Sutton West Coast realtor Lynn Brice-Polegato left Chris Hadfield’s speech at a recent Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s (FVREB) event inspired to reflect on what she was doing to become a better real estate agent.
The former astronaut’s message to about 700 realtors at the FVREB’s 2014 conference and trade show was that the best way for people to live the kind of life they desire is to first set goals and then take actions to gain skills, knowledge and traits so they can capitalize on opportunities.
Brice-Polegato had a goal to serve her increasingly elderly clients better. Not long ago, she lacked confidence dealing with those clients and helping them make the move to another home or to care facilities.
So the 65-year-old completed a Seniors Real Estate Specialist designation course and gained the confidence to help her elderly clients and stickhandle complications such as dealing with family members whose interests diverge from those of their aging relatives.
Hadfield understood the importance of preparing himself for his goal when he was a nine-year-old watching Neil Armstrong become the first person to walk on the moon.
“A lot of people dream about being things,” he told Business in Vancouver after his January 31 presentation. “The truth is that you have to turn yourself into things. That’s the real key. You have to modify yourself.”
He said the modifications include changes in habits that make people different in the future.
“You can change your decision-making today, and it will change who you are tomorrow. And, if you don’t make decisions today, it will determine who you are tomorrow or a week from now, or 10 years from now.”
Hadfield kept physically fit and became a pilot, learned engineering as well as languages such as German, French and Russian. All of that work gave him the potential to be an astronaut, although, he admits, he also needed luck.
“I didn’t make my own path,” he said. “I just changed myself. That’s the key difference. Canada and the Canadian Space Agency made the path. I had no way to control certain events.”
He believes life often throws curveballs and that aspirations do not always transpire despite hard work and planning. That’s why, he said, the key is not to measure one’s success by an imagined finish line.
“Every single day is a lot of fun,” Hadfield told BIV. “This morning I had a great day. I got to meet a whole bunch of people. I had a really nice breakfast, it’s a beautiful sunny day and the day’s not even over yet.” •
