By Jack Harper, J S Harper Real Estate
Is the glass half full - or half empty? Is the market going up, or going down? Should I sell now, or wait for better pricing? Should I buy now, or wait for better pricing? By the way: In the last two, the question is exactly the same, yet the reality is exactly the opposite. Better pricing to a seller means one thing, while better pricing to a buyer means something else altogether - doesn't it?
Several years ago, I came to know of the concept of abundance. Roughly speaking, it goes something like this: When I am likely to get down about losing out on a great listing, or when a buyer I may have been working on for months happens to fall in love with an Open House and is convinced to buy it on the spot (through the listing agent, mind you) I can usually go forward without the old-style debilitating frustration of my youth. I can do this because I have come to see things in the total, instead of in the specific.
What I mean is this: If I am worried about my only prospect or client, the result can be devastating. Lose that client, and I have lost all of my current business! On the other hand, if I widen my focus to see all of the possibilities that lie ahead, I have only missed out on a small piece of my total available business! The truth is that there are always more buyers who will buy, sellers who will sell and friends to make along the way. By making a small adjustment to my thinking, I can usually see the bigger picture. And, that picture is absolutely filled with potential - filled by the sheer abundance of the world we live in.
Buyers and Sellers too can benefit from a small refocus, can't they? By the way, there is no such thing as a Buyer or Seller. There are clients and friends who sometimes buy, sometimes sell and often do both simultaneously. Make that small change in thinking and the world opens up a little wider for them too. Now we can think in terms of balance: yes, you may sell for less than you might have two years ago, but you will also enjoy a much lower purchase price on the next home than you would have in the past two years. Balance.
Now, take it to the next level. My attitude can sometimes cause a dramatic impact on my clients. If I am so worried about the one single transaction, I will have a tendency to fall in step with them as they commiserate about the sad state of real estate affairs. If, on the other hand, I am operating from abundance, I can usually help them change their focus just a little bit. Sometimes that little bit is just enough to help them go forward when fear, uncertainty and doubt might otherwise leave them unable to move.
It seems like such a small change, doesn't it? It , in fact, is a small change. The results, however, can be huge.
