Stay in The Flow

A year ago, realtor SUE CHRISTENSEN had no idea that she would be starting a whole new life. I first met Sue at a writing retreat with Tom Bird in Sedona in July, 2001. Sue's dream at that time was to write a novel. She kept describing herself as a novice at fiction writing. As I listened to her, my intuition told me something different. This woman was so vibrant, so focused, and so interesting, I could not see her as a novice at anything! Finally, I asked her, "If you could write something about real estate, what would that be?" She laughed and said, "Oh, I would write, "How to Make a Six-figure Income on Your Terms!-Without working nights and weekends" No hesitation. No explanation. She just said it. Little did she know that she was setting in motion the driving force for her coming career as an author and workshop trainer.

The Call and the Crossroads

Sue, fifty-five, has been a real estate agent for twenty-five years. She has also been a married woman for thirty years. Her marriage ended a few months ago, and suddenly, life has other things in mind for her. "I have been dealing with my personal struggle for some time, but in February I came to a crossroads. I needed to move out of the problem and into a solution." Like many of us, she felt a call to something "else," but didn't have a clear idea about the form it would take. "I decided to visit my sister in Tucson for the weekend," Sue told me. "By this time I had already written my book on how to earn six figures in real estate and still have a balanced life, but I didn't have a clear idea of what to do with it. My sister and I went to lunch at the Congress Hotel, which is a beautiful historic building. I have had a lifelong fascination with historic architecture. As we were sitting there having lunch, I was not in a very happy emotional state, but in looking around, I had a flash-probably the most profound synchronicity of the past five months. I heard myself saying to my sister, 'What if I moved to Tucson, and what if I bought a historical home that could provide space for workshops for 20-35 people?' I went on to tell her that maybe I could use my book as an instructional guide for these workshops. It's been my observation that most realtors are either working too much or working without direction, and not making the money they want to make. I want to show them another way. The whole focus of my interest is how to be very productive but not at the expense of one's personal life.

"This stream of thoughts," said Sue, "came as a huge shock to me. At the time, I was married and it did not seem at all like a realistic projection that my husband and I would move to Tucson, or that I could move ahead with this idea. And yet, it was so clear I felt it was a distinct possibility for me. It was a one-of-a-kind experience. My sister told me that my whole face and body language changed when I told her this vision. She said I talked with great animation, but the minute I started thinking about 'reality,' my whole demeanor changed."

Taking Action

Soon afterwards, Sue returned to her home in Flagstaff. She and her husband had a long talk about where they were in their marriage. He said he was ready to let go. "That was a turning point for me," said Sue.

Two weeks later, Sue came to Tucson with her vision in mind. Within two days she had bought a house. "I decided that the practical thing to do was buy something relatively inexpensive and easily maintained. I felt this new place could be an investment property because I still wanted to find the historic home of my vision. The one thing that has remained crystal-clear is that I want to do the workshops. However, as I looked into the area of historic homes, I found that parking for large groups would become a huge issue."

Let Your Questions Take You Where You Need to Go

Like many of us who have a partial vision of a new business or project, our mind takes over and wants to know the plan. Sue's burning questions were: How long will it take to establish my business? Can I fill all the workshops I have scheduled? Is my audience likely to be local the first year? How and when should I expand? How do I meet the right people?

Since Sue was new to Tucson, natural curiosity prompted her to explore the real estate community via the Internet. She found the website for the Tucson Association of Realtors and their calendar of events. "The Real Estate Expo on September 24th jumped off the screen to me. I wanted more information about the Expo, so I went to their office, and told them I was new in town, and had just joined the Association. I introduced myself as an author, speaker, and trainer, and asked them if this Expo would be a place to promote my workshops. They jumped at the idea and said it would be perfect.

Sharing the Vision With Others

"In our conversation, I mentioned that ultimately I would be looking for a historic building, and described my vision of the workshops where people would go away with written affirmations, a written business plan, and a twelve-month marketing plan. I mentioned that I could see people sitting at round tables actually working on their plans, not just sitting and taking notes. I also said I wanted to do a nice lunch and have an afternoon break with a Victorian tea. The woman I was speaking to said, 'Oh, Sue do you know about the Manning House?' I didn't, but it turns out to be a lovely mansion with a number of meeting rooms. I saw it online and fell in love with what I saw. It was exactly what I had envisioned, and obviously it bypasses the risk of my buying a property and running it myself. I made an appointment to meet the woman who owns and runs it.

"But my story gets better and better," said Sue laughing. "I had been invited by a real estate friend to attend a meeting of the Women's Council of Realtors-which turned out to be at-you guessed it--the Manning House! Here again I met new people in real estate, to whom I introduced myself by saying, 'I am an author, speaker, and trainer.' I let everyone know that I will be offering workshops in the fall. I also mentioned that my book would be available in a few weeks. Everyone responded very positively, and three other really great things happened.

Clear Intention and Sharing the Vision Creates Effortless Unfolding

"The first great opportunity was meeting a woman who is not only the incoming president of the State Council for next year, but also the person who arranges for speakers at the national level. She asked if I would be available for state and national speaking presentations! Secondly, she then gave me the name of the person at the Tucson Association who could walk me through all the requirements to get my workshop certified for continuing education credits. This was a step I would not even have thought of. During this one event, I became aware of opportunities I had no idea existed. I have saved so much time in discovering these possibilities and finding the exact right person to contact!"

At lunch, Sue's third new opportunity unfolded. She was seated next to a woman who asked if she expected to become active in committees. Sue responded, " 'Of course. What committees do you like to work with?' She said she was the chair of the sponsorship committee. It turns out that for a small fee I can sit at a special table as people come into the meetings. I can promote my books and workshops to my target audience! I could not have imagined how perfectly effortless it would be to market my new business. I am astounded!"

An Open and Optimistic Attitude Creates More Flow

As Sue stayed in the flow of exploring new information, she set up a meeting with the owner of the Manning House. "I was already practically euphoric. At that meeting, the owner and I had a wonderfully personal conversation. She was very generous in her desire to help me get my business going, and even offered a small storage place for my workshop materials at no cost. So now I have the exact location for the vision I had of my workshop setting."

Finally, Sue told me, "Since the theme for this year's real estate Expo is 'Get Away for the Day,' I wanted to give away a weekend in Santa Fe (my husband and I own a hotel there.) as a drawing prize for my booth. When I mentioned this to the woman who was processing my booth application, she said, 'Oh, would you want to pay for that prize yourself, or would you rather have the Association award it as a Grand Prize? Then we could give you your booth at not cost."

Isn't that incredible? Never in a million years would I have thought of a trade-out. Another synchronicity!

The Power of Affirmations

Last year at our retreat, I clearly remember Sue saying to the class, "My affirmation is that 'I feel like the whole universe is engaged in a big conspiracy to help me achieve good things.'" It seems the Universe is.