Before Active Rain and Now- A Gift I Get To Live Each and Every Day

Before Active Rain and Now....Hmmmmm. What WAS life really like before and how IS it so different now? After all I have not been one where Active Rain catapulted me into social media mainstream. Nor has It made me my local community rock star, a social media whiz or even a prolific writer even though journaling has been a part of me for ions. Nope that has not been the case with me. My journey from before to now has been a different journey.

Before Active Rain I knew without a doubt that real estate was very local and for the most part that is true. Laws, forms, customs, the realities of listing and selling real estate in my little part of the world called Annapolis are truly unique for me. Yet through Active Rain I have learned that real estate, though very local, is also universal. The concerns, challenges, and even the triumphs are really the same from coast to coast. We may solve them differently according to our locale but we all have them no matter where we live and do business. 

Before Active Rain my world of sharing real estate challenges and triumphs was a few close friends in the business. Yet when all was said and done and the sun went down we were still competitors working the same market. But now because of Active Rain I read stories from across the country of others who had a challenge or triumph similar to mine. And then amazingly I read comments where others stepped up and squelched that challenge or truly applauded that triumph. Holy cow. Here was a world where competitiveness was put aside and in its place compassion and sharing took its place.

Before Active Rain I would never have believed with such intensity much less known the true importance of all aspects of social media, from blogging to SEO to becoming an area expert. Oh I am sure I would have heard and read about it and been curious for sure. But now because of Active Rain I am learning and growing each day. My eyes have been opened to really looking at where I live, of seeing it like a child full of wonderment and joy. What once was the every day has become the 'Oh Wow, is that cool or what!' It has made me appreciate at a deeper level this place called home where I live and work.

Before Active Rain my world was more narrow than I ever imagined. Since Active Rain my world has expanded beyond my wildest dreams. How blessed to have found a network of 'friends' who share their worlds, their souls, their triumphs and challenges and most of all their knowledge. Their knowledge of dealings in real estate and of growing with social media.

Looking back I can see my journey of Before to Now has been, quite frankly, slower than many here on the Rain. A slow but steady journey filled with learning and implementing of social media skills and knowledge. But it has also been a journey of incredible growth, an expansion of my thinking, and an awakening of knowledge that will get me there one step at a time. 

Before Active Rain and Now has, on all accounts, been a gift I get to live each and every day. A gift from Margaret Woda, a dear friend and colleague who at the time could have never known how special a gift she was giving me. A gift of community, of brothers and sisters, friends old and new, of neighbors near and far sharing the sweetness of their triumphs and the battle scars of their challenges in this world we work in called real estate.

A Gift of Two Margarets

The NOW of Active Rain has become a window to an amazing world of people

brought my way through the simple click of my mouse.