Will Work For Shoes

I was ready to quit.

Seriously.

After a year of challenges, setbacks, discouragements and wasted moments, I was ready to hang it all up.

As I told a friend of mine recently, “I know that ‘failure’ precipitates success; but how do you know when it’s ‘failure’ or if it’s a sign?”

I’m a big believer in signs.

I’d told some of my friends. I was sure I’d made the right decision. And yet, I wasn’t really sure. I kept pondering and looking for answers, but there were none there. It’s like I was in limbo. And I’m not a big fan of ‘limbo’. I like to know where I’m going!

So there I was for most of the summer, waffling.

Periodically, I would ‘check in’ with myself, looking for inspiration or conviction or answers or something to provide guidance. No answer. Nothing. More waffling. Waffle, waffle.

Get the picture? 😉

And then something happened.

Last week, some really phenomenal things occurred. First, I graduated with a group of outstanding Realtor(r) leaders in my Leadership Academy class. We had conversations, we learned, we shared. I benefitted greatly from the final lesson on leadership and their sage advice.

My friend Carolyn said it best: “When discouragements or negative things happen, each thing chips away at you like someone with an ice pick. It eats away at you a little bit at a time.”

Then, unexpectedly, I was honored with the Brady Stevens Award from the Missouri Association of Realtors, awarded each year to “the preceding year’s Outstanding Graduate, Realtor Institute(r)”.

The validation and acknowledgment of my hard work was wonderful! “Is this a sign?” I wondered. “Should I stay in this business? Which is the right path?” Still no answer.

SIGH.

And then, something else happened. I was sitting at the Board of Director’s Meeting on the last day with my friend Beverly, listening to one of the speakers. I had zoned out briefly, messing with my phone, when suddenly, Beverly nudged me.

“Are you listening to this? She’s talking about YOU!” (?!?!)

Well, the speaker wasn’t really talking about me personally. But what she said was something to the effect of “If you work really hard and you keep doing the right things, eventually your hard work WILL be rewarded.”

THERE’S MY SIGN! 🙂

So on the way home, I had about 3 hours to ponder. I felt like a new person. I realized that what I needed was to get my head in the right place and to get out of my own way. (You know, “Let Go and Let God.”)

See, when you’re in the sales business, judging your success by someone else’s is an easy habit to get into. It’s easy to forget to be authentic – to really be yourself. The problem with this is that then you aren’t being yourself; you’re dancing to the beat of someone else’s drum. And how is it possible to be successful when you aren’t living your definition of your own life?

The honest truth is that I don’t have a desire to burn up the MLS and have the most listings and make the most money. There’s always going to be someone who does that; and by the time I caught up, the game would have probably changed!

What I DO have is a passion to provide outstanding customer service to the clients I work with, in a way that’s ethical, morally correct and authentic; and I have an incredibly passionate desire to advance our industry.

And that, my friends, is my definition of success.

The Road To Success

Your definition of success is probably different, and it should be. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be yours. And while people may look at you and think you’re climbing the ladder straight up to success, those of us who are on the path know what it really looks like (see the picture at left.)

Is it any wonder it’s easy to get discombobulated on the journey?

And you know what? I think I might actually be taller with my head on straight. 😀