by Brian Brady
Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL
It’s no secret that I am a Tom Brady fan. I admire him because of his commitment to excellence and because he competes hard. His off-field conditioning is maniacal but, at 45 years old, he has taught the next generation of NFL greats that self-care is what leads to longevity in the highly physical game of professional football. Brady prepares the way he does to win, and Brady wins.
As much as Brady wins, like it or not, not winning is a part of competing. He said as much yesterday, on his podcast:
“It’s interesting because you would think, ‘Oh, well, why is he still playing?’ Because all you want to do is win, and that’s all sports should be about is winning. And I agree it should be about winning, but it’s also, I’m looking at it like, no, what am I learning? What am I learning from putting a similar amount of energy in over the last couple years and not winning? What is that teaching me?” Brady said Monday on his SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Go!”
This was the money line:
“You know, why should we feel like we’re just entitled to win all the time? We’re not. That’s not what life’s about.”
I know you have heard this Nelson Mandela quote, “I never lose; I either win or learn”. It may be trite but it’s true. Don’t use the word “lose”, ever again, when talking about business opportunities.
I have been self-employed or selling on commission since 1992. I am not kidding when I say that, in the past 30 years, I have never received a biweekly or monthly paycheck. I have been issued 1099 forms, each January, since 1997. It hasn’t always been easy but I have paid health insurance, paid car insurance, sent my daughter to private schools from Kindergarten through her senior year in college, and maintained two houses: one in San Diego and one in my present state of residence, Florida. I am bragging a bit but I am bragging to illustrate this point;
I don’t always win.
In fact, I win less engagements than I don’t win but, whether I win or don’t, I learn. I compete against smart people and many of them have more resources than I do. I compete against firms with lots of capital at their disposal, better advertising, more recognizable brands, and a multi-media presence which dwarfs mine. They win more often than I do but I learn from what they did…and then…
I win, too.
I know that my batting average, against the big guys, would barely keep me on a Major League Baseball team but I know that, to win, I need more “at bats” than the bigger guys do. That’s what I do– prospect harder than the competitors at the big banks and Wall Street-backed lenders do. That gives me more at bats than they get.
That’s how I win…
…or learn.
