Lessons Learned from My Days in Radio
When I was a kid I would listen to the radio for hours and grew to idolize a few radio personalities. I was terribly shy then and thought radio would be a great place to hide. As I approached college, I decided to study mass communications in the hopes of working in radio myself. By my senior year, I had the opportunity to work with some of those I had idolized. I learned a lot about life in a period of about seven years while working in the field. I may have entered the field on the shy side, but I left with the shyness having been trampled out of me.
BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING. One of the first experiences I worked as a shy intern was a gay rodeo. I had no clue what to expect of the event, but I dressed in the only western wear I had and put on a smile. Turned out to be a miserable, cold and wet day, but I had a blast.
YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO. The sheer fact that I ended up working with those I'd idolized was enough to convince me that I could do anything I wanted. And whenever I doubted that, my friend and radio producer Diana was there to spur me on. Imagine being tasked with finding the hotel and room number that Governor Bill Clinton was in during the DNC. That was my job. I pulled off the flawless act of being a daughter in distress, needing to speak with my father. Boom. Done! That small accomplishment set the stage for many moments of heart pounding anxiety about a task ahead to be brushed aside. Just do it! The worst anyone can say is no, and if you aren't trying, aren't you assuming no anyway?
APPRECIATE THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED YOU GET WHERE YOU ARE. The radio hosts I worked for had a knack for really appreciating their fans to a level where they were included in the show or live events. They never forgot the people that made them who they were.
SET YOUR EXPECTATIONS ACCORDINLGY. AFTER ALL, WE ARE ALL JUST HUMAN. When we put someone on a pedestal of admiration, we can forget they are human just like us. They get in bad moods, have bad days and can make some pretty poor decisions. You can imagine the disappoint of seeing an idol fall from grace. In the end, we are all just human. Nowadays, I prefer to keep a safe distance from those I look up to, or at least set really low expectations of them. That way, I'm never disappointed.
YOU CAN'T PREDICT CRAZY, OR REASON WITH IT. I remember working on getting an affiliate for this particular show for one year. One year of wining and dining, sometimes literally, a radio station in Richmond. My show hosts wanted their program broadcast there badly. The first week on the air in Richmond, the very hosts who begged and pleaded for a station in that market, fired the one I got for them...ON THE AIR. They then looked at me to go get another. The station manager in Richmond was furious and there was nothing I could do to mend the bridge between he and the hosts. I think I went gray over night. It was then that I realized you can't predict crazy, or reason with it.
These are just some of the lessons from radio that I take with me every day in real estate. A lot of these lessons come in handy in my dealings with Short Sale Banks. It's really odd the path that takes us where we are going, but when I look back on the crazy days in radio, real estate looks calm in comparison.
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