Coco 's LA Condo Lifestyle Blog

Everyday we find ourselves facing another test: Can we succeed today? This isn't just a matter of succeeding at our careers, our families, or our personal goals. This is a matter of succeeding at life. You must first succeed at life before you can succeed anywhere else.

Succeeding at life means believing in and taking care of yourself. Remind yourself that you can achieve anything as long as you believe you can. The test starts with you. As you face the individual challenges of the day-schedules, jobs, kids, clients, the world-repeat to yourself just how capable you are. You can handle the fast-paced schedule, the difficult client, and the challenging family as long as you remember that every morning you answered, "Yes, I will succeed today."

At the end of the day, you answer your question not with what you achieved but with every time you didn't quit. Look at what you did accomplish and what to be grateful for. Did you sell that house or condo today? That is quantitative thinking. Think instead in terms of quality. You may not have sold the house but did you give up? Did you do what is best for your client and not yourself? Now to me that is a great day and a big success when so many agents out there thing only of themselves and it shows. 

When you couldn't make the schedule you set for yourself, did you cancel everything or reschedule as needed? Did you merely accept that it was not supposed to be that way and move on? By rising to the requirements of the world without giving up, you have assured that at the end of the day you can answer again, "Yes, I succeeded today."

by Coco Clayman-Cook

Now more than ever we see real estate agents giving in to the Buyer's market and the changing economy. More and more clients are coming to the realization that they can't make the easy sale on their house that they may have been able to four years ago, and the very practice of "flipping" has ended. As more people give in to this new and different market and seek other careers, now is the time for the dedicated real estate agents to rise to the occasion.

It's important to remember the rules of gravity and the pattern of history: what goes up must come down, but what goes down will eventually rise again. As agents, it is our responsibility not to fall in the first place. Gandhi said we must be the change we want to see in the world, and this is where we must begin. We don't want our selling clients to give up, and it is our job to tell them the truth. We have to help our Buyers get what they want. We are in a service business. I don't want my clients to over pay and if they do I let them know. To me honesty and integrity and my word are all I have. We all want to see the market rise again, and so we must remember that the market starts with us.

Are you the best realtor you can be?  Are there things that you wish you could accomplish but you constantly find yourself at the end of the day thinking there just isn't enough time?  I am a huge fan of Timothy Ferriss' book The Four Hour Work Week.  While the book isn't specifically written for realtors there are so many principles that apply - it is certainly worth reading. In fact I sat and highlighted it and then gave it to one of my favorite clients as he has a four hour work week every week. I need a new copy!

One concept in the book that changed my life and my business was really taking a look at what areas of my business actually needed my hands on attention and what areas I could pass off to and outside source.  That's right; I outsource an enormous amount of my office work.  I don't outsource it far.  I use virtual assistants that live in the Los Angeles area.  But once I was able to let go of the idea that I needed to do everything myself, or directly oversee it, suddenly I had more time to do the things that I excel at, the things that ultimately make my business stronger and more lucrative.  It also leaves me more time to do the things I enjoy.  This past week I started golf lessons and loved it!

Being the best realtor you can be means being able to outsource and also making time for yourself to do what you do best.   I highly recommend it!

by Coco Clayman-Cook

There's nothing wrong with wishing.  People wish for things all the time, and sometimes their wishes come true. There's nothing wrong with that either.  What isn't effective is when people wish for something and then become angry, depressed or despondent when the wish doesn't come true.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding currently about the power of positive thinking.  Thinking something over and over, no matter how positive it is isn't a guarantee that you will get results.  It's a good start but no where near a finish.  To really harness the power of positive thought you need to make sure that you take action that is in alignment with your positive thinking and that you aren't doing anything to sabotage yourself.

For example, if you are wishing to be healthier, you can sit and wish it and wish it and wish it and you may feel slightly better just from the stress relief of meditation but if you continue to smoke cigarettes and eat unhealthily it is unlikely that you will see a big change.

Let's take a moment and think of it in reverse.  Imagine that you stop smoking and start eating better, but your every waking moment you are thinking about what you don't have - the cigarettes. This is a thought that will eventually bring you back to smoking - believe me I was a smoker and this thought is negative, "I'm so unhealthy.  I can't stop smoking.  I can't eat this way....ect,etc,etc.  How long do you think you can keep the positive changes up with such a negative mindset? 

Probably not long. To stop smoking think of all the positive things about it - that you are not poisoning your body, that your are cleansing your soul, that you are taking care of yourself, that cigarettes are poison and if the urge comes up then breathe and walk away from what ever you are doing that is making you want to smoke.

To really make our wishes come true we need to stay positive, take appropriate action and make sure that we don't sabotage ourselves.