I Coulda Been a Contenda!

Yes, my Brando impression is weak, even in print. Alternate title: How to Win Friends by CRUSHING THEIR SPIRITS AND STOMPING ON THEIR DREAMS.

You see, I'm a competitive person. I come by it honestly; I have a competitive family. My grandma was winning lady's champion honors at her golf club into her 60s. Monopoly night at my house usually needs intervention by legal and/or financial council.

I'm also competitive at a number of sports, some of which I'm actually good at.

What it boils down to is that I'm competitive at life. I don't think of life as a race (the finish line sucks), but more like a baseball game. It's going to last however long it needs to last, there will be times that you are on the bench and times you get to be the hero (or the goat), and you can't play by yourself.

So what does this have to do with the AR community? Well, despite what some of us say, real estate is a competitive business. If you don't think it is, you might be doing it wrong.

Do you get a little twinge when you see someone else's yard sign in front of a great house on a prominent corner in your neighborhood?

Do you work a little harder when you know there are seven other agents giving listing presentations to a client you really want?

Do you have a sense of pride in your work because you do it well?

Then you, my friend, might just be competitive, too.

And there's nothing wrong with that. I compete against all of my close friends at different things. I would do anything I could to help any of them get better at whatever our competition is, and then I'll try to beat them some more.

Now that I've taken way too long to explain why it's OK to be competitive, I want to share an axiom with you. This is something I use daily, and I apply it to whatever I'm trying to excel at right now.

"Do something to improve yourself every day."

Yes, it's pretty basic. That's why it should be easy to do. But are you doing it?

One of my flaws is that I'm not goal-oriented, in the traditional sense. "Be the best golfer in the world" is not a good goal for me. Not going to happen. "Be the club champion" is still a little bit of a reach. "Be the best golfer I can be" is getting warmer. The goal that is going to make me practice chipping in the rain is "Beat my buddy when we play a buck a hole this weekend". That's a goal I can sink my teeth into.

That's where part two of the axiom comes into play: "Do something to improve yourself every day. Your competition is, so you better keep up!"

I can handle being beaten by someone more talented than I am, or someone that has a great day, or has more experience or better equipment. But I don't want to lose to anyone because they were willing to work harder than I was. That is not acceptable.

And that's how I translate this sense of competition to real estate. I will help other agents any way I can. I won't trash an agent. I'll adhere to the letter and the spirit of the rules of our profession.

But know this: I will wake up earlier than you and look at hot sheets and read emails. I will preview houses around my listing prospects, at night, in the rain. I will be the real estate terminator. So what are you going to do today to beat me?

Game on!