Noticing
- diane terry
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
July 2026: Check Your Compass
Dear Readers,
We have tipped into the second half of 2026. It feels like the year is just hurtling by. But I think I say that every year. I am just grateful I don't have Littles at home that need extra coordination on how their days will be filled to be the perfect combo of education and fun. I don’t recall the need to have every minute filled when I was growing up. I remember tons of reading for pleasure and glorious napping. A treat was accompanying my mom to the Post Exchange and getting a can of Charm Ball candies, Tootsie Rolls, and the latest issues of Archie comics, Tiger Beat and Sixteen, even if I was probably only 6. As I got into Middle School, the end of summer was signified by the gloriously thick issues of September Vogue and Glamour magazines which arrived in late August. I would study the issues like my life depended on it to know what additions to my wardrobe needed to be made. But we are still in July so I won’t get ahead of myself! 😉
It is always good at the midpoint of anything to pop our heads up and make sure we are still headed in the direction we had planned before we get irretrievably off course. My daughter who is training for an Ironman experienced this in the swimming section of her triathlon. She was swimming along when she realized she had gotten off course. Caught early it can be a minor adjustment. Left too long it, can be a disaster.
So it is a good time to do a classic S.W.O.T. analysis. That’s your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Have they changed from when you set your goals in January. The Seattle real estate market definitely has changed. The threat of A.I., tech layoffs, the cost of war and all those consequences seem to have caught up with a certain segment of the market. Market times have tripled or quadrupled and the conversations we are having with both our Sellers and Buyers have changed. However with every change comes an opportunity. I firmly believe that you just need to know how to look.
I was honored to recently teach two classes on the Parallels of Fine Dining/Hospitality with Real Estate Excellence. I was inspired by the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. We dissected the client experience by micro steps and in each step found opportunities to sprinkle fairy dust and shine. What do I mean by micro steps? When the client meets you at the office, is it easy to park, are they properly greeted by name and offered a beverage? If they need to wait in the lobby are all the periodicals current and of interest? If they use the restroom, is everything working properly? It is amazing how off-putting dead light bulbs, empty hand soap etc can give a subtle off vibe. When is the last time you put yourself in your client’s shoes and logged onto your own website? Is everything up to date? Are you even recognizable from the photo you have posted? Is 95% of your business systematized so all your clients are experiencing the same quality of service? Guidara leaves the last 5% for his Dream Weavers to make their magic. Are you listening and noticing well? Instead of bemoaning market times, this might be the exact moment to tighten up your game and level up.
With the recent passing of a mentor in the business, I have been pondering the roles of instructors, coaches and mentors in our lives. I am just finishing The 5 Practices of a Caring Mentor by David Shapiro.
Caring mentors practice active listening to make a sincere connection with their mentees. As with a great sales person you cannot do the job without great active listening skills or you will waste time attacking the wrong problem.
Caring mentors create a safe place for authentic expression. A mentee needs to know that their secret insecurities are safe with you. They need to be able to share concerns honestly.
Caring mentors devote themselves to their mentees’ growth. The best mentors recognize that this is their part of a larger picture of leveling up the industry of professionals. By sharing both their wins and stumbles, your mentee can grow more quickly.
Caring mentors share their perspectives and insights with their mentees. While it is not the only way, there should be something about your mentor you admire and wish to emulate. You do not need to agree with the how, as technology and such evolve, but it helps to be aligned with their core business philosophy.
Caring mentors act on behalf of their mentees. I wish I knew sports a little better. I saw a Reel this week of a white, male, women’s basketball coach advocating for one of his phenomenal, black athletes and how she was not getting recognized properly because of the color of her skin. Boy do we need more men like him in this world. We ALL need to make more noise about all the injustices but if you are in a privileged class, even more so and louder so those in the back of the room can hear you.
Beyond the 5 Practices, Dr. Shapiro motivates, inspires, and presents techniques for overcoming barriers to caring within mentor-mentee relationships, including scheduling stressors, overwhelming workloads, and training that lacks the vital social and emotional components for success. In The 5 Practices of the Caring Mentor, readers find a comprehensive set of principles for putting caring first and strengthening the mentoring relationship from the inside out.
If you’ve been blessed with a great teacher, coach or mentor, this might be the moment to drop them a note of thanks. The best ones just want you to pay it forward. But it is also time well spent to spend time with them and let them enjoy in the success that they had a hand in. I was blessed with so many mentors. And while most of them are gone now, I made sure they got to share in my successes and knew how grateful I was for their part in it. I keep their memory alive by mentioning them by name and the lessons they imparted. None of us got where we are alone, for sure.
Later this month I am finally launching something that I have been dreaming of for years. I have always been intrigued by the concept of salons. People gathering to talk deeply of things of consequence in a social but intimate setting. On the 20th, I launch C.O.S., Circle of Six. It will be monthly dinners at my cottage, learning about journal writing as a way in to deeper conversations of consequence with a hand chosen circle of six, that will meet and hopefully grow tighter as the months go by. I was so nervous to ask the five to join me. They do not all know each other but I am hoping they become significant in each other’s lives for a very, very long time. They all said YES!
I am affiliated with Wilde House Paper and Founder, Megan Heddinger has really created a business that not only offers exquisite products but courses and workshops on how to go deeper with writing and sharing as a community. I am so inspired by her. I will be introducing the C.O.S. to the beautiful Wilde House Paper notebooks, workbooks and Crucial Conversation Cards. It is going to be fun! This fills my need of having deeper conversations with people I love and respect, gathering with excellent food and wine and exploring what it means to be alive today. A record of our times. If you cannot find it, build it and the right people will come. I will be considering an online Zoom journaling cohort in the future if all goes well.
Here are some other finds I have been saving to share that makes sure The Neighbors Are Talking…
Are you familiar with my favorite, female writer: May Sarton? I have every book she has ever published and revisit them every year.
Carley Fortune is a writer known for really being able to transport you to a place. Her latest book, Our Perfect Storm, is set in Tofino, B.C. I hope to read this one soon or maybe on the deck of the Wickeninnish Inn, in Tofino!
You all know how much I love Snail Mail. So much that I am now paying a total stranger to send me mail once a month and it is the best gift to self EVER. I get an envelope once a month with a letter, a bookmark, a recipe card and other lovely details that make my card skip a beat. I actually make happy sounds and dance a bit when they come. Don’t knock it till you try it.
I also just subscribed to Anna Brone’s analogue newsletter, you can too.
Six Penny Stamp is another monthly subscription I am drawn to and considering. And their ribbons are to die for also!
Here are a few recipes that I am going to try this summer. Drop me YOUR favorite easy one that does not require turning on a stove in the comments please!
And if you are invited to someone’s home or summer house, please don’t let me hear you went empty handed. 😂
I am personally a fan of anything monogrammed because it shows deep intention and thoughtfulness but here are my faves I saved to share:
Mark and Graham Beach Tote. That beige one with white monograms is swoony!
Words matter. Writing them down and collecting them is fun if you are like me. These journals make the practice almost sacred. They are stunning and local!
Cultivating Conversation Cards. If you are like me and hate small talk and want to get to the heart of the matter.
In the summer, can also never go wrong with a superb bottle of EVOO, Balsamic Vinegar, a pot of fresh basil, a great rose wine or a great Korean sunscreen. 😉
Here is what music I am listening to:
I hope you take a break from soaking in the summer sun to do an evaluation of how your year is going. Are you spending your time with the people who matter to you? Are you having the kinds of conversations you want to be having? Are you sharing the best version of yourself with the people who pay you or the people you love? Read that again. Share with me your one new intention for the back half of the year. Mine is more intentional, meaningful conversation!
XOXO,
Coach Diane
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All artwork for 2026 is by Seattle artist, Anna Brones.
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