Real Estate and Reston, VA: December 2008

My son attends a middle school that plays competitive basketball. They have three teams for which the students must tryout.  After tryouts he was assigned to the middle of the three teams.  Being a competitive kid, he was very upset that he did not make the highest team.  We consoled him with the fact that he could be team leader on his team and would have lots of playing opportunity.

 They have played 2 games and this week my son was asked to move up to the top team.  As  parents, we were a little nervous about this. We knew it would mean less playing time and were not sure how he—or we—would feel about this.

 Last night he made his ‘debut’ with the new team. After a couple minutes of watching, I texted my husband that this team was much more competitive than what our son was accustomed to and that he would, indeed, see a great reduction in his playing time.

 Toward the end of the first quarter, my son went in to the game. Within a couple of minutes he shot and made his 1^st basket on the new team!  I could tell he was still nervous, but I could also see how his confidence improved. I know that on this new team he will become a better player; the other players and the competition will demand it of him.

 It got me to thinking about the sports/ business analogies that I have heard.  Business is like this team; if you surround yourself with talented people, who demand excellence of themselves and each other, you will rise to the occasion.

 In these tough economic times, many people will make changes either to new careers or to new companies. If you must make this type of change, think about what this new company or career will demand of you.  Make sure that you choose well and make sure that the people you will surround yourself with demand excellence.  It is very easy to be complacent and competent, but like sports, if you want to improve yourself, you must be challenged.

 For too long our industry has been happy with ‘good enough.’  As the number of  Realtors® dwindles, it is time for those of us who remain to demand the best of each other.  It is time to lead by example; be the best one on the court and challenge the new guy or gal to excel.  If you must go to a new company, make sure that your manager demands excellence…you will be happy in the end that you made that choice. After all, it is easy to be competent, but excellence demands more--and the rewards are greater!

It was just a little thing, but it warmed my heart and I wanted to share with everyone.

For years I have owned those fabric bags from the grocery store--mostly because they were great for carting food to and fro when we go on vacation.

This past year, however, I have make a concerted effort to bring them with me when I shop. I keep them in my car and about 85% of the time I remember to take them in with me.  It is not a big thing, but it is something.

Today when I looked around the lines at the local grocery, I noticed that MOST people had bags with them, too (here's a ThemThem to all of you who took the time to remember to bring them, because it is not always easy to do)!

I really feel like in the past year our country has made some progress to try to reduce the carbon footprint.  Maybe it is the high gas prices we experienced earlier in the year, maybe it was the success of the Al Gore book and film, An Inconvenient Truth,  maybe it is the reminder when we see those inexpensive bags at the checkout, or maybe it is just that we all finally realize that we have to BE THE CHANGE.

For 2009 my goal is to become even better about using reusable bags...not just at grocery stores, but at discount stores and even department stores, too! As I said earlier, it is not a big thing, but a lot of little things add up.

Habits are hard to break, so just pick a little one and see if you, too, can make a difference in 2009!