When was the last time you tried something new?

This year, I tried something new by investing a few thousand dollars in a digital marketing agency that didn't produce any results.

When you trying something new, and it doesn’t work out the way you hoped, it can reinforce some of the arguments against change, such as it being scary, risky, time-consuming, and in this case costly.

But the lesson I took was that, on this occasion, with that agency, and that campaign, what I tried didn't work – the take-away wasn't that change (or digital marketing, for that matter) never works.

You see, a number of the new things I tried in 2022 have worked.

For example, I've developed a 12-month program that is specific to helping commercial real estate agency leaders develop their people and grow their business...and it's gone better than I expected.

For sure, change doesn't always work out.

Trying new things will sometimes lead to disappointment.

However, the alternative - allowing things to just stay as they are - is often worse

So, while it is true that not all change is good, no change at all is never a good thing.

To find our why you should get into the habit of trying new things, and for some of my more positive stories about trying new things (including my recent experiences with acupuncture!), join me for episode 114 of CRE Success: The Podcast.

Episode transcript:

A couple of weeks ago, we were talking about ways to develop better habits.

Well, I've got a specific habit for you to consider adopting as a part of today's show.

And that habit is being willing to try new things, of being open to adopting new approaches, and of just shaking things up a bit.

So if that's something that you're open to, I think you'll enjoy today's show. And if it's something that you're not open to, then I think you need to listen to today's episode.

Hello, welcome to episode 114 of CRE Success: The Podcast. My name is Darren Krakowiak.

I help commercial real estate leaders to develop their people and to grow their business. And I always appreciate you choosing to spend some time with us.

I would actually like to invite you to spend a little bit more time with us because we've got a new session coming up in a few weeks, which is called 'How commercial real estate agents will win in 2023'.

This is something new that you can try if you've been listening to the podcast, but you haven't yet, join us for one of our live and free zoom sessions.

This is a great one to join, because we're going to be talking about the top four trends to look for in commercial real estate in 2023.

And I'll also give you the latest strategies to deal with them, including things that I haven't covered on this podcast, around new ideas that will help you really win in 2023.

We'll also help you set some relevant and ambitious goals for the new year, so you can take a break, like I'll be doing.

I'm going to be doing something new, which is taking a full 31-days of leave and not doing any work. And then you'll be able to come back.

Even if you don't take the full month, however long you do take, please do take a break between Christmas and New Year, so you come back refreshed and motivated and ready to hit the ground running in January.

So if you'd like to join us for this session, try something new.

This is what today's session is all about, getting into the habit of trying something new. You'll definitely learn some new things.

Register now. We've got the whole page set up. We just finished it with my assistant and it's ready to go for you to grab your free ticket at cresuccess.co/2023. 

I was previously planning on running a session on 10 more ways to kill it in commercial real estate. And I talked about that a couple of times on the show.

But I've changed my mind. I'm trying new things that previously I wouldn't have been open to change my mind on something after I announced it. 

But I thought that 10 more ways to kill it in commercial real estate is something I've got ready to go and we'll roll that out in the future. It's evergreen content.

This session about how commercial real estate agents will win in 2023 is something which is timely. It's tested because I've shared it with a few clients just this past week. And I know that it is really helpful.

So I want to share it with you as well. Go to cresuccess.co/2023 to get your free ticket.

Today's episode, as I said, is about trying new things. I've just offered you one new thing to try right there. And I've been trying some new things as well myself.

If you're watching on YouTube, you can see I've got a bit of a bandage and that bandage was put there by my acupuncturist.

Because I've got tennis elbow and he's been poking me with needles and running electrodes through my body and whatever else it is that he does.

Because I've been trying an alternative to traditional or Western medicine and I previously went to my acupuncturist at my wife's advice for a different problem earlier this year.

To my surprise, it worked. And now, rather than going through one year of physical therapy, because that's apparently with this particular injury I've got the tennis elbow is right down at the closer to the bone apparently.

I know it's not from tennis, anyone who knows me knows that I don’t play tennis. But it's from lifting two very heavy things repetitively, which happened when we moved house recently.

And then we got some carpet installed. And then I moved everything again. And I think that's when I just now get pain whenever I'm moving.

Anyway, I've found a new way to deal with things. And that's through Eastern medicine.

And I'm so pleased that I found it because it's opened me up to possibilities that I previously didn't think were true.

Now I'm not saying I'm going to say fortune tellers. But I do believe in this Eastern medicine, which is something that I previously didn't believe in because I wasn't open to it.

I've spoken previously on the podcast about also being more generous, which is something that I tried last year.

I've given more in those situations in the past 18 months and I've given across my whole life.

As a result of deciding to be more generous, in the past 18 months I've given more to charity and to people who've come up to me in the street and asked me for a dollar or whatever.

And I say that not to be braggadocious. I say it actually to be more sort of calling myself out. Because I was too stingy and too scarcity minded in the past.

It wasn't actually difficult to do more than I had previously done across my whole life, because I hadn't done enough. But opening me up to the opportunity to be able to give is a good thing, I believe.

And the other thing I've changed was changing this podcast. So after Episode 50, I changed the format.

And in fact, I'm currently doing something new, which is working with a new marketing coach who is helping me with the messaging around this podcast and the format.

And we're currently working on a plan that's going to be rolled out. You'll start to see some of those changes in 2023.

So there are a number of reasons why people don't like change. And I want to just address them to hopefully encourage you to recognize them when you're using them as excuses and perhaps offer you a different perspective.

To see why, if you don't sort of buy into the examples that I've offered you, why it is that getting into the habit of being open to change is something that can have a positive impact on your life.

I think one of the reasons why people don't like change is because people are inherently lazy. And we can sometimes take the approach, "Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Right?

And it's just not worth the effort to improve something or change something that doesn't need to be fixed.

And I think the antidote to this sort of argument is, well, if we can improve something, then shouldn't we do that.

And often, I think we have an obligation to provide better than we already are, because that's part of our client service.

Or maybe just part of our ambition in order to look to improve things and to do things to the best of our ability, even if what we were previously doing isn't inherently bad, perhaps it could be better.

I think another reason why people don't like change is because they are scared of the unknown.

And our brains don't like uncertainty. Our brains want to conserve energy by not thinking too much. And sometimes we want to avoid stressful situations, and the unknown can be stressful.

Well, the antidote to this, I think, is well, what happens if things stay the same.

If you're completely 100% happy with the way things are, then it's one of two things.

One is congratulations, your life is perfect. Or perhaps the other thing is, maybe you need a bit more ambition, or the ability to see things as bigger than they currently are.

That's about having a growth mindset, as opposed to having a fixed mindset. The willingness to be able to see things that can be improved, as opposed to looking at things as if well, there's nothing we can do to change it.

And the other thing I would say is that there's a bit of risk around change as well, and I want to acknowledge that because sometimes things don't work out.

But of course, if we don't try things, then we won't know if things can be improved. And failing is kind of how we learn.

Now, if you don't think this matters, I want to invite you to go back and listen to episode 86 of the show, which is where we talk about 'Why you need constant challenges', and also episode 94, where we talk about 'Prioritizing personal growth. 

A lot of what we talk about on this show is all about your own personal growth and being willing to try new things.

The disclaimer I want to give you though, is that change is not always good. I can't make a promise that it's always going to work out for the better. 

That's why some change is scary, why it can be costly sometimes, and why things don't work out the way that we had hoped. 

But of course, no change ever is rarely a good thing. So I think a life worth living and a career that is more than just a job is going to involve us learning new things and being willing to grow.

And continuous improvement is how we become more productive. It's how we grow relative to what is going on around us. That's where real growth comes from.

And if we're not growing relative to the market, well, we're actually shrinking into irrelevance, and potentially into extinction.

Because if we're not growing, then we're shrinking.

And the natural order of things is that sooner or later you will cease to exist or you'll be gobbled up by something that is bigger than you.

If that's a concern for you or your business, go and have a listen to episode 87 of the show, which is about 'Four ways to grow a commercial real estate business.'

Today's show is all about opening up your mind to change even when it feels a bit risky, and actually deciding that you will adopt the habit of being open to change. 

I know that right now it can feel a little bit risky. You might feel a little bit uncertain about what the future holds, and you just might want to hold the line.

Well, again, we talked about this in a very recent episode, which was episode 107, 'Expanding when others are contracting.'

And I've referenced a few different shows in today's show and I want to invite you to go back and download the back catalogue of CRE Success: The Podcast.

If you've got it all there on your phone the next time you get on a plane for example, you can listen to a few episodes and I hope that it does encourage you to be more open to change to improvement and to bigger possibilities. 

That's our show for today. Thank you so much for listening, and I will speak to you soon.