we know each time we go there?
Respect? Maybe some. I respect myself at the way we have been able to deliver our services over the last 10 years with my team, but I don't seem to get nearly as much respect for what I do after the mortgage meltdown of a few years ago. (Guilt by association, right? Though: I didn't write a single sub-prime or negative amortized loan.)
I have got to say that the primary reason I do what I do is for a sense of CONNECTION. I feel connected to my partners and clients. I feel connected to my community and IN my community. I get a chance to help the RIGHT people connect with homes who are taking advantage of the ridiculously low interest rates and property values right now.
Reason two is Innovation. Since I was a child, I have enjoyed making things better. From renovation projects to helping people repair their credit score: I like to IMPROVE things or help others improve things.
Improving delivery despite the mortgage finance environment is actually why I have created the "Premium Service Delivery Platform(tm)" and have been very excited to start coaching others to add it into their business.
SO yes: I DO like this. Connecting to why I like this has been a challenge at times, but it is always there like a beacon to refer back to...or some sort of spark plug that continually ignites my passion for helping others.
Fortunately for me, my health outlook is good. I want to stay healthy and I feel that if I can connect with my purpose and help others do the same: I will be taken care of.
What is your spark plug? Like a spark plug ignites the explosion that is harnessed to power a gas engine, your purpose becomes that little thing that can keep you going.
How many reasons as you can think of for connecting to your business? If you can't think of any for your current business: what are some reasons to connect to a different one?
Cheers,
Chad
--
Chad Schauers
Montana Mortgage Lender, Bozeman, Montana
Personal Cell: 406 799 8613
Personal Email: metchad@gmail.com
