How to Let This Be Your Finest Hour in Real Estate

By Cliff Baird

RISMEDIA, Nov. 13, 2007-Duffy Doherty, the great former head coach of Michigan State, always spotted three qualities in his exceptional players. They had a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.

Today, we might call those qualities vision, courage and humor. And certainly today, we are going to need them more than ever. Let us not avoid the obvious. In the turmoil of this real estate market, there will be plenty of carnage and the need for plenty of courage. There will be those who lack these qualities that will fold and retreat. Having been through every cycle that this great industry has seen, however, I know with certainty that there will still be a remnant who will not merely survive-they will thrive!

Who are they? Who will they be? Some we already know from their past history will focus and find their way. Others will surprise us, and although they have been here before, they will develop a strident walk. Intuitively, they understand that all of this will pass maybe sooner than later. So they have decided to laser their vision beyond the gloom that hovers over the landscape.

“Eyes that look are common, but eyes that see are rare.”

There is a wonderful story of a young boy who was sitting on a wharf who was fascinated by steadfastly watching an old man fishing at the end of the pier. He began to notice that the old man was throwing away the larger fish and keeping only the smaller ones. The little boy was confused because he thought the whole idea of fishing was to catch the largest fish possible. When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he asked the old man why he was tossing back the big ones and only keeping the little ones. The old man looked puzzled and said, “Son, my frying pan is only seven inches wide.”

Sadly, so many of us are unable to look beyond our current circumstance to seize the opportunities that could be ours. The vision of many people is often hampered by the debris left behind from past experiences. Some of us are in such bondage that we cannot look beyond the present. Just believe those of us who have been through this “war” before. This will pass and it is really one of the greatest opportunities that will be afforded to you to succeed. You only have to come to terms with what that means.

In this real estate market, you cannot keep doing what you did. You will quite literally have to double your effort. You will have to send twice as many cards and make twice as many calls. You will have to see twice as many buyers and twice as many sellers. But you can. Why? Others will be leaving and there will always be sellers who need to sell and buyers who want to buy. It is a simple formula really.

One of my favorite characters in all of history was Winston Churchill. Indeed, he was the embodiment of all three qualities-vision, courage and humor. In his magnificent treatise about World War II, “The Finest Hours,” we find him immersed again in recalling some of its darkest moments. During the most dangerous period of the war, when France had fallen and all of Europe was under Nazi terror and the V-2 rockets were reaching London with horrific devastation, Churchill inspired the world and particularly his own nation with these spell-binding words.

“We will not flag or fail. We shall fight in France; we shall fight on the seas and the oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, on the landing grounds. We shall fight in our fields and in the streets. We shall fight on the hills. We shall never surrender.”

Exactly two weeks later, he made another speech in the same House of Parliament. It was one of the greatest combinations of words ever assembled in the English language. It may well be the single, most powerful speech ever made.

He said: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its peoples shall last for a thousand years, men will say this was their finest hour.”

There will come a time in the not-too-distant future when you will revisit this period of your life and recall the choices you made. I trust you can say, and I trust I can say with you, “That was my finest hour.”

Cliff Baird, MBA, PhD has spent over 25 years inspiring agents and managers to live above their circumstances by focusing on business systems that lead to abundant success. He is the developer of The RealSTAR Online Recruiting System, which frees managers from the pressure of recruiting and trains them to then use the total system to select and coach their agents to phenomenal success.

For more information, e-mail cliff@yourrealstar.com or call 480-951-7818.

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