Skip to main content

The Naked Truth About Success (Posted September 12, 2016)

At the gym recently, I walk into the pool area where there's only one other guy who’s busy getting ready to swim a few hundred miles – I can tell by the swim cap he’s wearing that he’s serious about all of this.  I get into the pool and do some stretching (so I can look like I know what I'm doing – I can’t have a dude in a swim cap mocking me).  Just as I turn around to face the opposite end of the pool and affix my goggles, this other guy comes from out of nowhere and plops himself into the pool at the other end of THE VERY LANE IN WHICH I’M GETTING READY TO SWIM.  I’m wearing goggles for Pete’s sake!  How do I NOT look like I’m about to swim here?  And there’s no one else in the entire pool – there are four lanes for the taking, and Swim Cap McHundredmiles has yet to choose a lane.  The interloper at the other end of the pool could have jumped into any one of the other three lanes, but he chooses mine. 

Now, I’ve seen something similar to this before.  The lane in which I’m getting ready to swim is closest to the Jacuzzi.  I’ve seen people pop out of the Jacuzzi and jump into the pool to cool off and then quickly exit the pool again – I think this is what Mr. Personal Space Invader is attempting, so I stand my ground and wait for him to exit the pool.  But he doesn’t!  He proceeds to jump from foot to foot all the while staring at me from his end of MY LANE!

I keep staring at him, wondering when he’s going to finish his little exercise jig and depart.  Swim Cap turns around and notices what is happening and looks at me.  I look at him and say, “You can see me, right?  I’m not invisible, am I?”  What puts a guy into a mindset like this?

At this point, I’m reminded of a recent article I read that detailed the mindset of the “super rich”.  Not to be confused with the “stinkin’ rich” (a whole other tax bracket), those that fall into the “super” category earn over $370K/yr and/or have a net worth north of $2.5 million.  (If you’ve read even a handful of these newsletters, you’ll realize I’m going to make a point, so buckle up!)  The super rich share these traits:

•  A stronger belief in their ability to solve problems, have more control over the things that happen to them
•  A greater internal drive/passion to pursue their goals
•  Less likely to overspend or gamble compulsively, financially enable others, hoard possessions, or have trouble sticking to a budget
•  Money should be saved, not spent; more likely to be anxious about not having enough money

Stop me if I’m wrong, but didn’t that just describe the traits of a successful real estate agent/broker?  Didn’t that just describe the traits of someone who is getting ready to purchase his first home or her twelfth investment property?  In the case of the first-time homebuyer, the agent’s job 95% of the time is helping that buyer realize that he or she has those traits, even if they’re buried below the surface – and those agents who can help them find them are the most successful, personally and professionally. 

As I peer down the lane at Mr. Oblivious, I truly can’t figure out what traits he has that make him think this is cool, so I just move over to the next lane.  It’s not worth a fight – and my choice to avoid a confrontation proves to be a good one as I later see him walking around the entire locker room for about 45 minutes in nothing but his birthday suit.  He’s either a vampire (because he obviously can’t see his own reflection in any one of the many mirrors) or he has an overabundance of “self confidence” – he never would have seen my point.  And as an aside, you can’t unsee that no matter how rich you are – super or stinkin’!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Numbers Don't Lie, But Wherein Lies the Truth? (Posted November 21, 2016)

Said with enough conviction, you can make almost anything sound true.   Preface the fabrication with “according to a recent bi-partisan government study,” and you’re three quarters of the way to selling the lie to a lot of people.   Seriously, try this. The next time you’re at a dinner party or having coffee with friends, pepper this little tidbit into the conversation: “I read something really interesting the other day.   According to a recent bi-partisan government study – I think it took them three years to get it all done – middle-aged men who drive either a Toyota Camry or a Honda Odyssey have more testosterone than younger men who drive either a Ford F150 or a Dodge Charger.”   You’ll get some raised eyebrows and looks of mild disbelief, but don’t let that deter you.   Just lift up your hands, palms outward, and say, “I just think it’s interesting, and it makes sense when you think about it” – and then change the subject to something completely u...
Post a Comment
Read more

Couching Your Savings Correctly (Posted July 25, 2016)

I recently read an article online about a gentleman who set a goal to purchase a home and then mapped out very specific steps as to how he would reach that goal.   Personally, I was extremely impressed by his discipline and foresight.   His goal had two parts to it: save $150,000 for a down payment and purchase a home.   Before you choke on your coffee or spit soda through your nose, let me disclose here that the gentleman who is the subject of the article was purchasing a home in the New York City area.   Now that your blood pressure is returning to normal and you’ve spared your freshly ironed white shirt from staining, I’ll give you a breakdown of his plan: •   Starting in 2007, he looked at his annual salary and then took a look at the amount of credit card debt he was carrying; he cut back on as many expenses as possible so he could pay off that credit card debt in the first year.   Touché! •   He kept his lifestyle scaled back to the poin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dumb as (or Smart as) a Box of Rocks (Posted June 27, 2016)

Obviously, you all want to know what Brexit means to the economy and the housing market specifically.   So do I!   But since my crystal ball is at the cleaner’s, let’s give the Brits and the European Union a little time to work out the terms of their separation and look at something else.   What’s a “fad ”?   With the help of Google, this is what I got as a definition: “an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze.” In April 1975, an advertising executive by the name of Gary Dahl invented the Pet Rock.   The idea came from his sitting in a bar with some friends who were complaining about the cost and time required to take care of various types of pets.   He marketed his “pets” by placing a rock in a box cut and shaped like one you would get at the pet store to carry home a puppy or a kitten.   Along with the box and the rock, a booklet was included...
Post a Comment
Read more