When Things Just Don’t Feel Right – BACK OFF!

I don’t think I would get much gruff when I say that George Washington was arguably one of the most brilliant generals of all time. What is interesting to me is not the battles he won that made him so great, but his ability to back off when he faced overwhelming odds of being slaughtered. In a book I highly recommend, 1776, David McCullough masterfully accounts how the year of 1776 went for George Washington. The book left this reader astounded that this Declaration of Independence ever ended up in victory. While many men put their lives on the line for America’s independence, it was the incredible leadership of this singular individual that led to a win over the planet’s then superpower, England.

The scene unfolds around Boston shortly after the Battle of Bunker Hill. George Washington is in command of the forces that surround British-controlled Boston. After months of stalemate, Washington latches onto a plan to drive the British from Boston and succeeds in doing so. Many people believe that the British have left for good, but Washington thinks that they will sail North to New York and try to regroup there. His ill-fitted, ill-mannered, and just plain ill troops began their march north to New York. Shortly after they arrive, the British begin sailing into New York with their impressive naval fleet in a massive show of power. Again, George Washington correctly guessed where the British would come ashore. Seeing that they were massively outnumbered, Washington made a decision to retreat. Some viewed this as a cowardly move. Some in his forces wanted to fight. For the next several months, every time they neared battle Washington would retreat. It was retreat after retreat after retreat. The troops were beginning to wonder when they were actually going to fight. Finally, they retreated all the way back to the Delaware River where they readied themselves for a winter reprieve. The British did the same just across the river.

Then, on Christmas Day, 1776, Washington made what was arguably the decision that turned the tide of the war for Independence, he made his now famous crossing of the Delaware and attacked the British when they were least expecting it.

This book was astounding to me because it could be argued that Washington started this war with a skeleton crew of military support. If he’d done what most red-blooded generals do, this war would ended in what turned out to be a non-event – The Battle of New York. Why? Because he backed off.

It is a lesson most of us can learn from. I certainly could have. Have you noticed that when things don’t look or feel right, all too often we just face it head on anyway? Isn’t it amazing how many times we come out of such scenarios and say to ourselves, “Well, I saw that coming.” Why do we do that?

I think we do it because we confuse ourselves with quotes such as, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” We get this macho feeling, sometimes (especially men!) that “we have to go out and kick some butt!”

When I was a real estate agent and I was just getting started, I was told that I needed to create a “farm.” This meant that I had to find a neighborhood that I would specialize in and try to become the predominant source of real estate information. In doing that, those in the neighborhood would become so impressed, that they would want me to list their home and help them find another one. Well, I loved this particular historic home district in my city. In fact, I wanted to live there. I decided that was where I wanted to create my farm. It was right in the middle of the city, and gave me a chance to enjoy my own passion of viewing historic homes. After all, I’d wanted to own one some day.

There was, however, one major problem. My “farm” was over run with other Realtors who had the same passion I had. Not only that, some of them had been their for years and had sold dozens of properties. I didn’t let that affect my determination. I dove right in and started knocking on doors, creating monthly newsletters, letting people know there was a new expert in the neighborhood. The questions invariably came back, “But Dave, how can you be an expert if you haven’t sold a home in this neighborhood?” No matter how hard I tried, I could not obtain any listings in my farm. However, I remembered that “Quitters never win.” And “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.” So I kept persisting. I persisted myself to death. With my funds drained, and no listings to speak of, and deeply in debt, I finally had to quit. Now, if I had read 1776 at this time, I might have been able to see that I was up against overwhelming odds. I might have done what George Washington did and backed off. I might have regrouped and re-evaluated and decided that there was probably a better way to reach my ultimate goal.

You see, George Washington’s ultimate goal was freedom for all Americans. He wanted to obtain it the best way he knew how. Freedom was his passion, and war was his means. He was able to see the world through a very wide angle lens. He was able to see when he was in a no win situation. He also had many advisors that he took the time and energy to listen to. He was not one to make rash decisions. He had an uncanny knack of observing where he stood, and what he needed in order to succeed. When defeat was imminent, he would back off and regroup. He would wait for the best opportunities for victory.

Now, I am not sure that I could have been successful as a real estate agent as it was not something I was really passionate about going into it. However, when I was doing it, I was as passionate as I could possibly be about it. People told me I was going to be a great Realtor, and I did get off to a pretty decent start, comparatively. However, in this particular situation, if I could have seen through the wide angle lens that Washington used, I might have seen that defeat was imminent. I might have been able to see that I needed to back off and pick a “farm” that was not so competitive. I might have been able to see that giving up on the historic homes at that time wouldn’t mean that I was giving up on them forever. I might have seen that what I needed to tackle was something that was more on the scale of what a new Realtor could handle rather than competing against seasoned veterans. I might have seen that if I could succeed in a less competitive environment, that I could eventually once again go back to pursuing my true dream of being a historic home specialist. But I didn’t see that. And that is okay. Because I have ended up exactly where I need to be right now, anyway. And I certainly learned from that experience.

While I think this information can be helpful to some of you in your quest to fulfill your dreams. I think it is worth mentioning that you need to be sure you are pursuing something that you love doing. Too many of you will make the mistake of thinking it is okay to do something makes you money, and then you can start doing the things that you love. I consider this stinkin’ thinkin’. DO NOT FALL INTO THIS TRAP! Focus on doing something that you love.

Buy the book – it’s an eye-opener.

Namaste