Today I want to share a principle that I am very passionate about; this principle drives everything that I do! The principle is that people thrive when they love what they do. I know that that sounds like it’s straight out of a cheesy self-help book. I’m not one of those gurus that believes you can wake up every morning with passion and excitement, and that if you don’t there’s something wrong with you. I don’t think that’s true. Just like a yo-yo has to go down in order to come back up, I think that sometimes we have to have bad days. I believe in the 82% rule: I think that about 82% of the time, you should be happy and enjoy your life.
All that being said, I know some of you are asking the question: do you really expect me to be passionate about appraising? The short answer is, yes. I do. You may not be passionate about everything you do as an appraiser, but you should be passionate about a part of what you do as an appraiser, at least.
Consider for a moment this question: if you could do anything in the world for work, money not being an issue, what would you do? Think seriously about it. There are, of course, some answers that are not realistic. It’s not likely that you could become an astronaut (although maybe some of you could). For me, if I could do anything in the world, it would be teaching. There’s a thrill that I get from preparing material, working with people to help them learn, and seeing their lives change as a result. That’s why I coach. When it comes to appraising, there are many parts that I don’t love (as there would be in any other job), but I do enjoy the inspections. The important thing is that I am able to enjoy enough of what I do that the rest of it is worth it.
If you want to truly be successful, consider if you are doing something that you can say you enjoy. You will find that you are happier and more resilient if you do. As a business owner, do your employees enjoy what they do? Are they passionate about some aspect of their work? If not, perhaps there’s a better place for them to be, either in your business or elsewhere. Your employees will be happier and more productive if they, like you, enjoy what they do.
For more information on this subject, please listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode:
