As Real Living and GMAC Real Estate brokers and agents embrace and connect across the country, new relationships are being developed through the power of words. Brand. Red. Real. Technology. Partnering. Power. Real estate. Together. Vision. Future. Success.
All of those words and more are being used by a dedicated team to bring two great organizations together. And it’s going great! More and more companies are becoming Real Living and the momentum is spreading across the U.S.
What’s it like at your company? Beyond the basic words of sales, beyond the words of marketing, or services you deliver to your team and ultimately your customers, a most powerful, unspoken word is most often at the heart of all decisions.
At the base level of how all other words – and actions – are interpreted is TRUST. Trust is defined as: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence; confident expectation of something; hope.
Trust the people you work with. Doing so leaves open the confident expectation of hope, especially in today’s economic times. Your team needs you to trust them, to rely on them, to empower them. Trust is the foundation of all great companies. It’s exciting to see so many GMAC folks trusting the Real Living brand, embracing it and moving forward with confidence.
Hopefully, you trust your team. If not, if you doubt a member of your team, take a close look at what that means. It’s a toxic situation. But, is the lack of trust because of the other person and what s/he did, or is it inherent in your world view?
Without trust, all of those other words lose their meaning.
Real You: The power of words
March 3rd, 2010Real You: If you snark, make sure you’re right
March 2nd, 2010 Ok, let’s face it. Not everyday is sunshine and puppies and ice cream. Somedays, it’s just one of those days. You’ve gotta snark. But if it is one of those snark days for you, make sure you don’t turn it into one of those days for someone else – UNLESS she deserves it!
Here’s the story. A communications person from an organization that I respect – that will remain nameless because I like most everyone associated with it and what it stands for – emailed me today to tell me I was being replaced on a panel coming up during New York Entrepreneur Week in April due to lack of payment of my dues. Now, I didn’t know until two weeks ago that dues were, well, due. I found that out when I checked my spam filter – I’ve mentioned my new Canadian spam filter here before – and saw the membership renewal in there.
Here was her email today: I apologize for this oversight, at the time of this opportunity you were recorded as a member, however now we have recorded that you are unpaid and a former member. Because of this I have to give this opportunity to another member.
I don’t think it’s just me who would consider this snarky. Picking me for a panel in January, and then plucking me from it in March after just notifying me dues were due – and like this – isn’t really great customer service. And so I wrote back, saying I had just received the renewal for membership two weeks ago, found it in my spam filter, and was having it processed. But now, with this, I’m just not so sure it’s the right organization for me. (I was perhaps a bit snarky, but I was mad and disappointed. I love panels.)
Her reply: Certainly not my intention to upset you. We have in our records that you have not paid since April ’08, we do give a significant amount of time before recording a member as former. I was not attempting to assume, simply stating what we have in our records. I’m not sure how the hard copy mailing made it to your spam filter, but I’m happy you were able to find it.
Now, she’s doubting me and calling me a liar. A DOUBLE SNARK.
Final irony? I checked with my accounting department. Check for $850 was processed and mailed on June 6, 2008; however, it was never cashed. I had no idea. How would I? I guess my check got lost in their spam filter.
Real You: It’s tough out there, but stay true to you
February 4th, 2010I just watched the Personal Branding segment on The Today Show and while I respect anybody who goes on national television and helps motivate folks to articulate their personal brands, I did worry about his message.
On the segment, an author and branding expert seemed to encouraged people to figure out a gimmick – wearing black, like he does – or changing yourself to help people remember you. I’m all for the five senses of branding, but to make yourself memorable, it must start with the real you. Have you taken the time to reflect? When’s the last time you wrote your story?
For many of us today, personal branding is falling by the wayside as we scramble for another job, another consulting gig or the like. Personal branding isn’t about gimmicks. Personal branding is understanding and articulating your unique personal brand and then conveying it as your unique competitive advantage.
It all starts with you. I’ve created an 8-step process, accompanied by The Real You Chart. It works. It can work for you, too. You need to decide today is the day to invest the time in the real you. When you do, you won’t need gimmicks. All you’ll need is the Real You.
For more, check out my book: Real You Incorporated
Real You: You know the universe is conspiring against you when . . .
January 27th, 2010 Ok, if you subscribe to my Tip of The Week (which you should as it’s free, and oh so enlightening), you know I fell out of the bleachers at my son’s basketball game and fractured my sacram. Yes, embarassing and very painful.
My yoga teacher says the universe was telling me to slow down – which now I must as all I can do is stand, briefly, or stay on the couch. I’m still awaiting the universe’s clear message, but in lieu of that, the mail came today. All junk, except for my AARP membership card.
Now, I will be very happy to join AARP when the time is right, but I promise, I am not 50 years old yet. Sure, I have an artificial knee and a broken back, but truly, how did THEY know that? Nowhere on my invitation to membership does it say if you’ve received this card and you’re not 50, we’re sorry. Oh well. The universe also brought me a new spam filter, based in Canada, that doesn’t recognize any of my usual RSS feeds, business associates or FRIEND’s emails. Alas, I also do not know how to unjunk said folks. The universe is teaching me patience and how to slow waaaaayyyyy down.
So as I stand here typing this, I’m pondering what the universe will send my way next. Hopefully it will be a sign of youth and healing, a nudge of spritelyness and vigor. I know recent events have helped my humor and given me more fodder for my writing.
And that’s the key, really. No matter what gets thrown your way – or where you fall down from – it’s up to you to see the other side. The lesson learned. The positive outcome. We all grow through adversity and now, more than ever, we are all growing. I’ll save my invitation to the AARP “to make the most of life over 50″ until I am, and right now, I’ll just make the most of whatever life, and the universe, has in store for me.
Real You: Learn from your past
January 19th, 2010 There is no perfect time to create your own personal brand. It can happen at any point during your career. Up until this time in your life and from here on out, you have been building your identity. And, as we all know in life, you gain strength through adversity. All of your past experiences – good, bad and ugly – along with the people you’ve chosen to love and befriend, have made you who you are today.
It’s vitally important for you to have an accurate view of yourself – you cannot brand yourself correctly without it. Your history with all its highs and lows is part of your essence. An essential part of the Real You, and the first step of the Real You 8-step process.
Learn more in Chapter 1, Real You Incorporated
Real You: New Year, Real You
January 8th, 2010How’s the first week of the New Year been treating you? If you’re like a lot of people, you started the week with the best of intentions and resolutions. And by now, perhaps, you’re feeling as if you’ve failed. Maybe you didn’t stick strictly to the diet or perhaps you didn’t quit smoking. But you know what? It’s ok. Defining yourslf – and your self worth – by New Year’s Resolutions is a dangerous and ultimately, for most people, a negative exercise. Instead, let’s tackle this year by defining your unique personal brand. The you who you are – who you always have been – and putting that to work in the world.
You are unique. But you knew thaat. Did you also know you are uniquely marketable? You just need to learn how to express your unique personal brand as a Real marketable business brand. Unabashedly. Powerfully. You can do it. As an entrepreneur, you occupy a special position. If you can capture your essence, and express it through everything you do in your personal and business life, you will bring a richer, more sincere, and sustainable message to the business community.
That’s the premise of the first three chapters of my book, Real You Incorporated. Once you can discover and love your personal brand, you can launch it as a real brand, one that is powerful and different. There is an 8-step process I’ve created, and at its heart: it all starts with you.
The Real You. Not the New Year’s resolution you. Not the 10, 15, or 30 pounds lighter you. The you inside. The you bursting with potential. This is your year. Seize this decade as your own. Step into your power.
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you re and you know what you want.” – LaoTzu
Happy 2010!
Real You: Avoid holiday snarks
December 14th, 2009Ah, ’tis the season to be stressed. As you begin to haul out all of the seasonal decorations, and scrounge around for new expressions of your tidings of joy, remember to keep the real meaning of the holidays in the center of your heart. It’s tough, trust me, I know but it’s also essential for your sanity, and for the real you to shine. At the same time, you’re approaching year-end at work and all that planning, anticipation, finalization and yes – potential – the looming new year implies. Ah.
You need to find the real people in your life, and surround yourself with them and their love this season.
And how do you do that? I’ve devised what I call the Snark Scale outlined in my book to help categorize the passion poppers in your life and to help you realize we all face them. The key is to cultivate authenticity. The real people in your life share your passions and empower you. If someone isn’t supporting you and your passions, they are using you, draining your energy and pulling you down. Remember, you’re on a personal mission to be the best Real You. That’s not selfish. It’s critical if you want to be the best parent, employer, friend, or spouse you can be.
And always remember, the more real you become – the more true to your self – the more polarizing you will find yourself to be. Everybody loves a doormat, but how does the doormat feel?
The holidays are here. Lose the guilt. Ignore the snarks and find the real.
And when you unfurl the holiday doormat, make sure it isn’t you!
Real You: Grace under pressure
November 20th, 2009Grace is all around us, and so is pressure. Just this week, amidst the thrill of growing and expanding my company, Real Living, the pressure has been incredible. Building a new team, reassuring new contacts. Since the real estate crash hit at the end of 2005, pressure has been mounting. Sometimes daily, sometimes just bubbling under the surface. For many of us, no matter the industry, the great recession has spelled doom, gloom, worry, anxiety and yes, pressure.
Not so easy to find in our world: Grace.
And yet, something happened last night that symbolized more about grace under pressure than any business lesson I could write about.
My friend, Stefanie Spielman, lost her fifth battle with breast cancer last night. She died at the age of 42, surrounded by her family, And I know you may have similar stories. Cancer, unfortunately, has touched all of us in profound ways. What I do want to share with you is her incredible example of grace. She believed God gave her cancer at the age of 30 for a reason. She used the pressure, the unbelievable hardship that it imposed, to become a shining light of hope and grace for all who knew her and hundreds of thousands who didn’t. Through her quiet power, she raised more than $6 million towards breast cancer research, while also raising four amazing kids.
In her example, I watched a woman who rose above disease while staying real in everything she accomplished. Becaues of her grace under pressure, she gave strength to others fighting the same disease. She kept her family at the center of her life, and her love story with her husband Chris is one for the ages.
This Thanksgiving, no matter the struggles happening in your life, look around you for the moments and people embodying grace. They are there. In the blue sky. In the eyes of a small child. Through the life of a friend who fought to the end. And hold on tight to each other. People come into your life for a reason.
Perhaps one of the people in your life right now is modeling this type of grace under pressure, or maybe, that role model is you.
Real You: Synergy rocks
November 19th, 2009 Tonight I had a chance to meet a group of people I’ve never met before. In fact, this week and last has been an abundance of new connections and people in my life.
Each and every person we encounter teaches us something – about ourselves. How open we are to learning from them is the challenge.
People come into your life for a reason. Some stop by for just a few minutes; others stay a lifetime. What you carry forward from these encounters matters.
And when you really, truly, feel synergy with a group of people, it rocks. Celebrate!
