Many thought and time has been spent on the topic of the human ego. I personally think that having a strong ego is a good thing. It is what drives us to succeed, or what makes us want to be successful. Like everything that I can think of, it needs to be used in moderation. While it is healthy to have a positive view of ourselves, being too positive about ourselves can turn people off.
I firmly believe that the positive self image is what will attract people to us, I know that seems to contradict what I just wrote in the last sentence, but it is true. No one wants to be around someone that is always down on themselves, after a few minutes most people feel the life being sucked out of them by people with this poor self image. I also believe that few people wish to be around someone that is so full of themselves, that they can drive people away even more quickly that the negative people do.
Most of us in this business have a huge drive to win within each of us. That too, can be carried too far. I was at a training where for the review of the material taught was made by dividing into teams and playing topic Jeopardy. The trash talking became so personal, that many co workers feelings were damaged and for what? It was just a review of the class.
How many of us have been in a deal where someone got so full of themselves that the deal was trashed for next to no monetary value? I know that we have been there a few times. As some of you know, I am a big fan of the 7 Habbits by Stephen Covey. He is very direct in saying that truly successful people think only in terms of win/win instead of win/lose. In our business, especially now, that is also very true.
There has been a reduction in the number of transactions in most areas of the country, so why would we toss even one aside because of our ego? Why would we drive away a client because of our ego? The list of questions could go on and on, but the point is the same, we should all be mature enough to check our egos at our desks and take care of business. Confucius said: "He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own."
Times are tough enough as it is, why should we make them more difficult by allowing our egos to make them worse! Have a great day and Make it a Great Week!
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