Rob Foglia

I came across a quote from one of my favorite authors and speakers this morning that hit me right between the eyes.

“Nobody cares what you did yesterday. What have you done today?” – David Goggins

This hit me, as I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of Ownership recently. Owning my actions, owning my results, and owning my future.

I believe we’re all in control of our destinies. While there are certain factors that we cannot control or change, we have the power to will ourselves through and past almost anything that’s in front of us.

We have the power to go after and attain whatever it is that we see in our mind’s eye. But, we have to keep going. Keep going after it and never stop going after it, even after we think we’ve hit what’s important.

And yet, why do so many of us think that we’re owed something from this world?

That was me just a few years ago, thinking I was owed something. The me that existed in the world of real estate. You see, I was grinding away like so many. Just going after sale after sale after sale. Buying into the rhetoric that coaches and big shots up on some stage spewed. I hadn’t learned yet what I wanted out of life and that all of my dreams could be discovered and earned. I thought I had earned something already and what’s next should be given.

This was me before becoming a dad. Before awakening to my dreams and making the pure decision to go after what lay dormant in my heart for too long. Deciding never to be content again.

Before? That was me thinking the world owed me something.

Referring to my real estate career, I thought the industry owed me something. That it owed me opportunity. I would see people get opportunities just because of who they were in business with (i.e. who they worked for), and get bitter. Or see someone showing a low-cut top and some skin, and see how their social media views were 10x more than mine despite the content being 10x less. I should have just been working to become better. But, no, I got bitter.

I thought that the years I spent volunteering helping grow a non-profit organization would allow me the chance to interview to run that org. But, I forgot the lesson that Goggins was trying to teach: what I did in the past meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. What mattered was what I did from that point forward, and I wasn’t doing enough.

I hope that I keep Goggins’ lesson in my heart, in my soul, and in my mind for the rest of my days. While i no longer have aspirations of running that non-profit, I have other goals and dreams. And I must remember that what I have done in the past, while helping me prepare, does not guarantee me anything. For instance…

Y’all know that I love music. I have spent years (like two and a half decades) playing guitar. Recently, that’s included a lot of writing, learning, playing, and starting a band. And everything that I do to help my band, while helping strengthen the band (and me), doesn’t promise us or me anything. It makes me stronger. It makes us stronger. But, I must continue to rise up every time an opportunity presents itself and hope my bandmates do the same.

On the family front, I believe I’ve been a great dad for the first (close to) five years of my daughter’s life. But all the good I’ve done for the first five years only matters as long as I continue to do my best to be the best man and father that I can be moving forward. If tomorrow I decided that the grind mattered more than my family, the goodwill of the last 5 years goes away. I must continue to make family matter while pursuing the passions that burn in my heart and soul.

And in my professional world, I must remember that everything I’ve done in my first dozen years in this business matters to no one. I can spew accolades all I want. I can ramble like all the BSers that show up on stages across the country and talk about awards and letters next to their name. But, what matters is what I do from here forward. If I want to make a mark in this industry and leave a legacy where I help change the way real estate agents view themselves and how they conduct business, then I must earn that every damn day.

All of this to say, Goggins is right. No one cares what I did yesterday. Bandmates won’t care what I did to help get this project going if I disregard them in the future. Family won’t care how I showed up in the past if every night I’m tethered to that damned brick of a cell phone instead of creating memories with my loved ones.

And no one cares what I’ve done in the real estate business in the past. It’s all about the impact I make moving forward.

And you know what? That means we’re all on equal grounds. If they don’t care what I’ve done in the past, they don’t care what anyone has done in the past. And that’s all the motivation I need to get out there and Be Irreplaceable.