Written by: Joeann Fossland
Smiles and Laughter
I am at the Conversations Among Masters (#CAM09 on twitter) Coaching Conference in Branson Missouri this week. It’s a change for me, because I am a participant instead of a presenter. An elite group of international coaches have been invited here to further the conversation about how, as coaches, we can make a difference in the world. The first full day of the conference offered delight-filled moments and inspiring dialogue. First, being around 140 other Master Coaches is a mind expanding atmosphere. It’s like the biggest mastermind group I could imagine peopled by minds and hearts that are working at incredible levels. I am honored to be among my colleagues to soak in the wisdom, energy and love that is rampant. It reminds me how important it is to surround yourself with people and ideas who help you grow and evolve, instead of being a lone ranger.
The first presenter, Stephen Josephs, author of Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change, captivated us with an interactive presentation where we inquired into our stories and roles. We were asked in groups to look at where our self emerges through our roles and where we are submerged in a role. Where are you bringing your heart and soul into a role, and where are you letting the role submerge who you really are? He also shared some meditation & breathing practices and exercises he uses with the executives he coaches, designed to bring ease, energy and love present. I am reminded how slowing down, being present and grounding myself always make me feel more focused, less stressed and able to accomplish more effectively. Is this how you’ve been feeling? Is there an practice you should be including daily?
When he spoke of love, he gave us a smile exercise. It is so simple to shift feelings by intentional actions. Smiling is something we all can do and actually has been documented to make us healthier. Stephen taught us to bring a smile all the way into our body and then expand it so that that is what is present. He also had us find tight places and bring them present and fill them with the smile. It was quite amazing to feel what happened when this was done! You know, I sign all my correspondence, “Hugs and Smiles” I hope when you see this (or me) it is a reminder to put a smile on your face and bring the healing qualities that come from this to yourself.
In the afternoon, Yakov Smirnoff, a Russian comedian and University Professor, took us into the depths of laughter and love. He shared poignant and hysterical stories of his life, including consulting with President Reagan and his movie career. Throughout, he wove through the question of how to bring more love and laughter into our lives and the lives of our clients. As you can imagine, this was a wonderfully interesting inquiry. He shared the story and a film clip of a couple who had been married 75 years. When asked the secret to their bliss, she said,” he makes me laugh.”
He said,”she laughs.” The perfect combination of performer and audience! My husband, Bub, believes, “If you are not enjoying yourself, you’re doing it wrong” and his ability to find the humor and share the laughter with me has sustained us for 31 years! How fortunate I am to have a soulmate like him.
So…this week…
Coaches Tip: Smile on purpose more often. Try meditating and bring your smile all the way into your body; into your stomach and liver and lungs and heart. Find someone to laugh with!
Learning Made Easy Opportunities Galore!
1. FOSSLANDS FORUM Next Monday, I will be interviewing Justin Zimmerman from GoodMorningRealEstate. We will be talking about ‘How to tap the 6-figure 18-34 1st time Home Buyer Market’. Justin is part of this demographic and has been successful at identifying the different ways of communicating and satisfying this consumer niche. You don’t want to miss it (but if you know you can’t be there, sign up anyway and you’ll get the information of the recorded session afterward).
2. IF YOU ARE NEAR BALTIMORE: Three Social Media Divas Share Secrets! I am so excited that my good friends, Margaret Rome (author of Real Estate the Rome Way, one of Trulia’s Top 10 Real Estate Books for 2008) and Frances Thorsen will be joining me at the Baltimore Association of REALTORS on May 18 at 1 PM for a fabulously fun and valuable session designed to give you all the information you need to create business and a buzz online! We are even inviting you to have dinner with us afterward!
3. ONLINE: I am excited to now offer Online Real Estate CE Courses
To celebrate, I have a present so you can try it out and save…….. you can save 10% on any class! Use discount code “newslettercode”. If you need renewal hours and are in CA, AZ, and NV, you need go no further than this. If you are not in those states and would like for me to offer classes in your state, let me know and we’ll see if we can add it.
4. Self Growth Expert Series – I am participating in an upcoming 10-part expert teleseminar series that that you might finding interesting. You’ll get the best information available on motivation, empowerment, goal setting, time management, health tips, the law of attraction and a LOT more from 10 different speakers, including me.
Each call will have a live Q&A session as well to get all your questions answered and get you help and advice on the spot! Not only will you get a ton of free information from some of the best self growth experts availabe, its sure to be a lot of fun!
The next call in the series is Wednesday, May 6th, with motivation expert Sharmen Lane. To register for the call, visit www.expertadvicecentral.com/nowtowowts.html.
And stay tuned for additional information coming about more calls from this series… including mine!
People you should know about
Bernice Ross, author of Real Estate Dough, just hosted an amazing conference of Executive Women in Real Estate (Twitter #AFIRE) in Savannah last month. If you don’t follow Bernice, you should! A fabulous speaker, coach and author, Bernice has her pulse on what is going on in the real estate industry and how you can be happier and more profitable! Sign up for her newsletter and benefit from her wisdom!
Happy Mother’s Day
I hope , if you are a mother, you have a marvelous day this week. I am fortunate that 3 or my 4 grandchildren and 2 or our 3 children are in Tucson and will share their love with me on Sunday! I hope you get some love shared with you (or have or find someone to give it to!)
Maybe you have been thinking about what to give Mom for Mother’s Day. If a gift card or book would be the answer, I’ve made it easy…your shopping is done!
There are 2 easy ways your readers can give Amazon.com Gift Cards in time for Mother’s Day (May 10):
1) E-mail a personalized gift card for immediate delivery.
2) Print a personalized gift card on your own printer. (Remember to have your credit card handy when you’re ready to print).
Just click here to get started!!!!
By the way, my bookstore lists lots of good books for you and your business. Most link directly to Amazon and if you order here, they send me a few pennies that bring a smile to my face! I love win/wins! Don’t you?
Tech Tip
2009 is the YEAR OF VIDEO!
My favorite company for full service Video is VisualTours and I have a $50 discount for you on their sign up! Check them out and give every listing the exposure it deserves!
If you don’t have a FLIP Camera, now is the time to buy one. They are on sale for as little at $59. This is the EASIEST solution to video there is!
Prickly Pear Jelly & CARE
www.WebWomenGivingCircle.com is still alive and contributing money to CARE. We have created a wonderful way for you to enjoy a treat and to contribute to helping empower the needy women in the world to become more self-sufficient and powerful! Take a look here.
Travel Tip
Going on vacation doesn’t have to be extraordinarily expensive. Consider renting a condo instead of a hotel room. For a fraction of the cost, you will probably have more room, a kitchen, and other conveniences and be able to spend your dollars on other things! I have been excited about being to offer, though my travel website, the ability to tap into the unsold RCI inventory(click on villas & condos at the top of the page)! While you are on my website, also sign up as a preferred client. It is completely free and guarantees you the best prices available for all your travel and even provides 30 minutes of concierge service for each trip!
Frances Flynn Thorsen and I are doing weekly webinars, if you’d like to learn more about this, or be able to offer this to your clients as a benefit. Join us if these dates are good:
Fri, May 8, 2009 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM PDT
Fri, May 22, 2009 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM PDT
Wed, May 27, 2009 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
If these days are not good, contact me directly and I’ll be happy to share more.
Have an amazing week filled with smiles and laughter…it IS up to you!!!
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Joeann Fossland ACRE®, e-PRO,GRI, PMN, SRS
MRE Society, Certified e-PRO Trainer, Master Certified Coach & my favorite designation ~ CyberGrandMa2
One of the Top 25 Most Influential Women in Real Estate 2008
RELAXED Real Estate for MAGNIFICENT Agents!
Visit my blog here!
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Advantage Solutions Group
(520)744-8731 744-8732 Fax
PO Box 133, Cortaro, AZ 85652
www.joeann.com
joeann@joeann.com
Free Teleconferences: Click here!
“Life is too short to perfect your weaknesses” – Joeann Fossland
Advantage Solutions Group
PO Box 133
Cortaro, AZ
85652
US
