Stay In Your Own Lane

Years ago, in my previous Law Enforcement Career (Yes, I served the Pembroke Pines Police Department in South Florida and The Greenville City Police Department here in the the Upstate) I managed to excel in the area of DUI (Driving Under The Influence) Enforcement. For whatever reason I had a very keen eye to spot potential intoxicated drivers on the public roadways.

One of the many actions that I would look for in a driver’s ability to operate a motor vehicle was whether or not the driver could keep his / her vehicle in between the lane line markers. I typically allowed a driver to cross a lane line marker at least three times prior to conducting the traffic stop. On multiple occasions this resulted in an arrest. 

Fast Forward to the present. I attend Kingdom Life Church on Holland Road in Simpsonville where Sunday in and Sunday out I am their Piano / Keyboard player and band leader. I have been playing Piano and Keyboards for churches and bands for over 30 years now, and in my experience I have learned that I am really good at leading a band and playing an instrument but I am not too good at other parts of church ministry. For example – I learned several years ago when serving at another local church, Teen ministry was just something I did not enjoy nor felt called to do. It was, “Outside of MY Lane” and by being something “Outside My lane” I crashed and burned (so to speak). 

Not a month goes by where my Pastor will say something like (Paraphrasing here), “Have you noticed that I don’t try and stand up here and sing? No sir, No Ma’am…that is outside my lane and I have learned to stay in my own lane.” After so many years this little statement “Stay in YOUR OWN Lane” has resonated with me and I have used it on hundreds of occasions now. “Galatians 6:4 (NLT): Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.”

So why is all of this on a Real Estate Broker’s Blog and Social Media Page? Thank you for asking…

As a Real Estate Agent or Broker, you have probably seen other agents, you may consider successful, doing actions that have helped them in this industry. You see them post videos on social media and get hundreds and possibly thousands of likes and views, or list beautiful homes or simply be able to pick up the phone and speak with someone about real estate so naturally you wonder if you will ever be like “Them.”

STOP This way of thinking…Stay in YOUR OWN Lane. Find what YOU Excel in. Find what YOU are good at. Concentrate on YOUR Sphere of Influence and not someone else’s or the leads they bought. Find out YOUR “Why” – Why You Are in Real Estate. What YOU Love about this industry. And what YOU can do to help others. 

Have you seen a pattern here? Concentrate daily on YOU and what YOU do best. Do what is in YOUR Ability and not someone else’s ability. By concentrating on your abilities, you will begin to strengthen that ability even more…kind of like lifting weights. But you need to stay hyper focused on what YOU do best and “Stay In YOUR OWN Lane.”

Don’t read what I am not saying….I am not saying to not step out of your comfort zone. Just because something may be uncomfortable at first does not mean that it is NOT in your ability to do it. At 14 years old, when starting to play the piano in church…it wasn’t comfortable….BUT I worked and worked at it because it was MY Passion. It soon became very comfortable and before long I was playing in front of thousands of people across the United States and Canada. My “Lane” became comfortable because I loved what I was doing (and Still DO!)  

There is a great reward for working hard and seeing personal accomplishment. And at the very least, by staying in your own lane, you avoid colliding with others and crashing and burning. 

Ask yourself, are you trying to do something “OUTSIDE of your lane?” Get yourself back between the lines and excel! Oh, and enjoy the ride along the way! 

Until Next Time ~ MLT

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