Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy...Dead!

A couple of weeks ago I attended one of those "Feel Good" Conferences. It was a whirl wind weekend, chock full of speakers and workshops, but one particular speaker stood out to myself and my 3 "Realtor" colleagues. In what seemed to be a sea of people, probably numbering close to 500, the whole workshop seemed to be customized and focused on the 4 of us, sitting like peas in a pod, 30 rows back. At one point, it seemed like there was a spot light shining down on us.

The topic was "Busy-ness". It's an epidemic. Everyone is busy and everyone is busier than the next person. When your friend or colleague says they're busy...your Ego automatically goes into "Self Defense" mode and proclaims how busy you are and usually that's busier than the everyone else! People are actually killing themselves being busy....trying to be busy, and before they know it, they are in fact dead!

I really connected with the message this speaker was conveying. It was only 10 years ago, with 18 years of Real Estate under my belt, that I was actually considering jumping ship but I always found myself going back to the fact that I chose this career path for many reasons. I wasn't born into it, it wasn't the only thing I could do, I had a good education and many interests..Real Estate was a career choice that I quit a good paying and secure job to pursue.

When did I fall "out of love" with the business? When I got too busy to love it anymore. The change came gradually when I married another Realtor who was part of a Real Estate family. All of a sudden, everything became Real Estate. Family dinners, family telephone conversations and husband and wife conversations. Friends over...let's talk Real Estate! My Father-in Laws theory was that everything you did had to have some form of Real Estate payback...so that's why you never stopped talking about how busy you were in Real Estate. When you're busy with nothing but business, you stand the chance of overdosing on stress and growing very sick of being a slave to your business, if not down right resenting it! You add onto that the "busy" nature of child rearing and running a household and you have a recipe for unhappiness.

So, the lesson I've learned over the last 7 years of not being "married" to "busy-ness". Life is a much more rewarding place to live. My days are no longer jam packed with business related things. Now, when I work...I work, and I love every minute of it, resulting in an above average income. I cast aside the notion of going to the office everyday and simply keep my Blackberry by my side...while I fly airplanes, enjoy conversations and activity with my kids, take long time-wasting walks, sit and read books or casually clean my house...and sometimes I sit and actually do nothing. All of this allows me to tackle my career with a smile and enthusiasm. I've discovered that there is no law that says I have to be busy 100% of the time!

That brings me back to the speaker at the conference. My colleagues know that when they call me, there's a good possibility that I'm doing absolutely nothing and I'm not ashamed of saying it. They're actually so use to me doing "nothing" that they're surprised when I can't take their call because I'm taking a listing or showing houses! I've been after them for a while now to revitalize their love affair with the business by doing my "do nothing" therapy...and I think this speaker may have hit the ball home.

Real Estate Sales is the greatest job in the world...some people call it a lifestyle, however, I think it's simply a career that can be easily managed around your life. Stop painting your life with the "Busy, busy, busy brush" and start using the "living and loving brush". You'll love it!