A Better Way

Running a professional home inspection business can be a lot of fun, but it can also be the source of a lot of personal grief. All too often, we find ourselves stuck in a rut, dealing with (seemingly) the same problems over and over again. Too many times, we’re replaying the same day in our minds, following the same well-worn path of problems in our business.

There’s got to be a better way.

Without realizing it, the things we do are often the reason that we’re having so many troubles. As humans are wont to do, most of the time we find ourselves taking the easy way out. We reason that things have worked out pretty well so far, so we just keep doing the same thing we’ve always done. We don’t go out of our way to learn something new, to try something different, or to see how our clients would react to us doing something out of the ordinary.

We just keep doing the same thing and we’re really not sure why. Maybe it’s a fear of the unknown. Maybe we’re hesitant to go out on a limb, to take a different approach, to be the one who steps out from the crowd because we’re afraid of drawing attention to ourselves. We’re terrified of the spotlight. We’re frightened of what might happen if something goes wrong, or maybe we’re scared that something might actually go right.

We may not be getting exactly the results that we’re hoping for, but we reason that what we are getting is sufficient. We’re not doing the best inspection we can, but it’s good enough for now. We don’t produce the best report, but it serves the purpose. Our customers might not be as satisfied as they could be, but we’re getting paid. We might have more problems than we’d like to, but we’re managing just fine. We can deal with the fallout; we’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again, we say.

Really?

There’s got to be a better way.

You can’t just keep putting yourself in this dysfunctional situation and then processing your reaction… Why are you spending your time and attention this way in the first place?

Sam Harris

If we’d stop for just a minute to think about what it is we’re doing, it’s likely we’d see the error of our ways. But that’s just it: we don’t have time to stop (or so we believe.) We’re simply too busy to refine our process. We don’t have enough time to sit through another class, to read a book, or to listen to a podcast. We’re already so busy, trying to get though our overscheduled day in one piece, how could we possibly add in something more?

That’s the thing, isn’t it? We think we’re already too busy doing all the things we do that keep us occupied. When we really stop to think about it, how much of the stuff that we’re doing is really necessary? Do we really need to stop off for that drink, or would that time be better spent upgrading our inspection template? Is mindlessly scrolling through social media really a better use of our time than learning something new about the inspection process? Should watching another rerun of our favorite TV show really take precedence over improving the way we run our business?

We live in an amazing time, with the entire knowledge of mankind literally at our fingertips. Unfortunately, we usually find ourselves falling victim to our base desires, taking the easy way out when it comes to deciding how to best use our time. We’re much more likely to waste it watching videos on TikTok than we are to use our phone to better our mind.

There is a better way. It’s quite likely that we already know exactly what it is we SHOULD be doing. The hard part is figuring out how to motivate ourselves to do it.

The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.

Jordan Belfort

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Thanks, Joe