How can nature be so cruel?  I was just reading a blog by Seth Godin about the reptilian part of our brain —the one that evolved first.

This little nodule buried deep within the folds of our grey matter has one primary purpose —survival.  How ironic that this clump of cells, at this stage of our human evolution, threatens at best our ability to achieve full potential and at worst the very survival of our species.

So what does this have to do with doing more real estate deals? Actually, just about everything.  You see, you can blame your reptilian brain for:

• Talking yourself out of going the extra mile to realize your dreams;
• Reacting negatively (and blaming others) for set backs;
• Acting like everyone else does in the business, effectively eliminating differentiation;
• Not taking a chance by breaking out of old behavior patterns.

Yes, that old lizard lump thinks it’s protecting you when in fact it is holding you back.  After all, it’s not very smart…

Your lizard brain is here to stay, and your job is to figure out how to quiet it and ignore it..

Seth Godin (from Quieting the Lizard Brain)

Unlike other animals though, we do have the ability to overcome what are effectively primal survival urges.  However, it first takes awareness (of their influence) then committed action to change our instinctual behavior.  Fortunately, we also have a highly evolved Human Spirit that each of us can tap into to rise above just reacting and surviving.  We already survived, now it’s time to flourish.