I had the absolute pleasure to be one of thousands of real estate agents at Keller Williams Family Reunion in Orlando, Florida. My Monday morning was blessed by an amazingly simple and encouraging message.

This year's Keynote Speaker, Clint Swindall, picked up on that note, and was pitch-perfect in his delivery.  The main theme of his presentation was the idea of "engaged leadership." 

Clint cited some Gallup Poll statistics concerning the behavior of people within any organization:

- 26% of any organization is comprised of people who are defined as "engaged" in the activities and goals of that organization.  They are loyal, productive team members who take ownership in their job. 

- 55% are people who are defined as "disengaged."  These folks do only what is asked of them, and take no initiative beyond their assignment.

- 19% are "actively disengaged."  Meaning, they are a negative force within the organization, and actually work actively against the activities and goals of that organization.

Clint's question for all of us is "where do you fall?"  And, if you want to ultimately succeed (particularly in a challenging environment), where do you need to be?  The answer is obvious, you need to be in the 26% who are "engaged."

Simple enough, right?  But it takes work.  Clint's central point is you must be personally engaged, before you can be professionally engaged, and he offered some simple steps to starting on that road:

• #1 "Keep an eye on the good stuff" - What you start the day with, usually dictates how you end the day.  When you start with positivity, you tend to be more productive. 
• #2 "Create a culture of celebration" - You have to be willing to look for things to celebrate.  Anticipate celebrating achievement, and you'll achieve.
• #3 "Stop being right all the time" - Every time you have be "right" with someone, that person by definition has to be "wrong." 
• #4 "Be true to your character" - Leadership talent is nothing if people question your character.
• #5 "Keep it all in perspective" - Even in a challenging business environment, your life is an overwhelmingly positive experience.  50% of the world's population live on less than $2.50/day.  By comparison your life is rich beyond compare.

Clint's final piece of advice ... before you go looking for "new" ideas to build your life on, get the "old" ideas right first.

Your success is driven by your choice to succeed.  Which is why we're all here at Family Reunion.  We've made that choice to redefine/revisit the simple, teachable activities that lead to success.

I'm always amazed by the quality of speakers at Family Reunion.  Clint Swindall did not disappoint.