Melissa's Mixed Plate: Doritos & Fear Of Failure

September 8th, 2022

Raise your hand if you have put something off for the fear of failure? If you didn’t raise your hand, you are a flat-out liar or my hero. Some days I feel like I can conquer the world. I am Melissa Martin, business owner and badass. I can get everything done on my to-do list while rocking hot pink lipstick and a smile. Watch out world, Melissa’s here.

Then I go to sleep and wake up the next day feeling out of sorts. I look in the mirror, and I seemed to have woken up as a completely different person. The one who would rather burrow in a blanket and can’t bear to answer that text. What’s the on the menu? Coffee and Doritos.

Well for full transparency, those are the sides of Melissa with a few extra personalities thrown in there. So, let's now transition to my husband and I taking the leap to open Kansas City Realty. Obviously, I would get licensed. Right? As a business owner, to be a positive reflection of who our agents are and how they do work would be amazing. So why oh why did it take me almost six years to obtain it?

Fear. Of. Failure. I couldn’t stand the thought of not passing the test. I couldn’t bear the thought of failing for my husband, our agents or myself. What changed? Honestly surrounding myself with the agents at our brokerage. I saw a stellar group of humans who had taken the time to study and pass the test. Then these humans leaned on me and for once, I began to trust that I could lean on them.

I wasn’t scared of failure (as much) because I knew that if I didn’t pass, they wouldn’t look down on me but would come down to my level to help me look up. They would tell the Melissa who wants to hide and not be shown to step back and let the strong, powerful Melissa reign supreme in my head. The encouragement I have found with the agent family we have is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. Yes, everyone’s wheeling and dealing and selling houses but overall, we are lifting ourselves up to be a better version of what we thought we could be.

Did I take the class? Yes. Did I pass the test? On the first try. Did I make a bigger deal out of this task than I should have? Absolutely. I am glad I did though. The fear is real, but I wouldn’t have found the support I needed without it. I wouldn’t have received the texts from our kind and empowering agents telling me I was going to knock it out of the park. I wouldn’t have been able to notice all the amazing humans that surround me daily without that fear. That’s when I was able to shine, put on those rhinestone sunglasses, sassy red lipstick and take on another day…with some Doritos in my office cabinet of course. Afterall, we all can’t be perfect right?