Hi all! I’ve been reflecting on the past couple of months and wanted to tell you a little bit of a story about the lessons I have learned. So the lesson is that starting to work out is horrible. I'm a big fan of working out, I used to run like crazy. I was a much better runner back then. I've been running more, and have basically been getting back to it now. But what I've learned is when you haven't done something for a really long time, starting to do that thing again, it's going to be hard and you're not going to be as good as you were before. I remember being like, "I should just stop running. This is basically a walker's pace." I was so down on myself.
And that day, as I came off the trail, my wife was jumping on the trail because then she was going for a walk. And I was like, "I'm the slowest person I know. That was painful. I don't want to run anymore." I was so negative about it. And she says to me, "How could we reframe that?" And then she just walked off and I was like, "Now I have to think about it."
Here's the deal. It does suck. Doing something you haven't done, and especially if it's something you used to be good at, is hard. And what I'm seeing right now when I look across the mortgage space specifically, is mortgage originators answered the phone and there was cash on the line for two years. All you had to do is walk in and pick up the phone and it's like, “Oh, you want a loan, too? Sweet.” “Oh, how are rates? Oh, they're 3%.” “Oh, you want one? Awesome." It was super easy.
What's happening now is rates have increased over time, and it’s shaking the mortgage industry. And so what I'm seeing with originators is that there are two types of originators. The first one is like, "I guess we're going to have to learn again and go after it and start working." And the other one is like, "Oh, my gosh. What are we going to do?"
So if you're in that category of, "What are we going to do?" I'm going to tell you right now, you have got to start learning. It's going to be hard, but you're going to have to start learning. No matter what, coming off of the last two years, you're going to have to get back at it and create a plan and work and it's going to be painful, but worth it.
And you're probably going to be like, "I should just walk. I'm not even a good loan officer anymore. Who am I anymore?" Because that's how it works. You had honed into something that got you here. You had created a system and a habit that got you here, and then you stopped building. And as you go back to it, it's not going to be easy. But what I want to tell you is if you push through, you're going to be way better than you were before. My number one tip to loan officers is double down on learning. There are so many changes that have happened when you weren't looking. There are so many loans you could do that you didn't use to be able to do. I'm hearing from seminars I'm doing, and people are like, "Oh, do you know you can do this? Do you know you can do that? What?”
People in the room are shocked. Nothing should shock you. Go learn, so that you're the one with the knowledge, sharing the knowledge, and helping other people grow around you. It's literally why we built the Knowledge Coop, to give people a place to learn and grow and win and share with other people in the industry. So if you are thinking this is tough, it's supposed to be. But if you push through, the other side is going to be awesome.
So double down on learning, double down on your strategy. And ask yourself how you can shift your perspective on this. Because really, my wife being on that trail saved my morning. I was like, "Am I the only one who thinks this sucks?" And she says, "Just change your perspective." You need other people around you who can tell you the same thing. So there you go. Have a great rest of your week.
Ken Perry