Attending an Ivy League school isn’t about being the
smartest person in the room, even though most of the time I am. It is more
about belonging to a special club. Some of us made it because we were very
smart, others because their family has donated to the school’s endowment for
generations. Regardless how you got there, once you are in the club, you feel
special.
It’s not Ivy League
and that’s okay
On the surface, the classes at Brooklyn Real Estate
Institute don’t even begin to approach the difficulty of an easy class at
Brown. But if you are looking for the value in this experience based strictly
on information, you may be missing the point. I think I have learned more about
human psychology studying and applying my real estate lessons than I ever
learned in my psych classes at Brown.
I think the reason for that is in real estate and sales, you
are in the actual trenches of life. You learn to understand what makes people
tick or you don’t make the sale. An important lesson you learn by hanging
around people who are successful in real estate is how to read people. You
don’t learn that in class. You learn it from the instructor after class and
from others who are at the school learning advanced investing strategies.
The University of
People
Even though my real estate classes in Brooklyn taught me
every detail I would need to know about real estate sales and investing, it is
the education in people that I enjoy the most. After you get your real estate
license and start taking advance courses, it becomes a little like Brown; you belong
to the club. The veterans start pulling you aside and divulging their secrets
for reading people and understanding what motivates others.
Even though there are no secret handshakes or anything like
that, members of this club seem to get special privileges reserved for those
special few who have advanced in the ranks. I am actually impressed how well
connected my instructors are.
Going with your
strength
In my previous career in health care, I became good friends
with some of the top surgeons and doctors in the country. Even though the
politics of my job made it difficult to use my network of friends for anything
other than an invitation to a cocktail party, I now found I had something they
wanted. I knew all about the good properties, the ones to invest in and the
ones to avoid. And if they were looking for a good home, I knew who was moving
and when.
I also found that my Brown connections were still valuable.
Some of the people I have been working with are so upscale, I think I may even
switch over to working for Sotheby's Real Estate. Seriously, check out this video. I could sell that. Easy.
Yes. I went to Brown. I am in the club. But I also went to
Brooklyn Real Estate Institute. I am in that club too. That club makes money.
