“How to Make Money in this
‘Tough’ Market!”
By Laura Shope, EcoBroker Certified®
Have you heard
this title for a workshop or article lately?
Most of these
workshops and articles are going to tell you what to DO to build your business.
They’ll describe things like going after FSBOs or expireds, staying in touch
with your sphere of influence, and web site lead generation. These are all great
reminders of the business building strategies we’ve each learned at one point or
another in our real estate careers. And, all these techniques and strategies,
all these tasks, earn merit in your business.
And, the key
missing piece is: Who are you BEING
while you are doing all of these activities? What are you focusing on? What is
your goal (other than a vague aspiration of ”making some money”)? What do you
believe—really believe—will happen as you take these actions? In other words,
what kind of energy are you putting out to potential clients?
We all know that certain
kinds of energy are more attractive than others. For example, who are you
more likely to approach to ask for directions: a visibly angry person or someone
with a smile on their face and a twinkle in their eye? And, we’ve all heard
tales of clients getting spooked by the agent who seems “desperate.”
Let’s look at
money as energy, as the exchange we’ve agreed on for the value of our work.
Money and opportunities are flowing all around us. It’s our job to align our
“array” in such a way as to capture this energetic potential most efficiently.
What will
knock your “array” out of alignment? Negative thoughts and inaction will each
shatter whole panels! Luckily, you can influence your attitude and, therefore,
your “attraction” factor regarding business and money. To help maintain your own
positive energy in all that you do, recognize the following three energy fields:
1) The Remote Energy Field
This is the field most distant from us. It involves events taking place in the
world over which we have little or no control, like war and natural
disasters. Or, on a different scale, news about the real estate market
nationally. Even when we are not interacting directly with the things in the
remote energy field, we are impacted by them. When we allow the negative aspects
of the remote energy field to consume us, we lose our own energy and become
lost, anxious, and on edge. We become ”unattractive.”
2) The Near Energy Field
Your actions have a greater impact in the near energy field, which includes your
home, office, family, team, and community. The near field is the field of
energy that your personal energy field interacts with daily. This is your
support field. You can affect this field by intentionally choosing your
colleagues, friends, partners, and immediate surroundings.
3) Your Personal Energy Field
Your personal energy field includes your thoughts, nutrition, sleep, and spirit.
You, as an individual, have the ultimate control over aligning your own personal
field. Your choices directly affect your energetic projection in the world.
The primary
tool to achieve your business and life goals—no matter what else is happening in
the world-is to hold, or maintain, your personal energy field in all
circumstances. How do you keep your personal energy
field strong during times when all the messages from the remote and near fields
are negative?
1)
First of all, distinguish between
what is real and what is ”story.” News headlines and statistics are often story.
Get the facts. Find out for yourself what is real in your market.
2)
Once you have the facts, interact
with the information that is relevant to you. While the average house price may
be down in your area, the number of units sold may be up! What is important to
you? How does this affect the choices you make to move your business forward?
3)
Concentrate on what you love and
what you are passionate about. Are your goals aligned with what makes you feel
alive? If they are, you are more likely to accomplish them and more likely to
attract the business you need to meet them.
4)
Create an intention to stay strong.
Focus on solutions rather than fear. Keep your intention in front of you
everyday as a reminder.
5)
Above all, remind yourself to send
out as much positive energy as possible. Notice when your thoughts turn toward
negativity and bring your awareness back to where you want. Then, from there, go
into action.
Once your
”array” is aligned for optimal ”capture,“ you will find that you are making
money and enjoying yourself in the process! Maybe, just maybe, it’s not so tough
after all.
Laura
Shope is a Certified EcoBroker®,
REALTOR® and Certified Professional Coach in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. She is the founder and creative director of Bluefire Institute,
a coaching, consulting, and experiential services organization specializing in
the design and implementation of personal and professional visions for lives,
businesses, and physical structures that incorporate the value of
sustainability. For more information and program schedules visit
www.bluefireinstitute.com.
Upcoming
Coaching Courses designed for EcoBrokers!
Our courses guide
participants to create a clear vision for life and business while providing the
energy tools to sustain momentum and navigate the process of implementing your
vision in the world efficiently and effectively.
October 24, 2008:
Personal Energy Audit II…A one-day intensive in-person seminar followed by two
one-hour follow up group teleconference calls offered, this time, in the
Portland, OR/Seattle, WA area.
Visit
our website:
www.bluefireinstitute.com, to find out more or to register for a
May 2008: Live Green
By Laura Shope, EcoBroker Certified®
It’s all over the
media now. Do this green action, buy this green product, open yourself to
this green perspective, etc. Green is in.
For many of us, this has been the way we’ve lived our lives for a long time. For many of us, the urgency and purpose behind the green changes are more compelling and we take it on in a new way.
For me, it’s not a question of ‘green’ so much as it’s a question of longevity – how can we create structures, systems, products, and cultures that will remain healthy and vibrant over an extended period of time?
What if we examine our very own lives and business systems from this perspective?
What if we look at our lives and businesses in the same way a trained energy rater would look at a house? Where are the leaks? Where is there more insulation needed? Where could we ‘plant a tree’ to make a difference? Which mechanical systems could be replaced and how much difference would it make? What changes would make the most significant impact? Which are short-term fixes and which will continue to benefit us over time?
In Clarity coaching, we use the language ‘lights-on’ and ‘lights-off’ to identify the shifts in physiology that occur when you are present to those aspects to which you are attracted and those to which you are not. This is energetic language. We are really talking about what gives and sustains energy in you and/or your ‘system’ and what drains it.
Simply put, through this coaching methodology we are looking to increase the ‘energy efficiency’ of how you operate your life or business. Using tools like noticing what works and what doesn’t, what lights you up and what doesn’t, combined with a clear vision of what you want, enables you to streamline your actions in such a way as to most efficiently manifest your dreams.
Shifting the balance so that more of what you do and interact with is ‘lights-on’ will feed and nurture your own energy. This in turn will result in a system which is stronger, healthier, and more able to ‘weather the storm…’ In short, your life or business is more sustain-able.
To us as Clarity trained coaches, effort is a clue to some sort of ‘blockage’ in the system which, once cleared, opens the way to the experience of ‘flow’ and your vision unfolding in profound and meaningful ways. Understand that there is a distinct difference between ‘effort’ and ‘work.’ Work is the energy required to move your vision forward. Work can be more or less efficient or effective. When it is less effective, there is usually effort present as well.
When we follow the flow of where we are lights-on, we find the work to move our vision forward often feels ‘effortless.’ When this happens, we are engaged in a system that has the ability to remain healthy and vibrant over an extended period of time. A system that is more ‘sustain-able.
When we are engaged in a life or business that is sustain-able from this perspective, we, as individuals, are thriving and contributing to the whole in a new way. We are in ‘balance’ with our environment in a way that supports long-term growth and continuation. We are impacting our communities and our world in a whole new way. And, in all likelihood, we’re having way more fun and fulfillment doing it!