Robert Worthington’s car story reminds me of this.
In 2003, I had an epic run. A 6 figure 60 day period.
I was happy as hell. In 2004, I became…
Arrogant. Thought this was my new life. Thought I was now a 7 figure agent. Made a 60 thousand month an 80 thousand month (and forgot the famine that sandwiched the months).
We’ve talked about this before.
Anyway, enter a man, Harry. Harry was a mid 40’s (I was late 20’s) agent. Looked like Peter Falk with a crew cut. Harry was a nice guy, a little slow, and kind of a bumpkin. Harry’s mom used to be in Real Estate as an old time agent. Harry’s mom could now move to Florida.
People thought Harry was a moron.
People derided Harry for having his momma’s business.
Harry drove a 1993 Geo Prizm everywhere. He got to the office around 7am and left around 10am. He got back to the office around 7pm and stayed for a half hour or so. We didn’t see much of him. I was in the office to sober up for an hour after being a little too boozy. We passed as he was coming back.
I can’t resist the urge to brag, and this time was no different.
“4 closings this week.” I said, counting my $129,000 4% double ender as 2 closings.
“Great.” he said, “You only get about 2 great runs a year, so work hard.”
Whatever, bumpkin.
Slow talking Harry was always enthusiastic, didn’t miss a meeting, and kept to himself.
Later, he referred a client he didn’t have time for to me. I didn’t close him. The client was a jerk. (Note: I probably could have closed him had I not wanted to be right, but that’s a lesson for another time). Another client, and nothing. Harry asked to see me, I was too busy, but would welcome his referrals.
I got one more, another closable person that my arrogance kept away (after all, I was driving an Acura RL, what the hell could Harry know. He drove a Hundai to get here. I never met with Harry and didn’t hear much from him.
But after our brokerage closed, he was curt with me at a boozy Realtor meeting where we were all informed who our new masters were. He came into a different brokerage and I learned a few things.
- Harry made over 650,000 per year.
- Harry had a vending machine business that brought in another $120k (heh heh tax free heh heh). He schlepped the quarters, candy bars and laundry soap himself.
- Harry had something like 9 duplexes, all in an up and coming neighborhood.
- Harry had ear marked me to be part of his business after I was agent of the month 3 months in a row.
Harry wasn’t a fast talker. He was, however focused. He didn’t take bathroom breaks during the day. He cared about his clients. I whiffed at what was sure to be a bonafide amazing opportunity.
I learned this second hand, from another old timer. I had no idea about any of those facts. When I pondered this, slow talking, Prism driving Harry, it was as if my dog had a secret life teaching Russian to diplomats. I never saw how this mouth breather was better than me.
But he is, still churning out volume without complaint, drama, rancor facebook twitter or a blog.
Joe says:
Great story Chris.
I had a similar story. I was a Painting and General Building Contractor is Southern California, and my main supplier of paint material was the Frazee paint store in Vista CA. There was a $10.00/hr clerk that worked the counter that fit Harry’s description exactly. He kept asking me to do some painting for him and I finally resigned myself to do some work for him only after judging him as inferior to me. As it turned out, he owned 30 (that I am aware of, probably more) multi-family apartment buildings in Orange County, CA. I was humbled to say the least.
He died of cancer in his late 40s about 15-20 years ago leaving behind lots and lots of family. And to top things off, he was one of the most loving and generous persons I have ever met. It would not surprise me if he gave half his income away to folks that were less fortunate.
June 30, 2011 — 3:07 pm
Robert Worthington says:
Great story Chris and Joe. Wow. Humbling lessons.
June 30, 2011 — 7:47 pm
Jim Klein says:
Classic post, Chris, with innumerable lessons. “Don’t just a book by its cover,” being just one.
Economically, this country was chock full of Harrys, especially since WWII. Their demise, with a replacement rate approaching zero, is why production is in the tank. Nobody ever noticed them, so they figured they didn’t matter.
July 1, 2011 — 8:02 am
Jeff Brown says:
Keep your nose clean. Work hard. Don’t look for kudos. Your banker and your wife are the only ones who need to know.
July 1, 2011 — 10:12 am
Tom Bryant says:
Your best post (in my opinion). And bless you for your honesty and candor.
I was in Westerville this past week, which if memory serves me, is where you were located when you started posting here.
July 1, 2011 — 5:34 pm
Ben Fisher says:
Great story I really enjoyed it. Something to be said about simplicity…
July 2, 2011 — 9:55 am
Chris Johnson says:
Tom – yup, I was in Westerville. I’m in Gresham, OR now.
July 2, 2011 — 10:22 am
Wayne says:
Thanks for being so candid. I have fallen in the arrogance trap myself…. it is easy to do. Just about the time I think I am smart…. I outsmart myself!! 🙂
July 4, 2011 — 6:00 am