Awareness Isn't Enough | NOW THAT YOU KNOW BETTER… WHAT'S YOUR NEXT MOVE? | Ep. 28

Knowing better is important.

But knowing better isn't what changes your life.

Doing better does.

In this episode of Life, Finance, & Real Estate with KirbyTheRealtor, we conclude a powerful three-part series by moving beyond awareness and into action.

After questioning the voices we've listened to in Who Told You That? and challenging the beliefs we've carried in What If You're Wrong?, we now ask the question that determines our future:

Now that you know better... what's your next move?

Together, we'll discuss why so many people remain stuck despite having access to more information than ever before, how comfort can become one of the greatest obstacles to growth, and why the life you desire begins with one intentional decision.

You'll also hear practical examples, biblical wisdom, and personal reflection designed to help you move from intention to action in every area of life—including your faith, finances, relationships, career, business, and homeownership.

Because at the end of the day...

Awareness opens your eyes.

Action changes your life.

Thank you for listening to Life, Finance, & Real Estate with KirbyTheRealtor, where we educate, empower, and elevate.

Because I don't just teach you how to earn it.

I teach you how to sustain it.

Success. Purpose. Growth.

Own your life... so you can own a piece of America.

This episode is Part 3 of "The Transformation Series":

• Episode 26: Who Told You That?
• Episode 27: What If You're Wrong?
• Episode 28: Now That You Know Better... What's Your Next Move?

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Life, Finance and Real Estate, where we discuss how to make smart money moves, the ever-changing real estate market, and of course, things going on in life. And here to talk about it more with you is your host, Kirby the Reek.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Let me tell you about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Hey family, hey family. Welcome back to another episode of Life Finance and Real Estate with the girl Kirby the Realtor. Listen, y'all, we educate, empower, and elevate because I don't teach you how to earn it. I teach you how to sustain it. This show is all about success, purpose, and growth. And I want you to always know you need to own your life so that you can what? Own a piece of America. Listen, y'all. Today I need everyone listening to do me a favor. I don't just need you to listen today, people. I need some participation. Okay. I know I can't see you and you can't see me, but today's conversation has the potential, I believe, to change your life. But only if you're willing to be honest with yourself. Not with me, not with your spouse, not with your pastor, not with your children, but with the person you see every morning when you look in the mirror. Today's episode, y'all, we are not talking about what everybody else needs to do. We are talking about what Y O U. Who? You. We're talking about you. Yes, you. For the past two weeks, we've been on a journey together, y'all. It started with that one simple question. Who told you that? Who told you that you weren't smart enough? Who told you that because you made mistakes, God couldn't use you? Who told you that home ownership wasn't for people like you? Who told you that investing was only for the wealthy people? Huh? Who told you that debt was just the normal part of life? Who told you that? Who told you that family financial history had to be your financial future? Because guess what? Sometimes, y'all, we believed things for so long that we've stopped asking where those beliefs came from. And here's what I have discovered. Some of the things we've been calling facts were never facts at all. They were opinions, they were experiences and fears and pain and disappointments. And y'all, sometimes they were even spoken words over us by people who were hurting themselves. Sometimes they were voices from culture. Sometimes they were our own inner antics, like, you know, our own fears out. They weren't necessarily the truth. And then last week, we talked about an even harder question. What if you were wrong? Now listen, that wasn't, it wasn't about proving, you know, anybody being wrong. It wasn't about making anybody feel guilty. It wasn't about pointing fingers at anyone, but it was about giving ourselves permission to challenge what we've always believed. Because, y'all, if you're never willing to question your own thinking, you'll never change your life. We on this show we talk about life. We've talked about life, we've talked about finances, we've talked about debt, we've talked about relationships and about purpose. And I ask you over and over again, what if you're wrong? What if you're wrong about your potential, wrong about your finances? What if you're wrong about home ownership? What if you're wrong about what God can do through your life? And for many of us, that was uncomfortable last week because nobody likes admitting they might be wrong. I'm guilty. There was a time where I just, I mean, I admitted it, but it was like gritting my teeth, admitting it, right? We've all been wrong before. I've made financial decisions I wish I could take back. I've trusted the wrong people. I've allowed fear, y'all, to delay decisions. I've had moments where I've questioned myself. I've had moments where I wondered if I was even enough. And maybe you've been there too. Maybe, maybe actually you're there right now. But here is the beauty in all of it. Here's the beautiful thing. Being wrong isn't the problem. The problem is staying wrong. When the truth has revealed itself, that's the problem. Because once you know better, you do better, right? That's what we heard growing up. Once you know better, you do better. You have to make a decision. And that's why today's question is so important. Now that you know better, what's your next move? Because awareness doesn't change your life. Information doesn't change your life. Reading another book doesn't change your life. Listening to another podcast doesn't change your life. Watching motivational videos and even listening to this radio show will not change your life. Not by itself. The only thing that changes your life is action. Okay? Can I be honest with y'all? Most people don't have um, a lot of people say, you know, I don't have the resources, I don't have the information. That ain't the problem. They have an application problem. They have an effort problem. You know, we know we need to eat healthier, right? We just don't. We know we should save money. We just don't. We know we should forgive, but guess what? We just don't. We know we should spend more time with our families, and we just don't. We know we should stop procrastinating, and we just don't. So maybe the issue isn't that we don't know. Maybe the issue is we just haven't taken the next step. We haven't put anything into action. See, there's an old old saying that says, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. Y'all, that'll preach by itself, okay? I ain't preaching to you, but that'll preach all by itself. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. I believe something even deeper, y'all. When the student is ready, the action begins. When you make up in your mind and when you just tunnel vision, the action begins. Because knowledge without movement is potential that never that's never realized. There's a scripture in the Bible, James 1 and 22, that says, be doers of the word and not hear, hears only, deceiving yourselves. Notice something. James didn't say don't hear the word. He didn't say knowledge is bad. He said don't stop there. Because hearing without doing can create the illusion that you're growing. You can listen to podcasts every day and still never change. You can read 10 books a year and still never change. You can go to church every single Sunday and still never change. You can know every financial principle and still be broke. You can know every single Bible verse about forgiveness and you still refuse to forgive. You can know everything there is to know about buying a home and you never pick up the phone to call a lender or a realtor. See, knowledge is power. That's true. I don't take that knowledge is power. But y'all, knowledge without action is like on the map and never leaving your driveway. It's like going to Google Maps or Apple Maps, putting your destination in, and just sitting there wondering why you're not where you're supposed to be. Y'all, that's some serious stuff. Think about it. Knowledge is that is when you have knowledge and you do nothing with the knowledge you have, just picture putting an address in your GPS and it says you got two hours to your destination. You never leave your deck your driveway. And you still wondering why you have two hours to your destination. So today I'm not asking you what you know. I'm asking you what are you going to do? Because your future isn't determined by what you know. Your future is determined by what you repeatedly do. And today we're going to discover how one decision, one action, one step can completely change the direction of your life. So, y'all, get your notebooks, get your pens, your pencils, your recorders, get it all out. We don't, we don't change. We don't, we don't, why don't we change? That's that's what I'm trying to say. Why don't we change? That's what you need to ask yourself. Why don't we change? Let me ask you this. Why is change so hard? Seriously, think about it. People know that smoking is bad for them, right? But people still smoke. We know that we should drink more water. Most of us don't. We know we should save money. Yet, so many Americans, Americans, so many of us can't cover an unexpected experience without having to borrow money, um, put it on a credit card. You know, like we know we should spend more time with our families, yet somehow we're always too busy. We know we should forgive, yet we keep replaying what happened five years ago. Why, people, why? Because here's what I've learned. Knowing isn't the problem. Doing is, let me prove it to you. Raise your hand. Well, hold on. Wait a minute. If you're driving and listen to me, don't raise your hand. You might can raise one, okay? But if you're stagnating, I need you to raise your hand. How many of you know you should probably eat a little healthier, right? Almost everybody. Now, how many of you actually ate healthier this week? Mm-hmm. See, knowledge wasn't the issue, the action was how many of you know you should probably exercise, save more money, spend less time on the phone, spend less time scrolling Facebook, Instagram, get more sleep. How many? Exactly. The problem isn't that we don't know. The problem is knowing doesn't automatically create action. It doesn't automatically make you move. Knowing. So, family, can I give you a picture that I think will explain what so many of our um of our lives look like? I need you to envision this. I need you to close your eyes. Now, if you're driving, like, don't close your eyes, but envision this. A rocking chair is an interesting piece of furniture to me. It gives you movement, right? I love sitting in a rocking chair sometimes. It's relaxing because I can just rock back and forth, back and forth. A rocking chair gives you movement, but it doesn't give you progress. You're moving, but you're not going anywhere. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. From a distance, it looks like something's happening, right? But when you get up, you're still in the same exact place. So, let me ask you something. How many of us are living life like a rocking chair? You're busy, but you're not progressing. You're working, but you're not growing. You're not you're not moving. You're learning, but you're not applying. You're talking, but you're never taking action. We confuse motion with momentum. We confuse activity with accomplishments. We confuse being busy with becoming better. Listen, family, just because you're moving doesn't always mean you're moving forward. Don't mistake movement for progress because motion with direction will never change your destination. You know what I find interesting? Nobody becomes healthier by buying workout clothes, right? You can go buy all the Lululemon and all these cute little outfits, but you're not gonna become healthier just by putting them clothes on. So, if knowing isn't enough, then what's really stopping us? I believe many of us aren't held back by a lack of information. We're held back by something so much. Y'all, it's it's a word that's so just subtle. Okay. Comfort. Family, can I tell you something? God has been teaching me in this season. Comfort isn't always a blessing, sometimes it's a barrier, right? Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not talking about enjoying what God has blessed you with because God wants us to enjoy life. He wants us. You work hard, he wants you to enjoy. But he wants us to experience his goodness. I'm talking about becoming so comfortable that we stop growing. Because here's what I learned. You have growth and comfort, right? Growth and comfort rarely occupy the same place. Think about it. Muscles don't grow because they're comfortable, they grow because they're challenged. Marriage doesn't grow because marriage doesn't become stronger because it's easy. It becomes stronger because two imperfect people keep choosing each other through difficult seasons. A business doesn't grow because every day is predictable. They grow because somebody is willing to take risks, solve problems, and keep showing up. Faith doesn't grow because everything makes sense. Faith grows when we trust God, even when we don't have all the answers. So why will we expect our finances, our purpose, our callings to grow any differently? See, sometimes the very thing you've been praying for is waiting on the other side of discomfort. Listen, let me ask you something. What have you been comfortable with that God may be calling you to change? Have you become comfortable living paycheck to paycheck? Have you been comfortable carrying debt? Comfortable saying one day I'll start saving, one day I'll buy a house, one day I'll start my business, one day I'll get serious about my hair. One day, one day, one day, and one day never comes. One day I'll spend more time with my family. Y'all, tomorrow has stolen more dreams than yesterday ever could. Because guess what? Yesterday is gone. And tomorrow isn't promised. All we really have is today. One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is I'm waiting on the right time. But can I lovingly challenge that? What if the right time isn't something you wait for? What if it's something you create? Think about it. You're not waiting on the right time. You create the time because y'all got chills. You don't wait on the right time. You create it. Because there will always be another excuse. The economy, the interest rates, politics, your age, your schedule, your fears. Life will always give you another reason to wait, but it also gives you another opportunity to move. See, can you let me tell y'all something I see all the time? People say, um, Kirby, I really want to buy a house. And I smile and I ask, have you talked with the lender? Nope. Have you checked your credit? Nope. Have you started saving? No. But I really want to buy a house. Listen, family, dreams are wonderful. But dreams without preparation remains a dream. Preparation is what you need. You need to prepare, you need to save, you need to, you need to answer the hard questions. Preparation is what turns proper uh possibilities into reality, y'all. That's why I tell people don't wait until you think you're ready. Find out what it takes to get ready. Maybe the lender says you need six more months. Sometimes three months. Great. Now you have a plan. Now you have something to shoot for, something to aim for. Maybe they tell you, pay off these debts. Great. Now you know your next move. Sometimes the answer isn't no, y'all. Sometimes it's not yet. And not yet is a whole lot better than never asking at all. Let me be transparent for a minute. There have been seasons in my own life when I knew exactly what needed to happen. And I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I made excuses. And it wasn't because I didn't know. It was because I was afraid. I was afraid of making the wrong decision. I was afraid of saying the wrong things. I was afraid of failing. I was afraid of what people would think. I was afraid I wasn't enough. Have you been there? Has anybody listening been there? Are you there right now? Because fear disguises itself. Fear can disguise itself as wisdom, y'all. Fear, fear is something serious. Procrastination disguises itself as waiting on God. Where comfort disguises itself, it is contentment. I've learned something. Fear has never built anything. Fear has never built a business. Fear has never built wealth. Fear has never built a healthy marriage. Fear has never built a legacy, y'all. But action. Action. Effort. Action. Doing. Not reckless action, but faithful action. That's why Proverbs tells us to trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not to thy own understanding. Notice it didn't say understand first. It said trust first. Think about Noah. Yeah, I'm sorry. Just go with me here. Think about Noah. Noah built an ark before it rained. It had never rained on earth. And Noah built the ark because guess what? God told him to. Think about Abraham. He left home before he knew the destination. Then he got Peter. Peter stepped out of that boat before he even knew walking on water, what before he even knew what walking on the water even felt like. Over and over again, God doesn't give us certainty first, y'all. He asks for obedience first. And then certainty grows along the journey. Maybe that's why some of us feel stuck. We're asking God to show us the whole staircase. And he's saying, I'll show you the next step. Family, you can't steer a parked car. But once it starts moving, even small adjustments can completely change its direction. Maybe somebody listening today doesn't need another confirmation. Maybe you just need to move, not perfectly, not fearlessly, but faithfully. One step, one decision, one conversation, one act of obedience. Because comfort feels safe. But growth, y'all, growth prepares you for where God is taking you. And that brings me to what I believe is the most important part of today's conversation. Because one thing it's one thing, y'all, to hear a message, but it's another thing to honestly evaluate your own life. So before we leave today, I want us to have what I call a mirror moment. Not to judge ourselves, not to shame ourselves, but to be honest with ourselves because transformation always begins with truth. The person in the mirror, okay? Family, before we leave each other today, I want to ask you something. Something that takes courage. I want you to stop looking out the window and start looking in the mirror. Because the windows let us look at everybody else. When you have a window, you're looking out. Right? If you're driving in your car, if you're sitting in your home, you're looking out the window. Y'all, but a mirror. A mirror forces you to look at yourself. It forces all of us to look at ourselves. And can I tell you something? It's a whole lot easier to fix everybody else, right? It's a whole lot easier than it is to face ourselves. It's easier to criticize. Y'all, growth begins the moment we stop asking who's responsible and start asking, what can I do differently? What can I do differently? So for the next few minutes, I'm not asking you to ask. Answer me. I'm not asking you to answer yourself. I want you to answer honestly because honesty is the birthplace of change. If nothing changed, absolutely nothing, where would your life be five years from today? Not the life you're hoping for, not the life you're praying for, the life your current habits are creating. Would you be excited or would you be disappointed disappointed? Your future isn't built by your intentions, it's built by your daily decisions. Every day you're casting a vote. Not a ballot box, but with your habits. You're voting for the person you're becoming. Number two, what's one thing you've been saying I'm going to do for five years? For years. I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get healthy, I'm gonna save money, I'm gonna start investing, I'm gonna buy a house, I'm gonna start a business, I'm gonna write a book. I'm rapping, y'all. I'm gonna forgive, I'm gonna spend more time with God. How long has I been going to been a part of your vocabulary? One year, five years, ten years? Come on, family. One day you wake up and realize you spent years preparing for a day you've never started. Ooh. Ouch. Come on. How long will one day be a part of your vocabulary? Number three, if your children copy your habit, this one deep, y'all. Your children, because you know we are the first teacher of our children. If your children copy your habits, would you be proud? Not your words, but your habits. Because children don't always become what we tell them. They often become what they watch. They're watching how you treat your spouse, they're watching how you respond when life gets hard. They're watching how you spend money. They're watching how you talk about people. And listen, that's a real one. If you're one that gossip all the time, they will tell you. They will mimic that. They're watching. They're watching how you pray, they're watching how you forgive, watching how you work. Family listen. Someone is always watching your example. The question is, what lessons are they learning? Number four. What are you feeding your mind every day? Think about that. You know every headline, every celebrity salary, every piece of gossip. But do you know your credit score? Do you know how much you spent last month? Do you know what's in your retirement account? Do you know what it's being invested in? Do you know the last scripture you read? Because what goes into your mind eventually comes out in your life. It's all you consume. If all you consume is fear, you're eventually gonna live fearful. If all you consume is negativity, you eventually become negative. If all you consume is wisdom, eventually you'll make wiser decisions. Number five, what conversations have you been avoiding that could change your life? Maybe it's with your spouse, with your child, with your employer, with your lender, with your financial, professional. Maybe it's a conversation you've been avoiding with yourself. The one where you stop saying, I'll get around to it, and finally say today. Number six, what prayer are you asking God to answer? That He has already shown you how to begin. Lord, help me get out of debt. God says, start the budget. Fill out that what I speak. Y'all, if you've been following me, you understand. Lord, help me buy a home. Call the lender. Lord, strengthen my marriage, start the conversation. Lord, use me. Serve where you are. Sometimes we're asking God for another miracle, and God is waiting for our next act of obedience. James says, faith without works is what? It's dead. Faith moves, faith acts, faith obeys. Can I tell you something I've learned? Most people don't need a motivational speaker. They don't need another podcast or a book or seminar. Y'all. Most people just need one honest moment with themselves because that one honest moment can redirect one, can redirect your entire life. And I wonder, what if this is the moment for somebody listening today? What if today becomes the day everything begins to change? Not because you've learned something new, but because you finally decided to act on what you've already known. Family, if today's conversation has done anything, I hope it hasn't just inspired you. I hope it's interrupted you. Like I hope it's interrupted the excuses and interrupted your fears and your comfort, your procrastination. I hope that it interrupted the lies you've been believing because sometimes the greatest blessing God gives us is a holy interruption and one that changes the direction of your lives, of our lives forever. And before we leave each other today, I have one challenge, not 10, not five, but just one. Your next move. We spent the last few weeks on a journey together, y'all. Three weeks ago, I asked you, who told you that? Because I wanted you to question the voices that shape your thinking. Last week I asked, what if you're wrong? Because I wanted you to question the belief that may have been holding you back. And today I've asked, now that you know better, what's your next move? Because awareness by itself changes absolutely what nothing action does. So before we leave each other today, I don't want to make 10 changes. I don't even want to make five. I want you to make one, just one, one decision, one conversation, one act of obedience, one next move. Maybe your next move is finally calling a lender, not because you're buying a home tomorrow, but because you're tired of wondering. Maybe your next move is opening a savings account you've been putting off. Maybe your next move is sitting down with the financial professional and learning the difference between saving and investing. Maybe your next move is writing down every debt you owe instead of pretending it doesn't exist. Maybe your next move is asking for forgiveness. Maybe is extending forgiveness. Maybe your next move is spending 30 uninterrupted minutes with your children. Maybe your next move is finally making the doctor's appointment you've postponed for months. Maybe your next move is opening your Bible before you open social media tomorrow morning. Maybe your next move is applying for the job, starting the business, writing the first page, making the phone calls, taking the walks, joining the class, going back to school, or simply getting on your knees and saying, Lord, I'm ready. Family, don't underestimate one decision. One decision introduced David to Goliath. One decision called Noah to build an art. One decision caused Peter to step out of that boat. One decision caused Ruth to leave everything familiar. One decision caused Esther to walk into the king's court. One decision changed Zacchaeus. One decision changed the woman at the well. One decision changed Saul into Paul. Throughout scripture, life's changed, not because people knew more, but because they finally obeyed what they already knew. And maybe, just maybe, the next chapter of your life is waiting on one decision. Psalms 119 says, Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Y'all, I love that scripture because a lamp doesn't show you the entire journey. It simply gives you enough light to take the next step. So maybe that's that's why some of us feel stuck. We're asking God to reveal the entire plan, and He's saying, Trust me with the next step. Family, you don't have to know everything. You don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to eliminate every fear. You simply have to be willing to move because motion creates momentum. Momentum creates confidence. Confidence creates consistency, and consistency changes lives. So don't leave today's episode saying that was good. Leave today's episode asking, what's my next move? And when you know what it is, do it. Not next week, not next month, not when everything feels perfect, but do it today because tomorrow has never changed anyone's life. Today has. I want to leave you with one final thought. When you when your life, when you're wrong about life, you lose time. When you're wrong about money, you lose wealth. When you're wrong about real estate, you lose opportunities. But when you're willing to learn, you gain wisdom. And wisdom has the power to change every area of your life. I don't know where you are today. Maybe you're rebuilding, maybe you're waiting, maybe you're discouraged, maybe you're carrying regret, maybe you're wondering if it's too late. Let me encourage you. As long as God has given you another day, He has given you another opportunity. Your story isn't over. Your best chapter may not be behind you. It may be waiting for your next decision. And remember, ownership doesn't begin with a deed, it begins with a decision. And one decision can change a family, one decision can change your finances, one decision can change your future, one decision can change your legacy. Listen, my friends, this has been life, finance, real estate with your girl, Kirby the Realtor, where we educate, empower, and elevate. Because I don't teach you how to earn it. I teach you how to sustain it. We all about success, purpose, and growth. And I appreciate you tuning in and hanging out with me today. But until next week, don't just know better, live better, own your life so you can own a piece of America. See you soon.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Thank you for tuning in to Life, Finance, and Real Estate with Kirby the Realtor. You can catch us every Thursday at 12 p.m. on 92.1 WJMG, 93.1 WGDQ. And also you can listen live at 921 WJMG.com or 931 WGDQ.com. If you happen to miss the live recording, don't fret. We'll replay it at 6 p.m. tonight. Thank you once again for listening to Life, Finance, and Real Estate.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Let me tell you about it.