Way back in the cobwebs of my mind, I recall a song by Joni Mitchell about a street corner musician who, in her words, “played real good for free”.
I do not know the accuracy of the story but the way I heard it, Mitchell was in the back of a limousine on her way to play at a concert for many thousands of dollars when her limo stopped at a traffic light. At that moment she heard a great musician, someone she thought had greater talent than she did, playing on the street corner for free. She wrote a song about the irony of their different lives.
I was thinking about her words the other day in a conversation about the Mona Lisa, of all things.
I saw the Mona Lisa many years ago at the Louvre in Paris. I remember how struck I was by the paintings in the hallways. I thought they were far better than the Mona Lisa. I could not get over the beauty and clarity of emotion they conveyed. I was surprised that no one stopped to glance at these paintings during the quick march of tourists rushing through the halls to the room where the Mona Lisa was displayed.
It occurs to me that this kind of practice goes on in all works. In the artistic field. In business. And in life. We only want to see the winners.
That’s a good thing. We should admire those who achieve greatness. We should aspire to be like them. We should learn from them. We should applaud them.
Like you, I have many great heroes in my life. People I want to be like. But I have been thinking lately about the folks who do not get the limelight. Not just the people who come in second, but rather those who don’t place at all. Folks who are, by every measure, really the best people of all, despite their lack of recognition.
I know of a Realtor in North Vancouver who is not a top seller but is still a hard worker who cares deeply about her clients. This woman worked for months to find the right home for a young couple starting out in life. When she finally found it and arranged the sale, she cried tears of happiness.
I know a Realtor who walked away from a very attractive commission when the property sale called for him to sacrifice his integrity.
I know a Realtor who gave up her personal time to serve on committees and elicit changes to her profession in order to make the business of real estate a more honourable one for others.
I know a Realtor who gets great satisfaction from the success of others that he mentored, despite the time it takes away from his own professional achievements.
This business of real estate is unique. It is fickle. It is very dependent on the emotions of others.
Like so many other things in life, the foundation of success in this business is hard work. Not everyone can be the top seller, and that is not because of a lack of hard work.
All of the above people are successful. It occurs to me that most of us pretty much know what true success is when we stop to think about it. The thing is, we should not have to think about it. We should know and always have an appreciation for the unsung heroes among us.
Perhaps in the course of our day we might all take a moment to express appreciation for those around us. There may not be a formal award for the salt of the earth, but there is no reason for us to not express a word of acknowledgement to their success.
It may be no surprise to note that one of these successful people could very well be on the other side of the mirror.
It is good to be the top producer in your field. But that cannot be the only way you measure success because if you do…
You’re no winner.
Heino Molls is publisher of REM. Email [email protected].
By: Heino Molls
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