Could you stand up to daily scrutiny?

I don't want to take sides on the whole Miley Cyrus issue yesterday, but it did get me thinking about the glare of a spotlight and how it affects us as real estate professionals.

I remember reading a thread somewhere on a forum, or a blog, or even right here on Active Rain that discussed automobile advertising.  A lot of the thread discussed the benefit of branding, mind share, the effectiveness of the advertising, etc.  

But somewhere mid-way down the thread people started saying things like "I'll put a sign on my car that I can remove quickly, but I wouldn't want anything permanent because I don't want someone judging my effectiveness as a Realtor solely by the way I drive".

I'll admit, at that time I had one car (a roomy SUV) I used mostly for showing real estate and I had thought about putting a nice big sign on the back window.  But when I thought about people judging me as a Realtor by the way I drive (or worse, by the way one of my children drive when they borrow the car) - I decided against it.

I'm not a bad driver.  I might get a ticket once every two years, and its been decades since I've been in an accident that was due to my fault or negligence.  At most I might get rear ended in bumper to bumper traffic (which we have a lot here in the greater DC area).

But I do sometimes have to pass someone who is driving slow while they talk on a cell phone, or I have to cut in front of someone who isn't paying attention, etc.  I rarely feel I'm in the wrong, but based on their reactions I get the feeling the other drivers don't feel I am in the right.  So the last thing I want as I drive away is my name, website and phone number staring them right in the face.

I also think about this when I think about having a MySpace profile or a Facebook profile that I mean to be privately shared between me and some of my somewhat more raunchier friends.  So when it comes to those things I try to follow the rule of "would I be embarrassed if my kids or my mother saw this?"

I guess in a lot of ways real estate professionals who have a strong public image are like local celebrities.  And with all of that fame comes the risks and responsibilities that follow.