Happy New Year. Today is probably the last day I’ll wish anyone a “Happy New Year” because we’ve probably already passed the statute of limitations for 2023.
This is the time of the year when most people assess what they are doing and why they are doing it. In an ideal world, the things people do are something they are driven to do and, at the same time, something that brings personal satisfaction, all while contributing to the betterment of society.
The real estate brokerage industry is becoming a more appealing option to many college graduates. It reminds me of the same reasons young kids went to Wall Street thirty years ago. It’s not because they have a higher calling to help their fellow citizen, like becoming a teacher or doctor or to solve a housing problem, like so many of the volunteers at city agencies.
It’s the money! The potential of earning big bucks drives their decision to enter the real estate business.
Most of this new generation of agents has been introduced to our business through the lens of unreal real estate reality shows (not easy writing a sentence with the word “real” in it three times). The kind of shows that present our industry as being filled with cringy salespeople acting clown-like who make millions of dollars by opening a door. I mean, who wouldn’t want that?
But, even as these shows have largely destroyed and denigrated our profession’s positive reputation, there is a crop of smart agents who are driven to build their businesses the right way.
By developing a habit of focusing on serving their client, not their ego.
Side Bar:
Every year, we start with a resolution. New gym memberships, new diets, health regimens, starting meditating, or aspirations of reading more—all great goals. Half the battle is forming this new habit. I highly recommend “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. It’s a great book that gives practical advice and solutions for creating a new habit. I also find great inspiration from Twyla Tharp, who said” “I begin each day of my life with a ritual. I wake up at 5:30 A.M., and put on my workout clothes, my leg warmers, my sweatshirts, and my hat. I walk outside my Manhattan home, hail a taxi, and tell the driver to take me to the Pumping Iron gym at 91st Street and First Avenue, where I work out for two hours. The ritual is not the stretching and weight training I put my body through each morning at the gym; the ritual is the cab. The moment I tell the driver where to go I have completed the ritual. It’s a simple act, but doing it the same way each morning habitualizes it—makes it repeatable, and easy to do. It reduces the chance that I would skip it or do it differently. It is one more item in my arsenal of routines, and one less thing to think about.”
Let’s do this!
-Shaun