Entitlement

We live in an entitlement minded world these days. Especially if you are a Realtor. We had several years when the economy was good and mortgages were not very difficult to obtain. As you know... those days are gone! Yet, agents still sit around waiting for business to come to them.

We would all do good to read the book Who Moved My Cheese?. It does a good job of describing the entitlement mindset. If you are allowing yourself to be victimized by this curse, maybe this read will be an eye opener for you?

These days, you must WORK for every transaction. You have to be prepared to be a great resource to your clients and offer them a higher level of service. A well armed Realtor has worked hard to know their trade, to keep a professional image, and is a great resource to their customers and clients.

Nothing has burned me more than the attitude of our society these days though (and this mindset is not limited to the Real Estate community). There seems to be an expectation that the government should do something for them, that financial reward is RIGHTFULLY theirs, that the enjoyment of the finer things should be theirs if others have it... even if the "others" have worked tirelessly for it and they haven't.

Pride can be a cancer, but in this case, it can be a blessing. How about we take some pride in ourselves and start looking for the answers to our financial problems in the mirror!? A simple "gut check" to see if you are waiting or if you are being proactive can be your catalyst for success.

Wikipedia defines it this way: An entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits based on established rights or by legislation. A "right" is itself an entitlement associated with a moral or social principle, such that an "entitlement" is a provision made in accordance with legal framework of a society. Typically, entitlements are laws based on concepts of principle ("rights") which are themselves based in concepts of social equality or enfranchisement.

In a casual sense, the term "entitlement" refers to a notion or belief that one (or oneself) is deserving of some particular reward or benefit—if given without deeper legal or principled cause, the term is often given with pejorative connotation (e.g. a "sense of entitlement").

We are not all created financially equal. Yet we all have the ability to chose to be greater than we were at birth. Make the choice to reach higher by your own motivation rather than waiting for your entitlement to come in.

Our entitlement attitude needs to end! "Pull ourselves up by our boot straps" as my father used to say. Stop living in a manner of expectation from others and get back to being productive by your own efforts. Your pride will grow immensely, you will be so much prouder of yourself, your family and friends will respect you more, and good things will come your way! Now, be a go-getter and and go-giver!