Their Mediocrity is Your Opportunity

I remember letting go of my mom's hand when we hit the aisle and I saw them - so many options in front of me. 

It was new school supplies, and it was one of my favorite things to do!

I'm 10 years old. I'm standing there, and I'm thinking, "Hmm, which box of crayons has the most? Is it the big one?" 

You know, the one with 180 crayons in it or is it the little one with the bigger crayons? I look around and think, "Oh no, it's the markers!"

There is nothing like a marker just sliding across the paper. And sharpened pencils? Don’t even get me started!

I think about it like, what was it that little girl loved? 

Later, when I am a mom, I see it with my kids...the blank canvas and all of these options of what to put on it, what to create with it, what to draw with it!

As a mom of two boys, I get excited every single time we get to go do that. I think, "Do they realize there are crayons,180 of them?" 

"You could get all kinds of colors and markers, boys. Do you know how these slide across paper?"

I think about how exciting that is, that blank canvas, that creativity, where we can make whatever we want! 

I shared this story recently in my new keynote at Inman in Las Vegas and I wanted to share it with you here in our monthly newsletter and podcast, because I think it’s more important than ever before to remember - especially as an entrepreneur - you have a blank canvas in front of you. 

In a world (especially in real estate where things can feel so up in the air - the economy, interest rates, the NAR ruling, the election) a lot of it can feel out of our control. But as an entrepreneur, we have the power to control a lot of things. 

Control what you are putting out in the world. This is the beautiful thing about content creation and generating business through content. You attract what you put out in the world.  

As I said in my keynote it’s not one video, it’s creating a lot of videos; creating a body of work. The more we can see and hear you and your insight, the better. You are creating that body of work that works for YOU when you are ill or you have a family member who is ill, or you are on vacation or simply taking time off. 

 When I think of that blank canvas it reminds me a lot of why I love going to Disneyland...

We love going to Disney!

We are a Disney family and so every single time that we go, I'm always blown away by this place that Walt created. This place - this blank canvas that he saw and made everything we know of Disney today.

There were orange trees before in Anaheim, California, and he created all of this with his blank canvas to create whatever he wanted.

I remember being so surprised when I learned that he was 30 years into his career, before even thinking up Disneyland. 30 years! 

How many of you have evolved and iterated for the last 20 years in this business, have survived and thrived through all the things you've had for 30 years? 

I was also surprised to learn that at the time that he opened Disneyland, it wasn't like he thought of something no one ever thought of before. There were 20,000 amusement parks in the US, but they were known for being low quality and not operating well. This was his opportunity to shine!

And so what he did was something different. 

Walt Disney famously said, "Their mediocrity was our opportunity."

And I think about your opportunity to shine. You've got a lot to do in your business: marketing, serving clients, learning, getting your continuing education credits, continuing to advance your craft. We have all of these options in our effort to reach more people, to do more business, to sell more homes, and it's easy to think I'm too old for social media these days.

Guess what? They aren’t you. You aren’t too old and it’s not too late.

This is a message that is resonating with so many folks we speak to. It’s a common theme we will dive into at our November Vegas Mastermind event, our upcoming Repurposing Content Masterclass and our recent Canva Camp. Working smarter not harder and taking your content from good to great - that is the the name of the game!

Your voice - your unique voice and opinion matters especially when it comes to building a business in a time where there is uncertainty in the world. Take that uncertainty and dig into what you can control - creating a consistent content plan, taking your content to the next level by attending training and sharpening your saw, being intentional and focused and thinking beyond what is happening right now.

Great leaders have the ability to get done what needs to get done now and simultaneously look to the future and make decisions today that will affect their tomorrows.

As always in our podcast - it wouldn’t be a podcast episode if I didn’t share that I am right there with you. As we head into the end of summer, school right around the corner, the Fall upon us - I am excited for the opportunities ahead. 

Finally, I want to give a big thanks to Inman - we were recently nominated for an Inman Innovator Award for best podcast. Although we didn’t win, I was humbled to be a finalist and so incredibly grateful for your support!

 Until next time!

 - Katie

P.S. Prefer to listen? Click here to listen to this in podcast form. If this podcast resonates with you - the best thing you can do is give it a 5-star rating or share it on your social media channels!