New Year’s Resolutions.
Sigh. They’re a recipe for
failure, right? I’m going to lose that
last 10 pounds again, I’m going to clean up my sailor’s mouth, I’m going to
stop spending discretionary money.
Uh-huh. Yeah – watch me go.
So I decided to come up with some REALTOR® New Year’s
Resolutions. Count how many of them you
already do consistently and pat yourself on the back, and then pick a new one
or three. Stick with it and see what
happens.
In 2014:
- I will
refuse to have a business relationship with people that I dislike.
- I will
return every phone call or email or text message within a reasonable time,
but certainly no longer than 4 hours from when I got it unless it came in in the middle of the night.
- I will
either delete or put every email in its appropriate email folder
immediately instead of cleaning up my inbox at the end of the year and
dealing with over 3000+ messages.
Sheesh! Every freakin’ year
I have to do this.
- I will release a grudge. (Hey, Robert! Nice to see you the other day!)
- I will
slow down, and not always feel and sound rushed. Taking that extra 30 seconds is not
going to kill anybody.
- I will
refer customers that cause me discomfort or waste too much time.
- Every
time I pick up the phone (whether to make a call or to answer one) I will
smile. That smile adjusts my
attitude and comes through in my voice and people respond well to it.
- I will
schedule and insist on a sufficient amount of time to do my job well. I will not cut corners or compromise on
the details.
- I will
get competent with a new piece of technology.
- …and
then another.
- Every
day, I will make at least one “How ya doin’?” phone call.
- Every
day, I will go that extra step above and beyond.
- I will
look over my listings in MLS once a week.
- I will
patrol my signs regularly, especially and always after a big wind.
- I will
choose marinara over Alfredo.
- I will
remember to look for the humor. To
laugh. To make somebody else laugh.
- I will
choose to be gentle instead of ripping somebody’s face off.
- I will
make kindness a habit.
- I will
be thorough, as opposed to winging it.
- I will
really pay attention to somebody instead of multi-tasking while they talk
to me.
- I will
do something fun every day.
- I will
do something important every day.
- I will
double-check my facts.
- I will
get comfortable with saying, “I don’t know.”
- I will
adjust my actions to fit my priorities.
- I will
make a to-do list every day.
- I will
give myself permission to say “#%@* the do-to list!”
- I will
do something every day that I never did before.
- I will
do something every day that’s good for me but that I really don’t much want to do.
- I will
do something every day that scares me.
- When
I’m wrong; I will promptly say so.
- I will
write apologies for my mistakes.
- I will
unsubscribe.
- When I
call someone and they tell me that they’re in the bathroom but they really
want to talk to me I shall insist that we text.
- I will
do something that I really do want to do but never bother to make time
for.
- I will
take a nap.
- Or a
walk.
- Or a
class.
- I will
volunteer for a worthy organization or cause.
- I will
count my blessings every morning or every night, or both.
- I will
acknowledge every good thing that happens.
Most of these really aren’t directly related to the business
of real estate. They’re more about
taking care of ourselves than about taking care of our clients. That’s the dichotomy of good business. If you recharge your personal batteries then
you’ll have the time and energy to take care of business. You’ll see.
It works.
