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"You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want." Zig Ziglar Zig Ziglar died last year about this time, but he left behind plenty pearls of wisdom. And this quote is certainly a shiny one. We get by giving. Truer words were never spoken. Let me share a real-life example. My neighbor Mo recently told me about his vacation to California. He decided to visit the beach and build a fire in the fire pits that are provided. He'd gone down to the beach ahead of his family and set up his site with a few chairs and some fire wood in the pit. He then went back to get his family, but when they returned, a group of girls had moved in and taken his spot. But Mo is a nice guy and decided to just find another pit. No luck. Every ring was taken. And as he walked back by the girls, he noticed they were having trouble getting their (his) fire started and they asked him if he could help them. Mo had a couple of choices--one was to say, "No!" (After all, they stole his fire pit.) Or he could offer assistance. Being the good guy he is, Mo chose to help, and they were grateful. As Mo continued up the beach he saw a group that had two fire rings and asked one of the men if he could use the extra fire ring. The man said, "How about you take over our fire, we're about to leave." Mo and his family gathered happily around the fire. A few minutes later the man returned with two big bundles of wood from his car and offered them to Mo for free. As I listened to Mo tell me this story, I realized that if Mo hadn't stopped to help the girls, the other group wouldn't have been ready to leave and Mo's family would have been left without a fire. Funny how simple acts of kindness can be rewarded in ways we can't even imagine. So, what's this got to do with real estate? Well, a lot. In particular, I'd like you to give yourself an attitude check about how you view your job as a real estate agent. What role do you see yourself filling? Are you selfishly focused on just getting a sale and then moving on? Or, are you a helper, an educator? Someone who truly wants to provide a service that helps people? Something I've learned in this business over the years is that people do business with people they know and trust. Trust is something you earn by always choosing to do the right thing like building a fire for someone you may not even like all that much. And being honest and forthcoming and giving 110 percent to every client in every transaction with a true servant attitude may not always get you an immediate return. But if you do them with the right intent, your reward will be multiplied down the road. I guarantee it. And if you do, I know Zig would be proud. As the holidays settle in this year, let's make practicing kindness a daily act--and then sit back and be amazed at what we reap. Let me hear from you. Do you have a story of getting from giving? Have you adopted this kind of attitude in your daily work? If not, what can you do to start? What hurdles are in your way? How specifically can you overcome those hurdles? Here's wishing all of you the happiest of holidays! Verl Workman is president of Corcoran Consulting Inc. (800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the residential broker or agent's existing practice.
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Zig Ziglar, real estate, Corcoran Consulting, Verl Workman, real estate advice, real estate agent, Realtor, kindness, daily act of kindness, good attitude,
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