The Sky Is Falling
The home loan business is tough right now. Again.
Interest rates are high. Inflation is up. Fuel prices are up because of the conflict in Iran. The job market is strong, which is bad for mortgage rates. The economy seems resilient, which is also bad for mortgage rates.
There is plenty to complain about, and I hear it every day.
Many of my colleagues walk around the office and talk about how bad the market is. How it’s affecting their business. How buyers have stopped looking. How their paychecks aren’t what they used to be. And how there isn’t anything they can do about it.
But I don’t.
Of course I’m unhappy about where mortgage rates are. Higher rates cause people to reconsider buying a home or refinancing. They affect my business.
But mortgage rates have nothing to do with me.
I can’t control whether they go up, down or sideways. Neither can anyone else in my office. So when I hear everyone talking about how bad things are, I walk back into my office and get back to work.
I call my past customers. I talk to the people who are already pre-approved and looking for homes. Inventory is high, and negotiations are happening regularly. I call my referral partners and ask how I can help them with their business.
I’m focusing on the things I can actually do something about instead of worrying about the things I can’t change.
“…Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Phil 4:8b (NLT)
A Real Christian Businessman understands that there will always be things in business that are beyond our control. A trucker strike might delay a shipment. A customer may have a family issue that causes them to miss an important sales pitch meeting. A deal may fall apart at the last minute. Market conditions can change overnight.
That’s business.
We don’t control the circumstances, but we do control how we respond to them. The sky may be falling around us, but we don’t have to let it change our attitude, our effort or our faith.
I can’t control the storm. But I can control how I walk through it.
And when I do that, no matter what happens with the market, I know I’ve done what I can with what God has put in front of me.
This week, let’s pay attention to how much time we spend talking about things we can’t control.
Then stop.
Let’s take that time and put it toward something we can control.
Make the call. Help someone. Serve a customer. Encourage a referral partner. Do the work.
Let’s not spend our day watching the sky fall. Let’s get back to work.