I've been thinking a lot about my grandmother lately.

She used to wake up before dawn, walk three miles to the nearest market, haggle for fresh produce, then walk those same three miles back home—all before most of us hit snooze on our second alarm. If she wanted to hear from her sister in another city, she'd write a letter and wait weeks, sometimes months, for a reply.

Today, I ordered groceries from my phone while sitting in traffic. They arrived at my doorstep two hours later. I video-called a colleague in Lagos, another in London, and a client in Los Angeles—all before lunch.

We're surrounded by wonders we don't even notice anymore.

And here's what keeps me up at night:  If our grandparents accomplished so much with so little, what does it say about us when we accomplish so little with so much?

The Legacy You're Leaving on the Table

The philosopher Yuval Noah Harari introduced a concept that's been rattling around in my head ever since I first encountered it: Homo Deus—the "God-like Human." It's not science fiction. It's not some distant future. It's happening right now, and some people in our industry have already made the leap.

They're not smarter than you. They're not luckier. They've simply recognized that the tools we have today grant us powers that would have seemed divine to previous generations.

Think about what we have access to:

• Artificial Intelligence that can analyze thousands of property listings in seconds and predict market trends with startling accuracy
  
  
• Virtual Reality that lets clients walk through properties thousands of miles away
  
  
• Blockchain technology that creates unhackable, permanent records of ownership

These aren't just fancy gadgets. They're instruments of transformation. And the gap between those who master them and those who ignore them isn't just widening—it's becoming a chasm.

From Survival to Significance

Harari argues that humanity has largely conquered the ancient enemies—famine, plague, and war—and now focuses on transcendence: extending life, maximizing happiness, and expanding our capabilities beyond natural limits.

In real estate, I see the same shift. We're no longer just surviving market downturns or chasing commissions. The question has evolved: How do we use these god-like tools to create something that outlasts us?

The answer lies in what Harari calls "Dataism"—the understanding that value flows from information. Your ability to collect, analyze, and act on data faster than your competition determines your success. Not your charm. Not your network. Your mastery of digital tools.

That's a hard pill to swallow for those of us who built our careers on handshakes and relationships. But here's the truth: those relationships now live, grow, and scale through digital platforms. The handshake hasn't disappeared—it's just moved online.

A Story That Changed How I See Technology

Let me tell you about something happening in Nigeria that completely shifted my perspective.

For decades, land fraud has been one of the biggest obstacles to real estate development in Nigeria. Fake documents, forged titles, multiple claims on the same property—it was a nightmare that destroyed dreams and bankrupted families. The traditional solution? Hire expensive lawyers, spend months verifying documents, and still sleep with one eye open.

Then PropTech entrepreneurs started using blockchain.
They created a digital ledger of land ownership that cannot be altered, cannot be forged, and cannot be disputed. What used to take months of verification now takes minutes. What used to be uncertain and risky is now transparent and secure.

These entrepreneurs didn't just build a business—they solved a centuries-old problem of trust. They took one of humanity's oldest challenges and conquered it with modern technology.

That's the Homo Deus moment: using advanced tools to solve fundamental human problems at a scale that was previously impossible.

And here's what struck me most: they didn't do it in Silicon Valley or London. They did it in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. They saw a problem, grabbed the tools available to them, and changed their entire market.

If they can do that, what's your excuse?

The Uncomfortable Truth About the "Useless Class"

Harari warns of something disturbing: as AI and automation advance, there's a real risk of creating a "useless class"—people whose skills become economically irrelevant.

In real estate, I'm already seeing the early signs. Agents who refuse to learn CRM systems. Brokers who dismiss virtual tours as "gimmicks." Investors who ignore predictive analytics because "gut feel has always worked."

These aren't bad people. They're good professionals who helped build this industry. But they're making a fatal mistake: assuming that what worked before will work forever.

It won't.

The market doesn't care about your experience if someone with less experience but better tools can serve clients more effectively. That's not cynicism—that's reality.

What Does Winning Look Like?

So what separates the leaders from those left behind?

It's not about having access to technology—we all have that. It's about attitude toward technology.

The leaders I admire most in our industry share three characteristics:

1. They're perpetual students.  They don't see learning new tools as a burden but as an opportunity. They understand that every new platform, every new AI feature, every new data source is a potential competitive advantage.

2. They solve problems, not just transactions.  They don't just ask "How can I close this deal?" They ask "What fundamental problem can I solve with the tools available to me?" That shift in thinking is everything.

3. They think in decades, not quarters.  They're not just chasing the next commission. They're asking: "What am I building that will outlast me? What legacy am I creating?"

Your Homo Deus Moment Starts Today

Here's what I want you to understand: you already have the tools to operate at a level that would have seemed miraculous to real estate professionals just twenty years ago.
You can reach thousands of potential clients with a single post. You can analyze market data that would have taken a team of researchers months to compile. You can give clients immersive property experiences without anyone leaving their home. You can create transparent, trustworthy transactions using technology that's literally impossible to corrupt.

The only question is: will you?

Because here's the thing about being Homo Deus—it's a choice. The tools are available to everyone. The difference is in who picks them up.

The Race You're Already Running

We're all in what I call the "Human Race"—not competing against each other, but racing against obsolescence. Racing against irrelevance. Racing against the comfort of "how we've always done things."

Your grandparents walked those miles because they had to. They waited for those letters because there was no alternative. They made do with what they had because that's all there was.
You have no such excuse.

You have AI that works for you 24/7. You have platforms that connect you to anyone, anywhere. You have blockchain that makes fraud obsolete. You have virtual reality that collapses distance.

The real question isn't "Can I compete in this new era?" It's "Can I afford not to?"

The Legacy on the Table

So here's my challenge to you: Look at the tools available to you today—really look at them—and ask yourself: "What am I leaving on the table?"

What problems could you solve? What clients could you serve better? What market could you transform? What legacy could you build?

The Homo Deus era isn't coming. It's here. And the divide between those who embrace it and those who resist it grows wider every single day.

Don't just participate in the market. Define it. Don't just adapt to change. Drive it. Don't just survive in real estate. Transcend it.

Your grandmother walked those miles and built something meaningful with basic tools and determination. You have tools she couldn't have imagined.

What will you build?

The time for meditation is over. The time for action is now.

Win the race. Build the legacy. Become Homo Deus.