Why I Knocked on Doors of Million Dollar Homes in San Diego

Seeds Family,

Welcome back to your weekly dose of Saturday Seeds! I know it’s been a couple weeks since the last newsletter… we’ve been transitioning to a new platform, while also establishing the official Seeds of Success Podcast Instagram account! (check it out here)

I’m so excited for the future of this community, and am grateful you are a part of it.

With that, let’s jump straight into this week’s episode: “Why I Knocked on Doors of Million Dollar Homes in San Diego.”

In our previous newsletter we talked about Controlling the Controllables: focusing on the things we can control, focusing on the inputs versus worrying about the outputs, and letting the results be what they may.

And in the spirit of taking action on the things within our control, a couple weekends ago I decided to knock on the doors of multi-million dollar waterfront houses in San Diego to ask the owners how they made their money.

Here’s the story.

I was surfing (or trying to fake like I knew what I was doing) in Pacific Beach while attending a personal development Mastermind Summit, and as I waited in the water for the next round of waves, I looked up and noticed some of the most breath-taking houses I’ve ever seen.

I couldn’t stop admiring these houses - so much so that I literally got throttled by the next round of waves rolling through.

My next thought, however, was, “I wonder how they bought these… what did they do for a career? How did they make the money to afford these? What are THEIR seeds to success?”

And just like that, MY seed was planted…. I had to go knock on their doors and ask.

While this sounds like a great idea in the water, hundreds of feet away (as most ambitious goals typically do, when we make them sitting on the couch in our comfy clothes and a plate of food…), staring down the walkway to the front door of these mansions was a completely different story.

Once I found a home that I could actually get to the front door (most were blocks with all sorts of crazy safety protocol and barricade measures), I finally decided it was time. My heart was racing and palms were sweating. I walked down that street, ready to learn the secrets to their success, and change my life forever…

And then I walked right past them. Every single one. Couldn’t do it. Couldn’t pull the trigger.

“I’ll just watch the YouTube videos already made on these.”

“At least I walked up and looked at them.”

“No one even knows I’m doing this.”

Told myself every excuse I could think of, but it just wasn’t sitting right. You know who DID know if I did or didn’t do it?

That’s right. Me.

So I tried again. And by try, I mean I walked down the street, with good intentions, bathing in the San Diego sun and continuing to admire these miraculous mansions - and no action being taken.

We all know where good intentions lead…

And then I did something powerful. Something proactive. Something action-oriented.

I put on my shirt.

How about that for a start? Putting on a shirt and starting to assume the role I was going to take (For context, I was walking around in flip flops, bathing suit, and no shirt - and was thinking I’d walk up to these homes shirtless). Nice.

🌱 SEED OF SUCCESS: assume the role you want. Want to get promoted? Act in accordance with the next role. Want to ‘become’ a runner, lace up the shoes and jump out the door. Start doing the things that role demands and soon enough you will be that person.

In sales we call this “assuming the sale.” And we take actions as if it’s going to happen. “Act as if” goes a long way…

So in this scenario, I put on the shirt, the exact attire I would be “presenting” in, and my mindset switched from “wanting” to “doing.” It switched from FUTURE to present… in a matter of moments, and quick decisions.

🌱 SEED OF SUCCESS: it’s much harder to THINK your way into action, than it is to ACT your way into thinking…

So the shirt was on, and it’s almost like the universe was conspiring to fulfill my intentions… I acted in accordance with my plan, and then I saw a guy ride his bike into the garage of one of the houses…

He popped inside but the garage didn’t close, so I awkwardly paced back and forth at the top of the driveway, trying not to look too creepy, waiting for my opportunity.

He came back out. Gametime.

“Hey sir, how’s it going?” I yelled out.

A little purplexed, he looked up and responded, “Can I help you?”

“Do you live here?” I asked

“No, it’s a rental. But LOOK at this place”

“I know, that’s why I’m here - had to ask how the owners landed in these spectacular spots!”

Then we chatted about the houses for a minute, before he was called by his wife and I was on my way to the next.

We were underway.

🌱 SEED OF SUCCESS: sometimes we just need to take the simple action to get things started. Focus on the ONE thing you can do to get started, build momentum, and let motivation take over from there (M3).

Then came the moment of truth. I was back to staring down these long, intimidating walkways to the front door of the first two houses.

Heart racing once again, I took a deep breath, and this time with a shirt on, I went for it. “What am I going to say? How should I say it? What if they’re weirded out? Is this weird? Am I weird?”

Deep breath.

“Just knock on the door,” I thought myself. “Focus on what you can control. You can knock on the door.” (I actually said this out loud to myself, probably looked and sounded like a crazy person - as most of you know, I’m also “that” guy)

So there I went, pink board shorts, flip flops, tank top, and backpack walking up the door of this $15+ million dollar house, ready to learn the REAL secret seeds of success.

CRACK CRACK CRACK. I knocked on the door. “Holy shit I did it.”

Heart started racing, I waited. And waited. And waited. And then…. Crickets. I tried again. Nothing happened. No one answered. Honestly, I was slightly relieved, and thought, “Okay, onto the next.”

I walked over two houses, stared down the pathway, took a deep breath, and walked up to the door (I wish I could see the video footage of me doing this. Once again, crazy person - looking like some Tony Robbins breathing exercises going on in front of these millionaire’s homes).

CRACK CRACK CRACK. My heart was back to racing.

And then….. nothing. No answer. Again.

And then that was it. No other houses had access to the doorways. So I called it a day.

And I know you’re probably extremely disappointed learning that I didn’t actually talk to anyone. What a letdown - you might even be considering unsubscribing. Honestly, I’m pretty disappointed myself!

But you know what, I felt pretty damn good about DOING THE THING…

I was SO close to leaving Million-Dollar-Lane with a deep sense of regret, failure, and disappointment. But I turned around, put on a shirt, and at least did what I could - controlled what I can, and focused on the inputs. The neutral behaviors that we can do, regardless of what the results are.

And you know what a true end result did end up being for me? A newfound sense of pride, confidence, and self-affirmation that I take action in the face of fear.

It’s these acts of bravery that bleed into all other areas of life: doing the uncomfortable things at work, making the calls, having the hard conversations, bungee jumping off bridges, you name it.

As James Clear would say, it’s another vote in favor of who we want to become.

Keep Plantin’ y’all.

______

Additional Pictures from my trip to San Diego:

Seeds of Success Latest Hits:

Seeds of Success Podcast, Ep. 67: How Values Guide Your Decision-Making with Master Your Mindset Expert, Collin Henderson