If you have been in the Real Estate business since before 2006 and you are still here, congratulations! You have navigated through massive change and survived and hopefully thrived. That is only part of the story though, buckle up your seatbelt, more change is coming. The only thing I can promise you won't change is that things are going to keep changing, and changing faster and faster.
For the last few years I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have heard from REALTORS, "the business just isn't any fun any more." Or "It is just so hard now." However, it had been a while as the market has heated up and agents have been so busy. A couple weeks ago, I was reminded that there are still those who are struggling with that change. Those struggling are stuck in a 2006 business model, and rather than searching for where the cheese has moved, are waiting until someone puts it back where it was. Let me assure you it isn't coming back, it is simply getting ready to move again. There is a real danger in fighting change.
Change is always coming, it simply keeps speeding up. This is what one of my favorite economists Paul Pilzer wrote on the topic. For years the historic age was known by the technology of the age, The Stone Age, the Iron Age, Bronze Age all lasted for generations, you were born, lived, and died under that same age, but as technology has advanced, the speed of change has moved to light speed. We once were taught to "Be the Best" at a given skill to be successful, today, that could be a recipe for disaster if the need for that skill evaporates. Those who are most adaptable to change are the winners in today's and into tomorrow's economy, those who not only adapt, but work to stay in front of it.
Look to history to see the future:
In 1930 there were 30 million American farmers who were barely able to grow enough food for the 123 million Americans at that time. By 1980 there were only 3 million American farmers who were producing so much food that even after feeding the 227 million Americans, and exporting around the world, the government paid them to leave land idle to keep too much surplus from depressing the markets. Most didn't see much because it happened over 50 years and people kept moving off the farm to go to work in the cities, many to car manufacturers. In 1980 there were 250,000 Americans working making carburetors in the Mid-West, by 1985 a new technology was created eliminating almost all of those jobs, the fuel injector system. In 1989 there were 150,000 Americans working in Indiana and Ohio pressing vinyl records and their industry had it's best year in history, then in 1990 they were almost all out of work due to the Compact Disc.
The economy didn't get them-- technology made them obsolete. Those who waited around looking for another job like they had once had suffered greatly, those who saw that their cheese moved and learned a new skill moved on, and maybe on up. For those who remember Richard LeMieux, who spoke at the IAR convention a couple years ago. His business of publishing Criss Cross Directory type of books was taken down by the Internet. He lost his palatial home, his wife, family and ended up living out of a van with his dog Willow. He showed us the dire consequences of refusing to adapt to change can have. Thankfully, he finally was able to reinvent himself by writing "Breakfast at Sally's" a book on his inspirational comeback from homelessness.
The best skill you can learn is to learn to learn. Learn to embrace change rather than fear it. Why do you fear change? What can you do?
In our schools we are taught, not based on the premise of learning new ideas, big picture thinking, (systems thinking) and decision making, but rather on memorizing history, and classifying people's aptitudes based on one mode of learning. This has had quite a profoundly negative effect on our perception of our capacity to learn. So, very much like understanding why we resist change, this step is critical in order to shed negative reinforcement. Indeed, this understanding and therefore unlearning our bad learning habits is the last preparatory step in the adaptability process.
Fear tells you this: "I can't do it." Remember FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real.
Continual self doubt is simply the residue of being negatively reinforced for so long. It's part of being afraid of change. You have been told since you were a child, by teachers, parents, grading systems, and certain marketing institutions that sell products by using negative reinforcement, that you are either good or bad at something, that you have aptitude for certain things but not for others, and that you need things you don't have in order to be whole. People who decided as children that elementary math class didn't come easily often believe as adults that they are simply not good at math.
But you can change, it is all a matter of focus, desire and finding the proper learning method and tools for your disposition. Ultimately you should hold imagination in higher regard than knowledge. That means you trust who you are and let your sense of wonder and curiosity guide you. Think of it as a large empty tool box in your mind. Knowledge is simply material - tools - you gather to fill that box. You can attain whatever knowledge you want. Today there is an unlimited ability to gather information on nearly every topic at your fingertips, you can Google any question, or YouTube anything you want to know.
It is equally important that you associate without others who share this constant quest to learn. That is one of the things I most love about RE/MAX Ability Plus, everyone pushes each other forward simply by the atmosphere of learning, sharing, and growing. Surround yourself where others are constantly growing and changing, they will open your eyes to change needed and inspire you to do so.
Albert Einstein put it this way, "If at first a new idea doesn't seem ridiculous, then there is no hope for it."
