Those are words I hear from my son on an almost daily basis. He breaks stuff. He isn't doing it on purpose, but he is also just 4 years old, and he doesn't know how to take care of his stuff as much as he should.
Honestly, most of the time... I can fix it. I have soldered, welded, glued and snapped pieces back into place as required. But, sometimes that just isn't the case. Despite a garage full of tools, and the (sometimes I think innate) ability to complete a lot of different types of repairs, I just can't do it.
Today it was the antenna for a radio controlled car. He broke it off inside the controller. He previously broke the mast further up, and that was also unrepairable, but this time he broke it so that the old one couldn't be pulled out and a new one installed. It was a cheap car... he's 4, and I don't expect it to have a long life... but it still annoyed me.
I keep telling him to watch where he swings the thing... And he keeps saying he has it under control. Clearly not...
So...
As I was standing by the grill cokking dinner tonight, I got to thinking about real estate deals. I've had a few go south. I've had sellers dig in and refuse to talk with buyers. I've had buyers that were less than reasonable about things that came up.
Frankly, I understand. I have been less that reasonable on WAY more than one occasion. I have not wanted to move after "picking my hill to die on."
As an agent, I always have to work to fix it. Find that common ground. Glue it back together... and if it isn't going to work anymore, get everyone to Plan B.
See... Parenting DOES teach one about business... ;^ )
from LaneBailey.com
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
I'd love to hear from you...
Hey...when I was a kid, we didn't have these cool toys like radio controlled cars.
I swear, one day I'm still going to buy one of those radio-controlled Hovercrafts! Those are totally for us Big Boys!
Your story reminds me of when I had my Greyhound. He had a great way of coming in the office, sticking his nose under my arm and tossing it up, indicating I was spending to much time on this box, and not with him.
Maybe my lesson is I need to meet more people in person! Ha!
Yep, that's our role: fix it and everything is good. Don't fix it and everyone is miserable.
Back in Dec my clients made an offer on a property that was rejected. We kept looking but also a watchful eye on the first house. The price came down and tonight we ratified an offer. At less than what they were willing to negotiate to the first time. The sellers and their agent cost themselves both time and money by not trying to put a deal together the first time!
Let me understand the OLD car is broken and dad likes cars. Do you think a new car might be in his future. This sounds like a recurring pattern that may be in his genes.
There are a lot of parallells to be drawn between the 2; maybe most notably that patience reaps it's rewards.
Hi Lane - Great analogy. You are correct. As agents we work hard to keep the pieces and parts together, solve problems, and find ways to make the deal work.
That goes for any business, not just real estate. Good analogy, Lane.
You're son is adorable!!
Lane, I here you with this one...It seem every day you learn something from your kids...And they say we need to teach them....great post....peace zane
Thom - All of the cool stuff "I had" was actually off limits... I wasn't big enough to play with it... my Dad broke it for me.
Erica - Yep.
Cindy - I know about that one...
Terry - Not till he can take care of stuff a little better.
Peter - Yes, it does.
Jon - Yep.
Susan - Thanks, and I'm kind of partial top them both.
Zane - We teach each other.