The familiar question… what do you want to be when you grow up? Well, what was your answer? Was it real estate?

Did you choose real estate, or did real estate choose you?

These past 12 months have been a dizzying roller coaster ride. Times when we've been so busy we can't think straight and begin to wonder why we chose this business. Times when we've been so idle and isolated we've wondered if we'll ever get to go back to work.

The ups and downs can make you question whether this is the career you dreamed about and wished for and expected. Is this what I planned to do when I grew up? 

I met a 78 year old man recently at our association clubhouse and in conversation learned his remarkable life story. He had just sold his automobile dealership after 30 years and was enjoying a vacation in Florida. He finished with this sentence, "Now I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up." And he wasn't saying it tongue-in-cheek. For him, "retirement" was not part of the game plan. It was on to the next adventure!

A little later in the evening, we were joined by a 19 year old, fresh out of high school. He was a very personable young man, still living at home, and recently unemployed. My new friend asked him, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" The youngster answered, "I don't know, and I wish people would stop asking me."

"Why do you wish people would stop asking you?"

"Because how am I supposed to know what I want to do when I grow up?"

"Well, what are you doing to figure it out?"

"Not much.” 

"I really like you, young man, and I know you didn't ask for my advice, but I'd like to offer you something it took me a long time to learn. May I?"

"Sure."

"Here it is. I learned that you can't figure out what you want to do when you grow up by staying home and doing nothing. You have to get out into the world, get a job, try a bunch of different jobs, and either you will find it, or it will find you. You grow up along the way, and that's how you figure it out."

Some of us chose real estate. Some of us were nudged into it. Some of us drifted into it. The point is, it doesn't matter how we got here. We're here and it's what we do. Let's not worry about what we're going to do when we grow up. Let's just grow up and enjoy the ride.

The Floyd Wickman Team Blog by Mike Pallin