Tower Of Babel

If you haven’t read the precurser to this post, start reading by going here first, please…

Well, all this introspection led me to see something that was once said to me - when I owned a store several years ago, I hired a trainer to come in and give Customer Service training to my staff, and I participated. At that time, they told me that they saw me as a “NURTURER”.

I realize that this is so true… I am a natural nurturer - its my first instinct… As such, I LOVE to help people. That leads me down a path to chaos at times, because I don’t know when to say NO - or HOW, sometimes!!! So, people, at times, take advantage of that aspect of my personality. Midas gets really annoyed with me about this, because it can really get ridiculous at times, and leave me frazzled, stressed, resentful (stupid, since I bring it on myself)…

But it also allows me to really make a contribution to the betterment of others - I’m not claiming to be Mother Teresa here; I don’t mean on a global level… I mean on an individual basis, I love to help new agents get started. I love to train…

This has led me to take on the role of Chairperson of our Career Development Committee - and I’m really excited about having an opportunity to help new agents get their careers off the ground - if I didn’t have that help when I started, who knows if I’d still be a Realtor today - much less a successful one!!! And I’ve learned that I really LOVE training - not teaching, in general, like high school or such, but training in career development. I can spend hours working on putting together a presentation that I hope will really help people develop and build success quickly!!!

I also realized that I love to help people I care about when they’re having problems… problems in their careers, their relationships, their finances - whatever it may be… I love to try to listen and to help them to learn the benefits of viewing things from the other person’s point of view, consider alternatives, pray, have faith… I love to close a day knowing that I helped someone - made a difference in their lives - made a Kingdom difference by showing that someone cares… that God cares and He Listens!!!

I remember hearing years ago that if you care more about helping a customer than you do about the income they represent, you’ll achieve success you cannot imagine! Well, I took that in, and really adopted it as my foundation for doing life and doing business with others… And you know what I’ve learned from that - IT’S SO TRUE!!!

The South Florida Real Estate market has made a sharp and dramatic shift from being a Sellers’ Market (where the Seller holds all the cards) to the reverse - a Buyers’ Market, where the buyer holds all the cards. Many realtors love this type of market, because the more a Seller recognises how much they need a Realtor, the more commission we can request.

For me, I see this market as being one that is so much tougher on the Seller, they’re making so much less money and at times, barely breaking even - that I keep my commission lower, and if I sell the house on my own without any cooperating realtor to split commissions with, I reduce the commission - I just think that’s fair - that’s how I’d like to be treated!!! Why should I make more than the seller nets out of their own property?

I know this is not a popular view in my profession and I certainly don’t mean to demean other Realtors who work the traditional way - it is a business after all, and they’re right to look at the bottom line!!! Its just my nature now to care more about my clients’ needs than about the money I can make from them - so its MY way - not necessarily the RIGHT way - just MY way!!!

Enough about that aspect of my life though - can you smell my obsession to my career?

I am also a person committed to achieving my full fitness potential… I have gone through so many periods where I’ve slacked off - but I really am committed to not just looking good, but to achieving greater levels of fitness and setting new challenges for myself! I thrive on accomplishment - so reaching a point where I’d run a marathon or something like that would be a HUGE accomplishment to me. But I have to work so much harder on this…

I am currently not living a truly balanced life… I work, work, work… I get up, and go to work! I come home (whenever I get done) and work some more. Midas works through the night these days doing currency trading, so I bring my laptop down by him and WORK till I actually fall asleep in the chair some nights!!!

Because of this, I’m trying to train my mind to feel no guilt if I need to go to the gym in the middle of the day - its a serious goal of mine, so I need to commit to doing it whenever I can - as long as I get it in! I need to train myself into thinking its okay to take a day off, relax by the pool. I need to TURN OFF THE COMPUTER at a set time each day!!!! I spend far too much time ‘meandering’ as Midas calls it…instead of relaxing, READING (one of my passions, which I never seem to do anymore)

I need to make some serious changes in my life too - there are things I’m really not happy with about myself… so I need to take my own advice and PRAY and HAVE FAITH!!!

But as I said - I am a work in progress - I like to think that I try to really be as honest with myself as I can be… I have some great friends who call me on it when I’m in denial - and I am SOOO grateful for them! But I do try to look at every situation and analyse it from all points of view - if I’m wrong, I want to and often am the first one to own up to it (even if its really hard)…

But I am only a work in progress… God is making so many changes in my perceptions, some are little subtle things, some are monumental!!! But each day, I grow… each day, I develop… Each day, I learn that in giving you have so much personal reward, and as a side benefit - a person committed to finding a way to give back to YOU!!!

I don’t really know WHY I felt the need to share all this… nor do I know why it should interest you in the least… I guess I’m just rambling about stuff on my mind!!!

But if there’s some little point in here that touches you, interests you, motivates you or awakens you - hey: Let me know… You’ll make me go to sleep feeling better… feeling that I made a difference to someone - and that’s really what its all about for me!!!

The firework show for Weston is now starting - Midas and I don’t go the city park to watch, because its always such a crowd and a hassle to even get in - PLUS we can see the full show from our back patio!!! So off we go to take some champagne and sit out to watch the fireworks show - I’m not an American - I’m an EXTREMELY proud Jamaican! But I am a most grateful beneficiary of the land of opportunity - so, Happy Independence Day, America - let’s get the troops out of Iraq and back home to their families where they belong so that we can live freely AT HOME - let them come home to protect their home - and celebrate many, many more Generations of Freedom!!!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 4th, 2007 at 7:38 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.