What do you want to be when you grow up?

I grew up in a time of great role models, family dinner at 5pm and TV shows with happy endings.  Why do you think you were so sad watching Old Yella...? That's right we were accustomed to happy endings...  Today, TV is totally different, last night one episode:

5 murders'

Boyfriend in prison,

Pregnant girlfriend just had the prisoner's baby,

 She vows not to let the prisoner to see his son,

And, get this, the happy ending was $50,000 in blood money, hidden from the IRS, was going to find its way to the criminal's newborn... HUH?  What happened to Mayberry and Sheriff Andy Taylor? 

Until I was 13, I wanted to be a crime fighter, rounding up bad guys and helping grandmothers cross the street.  I even had my folks bring me to the state police academy so that I could see my heroes, first hand.  I remember my brother Phil, wanted to be teacher, certainly not for the money.   My friends wanted to be doctors and lawyers not because of all the cool stuff they could buy...but because they felt like they would be helping people.  Could you imagine being on the playground with your friends and telling them you wanted to be a "Real Estate Agent" when you grew up... Oh my god that would surely have gotten me the "Wedgie" of a lifetime...

So what happened to our dreams?   In most cases, I would guess economics happens... Money becomes the measurement of your success, or the limiting factor of your dreams.  We (society) spend way too much time thinking about money.   Lately, I have been hearing a lot of whining about the real estate business, primarily about money, so I thought it would be best if we refocused on the other reasons we do this job.  I challenged my agents to re-focus, find a good book, buy a new literary treasure, or re-read and old classic, just to remind them of why we do, what we do... You know the helping people part. 

Everyone in our office agreed and off they went to re-discover the greatness of our business.  They chose books from the Bible to the Seven Habits, stories about King Solomon and Jesus... One of my agents read the Bible, and pointed out the most secular part of the bible... whether you're a believer or not...  Jesus made a difference... No matter what faith, you have to acknowledge greatness, when the simple measurement of "your time" becomes so significant that it is actually recorded in BC and AD... The lesson of the day is "Time".  Spending time to make a significant difference in the lives of other people should be our focus and the economics will take care of itself. Think of how fortunate we are to help people at significant points in their life.  The purchase of their first home, the expansion of their family, the creating of wealth and even the relief brought about by lifting the burden of settling an estate...

So,  the next time you are trying to figure out why you became a real estate agent remember we can't all be crime fighters but every one of us can help a Grandmother cross the street...

Tuesdays with Tony