A very small portion of humanity has the discipline and the determination to take massive action on their personal goals and dreams when life is moderately good or better. On the other hand, a person who feels there’s no more time to waste and their back is against the wall, is much more likely to take massive action. Human nature is to feel good and be comfortable. Most of us like some balance of success and achievement mixed with fun and relaxation. However, this is much easier to wish for than to accomplish.
At the time of writing this post, my back is against the wall. Six months ago, I had a really good job as the Director of Sales for a successful local home builder. I had a decent base salary and good monthly and quarterly bonuses. The year before was my highest income in many years. The home building economy was very strong, and as a company, we were selling homes fast and raising prices higher each month. I enjoyed my job in hiring, developing, and coaching our sales team. My time spent in the main office on operations and management needs were not my favorite part of the job, but overall I really enjoyed my work.
Then about six and a half months ago, the owner of the company asked to meet with me. He hired me from financial services, where I had been the Director of Sales for a fortune 500 company. This home builder took quite the risk by bringing an outsider sales director into his company to be the new sales director. I worked hard and learned a ton. I was good in coaching and development, but I didn’t know very much about the operations and logistics side of the home builder industry.
The company needed some leadership and expertise in home building initiatives that I didn’t currently possess. For example, they needed new floor plan ideas, new marketing materials, an updated logo and fresh new look. The sales team needed more training in procedures and systems. These were just a few of the things needed to take us to the next level as a builder. I may have been able to learn and consult with experts to get us where we needed to go. But the builder really wanted that expertise from the Sales Director. So with all of this, I ignored the signs all around me that my job was not secure. Ultimately, my job position was removed and a new VP of Sales position was created. The company was wise to make the change, promoting a leader who had 30 years experience in the new home building industry in sales, business consulting, and prior experience as sales director. But this meant I was either going to have to quit or be assigned to our smallest and least desirable sales community with the same builder. I had no other options on the table, so I moved out to the small sales community. I had no base salary and just 5 homes to sell. As of this writing, I have sold 4 of these homes. I have averaged about 1 sale every 1.5 – 2 months.
Meanwhile, my personal finances were hurting. I had been aggressively paying off debt from some financial losses several years ago. But with this job change, not only could I not pay down the debts, I couldn’t pay the new bills coming in. With this change, I was rapidly incurring new debts. Fortunately, I had some home equity to help with this. Unfortunately, I was spending the home equity at a fast rate. The model home I work in is sold, so I will be moving out to a construction trailer in the next two weeks. This means no fresh running water or clean bathroom to use. I will have to use the outside port-a-potty. Suddenly, I feel my back is against the wall. I’ve spent the last several months thinking about and working on my dream life and career. Where do I go from here?
This has been a challenging time to figure out the next path. I have known for years that I want to help people. I love coaching. I hired a coach about a decade ago who inspired me to want to coach. I went through a coaching certification program at that time and did some coaching on the side while I was simultaneously employed in financial services. I’ve coached business owners, employees, friends, and family. However, now is the time to stop dabbling and really get to helping people live at a high level and become the best version of themselves. Having my back against the wall is a great way to get the fire to overcome obstacles and gain greater certainty. What are you putting off? What’s one key change you could make in your life that would improve your life and your fulfillment? Waiting until the last minute is one way to get things done. Wouldn’t it be best not to delay seizing your best life now?