553. Rising from Failure with His Entrepreneurial Gene

“My Dad sort of paved the way for me to do whatever I wanted. In the 1970s, he quit his corporate job as a vice president of sales and created a very successful photography business. My parents’ vision for us was, “Do whatever you want. Whatever your heart calls you to do, you can be. There’s no limit.” So, we’ve always been entrepreneurial in my family. We’ve always been sort of a traditional Jewish family, with significance placed on education and learning, and nothing was more important than reading. The other thing about family of origin that most strikes me is the importance comedy plays in our lives.”

Graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in fine arts, Aaron headed for New Mexico with his girlfriend to launch his own photography. “The relationship fell apart, and I didn’t have the wherewithal to keep something alive in the face of my own resistance to it, at that age and at that time. I just lost the passion for it.” But it was when he was waiting tables that his entrepreneurial spirit re-emerged. The baker had quit and Aaron asked the owners if he could try his hand at it. Soon he had started a wholesale bread operation and was on his way to his own business making “real bagels,” New York style.

“It takes a certain amount of courage to have the self-reflection and introspection to look at your passion, and have the wherewithal to say, ‘I’m going to turn this into something.’ You’ve got to be in a learning mindset to discover your passion and have it work as a job. A learning mindset means you’ve got to be in the game to fail. Learning is all about failing. There’s nothing else to learning except failing until you stop failing. Then, you’re at the bottom of the next thing there is to learn. Inspiration follows perspiration, not the other way around.”

Don’t Get Fooled Again: An Insider’s Guide to the 7 Questions You MUST Ask to Avoid Hiring the Wrong Real Estate Agent (Again), by Aaron Hendon

All Realtors Are Not Created Equal: 7 Questions to Ask to Make Sure You Get a Good One, by Aaron Hendon

Real Estate Blind Spots, by Aaron Hendon (Coming soon)

1.  Listen, listen, listen to learn from Audiobooks and podcasts. Never stop learning.

2.  Know when it’s time to act. Without action, nothing changes.

3.  Face your fears and use them to generate courage. If you’re facing your fears you are at a place where you can generate courage.

4.  Persist, even in the face of failure. You can achieve at anything you persist in doing.