How Good is Your Word?

Well, the holidays are over. Always an interesting time for me. I love that I get some down time and some time with family but it doesn't always feel like down time as we are moving about from relative to relative. Real estate certainly slows down though as people shift their focus temporarily. 2013 was a great year for me professionally. I closed 55 transactions, hired Taylore, earned my broker's license and started the process of opening a second location for my firm in Murfreesboro. It was a year of ups and downs. There were a few transactions that went south and just broke my heart. In at least one of those cases, however, it didn't take long to find out why the Almighty made it fall through as the family came into some pretty trying times within about a week of the transaction falling apart. Interesting how that works out sometimes. Well 2014 looks to be just as good, if not better. I am excited to get it started and I love the challenge a new year brings.

Typically at New Years we do a little introspection and set resolutions to change something about ourselves. Some folks choose to resolve to lose weight, find a different job, spend more time at home, etc. Some will resolve to stop procrastinating (but may not start that one till February). I want to challenge all of you to evaluate and strengthen your "word." What I mean is, make your word your bond. This seems to be something people have gotten away from, slowly but surely. If you tell someone something, make that as binding as if you have a written contract.

Don't make your word "situational." In other words, don't say "my word is my bond, as long as it stays convenient for me." You might be thinking, "well, I don't lie to people." That is a great start. But take it a step further. Do you stay true to what you say when the situation changes and staying true might mean you lose a little or do you try to wiggle out of it and only look out for old number 1?

I know this is hard sometimes. I know it is easier to look for a technicality to get out of less than advantageous situations. That is your character eroding though. Stay tough and be a man or woman of your word. Spend the next couple of days looking back into this last year and see if there were times you valued convenience over integrity. Don't beat yourself up over them now. Revisit those, however, and make a promise to yourself to not do that again. Make 2014 the year of integrity.