4 ways to be brave in reverse mortgage lending

“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it”, said Benjamin Mee, the author of We Bought a Zoo.

We are not called to act bravely at every moment of the day. But there are occasions, fleeting moments of time, where bravery can make all the difference. Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat. Fortune favors the bold. Those words originated with Pliny the Elder. Upon hearing the reports that Mount Vesuvius had erupted Pliny, an admiral, assembled a fleet to rescue as many of the town’s people as possible. Sadly, he did not survive but his words live on.

This account and dozens of others can be found in Ryan Holiday’s recent book Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave. A worthy read I found both inspiring and

So where can we apply 20 seconds of courage as reverse mortgage professionals? Here are a few practical ways you can apply courage.

1- Make that sales call. Delay only breeds doubt and procrastination. Develop a disciplined habit of meeting your daily dials goal or set one if you haven’t.

2- Deal with the big ugly. Do you have a disgruntled applicant or borrower? Don’t wish the problem away with avoidance. Instead, make the call (instead of an email) and apologize when necessary, or be a sounding board if that’s what the situation calls for.

3- Do it scared. Whatever you believe would build your business but you’ve been avoiding doing. Maybe it’s holding public reverse mortgage workshop or speaking in front of a group of professionals. Remember, you only need a few seconds of bravery to get the ball rolling.

4- Face hardship and the danger of failure. Courage isn’t the only voice calling to us. So is comfort. Set your mind on the goal and embrace the hardship required and the danger of failing.

Courage isn’t rushing foolhardily into disaster. It’s acknowledging and confronting our fears and choosing to move forward despite them. We have moments of feeling startled or scared. It’s natural and wired into our very being. But being afraid is a consistent state of mind that sabotages every endeavor, opportunity, or circumstance we encounter. Which will you choose? Courage is calling.