I started reading (ok, listening…. but I firmly believe it still counts) the book Becoming More by Dianna Kokoszka. The book begins with a quote:
“People are rivers, always ready to move
From one state of being into another.
It is not fair to treat people as if they are finished beings.
Everyone is always becoming and unbecoming.”
--Kathleen Winter, Annabel
It’s the kind of philosophical quote you generally see at the start of a non-fiction, self-help book. It found its way there because it means something to the author, or it’s meant to stir up thoughts and feelings in the reader, priming them for the new original words that lie in the coming pages. The first paragraph asked, “Are you a river or a reservoir? Are you allowing what you learn to flow through you – adding value to others – or are you keeping all you learn to yourself?” The author poignantly goes on to talk about a river being open and sharing value and resources. The juxtaposition left me wondering.
As I read (again, listened), I happened to be walking around a pond on a nature trail in our community and so the imagery of water wasn’t a hard one to conjure. I pictured the rushing water and thought of the power a river can hold, a lesson we learned all too close to home this past summer in Texas as a flash flood caused devastation in a matter of minutes, including more than 100 lives lost. But I also thought about lighter moments at the river. Over spring break, my family took a trip to the river and enjoyed happy days of canoeing, swimming, and general family togetherness that filled my mom heart.
In recent years, I think I’ve committed a lot of my time and energy to being a river. From starting a book club, teaching classes, making time for mentees, starting a brokerage, chairing a Houston Area Realtors committee, being president of our local chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers, etc. The giving list isn’t short on evidence that I’ll share my time and talents for the greater collaborative good.
As I kept rolling around this metaphor in my mind, a thought emerged: rivers have seasons. There have been times when we can’t swim in the river because the water level is too low. Other times, it’s so dangerously high it’s not safe. I want to be a powerful river that changes the landscape it rushes past for the better. Surely, the resume I’ve built is evidence that I’m doing just that, right? And yet, in this moment, I felt tired and pulled in several different directions.
As I lapped around the little pond in the center of the trail I was walking, I noticed a mother duck with her ducklings safe in the middle of the water. I was struck with this thought: it’s okay to be a reservoir sometimes. Reservoirs are necessary. Reservoirs are safe. Reservoirs have their place.
Just as rivers have seasons, so too do people. There have been seasons where my cup runneth over, and I had an abundance of energy, time, knowledge, and resources to share with the world; there have been just as many seasons where I felt like the mama duck, looking for quiet waters. And in the latter, I find pruning and outsourcing the key to maintaining our happy habitat. Dinners arrive in a box, and the house is cleaned by a professional. The groceries are delivered, and the home improvement projects are left to those who don’t need to watch a slew of YouTube videos before starting. Outsourcing the pain points of our lives has allowed us to focus on the value-adding activities we need.
This is the heart of why I love property management: we lighten the load for the owners who trust us with their real estate assets.
When I first began my journey as a Pearland property manager, it was to alleviate one owner’s overwhelm while simultaneously feeling a sense of pride to be able to offer my help and real estate expertise. Somehow along the way (and this is a story for another day), I became the overwhelmed one, and that has led to the growth of a team of property management experts and the building of systems and processes. Now, we provide a meaningful service to give people back freedom and time, and aim to maximize their personal profitability.
While I don’t do sales calls as much anymore, when I did, I would often hear the voice on the other line telling me their “passive” investment had become anything but, and they were growing resentful of the second job they had unintentionally created for themselves. Keeping up with the ever-changing jurisdictional requirements or navigating effectively screening tenants without violating fair housing, or maybe they had the dream tenant that just recently became a nightmare. I’ve heard countless stories. Many (most?) of our new business comes from the overwhelmed owner, and often there’s quite a bit of work for us to course correct.
I won’t sugarcoat it and say property management is easy. It can be, but there are just as many snares along the way. To me, the work has always been worth the reward, in the form of knowing our little reservoir of knowledge can provide a safe landing spot for owners and residents alike. And providing happy habitats is what we’re all about.
So, if you’re finding yourself juggling the responsibilities of life, find some respite in letting us walk alongside you as you navigate real estate investing. And if you’re just getting started, jump on in, the water is calm.
