June 18, 2025 • 19 mins
In this episode, I grappled with a question that's been weighing on me for months: how do I continue doing my job as a real estate agent when the world feels chaotic and making social media posts about listings seems tone-deaf?
After sitting with these difficult questions, I've realized that what I can control is showing up with kindness and compassion for my clients - not just as "Sumina Realtor" but as a human being. People appreciate this humanness, especially during emotionally charged times like buying or selling a home.
Real estate transactions often happen during life's big moments - marriages, divorces, deaths, job losses, relocations. There's no replacement for simply caring and being present rather than maintaining "positive vibes only."
I encourage fellow agents to acknowledge that we're living in complicated times, recognize that we have specific skillsets that can really help people, and find ways to give back - whether mentoring other agents or contributing to causes that matter to us.
When the world feels chaotic, our ability to show up with groundedness and compassion for clients making major life transitions is exactly why this work matters.
You can find me on instagram @rested.real.estate.agent, and you can sign up for my newsletter to keep up with upcoming workshops and other offerings on my website www.suminabhatti.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Rested Real
Estate Agent, a podcast thathelps you navigate life as a
real estate professional, whilefinding some balance and rest
along the way.
I'm your host, samina, an agentwith 18 years of experience in
the Austin Texas area, and Ibelieve there's a better way to
do our business serve ourclients and not get burnt out.
(00:25):
I help agents get from chaos toclarity.
Welcome to episode 11, y'all.
Today we are going to talkabout how the fuck to wrap your
head around the chaos that'shappening in the world and keep
slinging houses.
I don't know about you, butmaking social media posts about
(00:48):
my newest listing feels a littleout of touch and a little tone
deaf when I'm watching the newsand the chaos of the world
around me unfolding.
I've spent a lot of time overthe past six months and honestly
, honestly over the past fewyears really grappling with this
question.
You know, especially when itcomes to things like social
(01:08):
media, which seems so frivolousand pointless and humorous
almost right You're sometimesjust doing some funny stuff on
social media as well.
Why is it important to keepdoing that when there are so
many really difficult thingshappening in our world?
How do we make sense of all ofthese things, and I know that
(01:30):
I'm not the only one who'sstruggling with this when I talk
to some of my other colleagues.
It's a common point ofconversation in many of the
groups that I'm in of how tokeep going through the motions
of our regular lives whileattending and paying attention
to what's happening in thegreater world around us.
I definitely have feltdisillusioned and hopeless
(01:54):
watching a lot of people in mycommunity face a lot of
uncertainty and a lack of safetywith their work and their lives
.
I live in a city which has alot of tech and over the past
couple of years there have beena lot of layoffs in the tech
sector, especially now with thispolitical system we're in.
I have clients who are on H-1Bvisas and I also have a lot of
(02:16):
clients and friends who arequeer and in more marginalized
groups who are very concernedabout what they see happening.
So, in light of all that, how doyou show up Thinking about?
How do you just keep the dogfed and keep your kids fed and
make sure the oil is changing inyour car when these things are
(02:38):
happening?
All sort of tugs at the samethread.
But what I do know after reallysitting and contemplating these
questions which, of course, I'mnot the first one to have
contemplated this type ofquestion over the years.
This is literally thephilosophy of things like
Buddhism, which talks about howto hold suffering in our lives
(02:58):
as we experience our lives,right, how to live and live
joyfully while also being awareand tending to the suffering
that we see in the world.
The thing that I do know iswhat I am able to do is I can
show up with kindness andcompassion for my clients and
for myself.
Right.
That is often something that islacking when you're feeling
(03:20):
fearful, when you're feelingscared, anxious, nervous, et
cetera.
Okay, so it's not just showingup as Samina Realtor, right,
it's showing up as a human,which most of us do.
Sometimes we're taught not todo it right.
This is a professional setting.
Be professional, don't be toocasual in how you communicate or
(03:44):
how you handle yourself in yourbusiness, and there is truth to
that as well.
I'm not saying that we throwall that out the window, but I'm
saying that there's a humannessthat I think people appreciate
when we are interacting withthem, especially in this time
that we're in now, and what Ifind with real estate, with our
work is that we are oftenmeeting people at times when
(04:05):
emotions are high.
Right, there could be goodemotions, like they're having a
baby or they're getting married,the family's expanding, and
they can be painful emotionssometimes too.
Sometimes they're selling ahome because a loved one has
passed away, or they're gettinga divorce, or they've lost their
job and have to move.
In the case that I'm in rightnow, many of my clients are
hiring me to move out of thestate of Texas because they feel
(04:28):
the policies here are not safeor are not where they want to
raise their children or wherethey want to continue living,
let's state, with someregressive policies.
So how can I show up for that?
There is no replacement forcaring, being present and being
attentive, and not quotepositive vibes only when someone
(04:52):
is going through a difficultmove, but being able to show up
and say this is difficult, right, you're leaving your family,
you're leaving your home forreasons that you may not have
wanted to, your company iswhatever, down-sizing,
right-sizing, and you are havingto move because, in order to
keep your job and keep yourfinancial security, you are
having to go to a differentstate and leave behind a
community and a culture thatyou've built and, for me, the
(05:16):
skills that I've developed overthe past 18 years have allowed
me to sell real estate.
I'm not trained in medicine.
I'm not a therapist, I'm not alawyer.
What I do have, what I happento have honed over this time, is
my skills in real estate.
So when a client shows up whoneeds to buy or sell, I know one
(05:37):
that I am well skilled to beable to serve them.
Right, I have educated myself,I have practiced my skills.
I have been in the industry fora while.
I have seen many, manycontracts at this point,
hundreds of contracts for bothbuyers and sellers come across
my desk.
That includes things like newconstruction contracts.
It includes things like condosand townhomes.
(06:01):
It includes things with allkinds of different contingencies
and all kinds of differentmarkets.
Also, right, the pandemicmarket of 2021-22 was a wildly
different market than I had everseen, and being able to adapt
quickly and advise our clientswell in those times was
challenging, and staying on topof what was happening in the
(06:23):
market was challenging.
So my clients who are choosingto work with me know that
they're not only getting ahighly skilled professional, but
they also know they're gettingsomeone who cares about the
community, a community that Ilive in and that they live in.
You know, when I get mycommission check, as us agents
do, we have a choice of where wespend our money, just like all
of our every consumer does.
(06:45):
Right, I try to be mindful ofwhere I spend that money.
It doesn't always work out, butI do things like choosing to
work out at a smaller, locallyowned women owned gym versus a
big box gym.
I try to buy my books from thelocal black owned bookstore
versus a big box retailer.
I try to go to the local coffeeshop over Starbucks.
Does that mean I never go toStarbucks?
(07:06):
Of course not.
Sometimes it's the mostconvenient thing I'm hungry,
there's a drive-through andthat's all I can do at that
moment.
I also do things when I haveclients who are coming in from
out of town to visit Austin andask me for a list of
recommendations for local placesto go eat or venues to check
out.
Almost all of those for my listare local, local small
(07:29):
businesses owned by people wholive here in the city where the
money goes back to them, and Ireally try to profile places
that may be off the beaten pathso that those local small
businesses can get someadditional boost that they may
not have gotten otherwise.
This matters to my clients andI think it matters more and more
these days than it used tobefore.
(07:49):
I talk openly about supportinglocal businesses and supporting
small businesses.
It's not easy in my city, inAustin, to run a small business.
A lot of people who own cafesand little bars and lounges and
restaurants are not making abajillion dollars.
So all goes to say that peoplethese days are paying attention
to that, as a lot of them arewith their own funds and where
(08:12):
they're spending it.
And the other thing that I cancontrol is my mindset right.
I can choose how I'm showing upfor my clients, especially in
high emotional situations.
I had a client last year andthey bought a property together.
They were now separating and itwas not amicable and I was
(08:36):
navigating, helping them sellthis property.
You know buying and sellingwithin a year.
They bought the property inlate 2022 or trying to sell it
in 2024, which, as most peopleknow.
You know it's not advisabletypically to buy a property and
sell it within less than fiveyears, especially not in those
particular years, and emotionswere high and they were agitated
(08:58):
with each other, but my jobthey hired me to do is to help
them sell this property, find aviable buyer with the best terms
possible and terms that matchwhat they needed.
Could they have hired anotheragent who could do this for them
?
Actually, they did hire anotheragent and they did not work out
with that agent and so theyeventually had reached out to me
(09:19):
through a referral and I endedup taking over that listing, and
I think it still took us about60 days to sell it, but we
eventually did sell it.
So one of the ways I think aboutit is that my mindfulness
practice helps me be a downregulator of drama for my
clients, and it helps me alsowork with other agents to look
(09:41):
for more collaborative solutionsthan if I am impatient or angry
or frustrated with the otheragent, and that can really often
as you know if you're listeningto this podcast it's often the
agent to agent bickering thatcan sometimes, or lack of proper
advice and counsel to yourclients, that can make a deal
fall apart, right?
So one of my takeaways here isthat the only you can show up in
(10:07):
the way that you know how to,only you have the mix of things
that belong to you right.
Only, you are a realtor thatlives in this city and that has
all these nuances of things thatmake you unique in what you're
doing.
You don't have to have any kindof other unique selling
(10:29):
proposition or the other thingswe're told in marketing.
Hone your skills, know whatyou're doing, know what your
market is doing and then goserve your clients.
Show up with compassion, showup with groundedness and
mindfulness for them, becausethat is what they need.
That is what they need Ifthey're hiring you, if they need
to make a move, if their lifecircumstances are dictating that
(10:52):
they need to make a move.
Your ability to show up inthose moments as best as you can
is why it's important,especially when the world is on
fire, because you are best to beable to guide them through the
process amidst this chaos.
It's like having a firefighterhelp you through a burning
(11:15):
building, because they have theright skills, the right tools
and the right knowledge to helpyou move through that in a way
that may be fearful or scary ifyou didn't know that.
So, if a client needs to buy orsell and they find you through
a referral, through an ad,through an open house, the best
thing you can do, especiallybecause our world is on fire, is
(11:36):
to help them with compassion,with kindness, with awareness of
what they're going through, andit's a gift.
It's a gift that we get to bethat steward for these people
through this time that they'regoing through.
Can another agent, atransactional agent, guide them
through the process, put a houseon the market and do the
marketing?
Of course there are.
(11:56):
In my market there arecurrently, I think, 17,000
licensed agents, so of coursethere's a slew of agents that a
buyer or seller can pick to workwith.
But the reason they picked youout of the choices they had was
because you represent an idea ofhow they hope you're going to
be able to guide them throughthis process.
Could they have made the sameamount of money or spent the
(12:19):
same amount of money withanother agent?
Maybe, but it's also theexperience of feeling heard that
a lot of people want and Ithink is becoming more necessary
in our world.
This is what I can do in thistime when the world feels hard
and hopeless.
This is a way I can show up theother things that I think about
(12:41):
what I can offer back.
I talk about this.
I think I've talked about thisin episodes previously, but
there are, I think, 1.2 millionrealtors licensed in the United
States was the number that I hadlast seen several months ago.
We engage with and touch a lotof people's lives in our work
(13:01):
and in our business and in ourday to day.
There are not many professionsthat do what we do.
We have clients who maybeeverything from teachers to high
end tech workers to socialworkers, and we navigate around
the city a lot.
We are in and out of people'shomes, we are in and out of
small businesses, we are in andout of neighborhood meetings,
(13:22):
chamber of commerce meetings,keeping track of small
businesses, and so the energyand the essence that we take
around and share with all thesepeople that we touch.
You know, a coffee shop owneror small business owner may
never be my client.
They may already have arelationship with an agent who
they like and work with.
That's totally fine.
(13:43):
But I'm still happy to take myclients to a small, local coffee
shop and share with them, youknow, a local business that they
may not be able to findanywhere else.
The other thing I want tomention one of the antidotes, I
would say, to the feeling ofhelplessness when the world
feels really chaotic is to helpand give back.
Getting myself out of my ownbrain, out of my own way is a
(14:05):
way that I can feel that there'ssomething I can do out there to
help alleviate some of the painand the chaos that's out there.
And one of the ways that I dothat in my world is to mentor
agents.
Mentor agents who are newer tothe business, mentor agents who
are maybe struggling in acertain point of where they're
at, and that really gives me asense of fulfillment and it
(14:27):
gives me a sense of helping themwith their business and places
they may be stuck.
Having the experience and thescope, the viewpoint of being
outside of someone's situationto see where there may be gaps
in their business that you canhelp them with.
That's the other thing I wouldencourage you to do if you're
feeling hopeless and helplessabout your work and sort of
(14:47):
disconnected from what you'redoing and why it matters and how
to continue doing it when thereare much larger issues at play.
The other thing I like to thinkabout or helps me as well is
thinking about the money thatthese sellers are going to get
(15:08):
from the sale is going to helpthem move on to the next chapter
of their life.
Whether that's moving out ofstate or buying a new property
or medical bills or college kidsfund or whatever, it is the
same with buyers.
You're helping them establish ahome, you're helping them find
a place that is safe, you'rehelping them find a place for
their families and themselves tobe and their pets, and there's
(15:29):
joy in that and there's honor inthat and there's getting to be
a part of that journey.
The other thing that I think isimportant to mention is that
funding causes you care abouttakes money.
So go earn the money, go postthe posts, go ask for business
with integrity, because to fundthe causes you care about
(15:50):
whether that's your local animalshelter, whether that's more
global issues that you want tofund, helping people in need
often takes money.
We still live in a capitalisticworld and sending help to and
from places takes money and itonly feels gross or can be gross
if you are out there postingand asking for business without
(16:16):
honoring the other parts ofsuffering that are happening in
our world.
And when that's happening andyou're going out there and
looking for business, that canfeel icky, but if you are
talking about it, knowing whereyour money is going and knowing
why you want to earn the moneyyou want to earn.
Those are great reasons to beclear about asking for business.
(16:38):
And then I have clarity aroundwhy I'm posting, why I'm wanting
to work with clients, what thepurpose of earning money is when
the world is on fire, what thepurpose of selling houses is
when the world is on fire.
So I hope that helps you too.
In today's episode, we've talkedabout a lot of things.
I hope that you've gotten sometakeaways from here, with one
(17:01):
acknowledgement we are living inwhat seems to be a very
challenging time, and there's alot of things changing around us
too.
You know, technology's changing, ai is changing, climate change
, our industry changes aloneright over the past year or two
have been pretty major, andwe've had to keep going through
(17:21):
all that.
We've had to adapt, we've hadto educate ourselves, we've had
to educate our clients, we'vehad to be angry about it, we've
had to be frustrated about itNew forms, new legislation, new
compliance and all that stuff.
And so I hope that you have oneacknowledge that we are living
(17:43):
in a time that is complicatedand difficult.
And two, that you have a veryspecific skill set and that
skill set allows you to reallyhelp people through the chapter
of their lives that they may begoing through and because of
your skill set, you can helpthem get to that goal in the
best way possible.
And three find ways that youcan give back, ways that you can
(18:05):
offset the helpless feeling.
The helpless feeling puts youin a place of feeling like
there's nothing to be done, soI'm just going to curl up in a
ball and cower down, and thereis sometimes time and place for
that.
I'm not saying there isn't, butwhat can you do?
Can you give a hand up to afresh agent who's just newly
licensed and is struggling inthis market?
It doesn't have to be even inthe real estate industry, right?
(18:27):
What are some ways you can justgive back out there in the
world, whether that's adopting apet or fostering, giving back
with your time or your money oryour skillset.
I feel like that episode wasquite the journey.
I'd appreciate it if you stuckwith me through it.
Please drop me a note.
All my info is linked in theshow notes.
I would love to hear from youon email or just a DM in terms
(18:49):
of if anything resonated fromthis episode.
And how do you?
How are you finding somereprieve among the chaos?
How are you finding some reliefor some pressure release valves
in this time?
Thank you again so much forjoining me on this episode of
the Rested and Rich Real EstateAgent.
(19:09):
If you found this episodehelpful and useful, it would
mean a lot to me if you'd sharewith a colleague in your office.
If you're interested in joiningin on some of my workshops,
which I will be releasing soon,you can go to my website and
sign up for my newsletter, whereall upcoming workshops and
offerings will be listed.
(19:30):
Thank you again so much forlistening and until next time be
well.
Hello everyone and welcome to the Rested Real
Estate Agent, a podcast thathelps you navigate life as a
real estate professional, whilefinding some balance and rest
along the way.
I'm your host, samina, an agentwith 18 years of experience in
the Austin Texas area, and Ibelieve there's a better way to
do our business serve ourclients and not get burnt out.
(00:25):
I help agents get from chaos toclarity.
Welcome to episode 11, y'all.
Today we are going to talkabout how the fuck to wrap your
head around the chaos that'shappening in the world and keep
slinging houses.
I don't know about you, butmaking social media posts about
(00:48):
my newest listing feels a littleout of touch and a little tone
deaf when I'm watching the newsand the chaos of the world
around me unfolding.
I've spent a lot of time overthe past six months and honestly
, honestly over the past fewyears really grappling with this
question.
You know, especially when itcomes to things like social
(01:08):
media, which seems so frivolousand pointless and humorous
almost right You're sometimesjust doing some funny stuff on
social media as well.
Why is it important to keepdoing that when there are so
many really difficult thingshappening in our world?
How do we make sense of all ofthese things, and I know that
(01:30):
I'm not the only one who'sstruggling with this when I talk
to some of my other colleagues.
It's a common point ofconversation in many of the
groups that I'm in of how tokeep going through the motions
of our regular lives whileattending and paying attention
to what's happening in thegreater world around us.
I definitely have feltdisillusioned and hopeless
(01:54):
watching a lot of people in mycommunity face a lot of
uncertainty and a lack of safetywith their work and their lives
.
I live in a city which has alot of tech and over the past
couple of years there have beena lot of layoffs in the tech
sector, especially now with thispolitical system we're in.
I have clients who are on H-1Bvisas and I also have a lot of
(02:16):
clients and friends who arequeer and in more marginalized
groups who are very concernedabout what they see happening.
So, in light of all that, how doyou show up Thinking about?
How do you just keep the dogfed and keep your kids fed and
make sure the oil is changing inyour car when these things are
(02:38):
happening?
All sort of tugs at the samethread.
But what I do know after reallysitting and contemplating these
questions which, of course, I'mnot the first one to have
contemplated this type ofquestion over the years.
This is literally thephilosophy of things like
Buddhism, which talks about howto hold suffering in our lives
(02:58):
as we experience our lives,right, how to live and live
joyfully while also being awareand tending to the suffering
that we see in the world.
The thing that I do know iswhat I am able to do is I can
show up with kindness andcompassion for my clients and
for myself.
Right.
That is often something that islacking when you're feeling
(03:20):
fearful, when you're feelingscared, anxious, nervous, et
cetera.
Okay, so it's not just showingup as Samina Realtor, right,
it's showing up as a human,which most of us do.
Sometimes we're taught not todo it right.
This is a professional setting.
Be professional, don't be toocasual in how you communicate or
(03:44):
how you handle yourself in yourbusiness, and there is truth to
that as well.
I'm not saying that we throwall that out the window, but I'm
saying that there's a humannessthat I think people appreciate
when we are interacting withthem, especially in this time
that we're in now, and what Ifind with real estate, with our
work is that we are oftenmeeting people at times when
(04:05):
emotions are high.
Right, there could be goodemotions, like they're having a
baby or they're getting married,the family's expanding, and
they can be painful emotionssometimes too.
Sometimes they're selling ahome because a loved one has
passed away, or they're gettinga divorce, or they've lost their
job and have to move.
In the case that I'm in rightnow, many of my clients are
hiring me to move out of thestate of Texas because they feel
(04:28):
the policies here are not safeor are not where they want to
raise their children or wherethey want to continue living,
let's state, with someregressive policies.
So how can I show up for that?
There is no replacement forcaring, being present and being
attentive, and not quotepositive vibes only when someone
(04:52):
is going through a difficultmove, but being able to show up
and say this is difficult, right, you're leaving your family,
you're leaving your home forreasons that you may not have
wanted to, your company iswhatever, down-sizing,
right-sizing, and you are havingto move because, in order to
keep your job and keep yourfinancial security, you are
having to go to a differentstate and leave behind a
community and a culture thatyou've built and, for me, the
(05:16):
skills that I've developed overthe past 18 years have allowed
me to sell real estate.
I'm not trained in medicine.
I'm not a therapist, I'm not alawyer.
What I do have, what I happento have honed over this time, is
my skills in real estate.
So when a client shows up whoneeds to buy or sell, I know one
(05:37):
that I am well skilled to beable to serve them.
Right, I have educated myself,I have practiced my skills.
I have been in the industry fora while.
I have seen many, manycontracts at this point,
hundreds of contracts for bothbuyers and sellers come across
my desk.
That includes things like newconstruction contracts.
It includes things like condosand townhomes.
(06:01):
It includes things with allkinds of different contingencies
and all kinds of differentmarkets.
Also, right, the pandemicmarket of 2021-22 was a wildly
different market than I had everseen, and being able to adapt
quickly and advise our clientswell in those times was
challenging, and staying on topof what was happening in the
(06:23):
market was challenging.
So my clients who are choosingto work with me know that
they're not only getting ahighly skilled professional, but
they also know they're gettingsomeone who cares about the
community, a community that Ilive in and that they live in.
You know, when I get mycommission check, as us agents
do, we have a choice of where wespend our money, just like all
of our every consumer does.
(06:45):
Right, I try to be mindful ofwhere I spend that money.
It doesn't always work out, butI do things like choosing to
work out at a smaller, locallyowned women owned gym versus a
big box gym.
I try to buy my books from thelocal black owned bookstore
versus a big box retailer.
I try to go to the local coffeeshop over Starbucks.
Does that mean I never go toStarbucks?
(07:06):
Of course not.
Sometimes it's the mostconvenient thing I'm hungry,
there's a drive-through andthat's all I can do at that
moment.
I also do things when I haveclients who are coming in from
out of town to visit Austin andask me for a list of
recommendations for local placesto go eat or venues to check
out.
Almost all of those for my listare local, local small
(07:29):
businesses owned by people wholive here in the city where the
money goes back to them, and Ireally try to profile places
that may be off the beaten pathso that those local small
businesses can get someadditional boost that they may
not have gotten otherwise.
This matters to my clients andI think it matters more and more
these days than it used tobefore.
(07:49):
I talk openly about supportinglocal businesses and supporting
small businesses.
It's not easy in my city, inAustin, to run a small business.
A lot of people who own cafesand little bars and lounges and
restaurants are not making abajillion dollars.
So all goes to say that peoplethese days are paying attention
to that, as a lot of them arewith their own funds and where
(08:12):
they're spending it.
And the other thing that I cancontrol is my mindset right.
I can choose how I'm showing upfor my clients, especially in
high emotional situations.
I had a client last year andthey bought a property together.
They were now separating and itwas not amicable and I was
(08:36):
navigating, helping them sellthis property.
You know buying and sellingwithin a year.
They bought the property inlate 2022 or trying to sell it
in 2024, which, as most peopleknow.
You know it's not advisabletypically to buy a property and
sell it within less than fiveyears, especially not in those
particular years, and emotionswere high and they were agitated
(08:58):
with each other, but my jobthey hired me to do is to help
them sell this property, find aviable buyer with the best terms
possible and terms that matchwhat they needed.
Could they have hired anotheragent who could do this for them
?
Actually, they did hire anotheragent and they did not work out
with that agent and so theyeventually had reached out to me
(09:19):
through a referral and I endedup taking over that listing, and
I think it still took us about60 days to sell it, but we
eventually did sell it.
So one of the ways I think aboutit is that my mindfulness
practice helps me be a downregulator of drama for my
clients, and it helps me alsowork with other agents to look
(09:41):
for more collaborative solutionsthan if I am impatient or angry
or frustrated with the otheragent, and that can really often
as you know if you're listeningto this podcast it's often the
agent to agent bickering thatcan sometimes, or lack of proper
advice and counsel to yourclients, that can make a deal
fall apart, right?
So one of my takeaways here isthat the only you can show up in
(10:07):
the way that you know how to,only you have the mix of things
that belong to you right.
Only, you are a realtor thatlives in this city and that has
all these nuances of things thatmake you unique in what you're
doing.
You don't have to have any kindof other unique selling
(10:29):
proposition or the other thingswe're told in marketing.
Hone your skills, know whatyou're doing, know what your
market is doing and then goserve your clients.
Show up with compassion, showup with groundedness and
mindfulness for them, becausethat is what they need.
That is what they need Ifthey're hiring you, if they need
to make a move, if their lifecircumstances are dictating that
(10:52):
they need to make a move.
Your ability to show up inthose moments as best as you can
is why it's important,especially when the world is on
fire, because you are best to beable to guide them through the
process amidst this chaos.
It's like having a firefighterhelp you through a burning
(11:15):
building, because they have theright skills, the right tools
and the right knowledge to helpyou move through that in a way
that may be fearful or scary ifyou didn't know that.
So, if a client needs to buy orsell and they find you through
a referral, through an ad,through an open house, the best
thing you can do, especiallybecause our world is on fire, is
(11:36):
to help them with compassion,with kindness, with awareness of
what they're going through, andit's a gift.
It's a gift that we get to bethat steward for these people
through this time that they'regoing through.
Can another agent, atransactional agent, guide them
through the process, put a houseon the market and do the
marketing?
Of course there are.
(11:56):
In my market there arecurrently, I think, 17,000
licensed agents, so of coursethere's a slew of agents that a
buyer or seller can pick to workwith.
But the reason they picked youout of the choices they had was
because you represent an idea ofhow they hope you're going to
be able to guide them throughthis process.
Could they have made the sameamount of money or spent the
(12:19):
same amount of money withanother agent?
Maybe, but it's also theexperience of feeling heard that
a lot of people want and Ithink is becoming more necessary
in our world.
This is what I can do in thistime when the world feels hard
and hopeless.
This is a way I can show up theother things that I think about
(12:41):
what I can offer back.
I talk about this.
I think I've talked about thisin episodes previously, but
there are, I think, 1.2 millionrealtors licensed in the United
States was the number that I hadlast seen several months ago.
We engage with and touch a lotof people's lives in our work
(13:01):
and in our business and in ourday to day.
There are not many professionsthat do what we do.
We have clients who maybeeverything from teachers to high
end tech workers to socialworkers, and we navigate around
the city a lot.
We are in and out of people'shomes, we are in and out of
small businesses, we are in andout of neighborhood meetings,
(13:22):
chamber of commerce meetings,keeping track of small
businesses, and so the energyand the essence that we take
around and share with all thesepeople that we touch.
You know, a coffee shop owneror small business owner may
never be my client.
They may already have arelationship with an agent who
they like and work with.
That's totally fine.
(13:43):
But I'm still happy to take myclients to a small, local coffee
shop and share with them, youknow, a local business that they
may not be able to findanywhere else.
The other thing I want tomention one of the antidotes, I
would say, to the feeling ofhelplessness when the world
feels really chaotic is to helpand give back.
Getting myself out of my ownbrain, out of my own way is a
(14:05):
way that I can feel that there'ssomething I can do out there to
help alleviate some of the painand the chaos that's out there.
And one of the ways that I dothat in my world is to mentor
agents.
Mentor agents who are newer tothe business, mentor agents who
are maybe struggling in acertain point of where they're
at, and that really gives me asense of fulfillment and it
(14:27):
gives me a sense of helping themwith their business and places
they may be stuck.
Having the experience and thescope, the viewpoint of being
outside of someone's situationto see where there may be gaps
in their business that you canhelp them with.
That's the other thing I wouldencourage you to do if you're
feeling hopeless and helplessabout your work and sort of
(14:47):
disconnected from what you'redoing and why it matters and how
to continue doing it when thereare much larger issues at play.
The other thing I like to thinkabout or helps me as well is
thinking about the money thatthese sellers are going to get
(15:08):
from the sale is going to helpthem move on to the next chapter
of their life.
Whether that's moving out ofstate or buying a new property
or medical bills or college kidsfund or whatever, it is the
same with buyers.
You're helping them establish ahome, you're helping them find
a place that is safe, you'rehelping them find a place for
their families and themselves tobe and their pets, and there's
(15:29):
joy in that and there's honor inthat and there's getting to be
a part of that journey.
The other thing that I think isimportant to mention is that
funding causes you care abouttakes money.
So go earn the money, go postthe posts, go ask for business
with integrity, because to fundthe causes you care about
(15:50):
whether that's your local animalshelter, whether that's more
global issues that you want tofund, helping people in need
often takes money.
We still live in a capitalisticworld and sending help to and
from places takes money and itonly feels gross or can be gross
if you are out there postingand asking for business without
(16:16):
honoring the other parts ofsuffering that are happening in
our world.
And when that's happening andyou're going out there and
looking for business, that canfeel icky, but if you are
talking about it, knowing whereyour money is going and knowing
why you want to earn the moneyyou want to earn.
Those are great reasons to beclear about asking for business.
(16:38):
And then I have clarity aroundwhy I'm posting, why I'm wanting
to work with clients, what thepurpose of earning money is when
the world is on fire, what thepurpose of selling houses is
when the world is on fire.
So I hope that helps you too.
In today's episode, we've talkedabout a lot of things.
I hope that you've gotten sometakeaways from here, with one
(17:01):
acknowledgement we are living inwhat seems to be a very
challenging time, and there's alot of things changing around us
too.
You know, technology's changing, ai is changing, climate change
, our industry changes aloneright over the past year or two
have been pretty major, andwe've had to keep going through
(17:21):
all that.
We've had to adapt, we've hadto educate ourselves, we've had
to educate our clients, we'vehad to be angry about it, we've
had to be frustrated about itNew forms, new legislation, new
compliance and all that stuff.
And so I hope that you have oneacknowledge that we are living
(17:43):
in a time that is complicatedand difficult.
And two, that you have a veryspecific skill set and that
skill set allows you to reallyhelp people through the chapter
of their lives that they may begoing through and because of
your skill set, you can helpthem get to that goal in the
best way possible.
And three find ways that youcan give back, ways that you can
(18:05):
offset the helpless feeling.
The helpless feeling puts youin a place of feeling like
there's nothing to be done, soI'm just going to curl up in a
ball and cower down, and thereis sometimes time and place for
that.
I'm not saying there isn't, butwhat can you do?
Can you give a hand up to afresh agent who's just newly
licensed and is struggling inthis market?
It doesn't have to be even inthe real estate industry, right?
(18:27):
What are some ways you can justgive back out there in the
world, whether that's adopting apet or fostering, giving back
with your time or your money oryour skillset.
I feel like that episode wasquite the journey.
I'd appreciate it if you stuckwith me through it.
Please drop me a note.
All my info is linked in theshow notes.
I would love to hear from youon email or just a DM in terms
(18:49):
of if anything resonated fromthis episode.
And how do you?
How are you finding somereprieve among the chaos?
How are you finding some reliefor some pressure release valves
in this time?
Thank you again so much forjoining me on this episode of
the Rested and Rich Real EstateAgent.
(19:09):
If you found this episodehelpful and useful, it would
mean a lot to me if you'd sharewith a colleague in your office.
If you're interested in joiningin on some of my workshops,
which I will be releasing soon,you can go to my website and
sign up for my newsletter, whereall upcoming workshops and
offerings will be listed.
(19:30):
Thank you again so much forlistening and until next time be
well.
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