Monday Motivation, 12.6.2021

Written by: Kevin Long

Every Monday, The Rogers-Long Team meets for one of its two weekly meetings. The Monday meeting always ends with “Monday Motivation” in which a few minutes are spent listening to one team member presenting a quote, a quick reading from a book, a scene from a movie, or anything else they find motivating to provide a “spark” to the whole team on a Monday morning.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

The world is full of critics. We are always surrounded by someone offering advice about something they have never done. The world is more opinionated than ever. People think they can solve problems from behind a keyboard.  Never hate on the man in the arena. It is he, who is actually working to get better.

There are many arenas in everyday life. Whether it be an actual sports arena, at work or in the trenches at home. People are quick to give opinions or advice, often times on situations they have never been in. Many times critics are speculating or spectating from a safe distance…where there are no consequences to their actions, or lack there of. As these critical voices get louder and louder, in todays world, it is up to the no nonsense doers to achieve greatness. Arenas are full of triumphs, heroism and victories as much as they are full of setbacks, heartbreaks and defeats. What critics don’t see is the value of not only victory but of defeat and failure. 

You cannot be afraid the step into life’s arena. The stands are full of people who are unable or unwilling to put in the work needed to compete. The arena is a sacred place. Only those who step in know the true feelings of pain, hard work, failure(s), growth and accomplishment. Success has many different forms. Those who compete in the arena, succeed. I’ll take the biggest loser in the arena over the smartest fan in the stands, 10 out of 10 times. 

It is the man in the arena who lives life’s lessons. Action breeds confidence and courage. He rewards himself every time he steps in by learning, growing and most of all experiencing the challenges he confronts head on. Average men watch from the stands. Enter the arena. 

Kevin Long, The Lead Agent for The Rogers-Long Team, has been in the real estate business since 2012. In 2014, he and Ben began The Rogers-Long Team, which produces $25,000,000+ in volume annually. In addition to selling hundreds of houses over the past years, Kevin also serves as a mentor to less experienced agents on The RLT and in the company, and he spends most of the little free time he has working on his own personal home renovation project.