I watched a made for TV movie the other night about the Green River Killer, a serial killer that murdered between 60 and 100 women in Washington State over a period of many years. This killer was about as evil of a person that ever existed, and he killed with no remorse. After he was caught and convicted, he was asked by the lead detective “on a scale of one to five, with five being the most evil, where would you rate yourself”? The convicted killer thought about the question for a few seconds and then calmly said “THREE”. Needless to say, this was quite a shocking statement, but it made me think about how differently we might perceive ourselves compared to how others perceive us. It’s very troubling when someone so evil can think that he’s “not that bad”, but it can be just as unsettling when someone sees you as something that you’re not. How often have your own noble motives been viewed by others as something quite different?
Most of us go through our lives trying to do the right thing and it can be very frustrating when our intentions are misunderstood. Our image or brand is the most important thing that we have. It’s who we are and our credibility depends on how we are perceived. We need to be aware of how others see us and we must strive to constantly improve that image. Can we really expect others to rate us a “five” unless we can honestly rate ourselves as a “five”.
Where would you rate yourself on a scale of one to five, with five being the best you can be? Do others think of you the same way and where do you think others would rate you today?
NOTE: Doug Bullwinkel is a licensed California Mortgage Loan Officer, NMLS #281609 for E Mortgage Capital, Inc. with over 30 years in the Real Estate and Mortgage Industry. He specializes in Niche loan programs including the VA and CalVet for Veterans, FHA, USDA, FNMA, CalHFA, Grants and more. His website is www.VALender.com.
Doug can be reached at (916) 295-0044 for more information.
