What Real Estate Agents Can Learn from America’s Got Talent

by Steve Shull, Founder & Head Coach

A few months ago, a man named Roland Abante auditioned on America’s Got Talent.

The judges were skeptical from the moment he walked on stage. He was a fisherman and motorcycle delivery man from the Philippines who barely spoke any English, and he was visibly nervous.

Then the music started, and something magical happened.

He stopped being all those things, and he became an ARTIST.

He dropped his guard, opened his heart, and left everything on the stage, and the crowd went WILD. Not only that, but he got a “yes” from all four judges.

That’s why I love watching shows like AGT and The Voice.

People from all walks of life get on stage to perform in front of thousands of people, sometimes for the first time in their lives.

Over and over, you see them transform in front of you. They start off shaky, then something clicks. They find the courage to let go of their fears and just let it rip, and the crowd responds because it’s a thing of beauty that everyone can feel in their soul.

That’s what artistry is, and we ALL have the capacity for it in one way or another…even in real estate.

Because artistry isn’t about singing or dancing or painting. 

It’s about being VULNERABLE.

It’s about expressing your true self as a human being, not a human thinker or a human doer.

And that’s exactly what Tactical Empathy requires.

In fact, the whole idea of Tactical Empathy is to put yourself out there. 

Instead of hiding behind assumptions, you learn to ask prospects, “Why me?”

Instead of avoiding the commission conversation, you learn to bring it up first thing.

Instead of ignoring the elephants in the room, you learn to point them out.

That’s certainly putting yourself out there. 

It feels like a risk, just like it probably felt like a risk for Roland Abante to pick up that microphone. 

But if he had kept his guard up to protect himself, the world would still see him as just a fisherman, not the artist he is on the inside.

Most people never let their inner artistry out.

We’re all so concerned with looking foolish. We think managing other people’s perception of us is more important than freeing the best parts of ourselves. We think vulnerability makes us weak.

The opposite is true.

Being vulnerable makes it easier for people to connect with you. It makes you relatable, approachable, and authentic. 

It makes you irresistible.

Just look at how Roland Abante brought the crowd—and the judges—to their feet. It wasn’t just because of his vocal talent. It was because he gave them everything he had, from his heart.

And they loved him for it.

Now I know, you didn’t get into real estate to be an artist.

You probably got in it for the money, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But money is just a byproduct of the value you give people, and there’s nothing more valuable than true artistry.

It may sound cliché, but the truth is, we’re all artists, and life is the canvas.

Every single day is an opportunity to express your artistry.

It’s an opportunity to drop your guard, let people see the real you, and give your very best to each moment.

Only those who are willing to go too far can possibly find out how far they can go.

Do you really want to get to the end of life without knowing?