As young man, in my early 20's, my bedroom (in the attic of an old Victorian) had an alcove with a window that looked out over the entrance to a wooded area. The alcove was deep enough to house one chair. I would read here. Do homework. Or work out the music for the great lyrics my then band mate would pen. Those songs eventually won my group a record contract. Often, I would put my books down, lean my guitar against the wall and just stare out that window. And I would let my imagination go wherever it took me. The thing is, most of what I envisioned, one day became a reality. Befitting for the last days of 08, this piece hopefully serves to stir your imagination as you prepare for what will be a year that might very well depend on it. -Marc
Life has a way of bringing you just what you need when you need it.
The $20 dollar bill you find in a pants pocket you hadn't worn in ages when your wallet's empty.
The prayer that's just been answered.
The great new idea you just hatched.
You can bet that right now, somewhere inside a makeshift office, a few undernourished and overtired innovators are using up various colors of erasable ink scribbling on a whiteboard. Their great new idea still in stealth mode, code name and all under lock and key.
Maybe it's a web application. Maybe it's a new commission model. Maybe it's a zany new design idea for a real estate office that includes a waterfall, tropical fauna, a few exotic birds and video of homes and neighborhoods broadcast onto a 60-inch plasma screen 24/7. All the furniture is oversized and comfortable, sitting on plush shag rugs and accented with art deco lamps, an oxygen bar and self-serve gelato.
You can bet that right now, one your most ardent competitors are conjuring ways to steal your market share. To out advertise you. To recruit your best agents. To undercut your commission. To ramp up their site traffic
You can trust right now, all over America, the majority of real estate practices are blissfully unaware that anything I have just described is taking place. I say, let them. I'm sure dinosaurs where just as blissfully unaware of the great meteor and, if by chance, one caught wind of it, they probably wouldn't have known what it was or what to do about it.
And truthfully, life is much better without big dinosaurs running around.
What a day for a daydream
When I left college after my junior year to sign a recording contract with Polydor, I spent the ensuing months during recording, staring out the window of my apartment daydreaming. Hours would go by and then, after a time, lyrics began to make their way to the page. Then the music. It was astounding to me how minutes earlier that creation didn't exist. Its manifestation the result of a wandering mind. A few weeks later, the songs were performed on stage. In front of thousands. Two made their way to national radio.
I still daydream. Over the last few years, I have come up with a bunch of ideas for real estate. Some I've built, others never left a Power Point slide.
Some were over-the-top insane. But that's okay. Somewhere in between insanity and nothing is a place where the next, new, great ideas simmer. The Ideas that make their way to whiteboards. Then to the launch pad. The kind that go live and make you crazy wondering why you didn't think of them yourself. The kind that make you think you've been lazy. Or just arrogant enough to think that what isn't broke need not be fixed.
If it isn't broke… break it.
Try it. Look around your office. Look at your revenue model. Your recruiting plan. Your advertising. Your presentations. Your website. Your hairstyle. The Feng Shui of your office. Your blog design. Or the lack of having a blog. Or the time you spend blogging when you could be daydreaming. Your hesitation to go to the next conference. Your paper based operation and the time you spend standing in front of a copy machine.
If you think you have it all nailed down, rethink it. Break that mindset. Become an idea zealot. Get a whiteboard. Put it up on your wall. Let it be empty. The Mona Lisa was once a blank canvas. Find a window and stare out into the yonder. Find that one thing, one idea, one change to your current process that you can call your own. Put it on the white board. And then stare it a while.
Make this your contribution to you. The future you. The one that wants more money. More clients. More agents. More customers. More business. More time off. More recognition for being brilliant rather than just one of the crowd.
Life has a way of bringing you just what you need when you need it.
It could be Andrew Jackson.
It could be the answered prayer.
And if you allow it, it could be your next great idea.
- Davison
Twitter: 1000wattmarc
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I have an idea. once it ws a seed, then it was a thought. Now it is an idea.
One day it will be a plan, then it will be a model. Finally, it will be a new way.
Thaks for the post.
How true!
Sometimes the best plans are sprung from falling in love with another's idea and the worst from digging your own.Thanks for your post and the Daydream videos.
Marc: There are definitely some of us quietly toiling. HomePerks is going to make a substantial announcement and launch a new web category in a couple weeks. Why else would I be working on a Saturday? Stay tuned.
Yeah we try and get people to share those ideas that would normally end up forgotten or in a random notebook somewhere.
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Float, Vote and Search for Ideas: http://bodybottle.com
Sorry wrong URL for Ideabobber: http://www.ideabobber.com
I will be 60 years old in just a couple of months, and I must tell you that although I have not accomplished all of the goals I had when I was in high school, I am still like the kid whose picture you see at the top of this page.
I am still trying to find new ways of staying ahead of the competition, and letting my customers know that although I am an "old dog", I am still dreaming about the future and willing to learn new tricks to help me compete with a new generation of Realtor. As Marc said,”Life has a way of bringing you just what you need when you need it", but I want to add that, "It is brought to those that are willing to seek."
As Seth Godin says in his Book The Purple Cow, we can no longer go where the masses go. Traditional models are now obsolete.
Yes. Read Blue Ocean Strategy – another thought provoking book on the notion of claiming new territory.
Maybe it's the New Yorker in me but I believe in the notion of one-upping my competition if for no other reason then it keeps customers interested in what you're doing.
Thanks Marc!
I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering.
~Steven Wright
Daydreaming about what you would like your life to be like can help you get ideas that take you in that direction. It is a valuable tool. But I don't agree that we are better off without the dinasaurs. I think it would be cool to have some around still.
Daydreaming (goals) & action, maybe more important today than ever. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks for the ongoing motivation.
Analyzing business practices and brainstorming is always a great use of time for me…I just need to do more of it.
Out of obscurity come the greatest ideas the world have ever known. We need the dreamers to bring us into reality!