Real Estate: A Job, A Career, or A Passion?

Real Estate: A Job, A Career, or A Passion? - 

There are many things that will separate a good agent from a great agent: desire, tenacity, time and
money management, to name a few, but one thing that can make all the difference is having a Passion for what you do.

If you look at real estate as merely a job, chances are you are not long for this business and are already heading out the door.

If you have chosen real estate as your career, then you may be making a decent living but you still long for the day when you can retire and do something else.

Those few who have turned this business into their passion are living their ideal lifestyle, they have found that drive, that desire that makes them excited every day to get out of bed and live their lives with passion.

Lets look closer - 

• A Job is something you do to put food on the table, you would rather not being doing it in most circumstances, but you have to in order to survive, you are probably always looking for a better job.
• A Career is a path you choose, something that you enjoy and you are good at, and might have even gone to school to have this chosen career, you may enjoy your work and are very good at what you do, however your whole reason for having this career is to one day retire and not have to do this any longer
• Passion, now this is what makes all then difference, the pay is not important, there is no thought to ever retiring, for you are living your dream, day in and day out. Every day when you wake up you can't wait to get started, you find yourself spending hours doing what you love and hate when the day is over. those that have found their passion have truly found success!

To me, real estate is a career, a path I have chosen that I enjoy but I still look forward to the day when I can be following my passion and no longer transacting - my true passion is helping others create their ideal lifestyles and through real estate I can do that. I am not talking about helping people buy and sell homes, yes that can help with a certain lifestyle, but what i am really talking about is helping real estate agents find their passion within the industry so that they can create their ideal lifestyle.

Several years ago I realized that real estate sales was not my passion, but I was fairly good at it and it created a nice lifestyle, as some of you know from my posts and my profile my true love is golf, so I got to thinking how can I tie golf to my career to make it more fun. Aha, now we are onto something, I called a golf magazine and asked if I could write articles for them about real estate as it relates to new golf communities, this was starting to get fun again. 

I then realized that homes on golf courses were usually higher priced homes, bonus number two, I thought why don't I specialize in golf course homes. Then came the real brainstorm, if I am going to specialize in golf course homes, I had better get to know those golf courses, I met with membership directors, golf pros, club managers, private and public and as I wrote articles for the magazine I started getting invited to play the course, spend a day at the course and see what life was really like. There are some very nice resort courses in Colorado and I had the pleasure of playing more than my fair share.

I got to meet and interview top agents through-out the state and eventually several from around the country that had very nice listings on golf courses, referrals started to come my way, I started playing golf a couple times a week on different courses as part of my marketing strategy. I would go out as a single and hopefully be paired up with three local players, I would review the stats of homes sold on and around the course and know the market before every round. Word started getting out and the people I played with always asked for a card, because as is the very nature of the game, you spend 4-5 hours with
 others and small talk always leads to where do you live and what do you do? When I explain I am in real estate and I specialize in golf course properties they always start to ask about the local market and tell me their dreams of living on a course.

But I digress, the point is that if you are struggling or want to really ramp up your career, turn it into a passion, find something that you are already passionate about, fast cars, motorcycles, hang-gliding, gardening, outdoor activities.... the list is literally endless. Once you tie your passion into your career, the two seem to meld together and what was once a promising career now becomes a lifelong passion...

... and this is where my true passion lies, helping others convert their careers into their passions. If you need help with this I am a phone call or an email away, it is what I love to do and the way my business is set up i will never have to, nor want to retire, I can do this from any golf course in the world.

What is your Passion?