I speak to agents across the country on a daily basis. This economy and the real estate market is one of the toughest markets the majority of them have ever seen. Sadly, many real estate agents are not making enough money today to pay their bills. Many haven’t had commission checks this year. Most who are making money still aren’t making what they need or want.
Many real estate agents are looking for a solution. They want a cure for their ails. Something new and different to resolve their troubles.
Well, guess what people? I have searched high and low. I have tried all kinds of technologies, software programs and marketing programs. I looked up and down and all around and I finally found that magic pill- like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
The Magic Pill has been found.
Yes! I found it. The magic pill is YOU. There is no substitute for YOU and the hard work that YOU do. If you are not on top of your game, no software, marketing program or email system is going to save you. Rear Admiral Marsha Evans says:
Working hard overcomes a whole lot of other obstacles. You can have unbelievable intelligence, you can have connections, you can have opportunities fall out of the sky. But in the end, hard work is the true, enduring characteristic of successful people.
Success and achievement take hard work. There are tons of companies promising the magic pill to real estate agents hurting right now. Sometimes when we are hurting, it is extremely difficult to be focused and determined. Feeling sad and depressed? Take that magic pill and it will help solve the problem. Right? WRONG.
There is nothing wrong with having good tools in our tool belt to make us successful. It is hard to build a house or an empire if you don’t have good tools, but in the end, a tool won’t help you if you don’t have a floor plan for success and the man power to put into it.
Your effort, determination and hard work is the only true magic pill you need. If you are having a hard time finding your strength, make a plan, and implement it. Having trouble making the plan? Get an architect (a friend, office manager, coach) to help you build the plan. Stop trying to pick out the finishes before the foundation has been poured.
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.” –Thomas A. Edison
Matthew Hardy
February 19, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Absolutely excellent!
I started selling computers when they were first offered to the public… when the 5¼-inch floppy disk was considered cutting-edge. My success was helped by the lowly 3×5 card file, but there is no substitute for simply doing a good job.
Hal Lublin
February 19, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Couldn’t agree with you more!
We all have the ability to shape our own fate, so to speak, and laying out a concrete game plan. Sometimes the only missing ingredient is self-confidence!
Andrea Martin
February 19, 2009 at 5:59 pm
While this flies in the face of all I’ve read of the likes of Napoleon Hill, Bob Proctor and Tony Robbins, I still agree: dedication and honest, hard work is what brings the money home.
In my marketplace, we’re seeing many agents leave for other professions, which is fine by me. They’re the same agents who flew in when it took virtually nothing to sell a home at top dollar a few years ago. I say, let ’em go. Thin the herd. Let the real, hard-working, service-oriented agents be the benefactors.
Excellent article!
Brian Block
February 19, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Ginger,
Yes! There’s no magic pill (bullet, whatever you want to call it), though that doesn’t stop agents for searching. The sooner people realize that it’s all about their attitude and changing with the times, the better. While many agents have been hit by the more difficult market, some are having the best years of their careers by shifting their focus.
Matt Stigliano
February 20, 2009 at 9:03 am
You mean if I read Book A, I won’t be a millionaire tomorrow? If I sign up for Product B, clients won’t beat down my door? If I use Method C, I won’t be a top producing agent?
Wow, that takes the wind out of my sails. Here I was this whole time hanging on for the miracle I had been looking for. And with so many great offers from friendly people on the phone, I was sure I was about to find it.
Nothing beats being a skeptic when someone promises you these get-rich-quick cure-alls. I didn’t get into real estate to get rich quick anyway. I got into to build a long term business that could carry me through the next part of my life. A business where I steer the ship and I decide what route to take. A path that rewards me when I do right and beats me up a bit when I take a wrong turn so that I can learn my lesson.
The only magic pill is me. I like that thought. I want to be my own miracle.
Vance Shutes
February 20, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Ginger,
If it’s to be, it’s up to me. The harder I work, the “luckier” I get. Hmmm…….
Susie Blackmon
February 21, 2009 at 3:49 am
Hi Ginger, I love what I am doing and put many, many hours into it… but I love working my websites so it doesn’t feel like work. While I believe that hard work can be extremely beneficial, I do believe the business of real estate will continue to have drastic changes in its structure for a while yet, and not everyone will have the ability (on an intellectual basis) to adjust.
Ginger Wilcox
February 21, 2009 at 10:37 am
Matthew, Andea, Brian, Vance- I just don’t believe good things come to those who I wait, I believe good things come to those who work for them. Thanks for the comments.
Hal- So true. Self-esteem is an important ingredient. If you don’t believe you can do it, how can anyone else?
Matt- Absolutely awesome quote–I want to be my own miracle. LOVE it. LOVE it.
Susie-I agree, some will struggle no matter how hard they work. Not every occupation is a fit for every person. For some people, their life circumstances many dictate what time, effort and money they can invest. Real estate is a tough, tough business, BUT, hard work and determination can overcome a lot of obstacles.
Brandie Young
February 22, 2009 at 2:10 am
Awesome, Ginger! And so true. I wonder what it is in human nature – we seem to want some easy or magic fix when sometimes it’s the basic fundamentals we should look to. You rock! xo.