You can probably tell by the title that I'm not a huge fan of trying to do everything alone. Not anymore. Business and life are challenging enough already. I've learned to seek out every advantage I can find. There are some who do not agree. They consider themselves proud do-it-yourselfers. I guess?
As to the matter of whether and what people can do for themselves, that's an interesting topic for me. It gets into many issues that touch on what you do, as well. Could people do for themselves what you do for them? Of course they could. However, there is an efficiency and effectiveness to using a real estate professional that is hard to replicate for most people. Likewise with my business. There are people who choose not to compensate you for your services. Those who do are rewarded with outstanding service and results that far surpass what most could do on their own.
Same with me.
Of course most of the "I can do it myself" crowd haven't and aren't doing it themselves. That's part of the reason they're financial situation is in the condition it's in.
One more thought about the "I can do THAT myself!" mentality.
Sometimes it comes from people not wanting others to see their "stuff" up close. I can understand that and I have two responses that you might not like still.
1 - Every true professional I know in any field has seen "stuff" like yours and worse than yours. I see "stuff" and hear "stuff" all day, every day. I'm not phased by seeing stuff. Good doctors don't wince when they see blood and sores. They have to see them to know what you have and what to do about it.
2 - Staying with the doctor illustration: If it truly hurts bad enough, you'll get over yourself and show somebody where it hurts. When people are in pain, they'll get help. So, to other professionals on my page reading this... don't worry about those who won't show you their "stuff" because they aren't ready to be healed.
I'm done ranting now! LOL I promise... most people who meet me say I'm a nice guy! I just get perplexed and then see why it's always those who need the most help who are the most resistant. Then I see that the true key to success was written about by a wise man years ago... "there is safety in a multitude of counsel."
As to the matter of whether and what people can do for themselves, that's an interesting topic for me. It gets into many issues that touch on what you do, as well. Could people do for themselves what you do for them? Of course they could. Perhaps. If it's just about money, remember that cheap people never get ahead. Period. Say it however you want to, but the bottom line is sometimes you need to pay a professional to do what a professional does! The "I can do THAT myself" crowd never really accomplishes their goals.
Unless you are a professional serving yourself (a debatable strategy, too) you are not going to do nearly as good of a job as a professional will do for you. There's an old saying that goes "He who has himself as a lawyer, has a fool for a client." I now understand that 100% and will testify!!!
As you may know, I have two large areas of focus for my business:
credit restoration and
coaching.
In both areas, you run across the "I can do THAT myself!" crowd every single day. They are normally the people who need my help the most. But they're stuck looking at pennies when they need to be focused on dollars. Sadly, they're usually going to be in the same jacked up position one year, two years or forever. Why? Because they're using the same mind that created the problem to try to solve the problem.
On the other hand...
There are people (I'm looking at myself) who finally get to a point where you see the value in getting professional help and paying for professional help. I'm happier for it where I've done so. You can't always be looking to make it happen on your own. Not if it's really important to you.
People that spend time "trying" in the most critical areas of life usually get what they pay for... the job will be done about as well as a good TRAINEE would do. There is a HUGE difference, for example, between using a world class trainer like
Tomeka Flowers and subscribing to
Men's Health! But it depends on your goals, I suppose. If you want to just do a little better in some areas, go for it. If you want to compete against the best, get help.
It comes down a time/talent trade-off as well. If you want to spend the time honing your craft, then perhaps yes. If you need to get to a higher level, get help. The most effective people in life (IN ANY ARENA) focus on doing what they do well and then getting the best help/partnership they can get in other areas. Not any other way to see it really.
Painting is a great example. A professional painter (which I'm not) might cost you a few hundred bucks. But people say "Oh, I'll just do it myself!" and then lose thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on the house in lost sales revenue. Focused on pennies...
Not trying to be argumentative. Some will say "value always trumps price." Does value trump price really? I don't think so. The more critical or important the function, I'd say that value and price merge. Think about it. Going to Small Claims Court? Go alone. Going to Civil Court? Call your friend who practices a little law. Trying to stay off death row? An extreme example, for sure, but I wouldn't go with my buddy unless his last name was Kardashian, Jr. or Cochran, Jr. Therefore, does value trump price? There are isolated examples where you'll find someone who can do a great job for less than someone charging more. Over time, this will not remain the case. The person with great value will raise their pricing.
Back to my original premise. How much time do I have to invest in either teaching myself or can I accept inferior performance? Sometimes, you can't afford it. There's too much on the line. So I'll maintain my position. I can paint. You can paint. If you need someone to stage your house properly for sale in a hyper-competitive market, call a pro. Fast! If you need help getting your business or life unstuck and moved to a higher level, get HELP!!
Please leave me your comments so I know how to serve you better!! If this was helpful, forward it to a friend. To your success!
Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY. Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!
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