Chris Nichols
By Chris Nichols
I recently attended a conference where I heard the following story related:
An elderly man had dreamed of taking a cruise to the Mediterranean for most of his life. The man did not come from means of any sort and had saved for years and years to make this dream of cruising a reality. Being frugal with his money he kept mostly to his cabin, venturing out only when the ship was docked at the various ports he was so anxious to see. He brought several cans of food with him on this trip and ate in his cabin, avoiding the fancy dining establishments throughout the ship. He also skipped all of the parties and entertainment opportunities the ship offered throughout the cruise. On the last night of the cruise as he was returning to his cabin to prepare another meal of canned food, a crew member inquired of him which of the various final evening parties he planned to attend. The man quickly responded that he could not afford to attend any of them. When the crew member explained that all of the parties, entertainment and food were included in his ticket, the man suddenly realized that he had been living well below his privilege for the entire cruise.
This story struck a nerve with me this last week as I have watched the blogs, Twitter and other social media venues light up with discussions on the REALTOR® Party Political Survival Initiative (RPPSI). While there tends to be vociferous opposition to RPPSI, what disappoints me even more are the number of NAR members who have chosen to live well below their privilege of membership in our great association. Much like the man on the cruise, many members choose not to understand or exercise all of the benefits and opportunities that are already theirs for the taking at no additional cost. It pains me, as I am sure it pained the crew member who informed the frugal man, to see members missing out on so much simply because they haven’t taken the opportunity to discover the world of benefits that membership in NAR provides to them. It’s not like they are hidden, or that NAR hopes you don’t take advantage of them. Simply by visiting REALTOR.org, most, if not all, of these benefits are just a few clicks away. (Check out where your NAR membership dues go.)
I would strongly urge each of you reading this post to find just one new member benefit NAR is anxious to share with you and implement it into your daily business. Just like the man on the cruise, you’ve already paid for it, so don’t miss out on it!
Helpful links:
NAR’s 2010 Legislative & Regulatory Accomplishments (pdf)
State and Local Association Support
Chris Nichols is a REALTOR® with Prudential Utah Elite Real Estate in Orem, Utah. Learn more about Chris at: buysellinvestutah.com, utahrepro.com or @utahREpro.
Comments 6
What I’m thinking is if the insanity masquerading itself as RPPSI actually happens there won’t be a NAR to provide anything of value to the membership. It will simply become the National Association of Real Estate Lobbyists, and that’s all.
Those who likes cruising and often go for cruising should take membership.
Sure I may not agree with every tiny thing that NAR does, but i FIRMLY and EMPHATICALLY agree with them lobbying on our behalf as an industry where we are able to have a career. Banks are angling for our industry, if you can’t see it you are either living under a rock, have no internet, are not active in our industry, or in denial. NAR not only helps our industry but there are also so many things that they( and us) do every day for our clients. I hear a lot of people complaining about paying $50 a year for political action. We need it; without our lobby can you imagine what the bank lobby will do to all of us??? $50 a year to keep me in business, where I can work from home and take care of my child, where I can be outside of an office showing homes in the sunshine (or snow…) and set my own hours and level of success. Oh heck yeah, and you all should too.
I think the increase should be proportionate to the amount of sales generated by the agent/broker. There is no question we need lobby efforts…look what has happened to the mortgage brokers!!! Let’s stay united in our association. There is strenght in numbers. we should be lobbying to get the BANKS OUT OF THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS!!!
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