Teaching a Man to Fish… and Other Uphill Battles
Published by Erin Robbins under Social Media.
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Today is my birthday, a day when I typically spend some mental energy reflecting on where I’ve come and where I think society has headed. Today I was frustrated. Has anyone else heard that schools are considering cutting spelling and learning multiplication and division from the curriculum? I thought about what I’d do with a society of people that couldn’t jot a coherent note without spell check software or a group of people that couldn’t understand how to leave a tip or see if they’re getting ripped off without a calculator in their pocket and I was disgusted.
I was reminded of times back when I was younger and my parents would ask me to do something that I didn’t know how to do and I’d struggle with it for 15 seconds (which of course I explained was “forever”) and then I’d ask for help. By help I meant, “Can’t you just do it for me since you already know how?” Thankfully, my parents believed that even if it took me twice as long and was frustrating as heck, I was going to learn how to do the basics on my own.
This is how I feel about Facebook, blogging, social media and real estate in general. It’s my job to teach, to keep people informed, to propose new ideas and to provide tools to make your job possible, competitive or easier… maybe all three. It is not my job to be a Realtor. Sometimes, part of my job is helping agents and brokers figure out how to use tools themselves so that they can continue to use the tools more effectively in the future and hopefully teach those around them how to do it as well. This will raise the quality of all in the real estate profession, fostering a community of well-informed, helpful individuals – not a few people who have the answers and dole them out for a fee or at their leisure.
I ask that people keep this in mind before and when calling with a question or issue – if my response is, “Did you try to solve the problem yourself first?” or to help you help yourself – it’s because I care about creating a long-term lesson instead of a short-term solution.
