It’s Easy To Let The Best Of You Slip Away.

23 Jul It’s Easy To Let The Best Of You Slip Away.

"It's easy to let the best of you slip away."  - Bruce Springsteen

"That was something that Springsteen used to say to the audiences at the shows that stayed with me."  -

Sarfraz Manzoor discussing his latest film Blinded by the Light (releases in cinemas August 9th 2019).

It is easy to let the best of us slip away.

Most have walked in those shoes. I certainly have.

We've been led to believe that life is meant to be one of constant and never-ending improvement.

In reality, of course, it's a series of blind-alleys and missed turns.  Peaks and troughs.

We just pray that the accumulative highs outnumber the lows. That we can see far enough ahead to not venture down that blind alley, or to miss that important turn.

It's easy to let the best of you slip away.  It's easy because....

Our values and beliefs are challenged. Our principles are tested.  Our priorities change.

And we compromise.

Nowhere more so than in estate agency.

The erosion of fees. The slight compromise on valuation to combat the deliberate over-valuation from a competitor.

The confident pitch to a vendor that came out of your mouth - but they were someone else's words.

Chasing clients that you know aren't a good fit.  Because there is rent to pay.

It's not the life we imagined when we set out on this journey.

It's just the reality of letting the best of us slip away.

Of course, there are some that encourage you to believe this needs fixing.

That you're not good enough. You're being left behind.

That you owe it to yourself to learn more.

To be the best.  And, if not the best, than at least better than you were yesterday.

Competition is an easy 'sell'.

Here's the thing.

That blind alley I mentioned earlier?

It's coming up in the headlights.

You don't need to compete with every other agent/realtor out there.

You don't need to seek the higher ground.

What you're being told isn't necessarily right for you.

I've been there.

In my earlier career as a golf pro, I watched the swing'guru's try to turn every player into a robot.

Less moving parts.  Less emotion.

"Here's how they won a major.  Here's how they topped the money-list."

Until Jim Furyk (US Open Winner 2003) turned up.

With a swing so unorthodox, it has been described as resembling an octopus trapped in a phone booth.

Jim's father, Mike, a PGA club pro himself, recalls that on more than a few occasions friends, coaches and instructors tried to remove the out-up-in loop from his swing.  But Jim would have nothing to do with it. Neither would his father.

There's others, of course.

Bubba Watson, He found his own way, his own swing and owned every bit of it. Enough to win two US Masters titles.

John Daly, Lee Trevino, Allen Doyle and others prove that it's doesn't matter how. It's how many.

There's a few, not many, estate agents/realtors that successfully do it their way.

The majority, however, are still trying to perfect, polish and posture their way to success.

Still trying to stand out from the crowd.

Whilst even more fitting in, to that stereotypical estate agent/realtor  avatar.

Attending the Tom Ferry, Grant Cardone, Brian Buffini, Tom Panos or Craig Proctor seminars.

Being brain-washed into believing they are getting better.

When, in fact, they are letting the best of themselves slip away.

If you're a qualified estate agent/ licensed realtor, you're capable.

More than capable.

Of winning an instruction.  Of selling a home.

Competence isn't the issue.

Where you have let the best of you slip away is with character.

You've hidden away the very thing that sets you apart from every other agent.

Who you are. What you believe. How it's expressed in your tone of voice.

That - is the missing ingredient in estate agency today.

A willingness to stand in the spotlight, take centre stage & simply to be who you are.

Vendors want to trust you.

But first, they need to know and like you.

"Trust in a relationship is a complicated thing. Trust requires allowing others to see as much of ourselves as we have the courage to reveal.  Allowing others to see behind the mask.  The masks that we all wear to overcome fear."  - Bruce Springsteen

If you persist in wearing that mask.

The mask that says 'I'm the best estate agent.'

Don't be surprised when you lose the instruction to another agent that says 'This is who I am.'

Bruce Springsteen, the musician?

I'm not that much of a fan.

Bruce Springsteen, the story-teller?

Certainly.

Bruce Springsteen, the man?

I'm a big fan.

The label of estate agent/realtor confines and limits your expression.

Don't let the best of you slip away, simply in order to wear that label.

Your personal brand is your identity.

It's the core values and beliefs that differentiate you.

It's who you are, when you're not doing what it is you do.

And, it's so much more interesting.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

If I can help with your story, your personal brand, or anything else, just get in touch.

More than happy to chat.

chris@andsothestorybegan.co.uk

mob: (44) 07369251435

www.andsothestorybegan.co.uk