“…failure with clay was more complete and more spectacular than with other forms of art. You are subject to the elements… Any one of the old four–earth, air, fire, water–can betray you and melt, or burst, or shatter–months of work into dust and ashes and spitting steam. You need to be a precise scientist, and you need to know how to play with what chance will do to your lovingly constructed surfaces in the heat of the kiln”. A.S. Byatt, The Children’s Book
On my weekly call with our Chief Problem Solver, Rossi Spong, she proudly showed me the pottery creations she had made.
They were different shapes and each was beautiful and unique in its own right. What I found most interesting was the technique used to make the art. It’s called soda firing where you spray soda ash which is a fancy pant’s atmospheric firing technique.
What is so cool about the art of creating pottery is that Rossi had only so much control of the process.
If you’ve spoken to Rossi, you know she’s kinda a control freak and you wouldn’t think creating art where she has no control over the final product would be her passion.
I asked her point-blank if that made her anxious and she smiled widely and like a wise monk said it’s "a practice of letting go.”
When she was telling me this story, I thought it was the perfect metaphor for running a successful land business joyfully.
We build all the elements of what we can control.
County Research, Pricing, Sending Out Offers, Marketing Channels, and Selling.
Ultimately, just like creating pottery, once we’ve done our part and it goes to market, we have no control over so many aspects of the sale.
We can’t control the market, the lead flow, the quality of leads, and ultimately when the property sells.
We can make some adjustments, but the joy comes in doing your best within what you can control and then letting go.
Once Rossi’s pottery goes into the kiln, she lets go of her art and the final product is ultimately not up to her.
Nevertheless, it did work out and she beamed with pride showing me her creations and which ones will be displayed at her art show.
Can you enjoy the process of land investing and then let go? Try it this week and let me know how you feel about your business and if that mindset removes any of your current frustrations!
“Out of the fire comes firmness, through stress, we pass to strength”. Charles F. Binns
