The Publisher's Page – Murray had been a Realtor for over 30 years. In all that time he had experienced the highs and the lows that were a part of life in real estate.
But in the past few years Murray grew tired of the demands the business made on him — demands that seemed to become more unreasonable every day.
For Murray, adjusting to the emotional whim of others had become tedious. He felt like he had become a victim of other people’s decisions. He was sick of the ceaseless whining about his commission, his services and his profession. He had lost patience for clients who could not provide him with even a small measure of respect, and yet expected his full attention whenever they called.
Murray’s growing anger crept into all corners of his life — right down to the annoying shrieks of the winter birds that greeted him each morning as he set out to face another fruitless day of trying to find a listing.
He was sick of it.
Without any joy left in his heart, Murray died in his sleep. It seemed as though bitterness had simply consumed him and took his life away.
Murray had been a good and decent man in his life, so he went to heaven. As it turned out, Murray became a Realtor in heaven. “The real estate business has got to be better up here,” said Murray. And he was right. It was a lot easier being a Realtor in heaven.
There was no need to upgrade his computer or buy new communication tools. There was no new technology to learn. There were no fees to pay. Murray didn’t need to attend seminars to renew his licence. He didn’t even need a licence.
There was no need to look for clients. They came to him. No deals fell through. Everybody bought dream houses from Murray. And even though all his clients had all the money they needed to pay cash for their homes, they still got mortgages because there were mortgage brokers in heaven too. Murray was thrilled. It was like, well, it was like being in heaven.
But Murray was the kind of person who had always enjoyed a challenge and soon he became bored. This was just too easy. It was downright dull.
Murray went to the real estate association of heaven. He told them that while he was very grateful for the way things were, he wished that the real estate business in heaven could be more challenging. Perhaps instead of always getting all the listings he wanted and selling all the houses he showed, maybe the deals he did could only have the “possibility” of succeeding. That way the satisfaction of getting a deal done could be enjoyed all the more.
Success, Murray summarized, can be savoured far greater when it is achieved by overcoming obstacles. He would rather work with the potential of failure. “If I fail,” Murray said, “I will not think of it as losing, but rather an experience to learn from.”
Since Murray was in heaven, the real estate association gave him everything he asked for. But after a while Murray had a few more requests. “It is very peaceful here in heaven and people are wonderful and nice. It would be more invigorating for me if people were a little more difficult to deal with and maybe there was at least a little noise distraction.”
Distracting noise and difficult people was something heaven could not provide. But Murray deserved to be happy, so the real estate association of heaven came up with a plan.
The next morning Murray woke up in his own bed back on earth, to the sound of winter birds chirping outside.
He organized a list of the most difficult clients that he could think of. He was going to contact each one that very day. His first stop, however, would be to pick up some birdseed.
Murray thought to himself, “Now, this is heaven.”
Heino Molls is publisher of REM. Email [email protected].
By: Heino Molls
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