MY MIND IS LIKE A DISNEY MOVIE….
It’s a windy spring day in Vermont. The trees are swaying, birds are chirping, and the first flowers of the season are peeking up from their winter slumber. Everything is alive! I can see the movement and special energy for each facet of the world around me.
My husband says that ‘my mind is like a Disney movie’. To me, the world is magical; a place where everything has a purpose, a spirit. Trees, plants, and animals have a light and a sparkle! I don’t hear voices or expect inanimate objects to dance with me or anything, but I do appreciate my cartoon brain. I wasn’t always like this. My unpredictable childhood home life was the groundwork for fostering a mindset of dread and insecurity.
Why am I telling you this? What’s the point? For the month of May, our Success Habit has been “Learning + Growth”. We have such an opportunity to release the old and welcome the new in each moment of each day as we progress through our life. As people who work in an entrepreneurial business, our personal development directly impacts our professional development.
TRAIN YOUR BRAIN FOR APPRECIATION AND RESPECT
Training our brains to look for appreciation, gratitude, and respect of all people, creatures, and situations takes practice. It’s worth every effort!
The enemy of the mind is fear: False Evidence Appearing Real.
Making up a story in my head about what I ‘think’ may happen, or what I ‘think’ was someone’s motive can be a destructive perspective. The habit of living from a perspective of trust is a discipline that is applied moment by moment, situation by situation.
An expression I have learned, “Life is happening FOR me, not to me”, is a gateway into this supportive way of looking at whatever is going on. As an observer of the lessons being presented to me, I can experience that I am never alone. My old way of thinking had me believe that it was a sign of strength that I could ‘do it on my own’ because ‘I didn’t need anybody’. Now, living a life of learning and growth, I can ask for help.
CREATE A CONSCIOUS ORGANIZATION THAT THRIVES
Collaboration and support are natural extensions of being committed to the pursuit of excellence; asking for help is not a sign of weakness. On this road, mistakes are normal because we are trying new things! Innovation involves risks where things don’t always work out the way we thought they might and hoped they would. Perfection is restrictive and impossible.
Jen Stalcup, Founder of Agent REbox, recommends having an audit process that measures how your processes reflect your values as a company as well as the kind of customer experience you are providing. This keeps our eyes on the most important aspects of our work together. If we want perpetual growth, we must stretch for what’s possible.
Why? Do you want to achieve a life worth living? Are you striving to create a conscious culture on your team where people are valued as much as results? Yes! If you answered “Yes!”, then keep reading.
This is a two-way street. Are you afraid that you will be taken advantage of or that you will slip behind your competitors if you take this approach?
Research shows that companies with a conscious culture are more likely to succeed in the long run than those who only strive for results. They are also more likely to attract and retain team members who are a better fit.
It’s a way of working together that involves mutual respect and understanding. Do you want a sustainable, productive, and enjoyable work life? In order to have exceptional collaboration, you need to know what it’s like for other people to work with you. You need to know what it’s like to be in their shoes on the team. And, people need to know what it’s like for you. This is a pure example of gaining compassion on your team.
LEAD YOUR TEAM THROUGH UNCERTAIN TIMES
Here are some questions you can ask at your next team meeting or 1-on-1 session with members of your team:
- What is it like for you to:
- Prospect or do lead generation?
- Go on a listing presentation?
- Meet a buyer prospect for the first time?
- Enter a new listing to launch after the agent gets back from a successful listing appointment?
- Manage the transactions from pending to close?
- What are your frustrations with me? Or with our team? Or with our processes? Or with yourself?
- How can I best support you?
- What do you need from me?
These kinds of conversations can revolutionize your working relationships for the better. After the last three months of a pandemic and social, racial outrage, don’t you want to see what’s possible to create together? Train your brain for appreciation and respect. Ask questions so you can continue to learn and grow. Remember, life is happening FOR you! It’s happening for all of us. See the magic this is everywhere!