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Awards Ceremonies & introverts

I had the great privilege of attending and award ceremony for my grand-niece last night.  It was for academic awards for elementary school aged kids.  A nice idea to showcase how important academics are over sports or in addition to just sports. It made me recall how much I absolutely hated being called to the stage for anything as a kid. Even if it were for good things like awards & band concerts and spelling contests.

Now I readily admit I was and still am kind of a ‘nerdy’ or ‘geeky’ kids or whatever sort of politically incorrect label you want to apply to it.  I’m fine with, really don’t care how I was seen by others and even now seem to have a relatively healthy self-esteem so none of those labels bother me.

So how does this help us in our real estate investing?

Simple, there are times when we are called to be on the stage and it can make us nervous, afraid and even seen some folks throw up or fake an illness just to not be in the spotlight.  Even some young athletes; one kid I knew threw up before every game from the pressure of knowing he was about to be on the field.  He was fine after that and like many, the jitters wore off after abit.  Yes, we can do everything we can to hide in the shadows but every now and again we have to step up and accept an award and walk across a stage in front of dozens or even hundreds of people.

Over the years I’ve never completely overcome my fear of public speaking but like others, I do it, and many say I do it well.  I know I feel more comfortable when I’m speaking behind a podium or with a slide presentation.  Knowing your subject matter is another way to ensure things will go smoother as well.  Our REIA even hosts a local Toastmaster’s chapter to allow our members to help them with public speaking.  I’m not saying you ever have to give a speech or stand up on stage but it is nice to have some practice.

My niece’s team not only won 2nd place in their academic category but she also had a perfect score on her individual paper!  I expect to see that kid on stage often going forward.


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