September 13,2018
                   No. 225
Sometimes it’s hard to heed your own advice

It’s back! Ron’s (almost) weekly blog post.

You’ve been wondering where it was? Not seen it in your Inbox lately?

Okay, let me explain. In my life I end up doing quite a bit of advising/consulting/coaching. One thing I press really hard is being responsible: fulfilling your commitments, living up to people’s expectations, doing conscientiously what’s expected of you.

But I also emphasize maintaining balance, not over-committing (otherwise, how can you fulfill your commitments), looking after your own needs so that you don’t become overwhelmed.

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Well, mid-summer, I realized that the two principles were colliding head-on in my life.All three of my businesses were demanding too much, all at the same time. Curve-balls coming from all directions. Was a perfect storm building?

The big kicker was that my houseboat rental business took a major detour June 25 when a freak storm disabled the boat and it required major repairs. Insurance claims, repair contractors and delays, delays, delays, meant that, one by one, I had to cancel most of my rentals. In about half the cases I had to schedule and look after an alternative. Altogether, it meant about the same number of trips up to the Shuswap from the Fraser Valley as I would have had otherwise. But with more work and stress.

This coincided with a big uptick in the rent 2 own business. After many months of minimal results due to the crazy price escalation in the Fraser Valley, I had branched out into the interior: Kamloops, Merritt, and Salmon Arm areas. Suddenly, I had a plethora of quality applications come in from people who could actually afford the properties in those areas. By mid-summer, I was working on three home purchases simultaneously while also dealing with the sale of a property in the Fraser Valley.

Meanwhile, my adventure travel business, in its second season, was growing rapidly. And there were some growing pains.
Thankfully, staff were handling most of that. But I had responsibilities, too, and the more trips we ran (at one time we had four trips simultaneously), the more the pressure to stay on top of things.It being summer in BC (how can you beat that?), I’d also planned some away time, too, mostly on weekends. I would not sacrifice that entirely; life is just too short! Nor would I give up relationships; that is simply too important in life.

Something had to give! 

And then I realized what it was.

The blog post was not a commitment to anyone, except myself. Yes, people might have expectations, based on the regularity of its arrival. But I did not owe it to anyone to show up in their Inboxes. I was not being irresponsible by taking a break. It would be irresponsible to neglect self-care.

I took a break from the other (West Adventures) blog post, too (Ron’s Best West blog). And I scaled back my rent 2 own marketing while I dealt with the three deals to which I was already committed.

I survived August. Houseboat and Adventure travel seasons are gradually coming to an end. The blog post is back.

And I’m probably in better shape than I would have been if I hadn’t relieved the pressure somewhat.

Sometimes you just have to take a step back, look at your life from all directions, and do what’s best for yourself, despite your desire to live up to others’ expectations. In the long run, you’ll do a better job meeting their expectations, as well.

At least, that’s how I see it . . .

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Award-winning* Fraser Valley Rent 2 Own is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Rent to Own Professionals (www.CAROP.ca)
* winner of all-star awards, 2012, 2014, 2015 at the Rent 2 Own Summit.
Quote of the Week:When bored of sitting, move! When bored of moving, sit! Balance your life or there will remain neither moving nor sitting in your life but only falling!― Mehmet Murat ildan
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