The Best You Can Be
A young woman in Philadelphia took her car in for repairs and while she was waiting, the mechanic discussed a property across the street and how it could be developed and sold for more money. He wished he knew something about real estate. Meanwhile, while waiting, the young woman, absorbed what he was saying and continued to think about it while going back to her dead-end sales job. She had graduated college, and was smart enough to make her way out of her early life of poverty. She thought; Why not give real estate a shot? She needed to take control of her life, so she studied worked hard, got her real estate license and put in 100%. She became the best realtor she could be, from cold calling to working closely with buyers and sellers. At the end of her first year she had sold an astonishing 37 houses!
This story begs the question, are you living up to your abilities? Are you giving 100%? Are you the best you can be?
Ironically, many business owners do not give it their all, In fact, they often define themselves and their businesses not by what they do, but rather what they don’t do. “We’re not high pressure.” or “we don’t give you the run around,” or we don’t cut corners.” Wouldn’t it be better to tell people what you actually do? Who you are?
People have a tendency to try and hide who they really are or what they actually do in an effort to avoid blame, confrontation or anything that is remotely challenging. Today we hide behind technology using automated messages and texts to avoid having speaking to each other. This does not say, “I’m doing my best,” but rather, “I’m doing my best to hide.”
For example, someone recently told me that he got four automated phone calls from his pharmacy (a national chain), in one hour about refilling the same prescription, At this point he called the store and asked to be taken off the automated system – he needed to call a second number, then hit several buttons and wait on hold. Finally he spoke to a human, and after answering a bunch of questions, the company finally agreed to shut off the automated call system. The customer hung up and within ten minutes received yet another call from the automated system. The punch line is that the prescription was not up for a refill for another two months. Is this the best that a major pharmacy can do for their customers?
What’s the Best You Can Be?
In business, being the best you can be encompasses being honest, trustworthy, fair and pleasing customers as much as possible. It also means having employees that feel good about their jobs and being “part of the team.” Then, of course, there is making the right business decisions in marketing, sales, management and so forth. This often means hiring people who excel in areas in which you do not. If you have done all of the above and are successful, you can take pride that your best was good enough – if not, you can still honestly say, I did the best that I could.
In life, doing the best also includes two primary categories. You want to treat everyone with respect and courtesy. It means trying to have an open mind and listen to what others have to say.
It also means making every effort to learn, practice and excel in your areas of expertise, and passion. The realtor mentioned at the start of the article became passionate and driven about real estate. She was the best realtor she could be and was rewarded, and even awarded, for her efforts.
Too many people give up too soon, they make a minimal effort and decide it’s too difficult or they don’t have what it takes. Becoming the best you can do is usually a long term proposition. There is a rewarding feeling for those who can honestly say, “I’m being the best I can be.”
