In a sea of professionals in the same industry many of them know each other. The ones in the same niche especially know who each other are. It's time to look around and see who's still in the game. Look around, who do you see? Are the same people who started in this race with you still with you? Are yesterday's superstars still in the game?
In business it is the ones who have applied what they learned in lean times and great times who stick around. There are tons of want to be professionals who can "talk a good game." I mean there are people who sit around and talk about the old days as though they participated. There are people who posture as though things are going good. There are people who put on fronts just to save face in front of their peers. We can be good at all of these things but being good in this arena won't keep us in the game. I don't know who said it but when it comes right down to the wire, those who work more on themselves than they work on anything else become the market leaders.
Being a market leader in today's market is hard. It's real hard. I mean people who stay out front in business get up early and stay up late. They do what it takes to get the job done. These are folks who ponder the possibilities all the time. These are men and women who won't settle for mediocrity. They won't throw in the towel just because everybody else has. These folks scrape and scrape until they get what they know is theirs.
Look around, who do you see? Do you see yourself in the midst of a group of professionals who are settling for just getting by or do you see yourself as the market leader in your niche? Please understand that because knowledge is so readily available today it no longer is the quintessential distinguisher of market leaders. Understanders of the market can certainly be market leaders but only if they apply the knowledge. On the other hand "just understanding the market no more makes a person a market leader than sitting in a garage makes one an automobile."
I look around and realize that many of the folks who started with me in the niche I am in are no longer in the game. They don't write blogs anymore nor do they connect with the same people I connect with. This leaves in a sea of professionals pretty much by myself. Many of you know I am not a Realtor. You read my blogs and realize I am an encourager by nature. The point I am making here today is that before I ever encouraged anybody else I had to encourage myself.
For me being a market leader has been tough. I made a decision back in the late 80's that I would connect with Realtors like nobody in my industry would. Although I have changed industries and moved into a different arena, my connection with Realtors stands out more than any other person in my industry that I know. Just look around, who do you see? Where are the market leaders in the niche I connect with?
It might sound like I'm bragging but the reality is that I have purposed to set myself far apart from my industry companions. I have chosen to introduce myself to professionals who they said they would love to help. The only challenge is that many of them really didn't mean it. If they did they would still be around. This might sound a bit harsh or egotistical but again I have to ask you to look around, who do you see?
In closing I want to encourage you to be the market leader in your chosen niche. Be the person that when others look around they still see standing broadcasting the same message. It takes guts to leave the ruts. By the yard it's hard. Inch by inch life is a cinch. These are cute quotes but they have a powerful impact for those who make up their minds to distinguish themselves as the market leaders and the understanders of the market.
What's your decision today, to be a market leader or an understander of the market?
Ced Reynolds
I am always looking for market leaders to connect with. If you know anybody like that have them contact me.
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