Special offer

My Dog Never Lies

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Lake Homes Realty

 

Our dog Rosie never lies. She is smart, playful, sweet, and clever, but never deceitful. What you see is what you get, like it or not.

If she makes a request or sounds an alarm, she has her own valid reasons, even if those reasons seem to us to be incomplete. Her barks of alarm are never lies; they are always a call to action for the true situation as she sees it.

Does she ever bark when there is nothing really for me to be alarmed about? Sure. ("Yes Rosie, the school bus is big and beeps when it backs up but I assure you it is still not a threat to our home.")

At the moment she feels the need to sound an alarm, based on what she knows she's making the exact right decision. Based on her instincts, loyalty, knowledge, and understanding, her mission to protect our home is her focused goal. Better to bring attention to the possible threat than let us all get surprised by a big, yellow invader.

So, is there a real estate lesson in all this praise of my pup?  I think so.

Let me ask you, what if we all could be like Rosie? What if we could be genuinely appreciated for our unique perspective of the world? What if we could learn to not regret decisions and simply move on while learning from the experience?

We wouldn't blame others, forget our goals, or have to track lies. Think of the time and mental distress we could eliminate.

We all know Realtors, brokers, lenders, buyer, and sellers that venture from the truth, including fooling themselves. This often makes for difficult business relationships and kills many fair and reasonable transactions. Many fail to learn lessons from bad pricing, poor customer service, disorganized contract management, and the market. By failing to learn, we repeat the mistakes, blaming the world for our own failures.

There is another lesson about people in all this. Remember that others you may disagree with are like Rosie. From their perspective, they are 100% right. I am not saying you should accept your perspective as wrong. No, I'm mean that if you were in their place with exactly their thoughts, your perspective of right and wrong would likely be different. To understand people you disagree with is an opportunity to learn and communicate better. It is also an opportunity to gain a listing and close a deal.

I appreciate that Rosie has a committed mission, even when she is wrong about the risk. We should be as understanding with other people as we are with our family dog.

 

Posted by

Glenn S. Phillips is the CEO of Lake Homes Realty, the multi-state, full-service, lake-focused real estate brokerage powered by LakeHomes.com.

 Lake Homes Realty - LakeHomes.com

 

 

Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

Great perspective & our dogs don't hold a grudge either.

Mar 10, 2013 12:43 AM
Roger Stensland
Keller Williams Realty Puget Sound - Maple Valley, WA
Let's Move!

My dog used to hold grudges when we first got hem.  After he had Rosco for about 6 months, the previous owner's comment (and it was a compliment), was "That's not the same dog I left here."  The improvement in the dog was how we treated him and it changed the way the dog treats people.  That too can be applied to real estate, or life in general.  The better we treat others, the better life is!

Your question, "What if we could learn to not regret decisions and simply move on while learning from the experience?"  I still have a hard time with that one.  Too often, I let the past hold me back from my future.  I am working on that one.  I think that it may be something like the 12-step process.

Mar 10, 2013 03:44 AM
Ray Stockwell
ZipperAgent - Boston, MA
Director of Marketing

I would probably be a better person and real estate agent if I acted more like my dog.

Mar 10, 2013 03:50 PM