How Training and Racing is like Selling Real Estate

Sunday, July 3, 2016 was my first triathlon of this year - The Great White North in Edmonton - a half distance Iron Man. This is the year I age group "up" ... so it is the year I do Ironman.  I think of Ironman as a 5 year health check up. I've been doing it about every 5 years since my first one in 2001. This is a tune-up race to get prepared for my "A" goal race this year -  Ironman Arizona in November.




Swim - 2km - 29 min 08 seconds
I like swimming. Yeah ... it can be boring ... but swimming well has great advantages.  I feel that because I swim, I don't have to go to the gym and do weights. (This is probably not correct thinking.) Most awesome about weekly swimming ... is when on vacation in cool places ... you can hit the ocean, lake or river and really feel comfortable and experience the awesomeness of nature.
Currently I'm the slowest in my Tuesday and Thursday 6am swim group. However, when I put on a wet suit ... I get tremendous advantage. Possibly through years of playing Rugby, I also do pretty well in the 'smash up' of the triathlon swim. I don't mind the thrashing of arms and kicking of feet. I look for a heavier faster athlete and just hang by their feet in their bubbles, enjoying a draft - which apparently can have a 37% advantage!
On this race day - I was able to beat my friend Faizel, the fastest in our lane, by a minute!

Bike - 90km - 2hours 49 min
On Sunday, I got three flat tires.
Prior to my first flat ... I actually thought to myself ... "I'm feeling GREAT and will hammer this bike and to try to get the fastest amateur bike split of the day."  (After looking at the results and the speed of the cyclist that day ... I realize I am completely in la-la land. I had no chance of getting the fastest bike split of the day! It's fun to be an optimist.)
Why did I get three Flats?  Poor Preparation. There were two holes in my back tire! These tires were old.
The night prior to the race, I decided to change my wheel set. I looked at the tires quickly ... and thought they were fine. I wasn't surprised by getting the first flat, the second ... or the third!

Run - 21km - 1hour 35 min
The course was nice, interesting. While I was already out of the race, I was able to comfortably run - not pushing too hard. It was fun to see old and new friends on the double loop course at various times.




How is Racing like Selling Real Estate?
You have options.  What you decide to do with those options, will have a direct relationship to your results.  You can choose to prepare or not to prepare. In either case, if I do the preparation - I have a shot at "the win".  If I don't prepare, If I don't show up on time ... yes - I'm at the game ... but I don't have a chance at the prize.

In the early years of my career in selling real estate - I had average results.  I was frustrated by this.  It wasn't until I added the principles of how I participate in sport to how I conduct myself in my real estate job - that I began to have success as a realtor.

Selling Real Estate is not Rocket Science. Neither is showing up at the Start line of a Race.  While success can come and go depending on motivation and goals, I find that when I put myself on the line and expose myself to the unknown, I learn things about myself which add tremendous value to my role a Real Estate Sales Professional.