As I stood for the first time after surgery on my Achilles tendon last week, you want to know the first thing I realized: I should have been practicing standing on one foot over the weeks leading up to the surgery.
Boy, did that fact come rushing to my mind. I had been lifting weights. I had been getting my house in order. I had searched the Internet for remedies. I had read everything I could on improving my rehab experience. But, I had not thought of how difficult it would be to balance myself on my left foot - or face falling.
See that's the issue. It's not that "well if you don't balance yourself on your left foot, you can just put your right foot down." Oh no. No weight bearing on your right foot means if you do put it down to catch yourself, you risk ruining the surgery and starting over again. Or it means you fall.
I couldn't believe it. None of these experts ever mentioned this one rather simple yet critically important point. Nowhere, not online, not in the books, or none the three surgeons I interviewed and my regular doctor ever mentioned it. Nor did the physical therapist I consulted. No one mentioned it and I didn't think of it.
The point: That's too bad. Otherwise, I would have practiced. I would have prepared. I would have learned. I would have done what was necessary; especially under the circumstances that it would be the foot I would spend the next six weeks on.
The real point: I wish someone would have told me, warned me, and encouraged me to get ready.
The point I really want you to understand: It doesn't matter. I get to deal with it. Even if someone had warned me, told me, cautioned me, even trained me, I am the one that gets to deal with it. Me. No one else.
As you know, you are the only person that can or will handle and overcome the issues that you face.
Even if you have taken the sound, tried and true, advice available in the Road Map To Success With Agents. Regardless of whether you listen to Brian Sacks or become a member of CMPS and become an expert in the mortgage business, you are still going to be the one person that lies awake at night, that faces the real life issues, and that overcomes every issue that you face or will face you in the future.
Just like me, you know what, you can overcome. You can make it. You may even fall. I have.
Just get up. Dust yourself off. Decide to start again. Decide you would rather fall again, again, and yes, even another time than never get back up.
I encourage you to get as far away from the negative folks as you can. Figuratively, they are the ones lying down around you when you fall. But, somehow, they are never the ones to catch you and they are always the ones that try to talk you into lying there and not trying again.
You must stay positive.
You must build yourself up.
You must overcome.
You can. You can. You can. You can.
Even if you have to learn to stand on one foot - then that's just what you will have to do.
To receive more encouraging and uplifting messages from Joel, as well as instruction that you need to grow your business in this climate, visit
