In the old days, when I used to be geek-chic and travel the country speaking on stage to hundreds of real estate investors at adult-education conferences, I occasionally got to listen in to other speakers who would speak and/or sell their products.
One amusing schtick I may have witnessed more than once was when a speaker would get up on stage and ask, “Who wants this $100 bill that I am holding up?”
Of course, everyone wanted it and some people would raise their hands in the air.
“Who really wants it?” he would holler.
Some people would stand up, start hooting, or even jump around and call out to him.
Then, finally, on the third call…
”Show me who wants this hundred-dollar bill!”
Someone who was feeling especially adventurous (or maybe who had seen the act before) would RUN up to the stage and meet with the speaker, perhaps even grabbing the dollar bill from his hand.
Usually, at this point, the speaker would give up on Benjamin and praise the audience member for his willingness to be bold and take action since, as the point was made, that kind of “outside the box thinking” was what was important in business success.
For some reason, I never really liked this drill.
Maybe it was my repressed, protestant personality.
Maybe it was my reluctance to throw caution to the wind and break social norms.
I’m not really sure, but I am glad to say that I never had to become a raving dollar-raider to become successful in business.
While I agree that success in real estate does demand a certain willingness to go outside of one’s comfort zone when it comes to taking action – calling people, negotiating, solving problems, and even knocking on doors – it’s still something you can do with good manners and your dignity intact.
What’s something that was hard for you, when you were starting at your job or business? Did you “get used to it?” Or find a way not to do it?
