Norma was discouraged. She was a new realtor. She had recently passed the state test on her first try. Then she joined a realty company. They offered training classes two to four times a week. Norma attended the classes faithfully.

But because English was her second language, she didn't catch everything that the instructor said. When she asked the instructor to repeat something, he told her to see him after class. But when other students asked a question, the instructor answered the question right then and there.

To Norma, the instructor always said, "See me after class." Then, when she tried to see him after class, he would say that he was late for an appointment. "How about next time?" he would say. He was always too busy to help her.

"He's not too busy, he's just too lazy," her boyfriend said. "There are too many 'instructors' like that. All they care about is presenting their information. If the students don't get it, that's their problem. You have to be strong. These people are not going to help you. They want you to fail, because that means less competition for them. It's a dog-eat-dog business."