Noticing

July 2024

July 2024

Hello, 

Recently, I have been carrying around a book that has fascinated me, called the Karma of Success by Liz Tran. I cannot seem to make it more than a page or two without the need to scramble for a highlighter or a pen as her writing jogs something in me. You know how they say when the student is ready the teacher appears. This fits this situation perfectly. I have read every concept in this book at some point, packaged differently, along the way. But this time, I felt like my mind was an empty vessel ready to be filled. Yes!

My coaching practice has been primarily centered around getting clients to think about their situation more expansively. If you want something else, something different, something more, you first need to be able to see yourself in a different way. The reason I work best with women of a certain age is that they sense this to their core and know they not only should but they MUST change.

The smartest people I know get H-E-L-P. Whether it is a tour guide, or tutor or coach, getting help accelerates success. I have been through seismic shifts and can help someone make more sense of what they might be going through. Most importantly, I want to help my clients become more comfortable with and embrace change.

My dear friend Erin, recently got back from a trip to Greece. I asked her, “What did you learn?” She had the best answer. She said she learned the word Jubilar; to rejoice! YES! So many of us already have SO much to be joyful about. Yet we continue to grind and grind (guilty!). Why is that? Do we really need permission to slow down or quit? Why are we afraid to stop or change?

You may have heard the tale of the Zen master who pours tea and keeps pouring until the tea begins to overflow onto the table. We are like a cup of tea. So full that very little more can be added. We need to learn to empty our minds through the three S’s: silence, solitude and stillness.

Snakes shed, birds migrate, the tide goes in and out, grass grows. Change is a fundamental part of nature. Let go of your grind and explore what makes you joyous. In 2020, the gymnast, Simone Biles walked away from her sport because it no longer gave her joy. She is back now and her joy is palpable to anyone who watches her.

I encourage you to build out systems for the mechanical grinds of your work so you can embrace the levity of the intuitive part of your work. Ross Joy, the poet said, “Joy is possible in the midst of difficulty. Adult joy is the act of holding both the sorrowful aspects of life and one’s happiness equally. They co-exist equally. There is joy, in spite of."

For the summer and early fall I'm going to be working on how to trust my intuition & apply it to embracing change, so that I can in turn teach others. The best of life lies in the intersection of when “not what I had planned” overlaps with “even better than I imagined”.

I am wishing you a wonderful summer where you can carve out moments of solitude, stillness and silence to listen to your soul and what it seeks.

Three noteworthy happenings

My friend, Valerie Garcia’s first of many books is available for pre-order now! It’s called, We’re Gonna Need Cake. In honor of my 65th birthday in August, I am preordering 65 copies, to show my support to this wonderful human. Pre-orders help the book launch algorithm game. I know many of you know and love Valerie. I will vouch for her and her writing skills but also her authenticity and humanity. She got me through one of my biggest “oh shit” moments in life while she was down for the count with COVID. That is saying a lot!  Consider Pre-Ordering Now!

Noteworthy Icons, Old and New…

I grew up with Martha Stewart. She was an icon to me. I bought every book, every magazine and emulated her as much as I could. So much so that some used to call me Martha F$cking Stewart. Then my allegiance shifted to Ina Garten because she was so much more down to earth and real. She had me when she said, “Screw making creme anglaise. Just melt some vanilla Hagen Daaz.” Yes! A woman after my own heart. 

However, over the years I have bought and gifted over 300 copies of her various cookbooks. My last Ina Look Alike Party that I strategically planned for the same day as her book launch even made it on King 5 News. But after nary an email reply from her publicist, I have grown disenchanted. She has a biography coming out in October which I have pre-ordered but I am no longer a raving fan. I do still covet her “office/kitchen” and lifestyle.

My latest crush for the past few years has been Erin French of The Lost Kitchen. I started following the Lost Kitchen on the original Magnolia Network. I would never make it more than 5 minutes into any episode before I'd be sobbing. Many of my FB friends are catching onto her story through her new series called, Getting Lost, which can be seen on Magnolia Network, Max or Discovery Plus. 

But if you are new to Erin French I beg you to not start there but to go back to Season One of The Lost Kitchen and start at the beginning to appreciate what a beautiful story Erin French’s life is. A gal who grew up very poor, in the very small town of Freedom Maine, working in her Dad's diner. She gets married much too young to escape life in a small town, finds herself a divorced, single mom and has to go back. She starts a restaurant in Freedom which is now, hands down, the most difficult reservation to get in the USA. You send in a postcard and they randomly pick the winners. I have sent one in every year to no avail. But what I love about her original show, episode after episode, is that it shows what grit and tenacity can build out of nothing. How the universe truly rewards THAT. She is a self taught cook and has built a beautiful business. She embodies true leadership to me. She is never asking of her staff what she is not doing 100% herself. How those women rally around her and give 110% is awe inspiring. That show is what sisterhood and leadership in action is.

In my industry she reminds me of a leader within Windermere who started one of our Tacoma offices. Anne Jones of Abode Tacoma reminds me of the real estate version of Erin French. She is able to lead by attraction and example. She is inspiring to not just her agents but to anyone who comes in contact with her. I visit many offices a year and there is something so compelling about a business built from the ground up, where each human in it is someone she has hand selected and fully committed to the growth and success of. The difference you feel in her office and amongst her agents is palpable. I hope Anne can find time to watch TLK The Lost Kitchen from Episode One, Season One. I know she will see herself in that show.

WRING THAT WASHCLOTH DRY

Finally, if you have been to a workshop or listened to me speak, you know I use the term, “wring that washcloth dry”. I use it to illustrate that we should be looking at the steps in our businesses (or lives) to be sure that we are taking full advantage of each step and each opportunity. Don’t half ass life. What are you wanting to feel at the end of the year? What are your goals? How are you approaching each and every opportunity with that in mind?

I want to be an Encourager and a Connector. I practice my 5 x 8’s every day. Whether I am on a plane or in bed. I will notice and encourage 5 people by 8 a.m. Then I look at each component of my business and see how I can connect what I am doing with what I want to stand for, how I want to feel at the end of the day, the week, the quarter, the year.

I believe that if I encourage other small business owners, it will karmically come around to me. It is never tit for tat, it is a way of living. So last month I noticed in one of my PNW Facebook groups, someone posted Annette Jones' photography. A gorgeous field of lupines with the majestic Mount Rainier in the background. It was stunning. For spring, I had hired photographer, Arlene Rubins, to shoot the cherry blossoms on the UW campus & had them turned into cards. For summer, I contacted Annette Jones to see if she would want to turn that beautiful shot of the field of lupines & Rainier into cards and sell them to me. This is wringing the wash cloth dry. I’m going to buy cards. So why not support local, support an artist, support a woman.

Here is Annette’s website.    

Yes, it probably costs a bit more than ordering from Hallmark or Notecard Cafe, but I am doing more than just sending a card this way. If anyone knows a retailer that wants to carry a stunning assortment of PNW scenes, check out her work. Realtor friends, I don't mind at all if you copy me. She has hundreds of shots. 

 Grateful

Many people who are not in the real estate business don’t realize that real estate agents are small business owners. We are everything from the marketing team to the bookkeeper to the warehouse manager. I know I always appreciate when I get a referral from a past client or they speak up on an online forum about their great past experience. Those endorsements are most meaningful and most powerful in my opinion. I love my past clients in both real estate and coaching and I want to work with more people just like them. So word of mouth is essential and appreciated.

Do have a great July and see you back here in August, if not sooner in person or Zoom.

Sincerely,

Coach Diane