During a recent conversation, a Realtor friend spoke to me about feeling “vulnerable”. She listed many reasons, most of them you can probably guess, but at the heart of everything was the current real estate market. I have other friends who have privately admitted to moments of breaking down and crying, no sobbing, about their lot.

I thought of my friend when I watched the following ted.com video. While not specifically about real estate, I found myself thinking a lot about the industry, our interactions with clients and our ‘social circle’. The feeling of vulnerability is something we all, if we are honest, feel from time to time. I’m no tree hugger but I do think it’s OK to admit, occasionally and not always totally publicly, that we aren’t super heroes.

And so to Brene Brown. In the following video she talks about human connection; our ability to empathize, belong and love. In a poignant, funny talk Brene shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.

Many describe real estate as “all about relationships” or my least favorite description “it’s a belly to belly business”. Considering this and coupling the new social forms of communication we are all adopting to via Facebook, twitter et al, the video is worth a watch if only to make you (and hopefully my friend) realize you are not alone in feeling vulnerable.