When you work in commercial real estate, you come across two groups of friends. The first group is those who are comfortable and connecting with you when you are away from the industry and the office. It is these people with whom you relax and socialise, and you have probably known them for years.
The second group is far more important as they are the people who can stretch you and your performance. These people should be highly successful driven individuals. The level of achievement or excellence they have reached should be well known and proven. They may not be part of the property industry and will likely come from other sources or types of business.
This second group of people will have the experiences, the drive, and the levels of success that you aspire to. They are not generally your peers in the industry unless they are truly proven as top performers. Experience says that there are not many really great performers in commercial real estate.
Most of your peers will be of an ordinary nature suffering the same pressures and experiences as you. It is a total waste of your time to socialise with your peers in any significant way; they will only tell you what they want you to hear. If they are in a down market or having a difficult time, it is in their best interests to put you in the same frame of mind.
It is a scary fact that we tend to be similar to those people with whom we connect and socialise. If you are not selective in your industry related friends, you will tend to stagnate and wallow in the marketplace. Most of your industry related friends will only give you industry gossip but rarely will they give you opportunity.
The people that really do show excellence and outstanding success are the ones that you want to know. See if they will connect with you and build your ideas and concepts of personal performance. There are plenty of high achievers out there, you just need to find them and use them to help you with new and fresh ideas.