Daydreaming deep

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