Every year in my business we start over on New Year’s Day. When the sun comes up on January 1st, all of the victories and defeats of the previous year fade into memories. Even if you had deals lined up to carry over from the previous year, there are no guarantees. The only thing you can be sure of is that you will have to start at the bottom and work incredibly hard to make it back to the top.
As a result, this time of year can be stressful and frustrating as we try and gather our strength and have the faith to climb that mountain one more time. It is particularly hard to do if we are coming off of a really good year. Feelings of insecurity and doubt creep in as we wonder if and how we are going to accomplish that again this year.
I’ve been in this business for 28 years, and I have to tell you it doesn’t get any easier. My daughter told me that she read an interview with George Clooney a few years ago in which he said that he’s always afraid that he’ll never get another part. Even now, as an internationally famous movie star who has earned millions of dollars, he is still afraid that it could all go away tomorrow. That’s what it feels like on January 1st for me. It doesn’t matter how successful I have been in the past. I still have to deal with the fear that the success will not return.
Recently I ran into one of our young producers, Brian McCarthy, in the parking lot as I was coming in to work. He saw me and paused to let me catch up to him so that we could walk into the office together. It was a Monday and I must admit that I was feeling a little down at the prospect of the long, tough battles I was facing in the new year. “Here we go again,” I groaned to Brian, “starting all over again at the bottom.” His face lit up with a great big grin and he replied, “Yeah, but that’s what makes it so interesting.”
“Really?” I replied. “But we have no idea what kind of year we’re going to have. We might make more money than we’ve ever dreamed of, or we might be fighting over scraps just to keep from losing the shirts on our backs.”
“But that’s also part of the fun – trying to figure it all out,” Brian said. “I was talking to my wife the other day and she asked me if this was going to be a good year. I quickly responded ‘Heck, yes!’ with as much conviction as I could, while wondering to myself how in the world am I going to make that happen?”
As I pondered his words I felt much more ready to take on the challenge of climbing another mountain and realized that I’m not alone in these feelings. Brian’s father was a legend in our business and I suppose that is why he has such a keen understanding of how the business works.
I once asked Robby Brewer, whose law firm Lerch, Early & Brewer has some of the most successful land-use attorneys in this area, if he ever experienced this daunting feeling of starting over each year. He said, “No question. Every year it is the same if you are in a service industry – and both of us are certainly in service industries.”
So if you are feeling a little down as you start the year, remember that you are not alone and also think of Brian’s enthusiastic and wise words – the challenge, the thrill and, yes, the terror of starting over are what make life interesting.
Just think of it like a giant puzzle that you have 365 days to complete.
Best of luck,
Ro
I agree, That’s the same way I felt after every divorce.
Broke again and starting over.