Founded by MaharishiMahesh Yogi
Founded by MaharishiA renowned Australian real estate professional said the Transcendental Meditation® technique is the key to his success and longevity in a “highly relentless and competitive” industry.
Peter Fenwick, who began his career as a motivational speaker, has been in the South Australian real estate industry for more than 40 years.
He said the key to success in any career is the ability to be motivated and set goals while maintaining a balance of rest and activity.
“When I joined Myles Pearce, the company became one of the biggest real estate agencies in South Australia,” Peter said.
“The sales manager said to me, ‘Peter, your biggest challenge will be to keep a balance between rest and activity’,” he said.
“And I thought, I don’t have any problems with that. I know how to get deep rest twice a day for 20 minutes with Transcendental Meditation. So, I was pretty confident, possibly cocky.
“But I soon found out that his words were true, that to survive in an industry which is quite relentless and where there’s a lot of demands on you, on your time, you have to keep a good balance.”
learnt TM during university
Peter learnt the Transcendental Meditation technique at university in 1972 while obtaining his degree in education.
“I made a good friend at the University, who went on to become one of the Supreme Court judges in South Australia, and he’d been practicing Transcendental Meditation,” Peter said.
“He said, ‘Why don’t you try it?’ And I’d always been a bit of a seeker. I’d come from the bush, spent most of my life on a farm, and had a real appreciation of nature, and I suppose, in a way, spirituality,” he said.
“So that was the driving force. As soon as I heard about it, I was sold out, really, and I started straight away with a number of other friends of mine, including my future wife.
“My first experience was so profound and deeply restful with nothing going on except a feeling of being completely unbounded in time and space.”
It was the daily practice of Transcendental Meditation which gave Peter the resilience and mental clarity impacting on his achievements in education.
“My grades went up. I was able to concentrate better. I became more articulate, more confident, and life, which used to be a bit of a roller coaster, suddenly smoothed out,” Peter said.
Combating stress with TM
Peter said TM helped him with high pressure and long work hours which include weekends which can be detrimental to health.
“We do a lot of after-hours work. So, I’d come home after a busy day, I’d sit down and have my 20 minutes mental bath, doing my TM,” Peter said.
“And then I’ll be set for my evening appointment and it’s showtime, as you know, you never get a second chance,” he said.
“To make a first impression, and that’s always been one of my key things, that you gotta be fresh, because you can miss opportunities.
“You might not listen as well as you should be, and you might not be tuning in to the client’s needs.”
Peter said the real estate industry is relentless pressure for the agent.
“Because it’s such a demanding and relentless industry, the wear and tear on you, physically and mentally, is enormous,” Peter said.
“And the average lifespan for a real estate agent, I think it’s probably still the same. Was about seven years. A lot of marriages go west, because the agents are away from home, a lot of weekend work and so on,” he said.
“So really, the one thing, and I can say this unequivocally with all the training that you do in sales, the one thing that gave me longevity in real estate was my daily, twice daily practice of TM.
There are more than 700 research studies on Transcendental Meditation making it the single more researched technique in the world.
“Now, all the research shows that that quality of deep rest basically sets up the perfect conditions to get rid of stress and tension and fine tune every single aspect of performance, from physical to mental, to emotional, you name it,” Peter said.
“And that’s why I’ve continued to meditate regularly, twice a day for 53 years. I’ve never missed a meditation,” he said.
“I know many people who practice TM now, and I’ve specialized in that area. I’ve taken that technology of silence and inner connectedness for 43 years in real estate.”
Peter said the key to becoming a successful real estate agent is “affinity to sell property” and a “good routine”.
Communication is key
“The first thing I say is you’ve got to have a propensity for the industry. Because I couldn’t sell encyclopaedias and I wouldn’t want to sell cars, but I seem to have a natural affinity for selling real estate,” Peter said.
“You’ve got to be a good communicator. You’ve got to be a good listener. You’ve got to have good ego strength,” he said.
“But above all, you have to have the desire to help people, and you’ve got to make sure that you are fresh and on the ball all the time, because in real estate, when you go to give a presentation, it’s showtime.
“And Transcendental Meditation twice daily. It’s very much like taking a mental bath in the morning and in the afternoon, managing life in that way.”
Using ancient health routine
Peter also included an Ayurvedic routine to his daily practice.
“I added something to my daily TM. I added an Ayurvedic routine in the morning. People might not know what Ayurveda is, but it’s the world’s oldest preventative healthcare system,” Peter said.
“It’s absolutely brilliant. So that meant I would start my day around six with a brisk, 30-minute walk. I’d come back and do a self-body massage called Abhyanga,” he said.
“I then prepare myself a special hot drink in the morning, which is all I had for breakfast because I was never hungry. Then I’d have a shower. I do 10 minutes of yoga as preparation for my meditation. So I would prepare myself for my day in that way.”
After starting his own business, Peter introduced TM to his team.
“Many of our staff learned TM so when people come into our office, they say, ‘Gee, there’s a good feeling in this office. It’s soft air’,” Peter said.
“We had great offices because our people were less stressed, our people were more successful, and we had longevity with our people. We hardly ever had anyone leave us,” he said.
The Transcendental Meditation technique is taught in a one-on-one, in person session by a certified teacher across 40 locations in Australia. To learn more about how TM can benefit you, visit: tm.org.au.
