Agentjason 2.0

I am not your trainer.

I am not a speaker. I was never a Realtor, not an athlete, not white. I am the source (you may call it God), and so are you. Labels connect us to the form but we are formless and not separated from our source. As such, we are timeless. Eternity is usually misinterpreted as unending time which is quite different from the true meaning - timeless.

This post will probably seem like it's coming from left field and has little to do with real estate but the paragraph above is what stuck with me after watching a web event on Oprah.com. See, for a few days I've tried to start reading several books but kept putting them down. And a book called "A New Earth" has been stalking me in every airport. I've never read an Oprah Book Club book before so that wasn't it, and until tonight I wasn't sure why I felt compelled to buy it every time I saw it. Anyway I did buy it and realize I'm supposed to be reading this book right now. Some of the concepts above are not entirely new to me but the book + the Monday night live webcast study group on Oprah.com is amazing.

So for my clients and students whom I love (and every other reader for that matter), instead of commenting on the book, I just wanted to do my part to make you aware of it's existence and ask you to get a copy and join the group on Monday's.

Welcome to the Awakening...and whatever you want to call me is fine, I'll still be there for you!

Shopping for the perfect life

Dang! All my posts today are about books. Sometimes just a little paragraph from a book can get you thinking. I've mentioned this book before and now you probably think I only buy books with the word "sex" in the title. Just a coincidence I promise...but not surprisingly, the posts on this blog with the word "sex" are the most clicked on. So what does that tell ya! Here's the quote:

"They [buyers] begin by telling you how many bedrooms they need, and within a few sentences, they're revealing their childhood stories and regaling you with tales of failed relationships and hopes for the future. They claim they're looking for the perfect place to live, but really, they're shopping for the perfect life."

A simple little passage from a fiction book that says so much. Often, my students get stumped on a listing appointment when the seller says "We don't have to move". But when you look at it from the viewpoint of this quote, the question becomes; "Why do you WANT to move?". Uncover their story (their version of the perfect life) and the selling is much easier.

Are you for Real? You read a woman's book?!

When I was a Realtor, I was an entrepreneur. As a speaker and trainer for Floyd, I'm an entrepreneur. And all of my broker/owner clients and students are entrepreneurs. That usually means we are constantly thinking about our own brand in the marketplace, yet strikingly few clearly communicate it to the world.

I tripped upon Real You Incorporated, 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs and if I'm being completely honest, bought it because I thought: "One day I would like to work with Kaira and some of her franchises. I should probably read her book!" I don't think I would have read a "women's book" if there wasn't some bit of self interest there (sorry Kaira!).

But between the book and it's website, I feel like I learned even more about how to communicate my own brand and amazingly feel like I've already met the author though I haven't yet. The book takes you on a journey that helps you identify and connect with your personal and company brands by guiding you to fill out your Real You Incorporated Chart. It's a fun, informative read...and it's for guys too! Here's my chart and a link to the book.

Judge me by my book's cover?

I've been reading a book lately and I've noticed several people (mostly on planes and in Starbucks) looking at me funny. I ignored it at first until I figured out what was getting their attention. It's the title: "More Sex is Safer Sex". Actually, the book has very little to do with sex and is a fascinating book that uses economics to challenge common ideas.

Some people get really uncomfortable when you challenge their long held beliefs but the fact that this book forces you to think in ways you may never have on you own is precisely why I love it. Here are a few examples taken from the book.

DISASTER RELIEF AND OTHER TOPICS:
"It takes a callous soul indeed to look at television images of disaster victims and wish government assistance on them. Especially when the victims are poor. After Katrina, the federal government rushed in with $200 billion. With that single act, the government made life harder for poor people all over the country who are doing their best to scrape by. Each city offers it's own package of amenities, risk and housing prices. So people have choices. They can live cheaply but dangerously or they can pay more and be safer. San Francisco, thanks to it's spectacular amenities, is a very expensive place to live - but a lot cheaper than it would be without the earthquakes. But a policy of disaster relief erases that choice by forcing everyone to share the flood risk - and bring housing prices closer together. If everyone pays through taxes to bail out New Orleans, then New Orleans home prices rise and for example, Kansas City prices fall. You can no longer escape the risk of a flood by moving to Kansas City; you can no longer reap the benefits of accepting the full risk by moving to New Orleans."

Did you know some people may actually increase the spread of sexually transmitted diseases when they avoid causal sex?

Did you know marriages with daughters have a greater chance of divorce?

Did you know early motherhood not only correlates with lower income but may actually cause it?

Don't get mad at me. I'm not the economist here! But let's get back to the title. The title is what got me to pick up the book at an airport bookstore in the first place. Those bold words at the top of your flyers matter. The first words I see on your website matter. The front of your brochure matters. You get the point.

If you had only one sentence to get my attention and convey what you do, what would you say?

If I'm only going to read one sentence on your flyer, brochure, website before I judge whether I should continue, what would you write?

Jason's Inspiration

So many of you emailed me directly about the impact the quote from the last post had on you, I thought I'd point you to the source. It comes from Wayne Dyer's book, The Power of Intention which I'd highly recommend to Realtors and especially if you're new to sales. He doesn't write about sales per se, but he can help clear up some stinkin' thinkin'! Wayne Dyer and Floyd Wickman...what a great combination! Did you know they both apparently grew up in the same area of Detroit...around the same time?!

Alternatives to Sex

And now for a little weekend fun....

"Comedy and drama in equal measure in the portrait of one man's quest for the holy trinity of modern life - true love, good sex and great real estate" Those of you who really know me, know that I NEVER read fiction. But with a teaser like that, my friend had me hooked and I grabbed his copy of Alternatives to Sex to read. Stephen McCaulley, the author is the same guy who wrote The Object of My Affection that was turned into a movie with Jennifer Aniston. My post "Can Sex Help your Listing Appointments" is the most viewed to date...wonder if this one will give it a run for the top spot? Funny how anything with the word SEX gets attention!

And when you're ready to go back to work, I'm also reading Hypnotic Writing. What if you could write in a way that forced prospects to call you, almost as if you could do some Jedi mind trick! Only read this book if you're interested in getting more response from your flyers, web sites, magazine ads, newspaper ads, etc.

Click either of the book covers or scroll down and on the left you can see the current list of books I'm into.