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I had the opportunity to get an inside view of the world of real estate today.  My morning was largely spent on talking to different agents and a partner of the firm.  We discussed the ins and outs of the business, what it meant to be an agent, and more importantly what it took to be successful in the industry.  As the morning progressed, I began to develop a clearer understanding of just how competitive the market is both here in Hawaii and elsewhere.

One of the first things the partner told me, was that if I wanted to go into real estate, I had to aim for the top 5%.  Those are the only guys making big money.  Only about 10% of the license agents here in Hawaii sell enough houses to make a living.

All of this talk got me to thinking about ambition and success in general.  When you think about it, most fields are like this.  If there are high costs and requirements to entering a profession such as being a doctor or lawyer, compensation will generally be higher by default, but the people who don’t make it in the top ranks will already have been weeded out.  If you enter an industry where nearly anyone can get into the business, then you’re definitely talking about a much smaller number of people that are financially successful. 

Everyday we hear about or see someone who does great things.  You can look in the newspaper, on TV, or even among your classmates.  Many have probably heard about Bill Gates’ story.  Maybe you or one of your friends has a big success story as well.  So many people achieve the American Dream, yet so many more are left in the dust.  So if we want to achieve greater heights it is important to ask:

What is it about these people that makes them so successful?

Ambition

This is probably the single most common characteristic that hugely successful people share.  They are hungry like an adolescent going through a growth spurt.  Almost nothing satiates their appetite.

Ambition to do greater things is like wearing a rocket on your back.  Nothing can stop you even if you wanted to slow down.  Ambition is addictive.  When you achieve something, you set the bar higher and set out to accomplish something greater.  This is why you see people who have hundreds of millions of dollars, truly believe they aren’t that wealthy, and continue to reach the next level.  These people are always looking higher.

Passion

While some are determined to do better and be, others are passionate about a certain field.  This naturally propels them to greater heights.  The need to know more and to affect that area are so great, that these people just seem to progress at whatever they set out to do.  Passion is one way of having ambition.

I’m passionate about passion.  Still discovery and learning about my passions, but I believe that this is necessary.  I feel this way so much that I mentioned passion in 6 posts: