This post outlines the 20-year battle between teaching and real estate. Read only if you are interested.

And it finally (officially) ended on the 1st of January, 2025 (Wednesday). Happy New Year, Everyone!

In the blink of an eye (yes, I know, I keep using the expression; but I am limited in my writing powers. ), the new year has come and gone.

1st of January 2025 snuck up on us, and without us knowing, it has slipped away, like a thief in the night, stealing our days and youth.

Other than the fact that it is the start of a new cycle for many of us, 1st of January 2025 also marked the end of an endeavour of mine that was doomed from the very beginning.

Me and Real Estate

My story with real estate began in 2005. Yes, that was 20 years ago; and again, how time flies.

I was contemplating leaving the teaching service, and not knowing what I should do next, I decided on real estate as the next move, since it ~ well ~ promised (and still promises) great riches.

It’s amazing how anyone who doesn’t know what to do with his or her life almost always ends up in real estate.

That was 20 years ago. And having jumped in and out of real estate, and watching it from the sidelines, I must say that my relationship with real estate was a total disaster.

Why Not Just Keep Your Licence?

Many of my friends in real estate ~ correction: many of my acquaintances in real estate have advised me to keep the licence as a backup, in case I really need it one day.

Yes, this advice sounds too logical, and there seems nothing wrong with it.

But I have held my licence since 2020. That’s been five years – and I did nothing with it.

There is this old saying that I heard or read from somewhere – and I really can’t remember where – that

The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour.

If I have done NOTHING with it for the past five years, there is really a high chance that I will do NOTHING with it for the next five years.

Then I won’t need the licence – at least for the next five years.

Anything that’s not needed is clutter.

And if we go by the KonMari Method by Ms Marie Kondo, I should do some decluttering.

Letting go of the dud licence is decluttering.

Why Not Do Something about It Then?

There have been many kind-hearted souls out there who have tried to counsel me into behaving.

The licence is a tough nut to crack – according to them – so I should treasure it since I have it.

Hello world! Is this even reasoning?

One agent even told me to renew it first. and that I will “thank her later” for her kind-hearted advice.

Really?

I find that presumptuous.

Somehow, everyone knows how to solve someone else’s problems except his or her own.

Like what Shakespeare said through the mouth of Portia in The Merchant of Venice

If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches and poor men’s cottages princes’ palaces.

I checked to see if hers was a chapel or a church.

Turns out, she is just as inactive as I am, only slightly better.

She owns a chapel, I own a poor man’s cottage.

Why I Wouldn’t Do Anything: Reason 1: The Scourge of the Chilli Crab

As an ex-teacher, I am always willing to learn and acquire new skills. But one of my chiefs had this bad habit of taking us out as a group to eat chilli crab.

So instead of knowing the ins and outs of real estate, I learned where to locate the best chilli crab in Singapore.

Yea, there were more crab-eating sessions than actual training sessions. And when there were training sessions, he was just flexing his achievements from aeons ago.

Another kind-hearted soul – seems that there are lots of kind-hearted souls in real estate – suggested that that one chief might be doing team-bonding with us, and that he was trying to unite us as a group before letting us out to fight the battle.

Well, you weren’t there bro, so you didn’t get to witness everything first-hand.

It’s ok; you – like everyone else – are presumptuous.

Why I Wouldn’t Do Anything: Reason 2: Biasness towards the Felines

Research has demonstrated that we are either dog or cat people.

We tend towards one type, either the canines or the felines.

Real estate people tend to be canines, but they are biased towards the felines, and give the felines undue attention and support.

I am a canine. I work hard, and I fight for the bacon.

In what way should I be sidelined so that you can spend more time cuddling with the purry ones?

Like I have said many times before, there are no bosses in real estate.

Each and every one of us is an independent contractor who has chosen to follow a certain leader because we believe that this leader can and will lead us in the right direction.

We are not paid the conventional way, and our remuneration is totally dependent on our actual performance, which our leaders will get a cut.

That basically means when we do well, you do well, and we are building your empire.

When you decide to dump more treats to the felines, that trust is broken. And leadership is about trust.

Why I Wouldn’t Do Anything: Reason 3: God among Us

Of the three, this is the most interesting.

Maybe these guys haven’t been teachers before, but some of them believe themselves to be some motivational guru.

Others think they are God who can advise you not just in real estate, but in other areas of your life as well.

It will really be ok if these people are really inspiring, but one minute into a conversation with them would probably leave you in the doldrums.

They are the opposite of what they think themselves to be.

Instead of being inspirational, they are downright egotistical.

I know there’s always a discrepancy between who we think we are and who we really are, but these guys are another level altogether.

If you, the reader, desire some motivation, it is better to acquire a book by Anthony Robbins than to listen to these guys talk.

Trust me: you will need two months to recover if you ever gave them that chance.

Best Thing That Happened to Me in Real Estate

In a world where style trumps substance, many of the things we see are not the actual things that we get.

Like what one of my Ah Beng students said years back, “Everything is just a show.”

That’s why sometimes I cut a lot of slack for Ah Beng students. They might not be able to do it the Shakespearean way, but they at least tell the truth, which is what really matters.

Ya, what I see is just a show.

A check with the CEA website will reveal whether it is the truth or a show – I will let you decipher it for yourself (if you have made it so far on this page, I must assume – quite rightfully – that you are smart).

And the best thing that happened to me in real estate from 2020 to 2025?

It is the pictures that I have taken.

And cheers to me, I am no longer a Real Estate Salesperson, officially.

I am the Mad O Level English Tutor.

Have a good day!

In Memory of the Real Estate Salesperson That Was Never Meant To Be