Move fast is a principle that I’ve leaned into most of my life, except for when we were looking for a house. I walked into a cute boutique and was greeted by a lovely woman who asked if I live in the neighborhood. Without hesitation, I replied, “not yet” and explained how my husband will only buy the worst house. She said, “I know of one near my house” and handed me the address to take a look. Her husband was helping with the estate.

Fast Forward, we confirm that the house needs a lot of love and get a house key to look inside. Suffice it to say, the homeowners never heard about the Swedish Death Cleaning. Navigating the space was challenging emotionally for me because I’d seen this many times as a Realtor. The seller died and his adult children lived far away. They anticipated it would take about 5-6 months to get the house ready to sell. One of the adult children had a teenage son with cancer and could not help his sister sort through so many things. Out of respect for their father, they tried to figure out who might benefit from the many books about engineering, and the tools, wood, artwork and family pictures. Starts and stops. Starts and stops. We made a bold decision to submit an offer to purchase quickly, with the option to work together until spring if needed. Six weeks after our offer, they sent us an email to say yes. Tears flowed because we were invested. I also cried when we went to the house post closing thinking about the meaning they gave to their belongings. This week’s lesson is a good and fun way to build momentum.

Lesson: Momentum beats motivation. Challenge: 12-minute surface reset.