Kids seem to have the market cornered on letters to Santa Claus but as my mother uses to tell me, “when you want something, it doesn’t hurt to ask.” So for what it’s worth…even though I am 47 years old and I know Santa probably outsources his letter reading to some small firm in the Philipines, here’s what I am asking for this year.
Dear Santa,
Please find my Christmas wish list below. I know you’re super busy these next few days and have lots of “needy” people asking you for things. I’ll be honest with you, I probably don’t “need” any of these things so if it comes down to helping some family get a visit from their Mom or Dad who might be serving overseas in the armed forces or a sick child to get well quickly with a painless recovery, please move me to the bottom of the list. But, if you really have this time management thing figured out and your resources are almost as endless as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, please consider these 15 gifts for 2015…
1. A quick turn around for the University of Florida football team under new Coach Jim McElwain. It’s been a few years since they were competitive in the college football landscape and it’s just not a Saturday in the fall when I really don’t care if the Gators are even playing or not. It’s time to return the “Chomp to the Swamp.”
2. Truce between the real estate community and the smart people at Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com along with any other on-line aggregator of real estate information. I don’t see local employees at Macy’s or Radio Shack railing online about Amazon or CNet. If people are afraid of someone “stealing” their opportunities, send them a map that shows the river of real estate leads and the direction it’s flowing, then allow the complainers to find a position further upstream to catch the opportunities first. Remind them to bring some good bait and something to read. They might be there a while.
3. Making the phrase “no” not be so painful for most people. Salespeople don’t like to hear it but it’s really not such a bad thing…unless you let it stop you from continuing to talk to people. When someone says “no” they are rarely saying “no” to you the person, they are saying “no thanks” to the opportunity, product or service that you’re offering.
I’m guessing Santa, that when you heard your “First Noel” you even considered giving up, huh? Good thing you kept going. Thank of how much different your career would have been if you wouldn’t have kept going until you finally made that first Christmas sale.
4. Fewer people with handicaps
5. More parking spaces closer to the stores.
6. A lump of coal in the gas tanks of lazy people who park in handicapped parking spots.
(Handle #4 first, then #5 will probably happen shortly thereafter)
7. The words diet, sugar-free, healthy and low-calorie do not have to mean “no flavor.” It’s sort of counter-productive when we have to add salt, sugar or butter to everything we eat while trying to lose weight.
8. Raises for all the kindergarten teachers and good health for our parents who taught us the power of using our manners. Please, thank you, you’re welcome are still appreciated and raising your hand, waiting your turn and looking people in the eye should never be considered “old school.”
9. Reminders to all real estate salespeople that your reputation will be here long after your commission has been spent.
10. The ability to keep my work issues at work and my home issues at home.
11. More opportunities to meet my on-line social connections in real life. These events can be national conventions, local gatherings or even an occasional random meeting in a grocery store, library or Starbucks. It’s just great to get face-to-face instead of avatar-to-avatar.
12. Low interest rates, low gas prices and low golf scores.
13. High grades for my kids, high returns for my 401-K and high attendance for my classes in the new year.
14. Creativity and commitment to write another 600 blog posts and enough readers to read, comment and share them. I hope the readers I have now know how much I appreciate them being here.
15. The opportunity to keep building relationships, solving problems and having fun.
That’s it for now Santa. I’ll be sure to leave out some milk and cookies for you.
If you’re really thirsty and you feel like catching an Uber the rest of the way home, there’s plenty of good Christmas beers in the refrigerator in the basement. Help yourself.
Thanks for everything,
Sean
Merry Christmas to all of you. Thanks for the readership and support over all these years. Best of luck to you in the new year.
Photo Credit: Nakeva via Flickr