Who and what is essential?
Who would have thought just a couple of months ago that we would all have to ask ourselves these questions: Is my business essential? Am I essential to my business? Is that position and job essential? Who is at risk? Who is to take a risk? Who claims we are essential and are we essential?
Definition of essential: absolutely necessary; extremely important.
In my 2019 Goal and Task setting for the 2020 year, I didn’t ask these questions and didn’t know that I should. I am goal-oriented not only in my business life, but in my personal life as well.
I had a full calendar of events, “to do’s”, meetings and goals I planned on accomplishing and completing in the first quarter of this year. I had a full calendar of events especially in April to see all these goals come to completion. 2020 hasn’t turned out like any of us had planned. Quite the contrary, we have had to reassess our goals and just put them aside in business and personally. Then our new goal was to figure out how to isolate from family, friends and co-workers all at once.
So where we started this year with all these new year resolutions and goals for business and personal have now turned into a bigger, deeper and probably more important question and goal to recognize that is, “am I essential and in what I have been called to do the essential?”
First, is my business essential? The Georgia Association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors and our local Carpet Capital Association of Realtors are all working hard to keep us and the public informed during this critical time. We believe we are “an essential business” because homeownership is a huge component to economic impact locally, statewide and nationwide. There are people that for whatever reason, who still need to buy or sell homes during this time. Job transfers, deaths, marriages, loss of jobs and financial burdens require people to move whether buying or selling during this time.
Real Estate is a market that during good times or bad times, is always essential. And where it is an essential business, we can do it with more social distancing than many other businesses. We can do remote meetings, video-remote closings and e-signatures, virtual showings and virtual listing appointments. Our local, state and national boards have been working around the clock to keep our business essential and functioning to continue to fulfill the needs within this industry and we are doing everything in our power to be an essential player in our communities and families during this time. We are staying in tune with all information from our board associations along with the state of Georgia and national broadcast. This is an unprecedented time, but we will get to the other side of it and we will learn more in these months about our businesses and ourselves than we have over the last several years.
I think the biggest impact we will take from this is finding out if “we are essential” and if so, how do we use our skills to benefit others and also more importantly, are we as individuals “essential” and if not, what do we need to change about ourselves so that we are essential? If we don’t have something to give others that makes us essential, then we are missing the boat. We weren’t put here on this earth to be unessential, but essential so now is the time to find out what makes you essential.
And last, but not least, what do we do personally that is essential and what is wasted time? During these few couple of weeks, all the busyness of everyday life has slowed down. I am not planning a bike ride, having weekly meetings, training for an upcoming race, traveling, working as much, taking care of everyday tasks as I was before. This is the time for all of us to see what is really important and essential and let go of some of the “non-essentials” that have been creating stress and unnecessary busyness and taking away from the essentials that are important for ourselves and for those we serve.
I hope that when we get through this, our country will be a better place working together as one, not divided, that our businesses and our communities support and love each other better and that I fully recognize my place in all of it and where I am the most essential individual in whatever my calling turns out to be!
Stay healthy and safe and GO. BE. ESSENTIAL!
Lisa J. Heyer, GRI, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate-Jackson Realty, broker/owner. She can be reached at lisa@ lisaheyer.com.