Where were you on that fateful morning?
This is the question that gets asked this time of year. With such a big event in our generation that affected everyone you'll ever meet, it's something that we all remember. I can imagine it's similar to our grandparents generation when speaking about D-Day.
I was beginning my first day of school at ITT Technical Institute in Monroeville, PA. My Atlanta advertising career didn't turn out the way I imagined after the dot-com bubble burst and I found myself in the doldrums of life.
So I moved back home with my parents. My only goal at that time in life was to wait for my girlfriend to finish her master's degree at West Virginia University, a mere 1:15 minute drive away. This left time to pursue the career field of my father, computer science.After my first class, a teacher burst in the room and informed the professor of the tragic event. By second class, school was cancelled. Confusion ensued.
With no cell phone at the time, I got to the nearest pay phone in Monroeville Mall and tried reaching my future wife.
"I'm sorry. All lines are busy and we cannot complete your call." the recorded telephone lady said. The only time I ever remember that happening. Trying successfully the second time, we had a brief "love you" conversation before the mall cops started to shut down the place.
I jumped in my car, drove to a nearby parking lot, listened to the radio and ate my brown bag lunch. A warm turkey sandwich with cheese and some strawberry yogurt.
That was 11 years ago.
That was 11 years ago. Times have changed since then. My grandmother passed away while I was living at home (and I'm so thankful I was there to spend that time with my mother), I moved to Florida, finished school for a second time in Ft Lauderdale, got married, got a dog, ended my career at Gateway Computers and started my professional real estate technology career.
I gained a two sister-in-laws who married in and effortlessly provided endless entertainment with two neices and one nephew. I gain another two sister-in-laws and one brother-in-law, two parents-in-law and about 30 extended in-law family members (yes, seriously) when I got married.
More recently, I've lost my father after holding his unconscious hand in intensive care unit at Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, PA as the doctors struggled to figure out what was happening. I've lost a friend with terminal cancer after holding his unconscious hand in hospice Gardens Medical Center, as doctors only action was to ease the pain with a morphine drip cocktail.
I've gained a few pounds as my wife teaches me about enjoying life and her family teaches me that every half-way event is a celebration that requires preparation, appetizers, main course, side dishes and, of course, dessert.
I've started to use an iPhone after an assortment of defunct smartphone projects. Texting is the new form of preferred communication. Laptops were in, desktops are out. Tablets are in, laptops are out. Macs are in, Windows are out. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Google are all in. MySpace, Palm, Blockbuster, Kodak and Yahoo are all out.
I'm sure items in your life have changed as well and you might be able to relate to some of the events above. Your family situation has probably changed and your technology situation has definitely changed. It has for all of us.
How about your real estate situation?
How about your real estate situation? What's amazing to me it that I can watch a new born grow, learn to talk, learn to walk and go off to school with her peers faster than I can watch a real estate agent change the way they do business. I'm not sure why that is. It's probably the break neck speed of technology.
Take some time today to evaluate where you were that fateful morning. Think through all that has changed since that time. Then think through how you do real estate business. You may easily convince yourself that you need a change as well.
You may be able to learn something new. You might be able to add a portion to your marketing efforts that wasn't there in the past. You might be able to get a new polished web site or maybe an app to offer your clients in the AppStore. You may start blogging. Or become socially engaged through technology.
Take the evaluation today. Realize how much has changed over the past 11 years. Make a change for better. Who knows, 11 years from now you might look back and say that today was the day that everything changed.