Had a fun week here in Panama City, Panama with our houseguest, Carol, visiting us from San Francisco.  We were on our 32nd floor balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean and watching the ships waiting to go into the Panama Canal last night when Carol said something that made me cringe.

As a neonatal doctor at Stanford University specializing in transplants for children, she said the worst thing a doctor can be is cocky when dealing with children and their families. 

You see, I screwed up big time again this week.  I was cocky.

I did a Zoom listing appointment for a smaller condo, with a smaller list price in my market of San Francisco.  I thought I nailed it.  Established a great rapport. Easy peasy.  That listing was mine!

Then the call….”we gave the listing to someone else”.

I went in a little cocky and lost the listing, damn!

And setbacks are hard for all of us.  Boy, did I learn my lesson.  ALL listings are important and you should give your all to all of them. 

And there is a difference between cocky and confident.  Learn that difference fast!

But also know that as an entrepreneur, things don’t always go your way.

You’ll face obstacles, challenges and roadblocks.  In real estate, you’ll get your ass kicked on a daily basis.

And, as my buddy Ryan Lee says, “if you aren’t getting your ass kicked, you probably aren’t trying hard enough.”  Challenges come when you push, when you try new things.

It doesn’t matter why there is a big fat obstacle in your way.  The only thing that matters is how you respond to it.

So the moral here is to be agile.

Be resilient.

And don’t be cocky.