Every transaction is a strategy. Every negotiation is a move on the board. Understanding that is the difference between winning and wondering what went wrong.

Here’s something every seller learns eventually — the negotiation is never just about the price.

Watch what happens in real estate and you’ll see human nature on full display.

Someone likes your property, then spends months finding reasons not to commit. New terms. Lower offers. A laundry list of everything wrong with the house. Every conversation circles back to what needs fixing, what it will cost them, how much work stands between them and moving in. Weeks turn into months. Nothing gets signed.

Then someone else walks through the door.

They see the same house and love it! Same condition. Same price. But they see opportunity rather than problems. They like it as it is. They meet your number, sign the contract, wire the funds. Done. What took one buyer months of complaints to avoid, another buyer accomplished in days with gratitude and decisiveness. This is the game within the game. The attitude game.

In business — whether you’re buying, selling, hiring, or partnering — your attitude is your opening move. It signals everything about how you operate, what working with you will feel like, and whether the other party wants to continue playing at all.

The complaining buyer isn’t just difficult to deal with. They are telegraphing their entire approach to ownership. Nothing will ever be right. The price will never be fair. The terms will never be enough.

The grateful buyer brings something entirely different to the table — clarity, momentum, and trust. They’ve assessed the situation realistically and decided it works for them. That decisiveness is rare and powerful.

Sellers notice. Partners notice. Employers notice. The market notices.

Leading with gratitude doesn’t mean ignoring problems or abandoning negotiation. It means entering every transaction from a position of what’s possible rather than what’s lacking. It means your energy builds deals rather than corrupts them.

The strategy is simple, even if the discipline isn’t.

Know the game. Choose your opening move carefully. In business and in life, gratitude isn’t just a virtue — it’s a competitive attitude advantage.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

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