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Over the past several weeks my family, company, and everyone I know in this world has been rocked by an unforeseen uppercut known as COVID-19.

This dangerous virus is an invisible enemy that has waged an unprecedented attack on us (humans). As I am writing this, our world is continuing to evolve in a situation that remains fluid. In response to this situation, Bennett Realty & Development’s staff is working remotely, fully capable of continuing all necessary duties but heeding the words of the experts. We remain steadfast while weathering this storm. Just recently, I posted a video on my Instagram stories that I believe encapsulates where we currently are in this situation. I was running adjacent to a brook “upstream” or against the natural flow of the water. Once I hit a certain point at the end of the trail, I would turn around and run back, or “downstream”. While statistics, the media, and all the experts are not necessarily saying we are at that “turning point”, you should believe we will get there. In this exact moment, with so much unknown there is only one way of dealing with this; POSITIVITY.

I know what you’re thinking; this isn’t the time to think “everything is going to be alright” of which I would respond to; what other choice do we have? You see, in adversity, there are two choices. Allow the circumstances to overrun you with fear and anxiety or prevent any negative thought from entering your mind and believe with every fiber in your body that we will get through this. Stay in the moment, be thankful for what you have and STAY POSITIVE.

In my experience, every challenging time or circumstance creates a ‘sling-shot’ on the other side. When I push my body and mind in harsh physical training or work tirelessly on a deal that seems impossible, there is a “cross-over”, a spot where the pain and suffering go away to acceptance and almost increased optimism because I know it won’t last forever. I remain POSITIVE.

As we all have increased time in close quarters with our families, this alone is the silver lining. While I have been working through these times, things have slowed down dramatically allowing me to have more time with my children and wife. Feeling like simple times, this is the perfect time to ideate, exercises, and partake with family activities. On the other side of this, I think we will all realize that the words “social distancing” can also mean “FAMILY GATHERING”.

Be safe and healthy at-this-time but REMAIN POSITIVE!

Follow me on Instagram @Tylerobennett

RE-FRAMING
This topic is so critical to success and fulfillment in life. Every Monday, I have a call with a friend, mentor and highly successful entrepreneur. This week we discussed RE-framing and the power behind this practice. It was powerful and informative. Later that same night as I sat down to read some of the last pages of; “Finding Ultra” by Rich Roll, coincidentally in the first sentence the word RE framing was present. Two HIGHLY successful people talking about the same thing…I needed to write about this!

RE-framing is changing your mindset, perspective and how you look at things and yourself. It can be done on the spot or applied to long term planning or BOTH. This past week, we saw the tragic loss of one of the greatest basketball players of all time and 8 other people including young children. With such a tragic loss, it may be hard to consider how to re-frame this. I’m not suggesting there is any good in this event. Simply that in the wake of such heartbreak, we can try to re-frame our minds to be THANKFUL for every moment we have with our loved ones and all we have.

RE-framing is the conscious effort of changing one feeling to another. Turing a negative to a positive or a low to a high, or fear to confidence. Like anything in life that is beneficial, it is not easy and will take ongoing effort. I practice this EVERY DAY, probably 20 times a day. You may be surprised that you do too but perhaps you have not recognized your effort behind it or understood the power of this if channeled properly.

In business and life, our minds drift all the time, and usually the “fight or flight” mentality takes over. During that drift, often we worry, or fear what could be. “What if I mess this up”, “What if no one likes this”, etc. Maybe the day you have a big presentation at work that you have worked hard to prepare for, you say to yourself; “I hope I don’t mess this up”. That’s the “MOMENT”. The moment when you must consciously recognize your thoughts and RE-frame the thought to “I’m so excited to make this presentation, I know I will do great”.

For me, I practice re-framing every day, but I also use it for the BIG picture in life. When I hit a ‘snag’ on a real estate transaction, instead of thinking “How did this happen”, “This is going to destroy the deal”, I RE-frame my mind to think, “This is only an obstacle in a puzzle that I WILL solve”. I do not allow my thoughts to drift to a non-beneficial state that only create self-doubt. In life, as I continue to endeavor to become a better person, father, husband, entrepreneur, etc. when I get a sense of fear or concern, I FLIP that feeling to RE-frame it and say to myself “Look what I get to do, how great is this”, and turn the “fear” to “thankfulness”.

Like much of what the #BennettBlog encapsulates, this is practice I utilize in my everyday life and have found it to be extraordinarily beneficial. TRY IT!

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I am not big on believing that long term changes occur simply because the year changed. But I do believe that reflection is an essential practice in life and business.

The past 12 months were an incredible journey for myself and my Company. If you know me, you know that I don’t subscribe to society’s belief that “work” and “life” are separate. It is all the same. It is all 1 thing….LIFE. I don’t leave my work in one frame of mind and then spend my weekends with my family in another. It is ALL the same. If I am happy in one, I am happy in the other. If I work hard in one, I work hard in the other.

I live by and believe how you do anything; is how you do everything.

The past year I experienced the most mental growth of my life. Doors were opened and I earned an understanding about endurance and mindset that will last forever, and I applied it to business. It will also be remembered as the year the “bar got raised”. The bar of business, life, happiness, and growth. Meaning, I (we) can all do more, be happier, impact others more. As I look in to 2020, I will again look at raising the bar because what else is there? The
higher the bar, the more you can achieve and the more you achieve the more you have to GIVE. The more you believe you can do; more you WILL do. The more people you can help and impact. I believe and practice that ever year, in the ongoing effort to get better and grow we must achieve 1 BIG thing. One big goal that seems far away when we commit to it, but we pursue it with unwavering commitment. Something HUGE. And each time we achieve it, it
will “raise the bar”. There is no cheating that. It could be a acquiring a new (or first) piece of real estate, or having a child, or buying a new house, or donating time to a charity. It should almost feel crazy when you first decide to do it, that’s where the reward is!

In 2019 I made several of these; I completed an immensely challenging development deal, climb the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest (29,029 Ft.), acquired a new multi-family development site, and opened a new office in Charlotte, NC. Now that that is “done”, the bar is raised. It is a “ONE-WAY” street onward and upward. I try not to look back at what I did not achieve (that will be a longgg list) and lock in and reflect on what WAS achieved. This helps establish the “bar” or level you’re achieving. When this happens your mindset changes.

Mindset is not improved from just reading a good book or posting encouraging things on social media, it can only happen from practice and application of it. From achieving more or giving it all you have in pursuit of the achievement. Limits are self-imposed provocations that are governed by our own mindset. When we peel these back OR achieve more, our mindset changes. It becomes second nature to aim high and achieve high. That is what we all should do as PEOPLE in the new year.

As we head into a New Year, here are my suggestions for doing more:

1. Lead with Gratitude—Enjoy and be thankful for everything you have, you do, and you love. This is the cornerstone for success and happiness
2. MINDSET is EVERYTHING—Realize this and do not allow your mind to drift in to negative thoughts or thoughts of self-doubt. The Power of this has no END
3. Aim HIGH and DO! Take the shot at something that seems impossible. If /when you tell people about it , they say “you’re nuts”, it means you are on the right track.

Yes, the #BennettBlog is back. We are taking things deeper into personal practices. You want to read a blog solely about capitalization rates or the federal reserve’s interest rate moves, go find it elsewhere. Here we apply actual life lessons to business.

I used to think having gratitude in business would or could make you weak. That acknowledging what I’m thankful for while I am fighting for more success would be a self-inflicted wound. That somehow it would stop be from earning more or feeling better if I stopped to “smell the roses”. No way can someone in the real estate business use this word and action as a cornerstone to their daily grind right????? WRONG ! Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone that knows me knows I spend a lot of time mentioning gratitude. In my personal social media posts to my hashtags.

Acknowledging the power of this word, it’s action, and the thoughts and beliefs behind it is the first step in reaping its rewards. But do not let it allow to be singularly tied to this Thanksgiving Holiday. The more gratitude we have, the more fulfilled we are. The more fulfilled the happier you will be. The happier you are the more productive you will be and the more you will have to give to your friends, family, co-workers, clients, and even competitors. Do you see the point ??

And here is the thing, the benefits get better and stronger the more you acknowledge the things you have gratitude for. Acknowledge, to yourself or others that you’re thankful for a business partner, an assistant, your husband or wife, children, and watch how your relationship with them grow, get’s stronger and is more productive. You see

Every day, I express my gratitude for 3 non-financial things in my life. It centers you, keeps you focused on what matters, and brings more fulfillment to you.

Do you think Bill Gates or Sam Zell ignore gratitude in their business? I doubt it. You can have all the success in the world but if you ignore the practice of gratitude you will never be truly fulfilled.
I’m thankful that I have learned the meaning of gratitude and its power.

Follow me on Instagram @Tylerobennett

Last week I participated in an endurance event called ‘29029 Everesting’ at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. If you read the last BennettBlog you heard a little bit of the back story of this event. If you didn’t, the event has about 225 people that have 36 hours to climb up the mountain as many times as you can. If you reach 17 ascents you have climbed the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest or 29,029 feet. It is not a race, its YOU vs. YOU. To give you an idea on the size of this challenge; the average marathon is 5 hours long, the average ironman is 12 hours long, this event is 36 hours long. People from all walks of life traveled to this Mountain with one common goal, to push their own physical and mental limits.

Like anything in business and in life, we need expectations or goals as people call them. My expectation was to finish the event in 24 hours or less, never stop moving (no breaks), not allow a negative word or thought in my mind or out of my mouth, and to say ONLY positive things to the people around me. It was a test but very much an experiment for me. Going into unchartered territory is always an experiment if you allow what you learn to be applied to your future. I did this to find out what I am capable of, both physically and mentally. To find out how and if my training and preparation would allow me to respond. And to have an experience that I can apply in my business and life for many years to come. The truth is any endurance event is a metaphor for business and life. The more you can withstand and the more you experience, the more you grow and the more you have to give.

So, let’s get to the outcome. After starting at 7am on Friday morning, I finished my final ascent at just past 6am on Saturday morning, 23 hours after starting. In the wake of freezing temperatures, deep mud, blowing winds, rain, and snow, none of these external challenges mattered. Just like your challenges in business really don’t matter. The only thing that matters is the outcome and how you endure. If you allow the challenges to control your pace and approach you will fail before you have given yourself a chance to succeed. If I let my cold feet stop me, I would have quit within the first 300 feet. My first 3 ascents I hiked with a former Navy Seal. One of his mantras in life is not to give your pain a voice. The same holds true in business. You can replace pain with challenge or adversity or negativity.

After my initial 10 climbs, people started to go turn in for a couple hours sleep, the mountain got quiet, the temperature dropped, it got really dark and in the wake of this, I became immersed in a hyper-focused state that I had never experienced before in life. I could have just as easily gone the other way, turned in for a couple hours. That was my ‘moment’, the script has already been written, the “expectation” was set. There was NO WAY I was going to stop and, with a grin on my face, I pushed forward, all night, alone. As I have been processing the event and the relation to my business, I realize that with such focus and preparation you should expect this. If you are negotiating to acquire a property or brokering a deal, it will take time and effort. There are highs and lows, but you SHOULD see the outcome of that transaction as successful before it happens. You should believe with every fiber in your body that you CAN and you WILL secure the outcome you want. You shouldn’t be surprised by a successful outcome. It is not overconfidence; it is endurance confidence.

I also realize that while I truly believed before the event started that I would reach my expectation of 17 ascents non-stop, the fact that I did it was a manifestation of the effort and mindset behind it. One of the co-founders of this event, Jesse Itzler said to me after the event “the bar has been raised”. What we are capable of is bigger than what we are doing. Maybe it is raising the bar of my Company’s revenue, strengthening my relationship with my children and wife, or just pushing new limits of growth. This was not a singular event; no endurance event is.

In everything we do in business and life the expectations I mentioned earlier usually have “add-ons”. Things that you take away from an experience that you didn’t see coming or expect to surface. For me, it was the optimal humanity and interaction with the other participants. Everyone was leveled-up by the mountain. The highly successful CEO, the former Navy Seal, the former NFL Player, and mother-daughter team were all equal. In a world of false human measurements, it was gratifying, rewarding, and humbling, to see that when we are faced with adversity, we are all equal. It doesn’t matter what your net worth is or the car you drive or house you live in. We are all possible of achieving great things. And all capable of doing more. My ‘add-on’ was perhaps the best part for me. Do not allow pre-conditioned expectations of societal norms blind you from the reality of what is occurring in front of you. Stay in the moment, embrace the situation. Often there is something special happening right in front of us. In order to really see this, you must remain present.

Marc Hodulich, another Co-Founder of this event said it best when he said there are 2 possible outcomes to this event; you achieve your goal, or you walk away having given everything you had trying to achieve your goal. I did both. And you can do too.

Follow me on Instagram @Tylerobennett to hear more about this journey

As you read this, I’m likely in the middle of participating in an endurance event called 29029. A 36-hour challenge where I am climbing the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest, which is 29,029 vertical feet. We have 36 hours to ascend the mountain 17 times. Complete the 17 ascents and you have equaled Mt. Everest. We start at 6am on Friday and have until 5pm on Saturday to complete. What does this have to do with business you may say?? EVERYTHING!

I made a personal commitment to this event and to myself nearly 10 months ago when I signed up. I believe that our life experiences make us better people, able to give more, and understand more about ourselves. There are several reasons I am doing this endurance challenge but let’s focus on the application to my business.

For the past 20 weeks I have been in an intense and structured training program coached by Brent Pease, a highly accomplished Ironman, Triathlete, and incredible athlete. To be the best version of you, you need to be pushed by others that are better than you and I have been fortunate enough to have that experience. The same holds true in business.

I said to someone the other day, if the event was cancelled tomorrow, (which would stink) what I have learned about ME over the past 19 weeks has been tremendous and now I can share that making me able to give more. The discipline, mindset, growth, pain, frustration, and success have surpassed any athletic, physical, or mental experience in my life. And I thought I had seen it all having played College Basketball….boy was I wrong. The 30+ mile runs, 12-hour training sessions, late-night workouts, 4am single-digit temperature runs, 5 hours on a treadmill, 3 hours on a stair-master, and 3+ hour runs in 90 + degree heat of the summer. The meaning of these experiences combined is far greater than the single accomplishment any of these provided. The same applies in business. If you’re working on a big project with a hard deadline or developing a project that has taken you years to complete, or are trying to grow your business, having ENDURANCE is a big key to your success. Here are some key components of ENDURANCE.

The first thing I learned from training for this event is the strength of COMMITMENT. Signing up is just Step 1. Committing to an unwavering training program, while running my business, and spending time with my family was no small feat. But the COMMITMENT I made to myself was unwavering. Most people in business commit to things they’re not truly COMMITTEED to, meaning they don’t hold passion or desire to see them through or they abandon them when “other things come up,” meaning they were never really committed to them in the first place.

Next is DISCIPLINE, which is like commitment but is more about the ongoing effort of a goal. I have always been a planner; planning my weeks, my days, my quarters, etc. but this took planning to an entirely new level. How do I squeeze 7 hours of sleep, family time, 10 hours of business, and 3, 4, 5, or even 8-hour training sessions in to a 24-hour day? The logistics were as hard as the training but staying disciplined kept it all together. The more disciplined you are the more disciplined you become. Discipline in business keeps your head on straight, it allows you to stay the course and not be derailed by outside forces or defeated by influences we all face.

Lastly, towards the end of my training, it became apparent that I could endure the physical part but that my MINDSET needed to be sharpened and altered to perform at the highest level. MINDSET is a loaded word but in business it means believing in yourself, staying positive in the face of massive professional hardship, and having an unrelenting attitude towards your goals. In endurance races people tell you the importance of having your own personal “mantra” to help you through the hardest moments. The times that you are physically spent and mentally ready to break, what do you say to yourself to help push you through? Without a doubt, MINDSET is the one aspect I grew the most in. We should all have our own life mantra’s in business, this serves as a reminder to push through the hardest moments in business and not allow a self-defeating attitude into your head. My mantra is “I CAN & I WIN, Mind to Body”.

Now, like any business, trying new things and what we get out of them is only as good as the execution and thoughtfulness behind them. For me, I thought I was operating at optimal level is all my “boxes” of life; business, family, fitness, and experiences but I learned I had A LOT more to give, we ALL do. My ENDURANCE level was shy of where it should be. I learned that true ENDURANCE is an on-going effort that never really ends if we don’t want it to. There is NO FINSIH LINE, nor should there be. Don’t let your imagination of a finish line stop you from improving and getting better.

The COMMITMENT, DISCIPLINE, and MINDSET didn’t cost me to lose time in business or family, it allowed me to see so clearly to what I needed to spend time on. A lot of the daily tasks we endeavor to complete we treat with an urgency as a mission-critical task but that’s not ENDURNACE, that is merely “checking boxes” and the best way to get ahead in business is not through brunt force or strength, it is through a cumulative approach, a steady non-wavering and disciplined approach, otherwise known as ENDURANCE.

Follow me on Instagram @Tylerobennett to hear more about this journey

Watch a piece of parking lot at Rockaway Townsquare be transformed into a Miller’s Ale House Restaurant.

My professional career and admittingly, my own personal life, has always been about doing more. Working more hours, completing more deals, giving more effort when I was worn out, making more money, having more meetings, adding more “to-dos” to my list. But as I have delved deeper into my journey of professional success AND personal well-being, I have realized that small can sometimes be better. And I have a lot of actual experience to show for that. The problem is, no one, nowhere, is telling anyone this. In today’s age of constant multi-tasking and media attention, the measure of success has become the more you do; the more you do.

Now, I will say that this topic can easily be argued in either direction and that my opinion of this approach is NOT an ‘ALWAYS’ scenario. There are times to go big but certainly not all the time.

After nearly 15 years in the real estate business which included working for larger regional brokerage companies to managing and owning a brokerage company with partners, I am where I am by design, by choice, and with purpose. Owning a boutique full service commercial real estate firm. The results? More professional success and much more personal satisfaction. You see, I chased the societal brainwashing that led me to believe the more you have, the more you get. The more staff, the more income, the more people on your team, the more “Available” signs you have up, the more listings on your website…the more success. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Through my own life experiences, and A LOT of challenges and adversity, I have realized this. Realizing it and actually acting and practicing it are 2 different things, and you must do both.

Truth be told, and I have said this many times, “if you are doing it SMALL, you can do it BIG” …what do i mean by that? If you run a boutique real estate company, you can create the best analytics and pursue and secure the best clients and deals, you do not need to be BIG to do that…period! In fact, in the pursuit and execution of this, the client almost always gets better service by using the “small” approach. You can acquire a “small” investment property that maybe it’s “only” a 20,000 SF strip center or a 10-unit multi-family building (this is the small part) and do it “big,” by going all in and focusing on maximizing the performance of these assets with no distraction on other unrewarding things.

I’m in the middle of reading a great book, “The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. It focuses on doing one thing well and cutting out the measurement of success by completing meaningless tasks that are on your to-do list. One of my favorite quotes (so far) is, “Activity is often unrelated to productivity, and busyness rarely takes care of business” …think about that!

Innovation

A word that many connect to tech gurus or Silicon Valley cryptocurrency traders. This couldn’t be more wrong. Innovation to me means; someone or something that adapts and creates a path that was not otherwise present. It is the single biggest and most relevant word in the commercial real estate space right now…yes, I just said that.

The real estate industry is innovating in all sectors; industrial/logistics/last-minute-mile going multi-stories, residential communities adding amenities, retailers creating an experimental brick and mortar experience, or co-working spaces in the office sector. There is NO doubt that the last 5 years have ushered in unforeseen, unimaginable, and unpredicted innovations in ALL real estate categories and it’s REALLY exciting. Why am I writing about this? Because if you understand the power of this word, accept it, and apply to your practice, you will greatly benefit.

From a personal perspective, the Company I founded, Bennett Realty & Development, is based off an innovative approach to the commercial real estate space. One that actively pursues principled development deals and offers third party brokerage services, all under one roof with all the analytic capabilities of a large brokerage company. Combining two typically divided practices in to one concept I knew was innovative and has offered a platform unseen from my experience.

The word INNOVATION is driving most of the transactions you read about and is touching every single sector of the commercial real estate space. Consider this; WeWork, the co-working giant, buys the historic retail building that Lord & Taylor has occupied for decades; in the Bronx developers are about to embark on the first EVER multi-level industrial building; suburban office parks once viewed as antiquated such as BellWorks in Holmdel, NJ is transforming in to a suburburbanism mecca; and lastly, multi-family projects are offering ride-sharing programs, Amazon lockboxes, and (coming soon), are launching co-living space scenarios. Imagine if you heard the above sentence just three years ago, you wouldn’t believe it.

Every day I am innovative. I accept and recognize that the basic practice is no longer applied to massive REITs, Private Equity Funds, Debt Originators, etc. etc. etc….you get the point. Don’t cut yourself short and associate this word with something it is not; reserved for “others” that don’t do what you do. Now go INNOVATE!