Surrounding Yourself With Like-minded People
The Power of Positivity
I can never say enough about the importance of surrounding yourself with positive, likeminded people for the success of your business.
Negative attitudes can spread like a virus and just as you wouldn’t deliberately surround yourself with people who have the flu, you shouldn’t work closely with anyone who’s perpetually pessimistic, angry, or bitter, as their mentalities can quickly infect you and your entire team.
Everyone you do business with, from your realtor, to your attorney, to your contractor, should share your goals, your work ethic, your enthusiasm and your positive outlook. This doesn’t mean they have to think like you in every way – it simply means that they understand where you’re trying to go, and, to the best of their ability they’re going to help you get there without standing in your way.
Surrounding yourself with supportive, positive, like-minded people will increase your confidence, decrease your anxiety, and keep your own positive attitude intact. It will buoy your spirits and make you happy to show up for your business.
This isn’t to say that you should surround yourself with “yes men.” Being overly optimistic and clinging stubbornly to ideas that aren’t viable is a quick way to sink a business. You need help from realists who know their stuff and aren’t afraid to burst your bubble if it’s necessary to help your bottom line.
Optimism and a positive attitude aren’t so much about turning a blind eye to reality as they are about believing that goals can be accomplished, and that solutions can and will be found if complications arise. In the real estate business, where complications are the rule rather than the exception, a positive outlook is as necessary as a thorough understanding of the market.
When your deal falls through (some of them will), when your property needs a sudden costly repair (it happens), or when your tenants skip town owing you hundreds in back rent (ugh), the last thing you need is team members who wring their hands, throw in the towel, become immobilized with doubt, or pile on the I-told-you-sos. You need team members who will immediately regroup, rally, and work toward solutions.
So if you’re working with a realtor who continuously balks at the properties you want to buy, a contractor who ignores or derides your every idea, or an assistant who acts as though everything you ask them to do is a favor not worth their time, it’s time to think about creating a new team.
If, however, you have worked with several different people and you still feel unhappy and unmotivated, the problem may be you! Make sure you’re not the Negative Nelly or Ned of your team. Sometimes people who believe they’re being positive actually go too far in the other direction, and end up being overly demanding and unreasonable. They believe that others are being negative when they say anything that contradicts their ideas.
Being positive means being flexible, being pleasant to work with, being able to compromise for the greater good when necessary, and truly valuing the wisdom of those you have entrusted to help you in your business ventures. If you assemble a team of people who meet this criteria – yourself included – there’s nothing you can’t accomplish together.
