Monthly Archives: July 2013

What is a Hero?

I was thinking.  Uh oh.

People are highlighted in the press quite often for doing what I believe to be what a person should do under ordinary circumstances.  If someone is falling, wouldn’t you want to help them?  If someone is trapped, wouldn’t you want to help “untrap” them?  If someone is drowning, wouldn’t you want to try to save them?  I mean, assuming you could SWIM, of course. This seems like Life 101 to me.  Either that, or I am a hero and all I need is a cape and a snappy leotard.

I’ve realized that when there is a problem, I go TOWARD it, not away. I’m one of those people who is not afraid; in fact, when things get tough, I get calmer and more focused than I usually am. I don’t know why but I suspect it’s just the way my brain is wired: there’s a problem; it needs to be fixed. Period. I don’t think I’m a hero. But I don’t expect to be a victim, don’t expect to get hurt; in fact just the opposite. I expect to help. Now, I’ve been dead wrong about that; I have been hurt, and badly, but I never EXPECTED to be. And I still don’t, by the way. I’m just going in to help, scars and all.

Are the media going to train us that standing by and watching while people die or are injured is the norm, and reaching out is heroic? Well if you listen to the news, that’s what you’ll think. I think the stories of today’s heroes should go like this: “Today, fifty people stood by and watched an ordinary man pull a woman out of a wrecked car, just before it burst into flames. The bystanders were glad they didn’t have to venture forth.” 

Now that sounds pretty interesting, don’t you think?  Imagine the interviewer putting the microphone up to one spector’s face, saying, “Sir, today many of our viewers think you are a scaredy cat!  What do you say to that?” The answer should be: I’m not wired to be a hero. Because I think that’s what it boils down to.

It doesn’t take much to lend a helping hand. Well maybe it does. I went below decks once after we lost power and were taking on water by the hundreds of gallons, to retrieve the flashlight…our only remaining light source…in the midst of the ‘storm of the century’. We were sinking. It never occurred to me I might get hurt, or might drown. I just knew we needed that light. So I went to get it. It was pitch dark and I waded in water, searching with my feet for the elusive flashlight. I found it, about half an hour before the Coast Guard rescued us. All I could think was what a great story this would make, how beautiful the storm was in the midst of its fury…and how seasick I was. I was never afraid. Go figure. That’s how I’m wired.

So…what’sa hero? Well, if you run, you ain’t one. hahaha.

On Being a Good Advisor…

Any good real estate agent is also a trusted advisor…or should be. Our advice is based on years of experience and heaven knows HOW many hours of classes and training and updates.  I know:  You can get a BOAT LOAD of information from the internet.  But listen up: That’s not good enough.  Here’s why.

A good real estate agent will know things about rules, the law, building code, builders, different areas and what that means to commute times and shopping, how homes are built and what to look for to find hidden issues, things you won’t find online.  We’ll know how to negotiate: when to hold and when to fold.  And I can’t say for sure, but I’m willing to bet my accuracy is better than most of the automated valuation systems when it comes to pricing a home to sell.  Your agent will have had boots on the ground where the internet has not trodden, and your agent will know things about buying or selling that the internet cannot convey.  So it doesn’t matter what kind of phone you have, which internet provider you use, what iteration of I-pad you have.  Your agent will win the competition.  Or at least this one will.

In other words, it would behoove (cool word) you to avail yourself of your agent’s expertise and realize that there’s one real estate agent in the car…and it ain’t you.  Yeah, I said ain’t.  I like that word.  It has personality.  And I’m a bit arrogant that way. I think I have a good enough grasp of the English language to tweak it when I want to.

But I digress. Bring along your smart phone because if you ride with me, you navigate.  I don’t want you to be bored.  Bring along your notes, your ideas, your opinions, because they matter.   But remember to ask a lot and don’t act like the realtor. 

I want my clients to be smarter than me in case we break down and I need someone to figure out the computer system operating my car…or to feel brave about finding a nearby repair shop.  I want my clients to be able to discuss the Hadron Collider with me or the latest news about time travel.  But I do not want them to try to be me.  First of all, they can’t handle it, and second…and seriously here…I’m the real estate agent with the license and training…and I’m very good at my job.  Let me do it and you?  Relax and enjoy the tour.  I promise to take good care of you.