The pile of books on the table next to us was hard to miss from my vantage point. It wasn't because of the size of the piles - she easily had more than a dozen books stacked in various configurations - or the tangle they created around her laptop computer. It was because of the titles.
Evocative Titles Sure Do Attract Attention
I was in a meeting at Panini Cafe in Marina Del Rey with Bill Leider and Rochell Heininger. At the table next to us was a middle-aged women feverishly studying and writing. I found myself straining to read the the titles on her books. When you hear a couple of titles you'll understand why: Queer Theory/Sociology (Twentieth-Century Social Theory), Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity, and The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating, were just three of the dozen or so books.
I'm not the least bit shy, in fact I go out of my way to meet people, so as soon as there was a lull in our business conversation I turned to the woman and said, "I do believe that is the most provocative looking pile of books I've ever seen."
She smiled very wide and said, with a thick Spanish accent, "Well, Realty Blogging certainly looks very provocative as well." (It is now required reading for our staff and I had brought a copy for Rochell to read. It was the only book sitting on our table!) This woman, who turned out to be a UCLA professor from Spain, delivered the line with such perfection, all three of us laughed out loud. No, real estate is not very sexy. Or so I thought.
Then, something happened that happens to me a great deal. Fate reared it's beautiful head. There was a reason why I was meant to talk to her.
She followed up her humorous zinger with, "I just read a book by a Harvard Professor that you might find interesting." Apparently she had been listening to our conversation about how all of real estate revolves around relationships, even down to the consumer and "falling in love" with the house they buy. "The book is titled Sex and Real Estate," she said. "I can't remember the writer's name, but it is a very well written book that goes into the psychology behind why we love houses." hmm.
I, of course, was online and immediately went to Amazon.com to find the book. It is by Marjorie Garber, the Director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University. After reading the synopsis and looking over the table of contents. We bought two of the books. I need to tell you right now that I have not read this book yet, but I will read it the day it arrives. I know, without question, I am meant to read it and share it here.
If the first paragraph is any indication, it's going to be a fascinating read.
"What do college students talk about with their roommates? Sex. Twenty years later, what do they talk about with their friends and associates? Real estate. And with the same gleam in the eyes. Real estate today has become a form of yuppie pornography". I have no idea whether I will agree with her by the end of the book or not, but I'm intrigued. I spend a good deal of time in any presentation I give talking about the fact that the Internet does a poor job of conveying emotion today. I rant about how necessary it is to give the Internet viewer something to help them fall in love. Intuitively we all know this. I think this book will give me the sociological explanations to back up the intuition.
The Chapters
- Introduction: Sex and Real Estate
- 1: The House as Beloved
- 2: The House as Mother
- 3: The House as Body
- 4: The Dream House
- 5: The Trophy House
- 6: The Summer House
- Epilogue: Why We Love Houses
So, I'm going to come back later with a review of Sex and Real Estate: Why We Love Houses.
But that's not why I'm writing this post.
I'm writing this post to encourage you to engage those around you, especially interesting and friendly looking strangers. Invite them into conversation. Follow it wherever it leads. It may dead end, or it may lead you down a new path. It's not really about expanding your referral network, or finding your next listing. You might, but that's way too contrived for what I'm talking about. It's about authentically connecting with experiences and knowledge and energy that you may not find any other way. There's a whole world of unknown opportunity out there waiting to be discovered!
they're sexy... 
;)
;)
Yuppie Pornography...that's a good quote.
Blogging does inhibit time spent with significant others so the premise may actually be true.