I'm so excited to be hosting a webinar for the WCR next Thursday, April 14,  titled Real Estate, Reinvention & You and I'd love to have you listen in. I'm also really interested in hearing from you about any questions you have about personal branding, reinvention and how to put the real you in your business.

     Any questions are welcome! Just post the comment below and I hope you'll tune in next Thursday!

     Here's a thought. It's February. Sure, it's cold, blustery and snowy in much of the country and the real estate news still isn't great, but the thought is this: Things will get better and you aren't alone. As you know, many people in many different industries are facing career challenges. Some days it's hard to be resilient, but you must. Why? Because you're getting stronger. Better. There is no exact answer as to how that will happen, not for our industry and not for you as an individual. But it will. If you believe it.

     Have you been taking time to invest in you and your dreams? Are you ready when the market improves and opportunities arise? Do you have a clear vision of your future? Have you solidified and embraced your passions, surrounded yourself with the right people and are you following your instincts?

      Knowing what you want goes a long way toward feeling in control of your life, and your future.

     In addition to my role as Real Living Real Estate's biggest brand cheerleader, I'm following my passion for writing and my first novel HERE, HOME, HOPE comes out May 1st! Like the real estate industry, the publishing industry is going through a major upheaval and the road for a debut novelist not being published by a big New York publishers is - and this is an understatement - daunting. But writing fiction - and seeing it actually published and in the world as a book has been my dream since 4th grade. And now, I'm going for it.

      If you'd like to help spread the word - and have a chance to win an Advance Reader Copy of my book and a Dogeared Karma Necklace - just head to Facebook and "Like" my Kaira Rouda Books page. Your support means a lot!

     You have mine, too. Make sure yoiu are creating a business and a life that is a reflection of you, your goals, your dreams, your essence. Then, when the challenges come - and they will - you can return to that essence and know it was worth it. And it will be. Because you chose it. It's your dream.

 

"You are lucky enough to be different, never change." Taylor Swift 

Ok, I'm making a fearless move - finally publishing a novel. My dream. It's been there since I was a kid, and now, I'm taking the leap and going for it. What's your fearless move? Have you made one lately?

Just last weekend I attended my - gulp - 25th college reunion in Nashville. Thus the inspiration to tap into my country music inspired, Taylor Swift quote above. Taylor's right: You are unique. You, in and of yourself, are your competitive advantage. Have you used your best to your advantage lately? If not, what are you afraid of? One of my friends who also came back for the reunion remarked: "We are all happy here. When you think about it, the people who come back to their reunions want to be connected, stay connected and they're happy in their lives."

I think he's right. It's about putting yourself out there. It's about making a fearless move. Showing up. Sure, all of us have struggles; but all of us also have blessings. 

I'm excited to be in New Orleans for the Women's Council of Realtors annual convention, part of the NAR's festivities this weekend. I'm proud to be on a panel with Judy Moses, Sherry Chris and Tami Bonnell talking about "Fearless Moves: Positioning Yourself for Success". Please join us if you'll be there! I love speaking to the WCR and the inspiring women entrepreneurs who make up this amazing organization.

If you're in New Orleans, please come see our panel on Saturday. But even if you're not, become fearless.  Make a move. Take a chance. Step into your power. Have a wonderful weekend! And if we aren't already Twitter friends, please follow me there!

     Typically, in my posts here and elsewhere, I opine about entrepreneurs, about keeping the faith in the real estate business and about how once you find it within to define your personal brand your real estate brand will become that more competitive. Be the Real You and your work and life will be that much better, richer.

     To that end, I thought I'd share what I've been up to lately in my Real You world. In addition to being excited to see many of my wonderful friends at the WCR and NAR Conferences in New Orleans this November, I'm also excited to be publishing my first novel next summer. Yep, if you look at my Real You Chart, you'll find writing as a top passion of mine. And, if you knew me, you would know my dream has been to publish a novel since, well, Fourth Grade. If not earlier. And that was a long time ago!

     So, finally, my dream is coming true! The novel's title is Here, Home, Hope and as you may have suspected, one of the characters is a real estate agent! Another is a home stager! You know what they say, write what you know and what you love. It's also a story of empowerment, naturally, and hopefully, it's really fun to read!

     So why am I blogging about a book that won't be released until next May? I hoped you could help me by helping me choose a cover! I'm down to the final two choices, and would love your input. 

     Thanks so much for any input you have on the cover. Keep putting your passions into action. I know I've been having fun pursuing another one of mine. I'll let you know which cover wins the most votes!

    Today's U.S. economy is fueled by 29.6 million small businesses, led by people just like you, people who are entrepreneurs who made their dreams into reality. Truth is, the only way to begin the journey of entrepreneurship is to start. And you've don that. That's why you're in real estate. But it's tough out there. I know that. That's why now, more than ever, it's so important to be real.

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     Each one of us is in a unique position to approach our work in a fresh new way. One that's real and authentic to each of us as individuals. What compelled me to write my book, Real You Incorporated and to create the 8-step Real You Process, is the last few years as I've watched people not satisfied doing things the same way. I spent the last 20 years of my life as a leader in business, as the vice president of several companies, and always, as an entrepreneur. When my husband and I created Real Living, 8 years ago, it was just an idea. That for me wasn't different. What was different was the chance to begin working with 4,000 entrepreneurs. Our real estate agents. That is the spark that led to my book. And to the step-by-step approach I wrote about in its pages. It was inspired by and written for real estate agents and brokers just like you. 

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     No matter what area of the country you work in or how your sales are right now, it's critical you continue to believe in yourself and your entrepreneurial spirit. You're an expert at what you do. That's why it's time to be real. It's time to put the real you in your business - to define your own personal brand and bring it to the world as a unique competitive advantage. You no longer need to try to fit in, or use gimmicks or the like. The key to being successful in real estate today is in being your SELF. Authenticity is the key. In person, online. Everywhere.

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     As you work to make other people's dreams come true, don't forget you own. Follow your instincts, follow your heart. Let the Real You shine through in everything you do. Keep believing!

* The sculpture above is entitled: Endless Pursuit and is on display at Chapman University.

     You recognize passion when you see it, don't you? It's that sparkle in a person's eye, the spring in her step. Passionate people exude pure, real energy. Confidence and a sense of empowerment. Everything they say is infused with enthusiasm.

     We all recognize it - and hopefully - we all want passion in our lives. Unfortunately, the road to finding and remaining true to your passions is littered with the realities of life. Disappointments and setbacks abound, no matter your age, no matter whether there is a recession or not. (Although, it's especially true today.) 


     Disappointment is a fact of life. These events hurt our hearts and dampen our fire. Did you know Lucille Ball was kicked out of acting school and told she had no talent? True. But she didn't let that hurt keep her down, or dampen her passion for acting.

     So if your passion has taken a beating lately, brush it off. Stand tall. Get a little sparkle in your eye. Don't let the passion poppers - whether they are snarks or events outside of your control - make you give up. You are better than that. You are much more.

You are a passionate entrepreneur taking your personal brand into the world as a unique competitive business. Remember, it's not who you think you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.

Don't let anyone or anything tell you differently! For more on passion, and putting it into action, see Chapter 2 of Real You Incorporated.

Grace 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 wee,. 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.

Are any of you going to the NAR's Mid-Year Conference? If so, I'll see you there. I will be presenting "Putting the Real You in Your Business" at the Women's Council of Realtors' education session on Friday, May 15 at the Capital Hilton in Washington DC.

My presentation will focus on branding with personality and speaking to your No. 1 customer. If you're planning on attending Mid-Year, I would love for you to stop by my session so I can meet you!

Ok, here's a funny story. My friend Stefan Swanepoel is THE real estate trends guy. He publishes a well-researched, well-read Trends Report each year and the industry folks who are smart, read it. I realize it's April, and first quarter is over, BUT I am finally reading the report! In my defense, for some unknown reason, it took two months to arrive from California to my mailbox in Ohio. (Yes, even reports don't want to visit Ohio if they're from Laguna Nigel.) But enough excuses. I learned a lot, and here are the trends that resonated with me:

1. Real estate is in the "transformation years", and those years will continue until 2012 (yikes!)

2. Social media is a real estate agent and company's friend! (yay!)

I'm not going to dwell on the negatives surrounding point 1 above, as I'm sure if you live in a home or know someone who does you've heard just about enough even if you aren't a real estate agent. But point 2 is exciting! As Stefan writes, "some 530 million individuals are now participating in some sort of social networking . . .and each person on average belongs to two or three social networks."

That's huge, in my industry and yours. If you aren't out there blogging and tweeting about your expertise in a meaningful and helpful manner-as a real estate agent it is your local market knowledge and your niche knowledge-you're missing out on customers. As Stefan writes: "Real estate professionals have an excellent opportunity to take advantage of this emerging trend by influencing others through creating meaningful content and releasing it through blogs, online communities, wikis and social networks....only 18 percent of online Americans actually create content or publish an article or blog at least once a month."

So get out there and get writing. You are an expert in your field, and you have something your tribe wants to read about. Write it, and they will follow!

Yesterday at lunch I was enjoying a great sandwich at Camille's Sidewalk Cafe when I looked up and saw this sign on the wall next to my booth:

Green -> Normal
Red -> Alarm
NoLight -> Trouble

It made me think. Do we too often ignore the signs right in front of us in business? I know, speaking for the real estate industry, we were in a state of greed and denial before the bust. The government's goal was to increase home ownership rates; the mortgage companies made money easy to get; the number of real estate agents had reached record numbers nationwide; and everybody who was anybody had a no-miss real estate opportunity. In February of 2006, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors released a book: Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust. The bust had started in the fourth quarter of 2005. The green light had gone out long before.

Real change does come through struggle. Don't wait for the red light to go on to make changes in your business. By then, it may be too late.