Tater Tots, Typos & Total Domination

A not-so-neat guide to pushing through fear, owning your mess, and getting your unfair share of this wild real estate market.

Recently, I closed a Substack with “get your unfair share,” and I sent it to my editor. She asked me, “Is this a typo?”

I said, “Nope.” I say it all the time.

Real estate isn’t “fair.” There are the haves and the have-nots. And it’s fun when you’re one of, or hanging with, the haves. And much less fun when you’re stuck with the have-nots.

I’ve kicked it with both and been both at different times in my career. And I want you to have that “haves” business. That unfair share.

Aside: Yes, I have an editor. As someone with dyslexia, I actually grew up thinking I wasn’t a good writer, but the truth was I wasn’t a good speller. But I was a pretty damn good writer. My 7th-grade English teacher was the first one to tell me that. She had me in a summer program for writers, and the rest was history. She said, “Keith, you can tell pictures with words, who cares if you can’t spell!” Never had an English teacher tell me THAT before. “Who cares if you can’t spell”... um… every other English teacher I’ve ever had, that’s who, lady. lol.

But a funny thing happened: it gave me the confidence to go for it. Even though I was scared as sh*t i’d be mocked for all the misspellings. The kid who was afraid to write for fear of being made fun of now regularly kicks out content (sometimes with misspellings lol). That’s the power of doing something when you’re afraid to (also called “oh sh*t moments”, more on that in a bit).

This market is not the “status quo” market. This isn’t the market where what got you here will get you there.

There’s a leadership book I read a long time ago, and one chapter stuck with me ever since. It’s a business parable where a guy who’s learning to surf ends up really learning how to lead, from this long-haired, kinda hippy, surfer dude (who has a plot twist at the end). Sort of like if Warren Buffett and Point Break had a love child and turned it into a business parable (see, told ya, pictures with words lol).

If you want to scoop up the book, it’s [here]. It really is great.

The piece I wanted to dig in on today is this: Oh Shit Moments.

Steve Farber (the author) is a little edgy. I mean, not really, but he didn’t abbreviate the shit in “Oh Shit Moments” and I love him for it. He even has a tagline on his site: “Bring More Love, Energy, Audacity and Proof to Your Work and Your Life,” which is about as bad-ass a slogan as I can think of.

The book is great. But it really shines when he talks about OSMs (Oh Shit Moments).

Most of us are playing it way too safe. Most of us are afraid of something.

Rejection. Looking stupid. Success. Yeah, crazy, right? But a lot of us are actually afraid of what success might mean. So we play it safe.

We don’t try to add investors to our business (good write-up on this here).

We don’t get that Sphere of Influence plan dialed in (wrote about that too, you can find it here).

We don’t try that one thing we’ve been thinking about because…what if it fails? What if I look dumb? What if it wastes money? What if what if what if...

But what if this one thing you’re thinking about is THE thing that will take your business to new heights? What if everything you wanted is on the other side of that fear? What if it worked?

“Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem

If that ain’t the truth.

This is just another way of saying: If you’re not having some OSMs in your business from time to time, you’re not pushing hard enough.

For real, answer this question (not out loud if you’re in an Uber, that’ll look weird):
When’s the last time you were really afraid about a business decision?

Maybe not since you made the big decision to get into this business in the first place.

A Few Tips for Pushing Through an OSM:

1. Define the fear.
What are you really afraid of? Spend some time on that.

If you’ve had an idea on your to-do list for weeks or months and haven’t started…there’s a blockage. That blockage is usually fear.

But fear of what?

Like my dyslexia example above, I had to get honest with myself. I was afraid people would read my stuff, see the typos, and think I was stupid. And I’m a lot of things, but stupid ain’t one of them. Once I named that, hitting “send” on that first email to clients was way less daunting.

I’ve found that once you define the fear, it’s easier to face.

2. Tell some folks.
The Radical Leap talks about “making it public,” and I mostly agree.
I like “make it semi-public.”

A mentor. An accountability partner. A couple of cheerleaders.

You don’t need to tell the whole world. The whole world is busy wrestling with its own fears, and when they see you taking action, it can feel like holding up a mirror to what they’re not doing.

That’s when they start telling you why your thing won’t work. That’s not about you. That’s about them. So don’t tell everyone. But do tell someone who gets it.

3. Reframe failure.
Failure is just learning. I had a boxing coach who said, “You’re either winning or learning.” I said, “Coach… you forgot that learning in boxing usually means hurting.” He laughed and said, “Pain is a great teacher.” Thanks, coach. Pass the ice pack.

If you count all the careers I attempted before real estate (let’s be honest, real estate found me), I’ve probably got 5 or 6 false starts. (I tried stockbroker, automotive wholesaler, a few multi-level things I got talked into, and more). And here I am, 26ish years later, with what many would call a successful career.

I’ve rolled out products and companies that fell flat on their faces. But I learned from everyone. What’s important to me. What I like. What I don’t. What I’m willing to do, and what I’m not.

Failure doesn’t define you. It teaches you.
You didn’t fail. You just didn’t get it right yet. No biggie, dust off and keep going.

4. Discipline over motivation.
Focus on actions, not outcomes. What activities, if done daily or weekly, or monthly, will get you where you want to go? Try them. Adjust as you go. Business is never a straight line. What you think will work at the beginning probably won’t be what gets you the result in the end. So stop worrying about getting it perfect and just start. And don’t stop.

I feel like eating tater tots at every meal. I don’t feel like going to the gym. But if I listen to how I feel, I probably won’t like the results. If I follow my plan, even for a bad workout, I win. Same goes for you.

So here’s the deal. You can keep playing it safe, waiting for the market to magically go back to what it felt like in 2021. Or you can lean all the way into the discomfort and go build the kind of business people whisper about at conferences. The one that looks unfair from the outside.

Because here’s the truth. It is unfair. Unfair to the folks who never pushed through their Oh Shit Moments. Who let fear talk them out of greatness? Who waited until it was “safe.” It won’t be.

I want you to get your unfair share. Not the “nice little business” version. I’m talking about multiple contracts at once. Investor clients who treat closings like Costco trips. A calendar so full you need a VA and an AI just to book coffee.

You in?

Cool. Now go do something that scares you.

And maybe eat some tater tots. You’ve earned it.

-k

If this stirred something in you…Stick around. I write for the real estate pros who are tired of playing it safe and ready to get their unfair share. Hit that subscribe button and let’s keep building something bold, together.