with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 65:

Waiting for the End to Come

with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 65:

Waiting for the End to Come

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I haven't been sitting on my hands, waiting for the end to come. Have you? Have you been weighed down by the shackles you have placed on yourself, locked away safe and sound on self-imposed restrictions? Decide that you, your family, and your business are worth the suffering. Look closer, and you will see that you aren't suffering at all; you are the master of your fate and destiny. Find your fight, shatter the stories, and go after what you proclaimed for 2020.
What's Next?
  • ​Today is a day of celebration for me. I started my new 12-week Target book. 2 ½ weeks into the new year, we made the announcement, and that is when I started it. As I reflect and look through the notes of my accomplishments in January and February, it seems so long ago. It reinforces the fact that having an aim will allow us to stay on course. 
  • ​One question specifically I have had about the targets is what happens once you are done with the 12-week Target Book? You begin again with a new perspective and an action plan. Some may feel that once you finish the first 12 weeks, you have it all figured out. You are now able to see new opportunities. The point of the book is to continually increase our capacity and our perspective of what is possible in our lives. Not only in business but all facets of it, being enlightened daily.
  • ​Today’s topic is “Waiting for the End to Come.” As I look back on where I was when COVID-19 first hit our industry. We were given limitations of what we can and cannot do; many of us were able to move forward and produce normally. As a species, we will always be influenced by our surroundings and other people. Many in our industry lost track and shut down completely, losing track of what we can and cannot do. 
  • ​When we look at the news, we assume that one rule fits all, not realizing we were never actually shut down. Many of us have been operating like we were. There is an anticipation of when this virus dissipates; these are the things we will do. The action that you will take; it will open you up to not sit at home and wait for this to run its course. 
  • ​It reminds me of new agents going through school. There is so much anticipation of passing the test, putting all of their hope in life-changing completely once they get their license. It will open up opportunities for them and their family. They will have the freedoms they always desired and will no longer be working under certain rules or regulations. They will have complete control. 
  • ​The hope is fed daily as they study, facing the challenge of taking the test; some don't pass it and lose all hope. They anticipated that through studying, they would pass the first time around. A big percentage of individuals will quit at that point. All of their hopes and desires were relying on that one attempt. Others are relentless about the process, nearly exhausting themselves by repeatedly taking the test. They realized that the obstacles were merely starting. 
Subsiding to Circumstance
  • When we merely look at the task at hand and not see past that, they lose hope. They lose the drive that got them there, to begin with. Thousands of agents have their licenses just hanging because their biggest accomplishment was in passing the test. By the time they get their license, they are mentally exhausted by the task of passing the test. 
  • ​I finally had the opportunity to read a book that I purchased on Audible over a year ago. The book is written by Victor Frankl, and is called “Man's Search for Meaning.” It is one of the most interesting and horrific books I have ever read. Horrific in what one man is capable of doing to another. It is based on the Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany and about the survivors, what they had to do, and what they had to overcome. The vast majority didn't overcome; they subsided to the circumstance, which was horrible. 
  • ​It was unbearable for many, and they perished. The author, who was one of the survivors, told the story of what it was like to live in the Concentration Camp. He began to notice how mindset was a significant component in those who made it and those who perished. He made comparisons of how more people would die under specific terms; between Christmas and New Year, there were more deaths. During the entire year, the prisoners had the mindset that by Christmas, they would be home. As those days grew closer, they would perish. When things didn't go their way, they would ultimately lose their lives; they couldn't suffer any longer.
  • ​Not to compare that situation to what I am about to say, but many of us have been sitting on our hands during this time. The outside has influenced us, and the reports that this would be the greatest disease on humankind. The COVID-19 would wipe the vast majority of the population out. Time has gone by, and there has been very little truth to that. There are reports that healthy people perished; consider that we don't know the mental health of many individuals. 
  • ​People who have been destined to die have overcome the obstacles. Personal friends of mine that were told they had a month left to live have overcome their impending demise. They changed their mindset about what was possible for themselves. As I began to consider where we are in real estate, and the accomplishments I achieved during the last three months, it made me think about my mindset. It has been forged through years of suffering. Suffering is part of living life, and sheltering is not. It is not part of our nature, and when we shelter, we begin to decompose. 
  • ​Our ambitions and goals die with them. I started to look at my patterns the very day that restrictions were put onto us. As many began to become desperate and fearful, I made a point to show up daily; because of the suffering, I endured many years prior. I would not be afraid, shut down, or sit there and suffer. 
Don't Get Stuck In “What Was”
  • I put out a post several weeks ago, and someone said that this was the time when your actions make it seem that you are moving at double the speed. To them, I was moving double-time during other individuals' time of inaction. I replied that I was sticking to the game plan; it only appears that I am moving double the speed. 
  • ​That is what happens when we have a conviction to keep going despite the duress that surrounds us. This cannot, in any way, compare to the suffering people have gone through. It reinforces that it is up to us, and it will always be your actions during a time of suffering that ultimately determines what your life will be. 
  • ​I have documented my actions during what people and society now claim is significant suffering to our country. It was a decision, a decision I made not to sit there and wait for the end to come. Those of you that are experiencing great results now appreciate that about yourself. Realize that the surrounding circumstances didn't influence the actions within you.
  • ​It is hard at times to get going, especially as deals fall through, and leads begin to slow. The individuals that are growing their businesses right now, there is an understanding and sense that suffering is a part of life. We can't wait and merely sit around waiting for it to end. Sitting and hoping that once this is over, things will progress as you wanted them too. 
  • ​Victor Frankl said in this book that people would lose their sense of meaning and lives when all they did was think about how life used to be. I have heard that conversation numerous times. How before this, business was so good, and how 2020 was supposed to be the best year ever. Their deals fell through, and now they are stuck in this place of how life used to be. You need to understand that in suffering, there is opportunity; if you are stuck in what once was, you will miss out on them. 
  • ​You are failing to see how life is now, and the opportunity there is now. That is the approach we have to take now, not when a mandate may or may not come on May 1st; whenever they feel it is the right time for you to be safe. You will be like the thousands of agents that sit there and focus only on passing the test. You will have a rude awakening when you realize it was only the beginning of the obstacles needed to overcome. 
  • ​We are not going to sit back and wish for things to be as they once were. Or, how great it will be once the restrictions are lifted. Ultimately, we have the freedom to do all of those things now. If you are stuck in what used to be, consider what you would be doing during that time. If you are waiting for what can be, think about the actions you will be taking then and simply apply them now. There are zero restrictions on running your business. 
  • ​Don't use the excuses everyone else is using or the restrictions of others, and put them on yourself. We have never been impacted that way, yet many are operating from a place that they were. It is all about our attitude. 
Don't Succumb To The Suffering
  • The 12-week Target way is a beautiful way to document your life, for you to understand that you have an aim to go after. Victor, as a doctor, would go around and see the patients around the Concentration Camp. He had many opportunities to escape but decided to stay with his patients. He had a bigger purpose for himself there; to give others aim and something to live for. 
  • ​When we are in a hopeless, helpless state, we will succumb; your business will succumb. Your overall and ambition will all succumb, so we must have aim. That is something that we control 100%. He mentioned something about fate being your master; many believe that. He was pretty clear about how we are the masters of our fate. The only thing that changes that is our actions during the time we believe that fate is our master; the actions will ultimately determine where you will be three months from now. 
  • ​I am here to remind you that you have that aim. Don't hold back right now or anymore. Do the things that were never taken from you, but we assumed they were. Open Houses were never taken away from us. The assumption is that we are not allowed to do Open Houses. Assumptions are made that buyers don't want to buy, and sellers don't want to sell. Statistically, there are several thousand buyers that want to buy and several thousand sellers that have sold. 
  • ​This is the time when you need to determine if you are in line with your goals and begin to do the things that were never taken from you. We have to modify the way we do a few things; we have to be aware and responsible; nothing was ever taken from you. This is our time to thrive because this is not suffering. Not compared to what I have been through personally. I have never felt more confident in my abilities to problem solve and overcome as I do today. 
  • ​I refuse to cower and compare this to the suffering I have been through. There is no comparison, but I have been reminded that it is all about my mindset. The moment I fight, I will always overcome it. The moment I am stuck in suffering, I will succumb to the circumstances. That is the major point he was making in this book: your mindset and your decision to fight, to find meaning, to find opportunity in the suffering. 
In Closing
  • When I was 17 years old, I was a victim of a drive-by shooting at a house party. I was bleeding out, and my life was at the end. It is hard to think about. A major artery was hit, and I was going to bleed out. Something within me decided to fight; I wasn't going out that way. I knew that it wasn't supposed to end this way. The moment I decided that my circumstances were not going to be my fate, that I was going to dictate my fate, my mind shifted. Promises were made, and just like that, things changed. 
  • ​Suddenly someone was stopping the flow of blood from leaving my body. I could have easily given in and decided that my life was a good run. Just like all of those individuals that we're able to overcome significant obstacles, it was a decision in their minds. All of the survivors that got through the horrific Concentration Camps, it was how they navigated through the suffering. 
  • ​What we are experiencing right now is very little in comparison. There is no comparison. In any suffering or obstacle, there is one thing that will change that. It is your attitude. What is your attitude right now? Are you defeated? This is nothing. This is not a big obstacle, and you need to look at it as it is. You have the capacity, the experience, and have endured great suffering. Why aren't you killing it right now? Maybe you are, and maybe you have more within you. This is where we rise.
  • ​We aren't going to wait for the end to come because we are the masters of our fate; we decide that. Not an outside influence or a mandate by the state; you need to determine when it ends, and release the shackles that have held you. Today, you have a single task. You have been thinking about how things used to be, and could be; take it and see what you could be doing. What would you have been doing if things would have stayed the same, or what you will be doing once the shackles are released; apply them today because they will work. 
  • ​The rewards will be greater than what they would have been in the past or what they will look like in the future. This is where we find the opportunity. I highly recommend this book, Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl, which is unbelievable, and I am only scratching the surface. He mentions how you have to be worthy of your sufferings. Are you worthy of your suffering? I thought that was huge because when we decide to fight, we decide we are worth our suffering. I didn't even question that when the market began to turn. I knew I was worthy of the suffering; I was going to put on my armor, hold my head up high, and take action. 
  • ​Has this pandemic been used as an excuse for many? I think it has. You need to decide if you are worth the suffering? The decision alone can't forge the course, the actions behind it will. Proclaim and then fight not allowing excuses to overwhelm you. There will be some grave consequences from all of this unless you decide. Think about a great obstacle that you have overcome until you choose not to perish. I chose not to perish at 17 years old and decided to fight. 
  • ​Every big obstacle you have endured, there has been that decision-making moment; you proclaim that you are the master of your fate. Things change. We all can fight; it's a decision followed by action. We are self imprisoned due to the decisions made by others; all we have had to do is modify how we do what we do. Nothing has changed. 
  • ​Take precautions but build rapport. No one has told any of us to stop. Those that have decided that they are worth their suffering are benefiting greatly. Many of our agents are in that place, but if you are not, I need you to lift those shackles off of yourself and get back into the game. The game that has been proven to work. 
  • ​I am starting my next 12 weeks, and I can't wait to read it three months from now. It's a decision where the suffering never comes into question; you know you are worth it. We are going to strap on the armor and make the decision to fight and not cower. We have to have a deep appreciation for ourselves. The suffering I have gone through, my family is worth it. My mindset and how I feel about myself, growth, and ambitions are worth it. I never wavered, I kept moving forward. I have been able to do so much, and it is only beginning. 
  • ​We have two more big announcements, and I am so appreciative to be able to move forward regardless of the circumstances. I am the master of my fate and of my destiny. The same quote I put on my door as a kid, lives to this day. It was made more clear to me after reading this book by Victor Frankl. 
  • ​I hope that this conversation inspires you to take the necessary actions; we have that opportunity today in suffering. The self-imposed shackles will be released. I want to see you out there marketing, showing your energy. People need to see and hear that from you. Let's not wait for the end to come, because we create the beginning every..single..day.

More Episodes

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I haven't been sitting on my hands, waiting for the end to come. Have you? Have you been weighed down by the shackles you have placed on yourself, locked away safe and sound on self-imposed restrictions? Decide that you, your family, and your business are worth the suffering. Look closer, and you will see that you aren't suffering at all; you are the master of your fate and destiny. Find your fight, shatter the stories, and go after what you proclaimed for 2020.
What's Next?
  • ​Today is a day of celebration for me. I started my new 12-week Target book. 2 ½ weeks into the new year, we made the announcement, and that is when I started it. As I reflect and look through the notes of my accomplishments in January and February, it seems so long ago. It reinforces the fact that having an aim will allow us to stay on course. 
  • ​One question specifically I have had about the targets is what happens once you are done with the 12-week Target Book? You begin again with a new perspective and an action plan. Some may feel that once you finish the first 12 weeks, you have it all figured out. You are now able to see new opportunities. The point of the book is to continually increase our capacity and our perspective of what is possible in our lives. Not only in business but all facets of it, being enlightened daily.
  • ​Today’s topic is “Waiting for the End to Come.” As I look back on where I was when COVID-19 first hit our industry. We were given limitations of what we can and cannot do; many of us were able to move forward and produce normally. As a species, we will always be influenced by our surroundings and other people. Many in our industry lost track and shut down completely, losing track of what we can and cannot do. 
  • ​When we look at the news, we assume that one rule fits all, not realizing we were never actually shut down. Many of us have been operating like we were. There is an anticipation of when this virus dissipates; these are the things we will do. The action that you will take; it will open you up to not sit at home and wait for this to run its course. 
  • ​It reminds me of new agents going through school. There is so much anticipation of passing the test, putting all of their hope in life-changing completely once they get their license. It will open up opportunities for them and their family. They will have the freedoms they always desired and will no longer be working under certain rules or regulations. They will have complete control. 
  • ​The hope is fed daily as they study, facing the challenge of taking the test; some don't pass it and lose all hope. They anticipated that through studying, they would pass the first time around. A big percentage of individuals will quit at that point. All of their hopes and desires were relying on that one attempt. Others are relentless about the process, nearly exhausting themselves by repeatedly taking the test. They realized that the obstacles were merely starting. 
Subsiding to Circumstance
  • When we merely look at the task at hand and not see past that, they lose hope. They lose the drive that got them there, to begin with. Thousands of agents have their licenses just hanging because their biggest accomplishment was in passing the test. By the time they get their license, they are mentally exhausted by the task of passing the test. 
  • ​I finally had the opportunity to read a book that I purchased on Audible over a year ago. The book is written by Victor Frankl, and is called “Man's Search for Meaning.” It is one of the most interesting and horrific books I have ever read. Horrific in what one man is capable of doing to another. It is based on the Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany and about the survivors, what they had to do, and what they had to overcome. The vast majority didn't overcome; they subsided to the circumstance, which was horrible. 
  • ​It was unbearable for many, and they perished. The author, who was one of the survivors, told the story of what it was like to live in the Concentration Camp. He began to notice how mindset was a significant component in those who made it and those who perished. He made comparisons of how more people would die under specific terms; between Christmas and New Year, there were more deaths. During the entire year, the prisoners had the mindset that by Christmas, they would be home. As those days grew closer, they would perish. When things didn't go their way, they would ultimately lose their lives; they couldn't suffer any longer.
  • ​Not to compare that situation to what I am about to say, but many of us have been sitting on our hands during this time. The outside has influenced us, and the reports that this would be the greatest disease on humankind. The COVID-19 would wipe the vast majority of the population out. Time has gone by, and there has been very little truth to that. There are reports that healthy people perished; consider that we don't know the mental health of many individuals. 
  • ​People who have been destined to die have overcome the obstacles. Personal friends of mine that were told they had a month left to live have overcome their impending demise. They changed their mindset about what was possible for themselves. As I began to consider where we are in real estate, and the accomplishments I achieved during the last three months, it made me think about my mindset. It has been forged through years of suffering. Suffering is part of living life, and sheltering is not. It is not part of our nature, and when we shelter, we begin to decompose. 
  • ​Our ambitions and goals die with them. I started to look at my patterns the very day that restrictions were put onto us. As many began to become desperate and fearful, I made a point to show up daily; because of the suffering, I endured many years prior. I would not be afraid, shut down, or sit there and suffer. 
Don't Get Stuck In “What Was”
  • I put out a post several weeks ago, and someone said that this was the time when your actions make it seem that you are moving at double the speed. To them, I was moving double-time during other individuals' time of inaction. I replied that I was sticking to the game plan; it only appears that I am moving double the speed. 
  • ​That is what happens when we have a conviction to keep going despite the duress that surrounds us. This cannot, in any way, compare to the suffering people have gone through. It reinforces that it is up to us, and it will always be your actions during a time of suffering that ultimately determines what your life will be. 
  • ​I have documented my actions during what people and society now claim is significant suffering to our country. It was a decision, a decision I made not to sit there and wait for the end to come. Those of you that are experiencing great results now appreciate that about yourself. Realize that the surrounding circumstances didn't influence the actions within you.
  • ​It is hard at times to get going, especially as deals fall through, and leads begin to slow. The individuals that are growing their businesses right now, there is an understanding and sense that suffering is a part of life. We can't wait and merely sit around waiting for it to end. Sitting and hoping that once this is over, things will progress as you wanted them too. 
  • ​Victor Frankl said in this book that people would lose their sense of meaning and lives when all they did was think about how life used to be. I have heard that conversation numerous times. How before this, business was so good, and how 2020 was supposed to be the best year ever. Their deals fell through, and now they are stuck in this place of how life used to be. You need to understand that in suffering, there is opportunity; if you are stuck in what once was, you will miss out on them. 
  • ​You are failing to see how life is now, and the opportunity there is now. That is the approach we have to take now, not when a mandate may or may not come on May 1st; whenever they feel it is the right time for you to be safe. You will be like the thousands of agents that sit there and focus only on passing the test. You will have a rude awakening when you realize it was only the beginning of the obstacles needed to overcome. 
  • ​We are not going to sit back and wish for things to be as they once were. Or, how great it will be once the restrictions are lifted. Ultimately, we have the freedom to do all of those things now. If you are stuck in what used to be, consider what you would be doing during that time. If you are waiting for what can be, think about the actions you will be taking then and simply apply them now. There are zero restrictions on running your business. 
  • ​Don't use the excuses everyone else is using or the restrictions of others, and put them on yourself. We have never been impacted that way, yet many are operating from a place that they were. It is all about our attitude. 
Don't Succumb To The Suffering
  • The 12-week Target way is a beautiful way to document your life, for you to understand that you have an aim to go after. Victor, as a doctor, would go around and see the patients around the Concentration Camp. He had many opportunities to escape but decided to stay with his patients. He had a bigger purpose for himself there; to give others aim and something to live for. 
  • ​When we are in a hopeless, helpless state, we will succumb; your business will succumb. Your overall and ambition will all succumb, so we must have aim. That is something that we control 100%. He mentioned something about fate being your master; many believe that. He was pretty clear about how we are the masters of our fate. The only thing that changes that is our actions during the time we believe that fate is our master; the actions will ultimately determine where you will be three months from now. 
  • ​I am here to remind you that you have that aim. Don't hold back right now or anymore. Do the things that were never taken from you, but we assumed they were. Open Houses were never taken away from us. The assumption is that we are not allowed to do Open Houses. Assumptions are made that buyers don't want to buy, and sellers don't want to sell. Statistically, there are several thousand buyers that want to buy and several thousand sellers that have sold. 
  • ​This is the time when you need to determine if you are in line with your goals and begin to do the things that were never taken from you. We have to modify the way we do a few things; we have to be aware and responsible; nothing was ever taken from you. This is our time to thrive because this is not suffering. Not compared to what I have been through personally. I have never felt more confident in my abilities to problem solve and overcome as I do today. 
  • ​I refuse to cower and compare this to the suffering I have been through. There is no comparison, but I have been reminded that it is all about my mindset. The moment I fight, I will always overcome it. The moment I am stuck in suffering, I will succumb to the circumstances. That is the major point he was making in this book: your mindset and your decision to fight, to find meaning, to find opportunity in the suffering. 
In Closing
  • When I was 17 years old, I was a victim of a drive-by shooting at a house party. I was bleeding out, and my life was at the end. It is hard to think about. A major artery was hit, and I was going to bleed out. Something within me decided to fight; I wasn't going out that way. I knew that it wasn't supposed to end this way. The moment I decided that my circumstances were not going to be my fate, that I was going to dictate my fate, my mind shifted. Promises were made, and just like that, things changed. 
  • ​Suddenly someone was stopping the flow of blood from leaving my body. I could have easily given in and decided that my life was a good run. Just like all of those individuals that we're able to overcome significant obstacles, it was a decision in their minds. All of the survivors that got through the horrific Concentration Camps, it was how they navigated through the suffering. 
  • ​What we are experiencing right now is very little in comparison. There is no comparison. In any suffering or obstacle, there is one thing that will change that. It is your attitude. What is your attitude right now? Are you defeated? This is nothing. This is not a big obstacle, and you need to look at it as it is. You have the capacity, the experience, and have endured great suffering. Why aren't you killing it right now? Maybe you are, and maybe you have more within you. This is where we rise.
  • ​We aren't going to wait for the end to come because we are the masters of our fate; we decide that. Not an outside influence or a mandate by the state; you need to determine when it ends, and release the shackles that have held you. Today, you have a single task. You have been thinking about how things used to be, and could be; take it and see what you could be doing. What would you have been doing if things would have stayed the same, or what you will be doing once the shackles are released; apply them today because they will work. 
  • ​The rewards will be greater than what they would have been in the past or what they will look like in the future. This is where we find the opportunity. I highly recommend this book, Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl, which is unbelievable, and I am only scratching the surface. He mentions how you have to be worthy of your sufferings. Are you worthy of your suffering? I thought that was huge because when we decide to fight, we decide we are worth our suffering. I didn't even question that when the market began to turn. I knew I was worthy of the suffering; I was going to put on my armor, hold my head up high, and take action. 
  • ​Has this pandemic been used as an excuse for many? I think it has. You need to decide if you are worth the suffering? The decision alone can't forge the course, the actions behind it will. Proclaim and then fight not allowing excuses to overwhelm you. There will be some grave consequences from all of this unless you decide. Think about a great obstacle that you have overcome until you choose not to perish. I chose not to perish at 17 years old and decided to fight. 
  • ​Every big obstacle you have endured, there has been that decision-making moment; you proclaim that you are the master of your fate. Things change. We all can fight; it's a decision followed by action. We are self imprisoned due to the decisions made by others; all we have had to do is modify how we do what we do. Nothing has changed. 
  • ​Take precautions but build rapport. No one has told any of us to stop. Those that have decided that they are worth their suffering are benefiting greatly. Many of our agents are in that place, but if you are not, I need you to lift those shackles off of yourself and get back into the game. The game that has been proven to work. 
  • ​I am starting my next 12 weeks, and I can't wait to read it three months from now. It's a decision where the suffering never comes into question; you know you are worth it. We are going to strap on the armor and make the decision to fight and not cower. We have to have a deep appreciation for ourselves. The suffering I have gone through, my family is worth it. My mindset and how I feel about myself, growth, and ambitions are worth it. I never wavered, I kept moving forward. I have been able to do so much, and it is only beginning. 
  • ​We have two more big announcements, and I am so appreciative to be able to move forward regardless of the circumstances. I am the master of my fate and of my destiny. The same quote I put on my door as a kid, lives to this day. It was made more clear to me after reading this book by Victor Frankl. 
  • ​I hope that this conversation inspires you to take the necessary actions; we have that opportunity today in suffering. The self-imposed shackles will be released. I want to see you out there marketing, showing your energy. People need to see and hear that from you. Let's not wait for the end to come, because we create the beginning every..single..day.

More Episodes

A.Z. & Associates Real Estate Group - 2019