I’m not a huge fan of the Olympics but I do like to watch a few events -gymnastics, volleyball and of course figure skating.  But this year my focus, like many others, has been on men’s swimming, specifically Michael Phelps.  Of course we all know by now that he has succeeded in winning 8 gold medals and setting 7 world records (and if you don’t, where have you been?).  However the event that stands out most in my mind is the one where he won his 7th gold medal – the 100m butterfly.  If you haven’t seen the race, go see it here, now.  The clip is 12 minutes but just watch the first 3 minutes. Go ahead, I’ll wait. It’s worth the look. 

It looked for all the world as if Phelps was going to lose this one.  From the start Milorad Cavic of Serbia was in the lead and although Phelps quickly closed the gap, as they approached the finish, it looked as if perhaps this gold medal was not going to our golden boy.  But with one final surge, he lunged through the water and touched the wall literally a split second before Cavic (100th of a second actually). 

So, what does this have to do with real estate?  Well, are you a Phelps or a Cavic?  I wonder what Cavic thought when he saw the video of the race.  From my point of view, it looked like he actually stopped racing before he crossed the finish line.  Of course he was still reaching for that wall, but goodness, what a difference there is between reaching and lunging. 

Do you start to relax when the goal is in sight or do you keep pushing on until you reach that goal?  For example, how many times have we thought everything was going great with the transaction and settlement is only a couple of days away.  We thought we covered everything and are now just waiting for closing.  And then wham, day of closing, something comes up.  Or what about that listing appointment that was a referral from a good friend and you didn’t do a full presentation because you figured you had it in the bag.  Then the next day you see the house in the MLS listed with another agent.  Did you stop short of that wall?  

How many other ways are we shortchanging ourselves by not making that final surge?  

Are you going for the gold?