Today I read an article that made a pretty convincing argument that the works of William Shakespeare were actually authored by a Jewish woman. I know that many folks have postulated about William Shakespeare's writings before and this particular argument is not a new one, but it crossed my desk for the first time today.
I have to admit that this argument came at me like a curve ball. If you follow my blog regularly, you may remember that prior to arriving at this exciting point in my life as a super short sale negotiator, I actually taught high school and college English and literature. I wrote so many papers on Shakespeare's works that one of my friends used to call me "Gonna write a paper" instead of Melissa.
With this new theory about Shakespeare's identity, I begin to question all that I have learned about literature and all that I have taught others about literature. Interestingly, I can also relate this curve ball to the big change in our real estate market over the last few years.
All that we had been taught about how to sell real estate--how to go after expireds, cancelleds, FSBOs etc--has changed quite a bit with the creation of the Internet and social networking. Also, all that we have been taught about pricing, negotiating, and working with clients is significantly different now in cities where values have declined and short sales are rampant.
Tom Ferry makes a joke at his presentations and frequently says "Everyone knows an agent in their office who-when they come in-makes the plants wilt." You know that agent; it's Mr. Gloom or Ms. Doom. It's the agent who harkens back to the days of yore when property values were high, loans grew on trees, and buyers and sellers would walk in and hire you off of the street. Mr. Gloom and Ms. Doom are probably overwhelmed and challenged by the unique and challenging market that we are in right now. These agents may not be accustomed to late nights, long dialogues, creative strategizing, and general hard work.
I envision that Mr. Gloom and Ms. Doom feel kind of like I felt earlier today when I read that perhaps William Shakespeare's works were written by a woman. I felt stunned, surprised, and unsure of how to wrap my head around this new curve ball.
Many agents probably feel that way about the market-stunned, surprised, and unsure. However, when I finished reading of the article, I picked myself up, got in the car and went to work. I obtained three short sale approval letters, received a few purchase contracts in the fax, and strategized with a number of agents on how to get their short sales closed. I did not make any plants wilt. When life throws you a curve, just move out of the way of the ball and keep moving. Only then will you arrive at your destination!
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