Grateful to be in Real Estate
Publisher's Letter
October 29, 2014
By P.R. “Randy” Cooney
Publisher of the Arizona Journal of Real Estate & Business
It’s a Tuesday morning of Thanksgiving week and the year is 1989. I’m a Broker working for a Valley real estate firm and the weekly, office sales meeting is about to begin. In an effort to tie in the theme of Thanksgiving, I decide to ask my agents to think of something they’re grateful for as it relates to being in real estate. As we go around the room collecting comments, Heidi, the office administrator, writes the comments down on corrugated boards. We planned on “posting” the comments for all to see, which at the time would be the boards thumb-tacked to the wall in our office.
Fast forward to 2014 and I’m packing up my house in preparation to move. There behind a dresser, to my utter surprise, I discover those same corrugated boards which Heidi had written on twenty five years earlier. For some unknown reason, I’ve been saving them all these years. As I dust off the boards, I realize why I chose to save these treasured comments. Although many years have gone by, the points of gratitude about our industry certainly pass the test of time and continue to hold true today in 2014. Below is what those agents offered that Tuesday in November of 1989.
- Control earnings
- Flexible hours
- Set & achieve goals
- Enthusiasm for helping people
- My own boss
- Unique challenges
- Unconfined
- People skills
- Meet new people
- Write off expenses
- Excuse for nice car
- First time buyers
- Personal investments
- Opportunity to grow
- Something new each day
- People energy & synergy
- Rewarding income
- Past client relationships
- Personal growth
- Educating people
- Everyone is interested in real estate
Given that the theme of this Journal is APPRECIATION, it seems appropriate to be reminded of what we appreciate most about our real estate careers and being in the industry.