Learn For 2.0 with Brandon DeVere

It's easy for us to try and sell or convince someone that they need what we have.

But where we usually miss the mark is when we don't listen to their needs or take them into consideration while we try to pitch them on what they think they need or want.

I had 2 conversations today that hit each end of the spectrum.

1 was me trying to get an answer from an home appraiser that wasn't listening to me at all.

The other, was me talking to an associate at Home Depot that listened intently to what I needed and made an appropriate suggestion based on what I told him.

This experience was a great reminder of what it means to understand the needs of others, so that you can either offer them a relevant solution or direct them in a different direction in order to solve their problem.

Sometimes it's more than just about being paid for everything you do.

Today I had 2 podcast classes that I taught and the gratitude and the engagement expressed by the attendees was amazing.

It is times like these that remind me that coming from a place of contribution is never wrong.

This podcast was built on coming from a place of contribution and the podcast class is exactly the same.

Even though I didn't not get paid monetarily, I definitely was paid with gratitude, and it is well worth it for me.

"You Can Never Say The Wrong Thing To The Right Person or The Right Thing To The Wrong Person” 

This was said to me just over a year ago and it couldn’t be any more true today. 

Over the last year, I have tried to share an opportunity with those close to me, those I really want to succeed. 

These people mean a lot to me and I want to do whatever I can to propel them on their journey. 

But what I have learned to be a harsh reality is that, regardless of what I can see that I feel will be beneficial to them, they simply do not see, or choose not to see. 

I’m not sure if it is just their ego shutting their minds off to a “different” way of doing things or their fear taking a chance. 

Either way, nothing can be said to them to change their mind. 

The same goes for those who I share the ideas with that are “all in”. 

I could talk ad nauseam about this topic and whatever I say, wrong or right, they are all in.  

The point is, if someone has already shut their mind off to something new, it is very difficult to open it up to a new idea. Regardless of how you present it. 

On the flip side, if someone is open to new ideas, especially progressive ones, it will be hard to turn them off.  

Regardless of how crazy they may seem. 

So in essence, if people are naturally open to new ideas, they will be receptive, but if they want things to be done as they’ve always been done before they will automatically hate the idea. 

Hence, why… 

"You Can Never Say The Wrong Thing To The Right Person or The Right Thing To The Wrong Person” 

I had something else planned today.

But after talking to a good friend of mine about 30 minutes before I recorded this espisode, I decided to change course.

As difficult as it is for us to see while we are in it, others are going through challenges of their own.

We have been struggling with my son and school and it has been draining on us.

However, it could be worse.

After this phone call, my problems were put into perspective.

Everyone has challenges, we are not unique in this aspect.

But during these moments, we have the opportunity to make them teachable.

By just finding a lesson lying within these challenges, we have the opportunity to change the course and outcome.

This past Saturday I went to a free seminar put on by Grant and Elena Cardone.

He is the 10x guy.

How to 10x your life.

Luckily for me, I was able to learn a ton during the 3 hours and even met someone local that was on the same page as me.

I realized that is what I need in my life, to surround myself with more like-minded individuals.

Ones that are looking to become more, just as I am.

They understand what it is that I am trying to do.

They are the ones that will support, encourage, and join me on my journey.

Also, there is a reminder to learn from those you loathe.

When people don't understand something or are having difficulty learning or grasping a concept, we often jump to the conclusion that they may have a learning disability.

But what if that wasn't the case?

What if they were fully capable of learning, but not the way we are trying to teach or lead them?

What if it's not a learning disability... but a teaching disability?

I've told in my adult life that I must have been a good student.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

I did enough to get by because my only interest was staying eligible to play sports, which was barely enough to graduate.

The truth was, I was a terrible student, learning didn't interest me.

But now, I love to learn at every opportunity that I can.

Because I wasn't a good student in high school, does that mean I had a learning disability?

And since I love to learn now, does that mean I outgrew it?

Or...

Does it mean that the way I was being taught wasn't registering with me personally, and now that I have the opportunity to seek out the ways in which I  learn more efficiently, that I enjoy it more?

I don't know...

What I do know, is that people learn and want to be lead in different ways. These people can be labeled with "learning disabilities".

So next time you are trying to teach or lead someone and they aren't "getting it", it doesn't mean they are dumb or lazy.

Maybe it means that you have the inability to reach them, causing a teaching disability.

Unfortunately, the success rate of real estate agents is drastically low.

A couple of reasons are, the low barrier of entry to get into the industry, as well as the expectations of what to expect once you are in, are rarely what you were promised.

But one glaring issue is the fact that most agents continue to play the "short game" over and over, with no long term plan.

For example, an agent that left our brokerage because the 20% split was too much to spend, just offered his clients a portion of their commission when buying with them, as well as offering to sell their home for free if they purchased their next home with that agent.

Interesting I thought...

This is a short game play, a play to try and increase transactions by giving away their commissions.

The exact reason why they wanted to move brokerages.

It isn't necessarily the agent's fault though.

This industry preaches the short game mentality, that is why most agents just end up becoming employees in their real estate practice.

They don't play the "long game" and treat it like an actual career or business.

Sometimes I need to just stop and live in the moment.

With so much technology available to us, we sometime get into massive overwhelm.

For instance, as I build my international real estate team I am constantly looking for ways to share this incredible mission.

My mind actually never stops thinking about it.

The challenge with that is I feel like I have a million puzzle pieces, with no corner or border pieces.

I just don't know where to start.

But something that helps center me, is taking on projects that require me to use my hands and allow me to focus on just that step.

This allows ideas and thoughts to flow in and out of my mind without the pressures of needing an idea.

I just learned today that Henry Ford actually built a village called Greenfield for this is exact purpose.

He thought we were getting too involved in our home telephones and cars. Causing us to detach from the fundamentals.

“Becoming is Better Than Being”

Throughout my adult life I have been through many changes. Some big, some small.

The one thing that has remained constant is that I don’t have it all figured out.

Not even close.

I tried college out a few times because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do, but it wasn’t really for me.

I used to joke that if I only took classes that I was interested in, I would never graduate.

I’d be the real-life Van Wilder…  Still in school with no degree on the horizon.

Needless to say, I never made it all the way through.

I’ve always had this chip on my shoulder when I’m told I need to do something a certain way.

I’m not very receptive.

The more you tell me it has to be done “this” way, the more I resist and search for other ways to do it.

When I was in the hospitality world as a food server and concierge the next natural move was to get into management and continue working my way up “the ladder”, but I looked into the future and that wasn’t for me either.

Same with real estate, “If you want to be successful you need to make cold calls, knock on doors and beg your sphere”, again… not me.

I hate when people knock on my door, call me out of the blue or try to sell me something at a friend’s barbeque.

So why would I do it to someone else?

Do unto others right?

So, in my quest to NOT do those things I stumbled upon the power of storytelling, and how stories can change lives.

Now, that’s me!

This has had such an impact on me, that above my computer is a sign that says…

“My Primary Profession IS A Storyteller”

That is how much I believe in it.

Although there is still plenty of improvement for me on this journey as I learn to become a better storyteller, I welcome the process, I even look forward to it actually.

After all, it is my primary profession.

I would love to say that I have already become a great storyteller but that wouldn’t be accurate and honestly I don’t know that I would want to be able to say that.

There is too much value in “becoming”.

As my good friend Ryan Sloper says,

“Becoming is Better Than Being”

Sometimes we need to look past the dressing of comments and focus on the message itself.

Marshawn Lynch just gave a message to young NFL players, his audience, and spoke to them in his terms.

Others who read, heard, or watched his comments were too caught up in his word choice to understand what he was really telling them.

Two things stuck out to me about this:

1) He knows his audience and he was speaking to them.

2) Don't let the delivery block you from learning the lesson.