How Will You Lead in 2010?
Congratulations.
You, the real estate professional of the vintage 2010 are living and learning through the most challenging and important real estate market of the past generation. You have survived an almost immediate halt to business as usual and have re-geared and re-grouped finding yourself poised to benefit from the greatest real estate opportunity of the millennium.
Your ranks have thinned and your camps have separated; yet there is much to do in the months that follow. Success, going forward, will require skilled labor, determination, a clear and focused strategy, and above all purpose. The wounded will require your compassion and your colleagues need uplifting leadership. Are you up for the challenge? Do you know how you will lead in 2010?
Find the Fun
Leaders love what they do. They don't dread Mondays and hold out for Fridays. Our challenge for 2010 is to dig deep and enjoy the process. Engaging leaders embrace their challenges with unbridled passion. Passion comes from finding what you truly love and making that your life's work. In a 2005 TED conference author, speaker and self-described average guy Richard St. John outlined 8 Secrets of Success; among them fun and passion. Here's to your opportunity to become a "work-a-frolic."
Know Your Story
Aimless wandering rarely leads to success and never describes a leader. Make 2010 the year you find your focus. Continually practice your craft and hone your skill sets into a purpose. Craft this purpose into your story. Of course there are no wrong choices if those you make are true to your heart. Edward R. Murrow was quoted as saying, ""To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; (to be) credible we must be truthful."
Find yourself this year, then attach yourself to a purpose that drives you to lead.
Engage
It has never been easier to find people who share your interests. The Internet and it's social media darlings beg for your participation. Join in! Make 2010 the year you write a blog, join the Twitter nation, find a cause that drives your purpose or simply:
Always Learn
Be good at what you do. If you're already good be better. Take a class, earn a certification, or just read a book. Whatever your purpose find yourself the opportunity to serve others something of value. Don't forget to serve yourself in the process. Leaders are constantly seeking wisdom wherever they can find it and relish in the opportunity to share it with others.
Challenge yourself
In another of my favorite TED talks William Kamkwamba shares with us his tale of triumph as a 14 year old boy challenged by hunger and poverty in search of an education. His parting gift, "Trust yourself and believe. Whatever happened don't give up." There is always more to do and more to learn. Push yourself to be better in 2010 and challenge yourself to improve the status quo.
Accept and push past your mistakes
One of my early mentors had a favorite quote he'd share whenever things didn't go our way. "I never see failure as failure. It's a learning experience, take advantage." The current real estate market is littered with failed real estate projects, bad loans, and lost investments. If you are a part of one, push past your mistakes and see the learning opportunity in front of you. If you find the opportunity to help solve a problem, leave judgment behind and help another find the lesson. Success is one step past failure.
Whatever you do strive for greatness and remember great acts come in the smallest of actions. I hope our 2010 is filled with success.
Now go relax, the fun starts tomorrow.