If you live around here, you couldn’t have helped being infected with football fever this season, even if (like me) you’re not a football fan.

It occurred to me over the last few months that there were similarities between doing well as a pro football team, as a Realtor/ business owner, and as an ordinary person going down the road of life.

Here’s what I observed:

• Maneuver through the defense.
• Be quick and unexpected.
• Recognize and take the opportunities.
• Play hard and play to win.
• Never take a win for granted.
• Be quick and unexpected.
• Cherish your team.
• Respect the competition.
• Train, train, and then train some more.
• Eat healthfully, rest sufficiently.
• The better my clients do, the better I do.

Like real estate, football is complex with a lot of moving parts. Putting them together in a meaningful way, keeping your eye on the goal, and staying focused for a successful conclusion – well, it works, in football, in real estate, and in life.

Except when it doesn’t. Sometimes despite your best efforts, the ball doesn’t go through the goalposts, either literally or metaphorically. Then there’s next year, the next transaction, and life does indeed go on…

Even though the Pats are no longer competing for the Superbowl, I’m still thinking about what makes them so good. An article in Sunday’s Globe magazine, “The Right Lesson” by Karen Lock Kelp, made a few points that hit the mark. She says, “Even when they’re losing, especially when they’re losing, the Patriots do not give up. Period.”

In my own inelegant way, I often remark that I’m like the proverbial dog with a bone. Same thing, never give up until the job is done.

She also says, “…all of us, we take a drubbing. We get up and try again, and again….We love what we do, and we do our job.”

Simple as that. Just doing the job, in the best possible way. If you’re a fan, thank you! If you’re a team member, I couldn’t do it without you. Deeply appreciative of both.

Onward!