Clearing out our Stuff

Photo courtesy of HGTV - Home Staging Essentials

I have had my house staged for two moves. Staging in my case meant clearing out and moving things around, or adding plants to get the most impact.

Immediately after, I remember thinking “the house looks and feels so empty”. After a few days, however, of living in the cleared rooms, I realized I was breathing easier (figuratively speaking). I felt a new sense of calm that had been missing while I was still surrounded by my ‘stuff’.

This made me curious about why I had accumulated so much, filling my rooms with things not really needed and yet loved. Moving them out made me question this need for ‘more’.

The overriding take-away from this experience was to re-value my own space and how I fill it. If I feel less than calm, it’s time to remove or, at the very least, move things around. I owe it to myself to create an atmosphere that nurtures my inner peace.

Of course, if you are truly staging for an upcoming move, there are resources out there to help you. I found the attached HGTV article had some useful tips.

https://www.hgtv.com/lifestyle/real-estate/15-secrets-of-home-staging-pictures

I will no longer wait until my house is going on the market to create a calming environment.

The Courage to Go Forth

"I remembered that the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and  fears, of sensations and excitements, awaited those who had courage to go forth into its expanse."                                               Charlotte Bronte, from Jane Eyre

Over the initial weeks in real estate, I will admit to moments of uncertainty. My new direction sometimes felt a step too far. But this feeling was not new to me. I had experienced it twice before in my life.

The first was in 2006. Everything in life was leading me in the direction of a long-held dream - to open a retail shop. And yet, as I took the many steps required to get the business up and running, I frequently found myself struggling with one foot which tended to drag back to my comfortable, known world.

Until the day that a random sign in a shop explained why I was dragging.

The sign said “What would you do if you had no fear?”

It was fear that held me back. With that new understanding, I found the courage to push forward and complete the journey, creating a beautiful store that I will forever be proud of.

The fear resurfaced a number of years later as I completed the book I had been working on for eight years. The decision to publish (vs just sharing with my family and friends) was a weighty one. Publishing put 'me' out there, not just the woman I had written about.

But I had gone too far with the book to hold back. I pushed the fear aside and sent it to print. This book has taken me on journeys I could never have imagined and introduced me to people I would not have otherwise met.

Six years later, I am still signing books for people who have just discovered the story. My imagination could never have equaled the reality that has come about by publishing.

The human condition is to want what is safe. The unknown can be a frightening place but it is in unearthing the unknown that we discover our strengths; our gifts; our abilities. My experience in creating and running my store and publishing a book instilled the courage in me to take on real estate.

What would you do if you had no fear?

You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Society would have us believe that, upon reaching a certain age, we will think and act as seniors; happy in retirement with the tricks we know. Surprisingly, after a few years of doing just that, I found I wanted more out of my career life than I had attained. Plainly put ... I wasn't finished.

So, a new life goal was hatched; one that will make use of my life's experiences, education and knowledge: Real Estate.

Over the past weeks, I’ve felt like a racehorse at the starting gate, ready to take off. After eight months of study, exams and real estate transaction simulation exercises, I was ready.

But, turns out, study was just the beginning. First, Century 21 sent in my application for registration as a Realtor®. While we waited for this, there were organizations to join, insurance to get, software to learn and branding to establish.

Finally, the day arrived with news that I am a registered Realtor®. I’m thrilled and more than ready for the joys and challenges of this new career. I will give it my all.

I feel such excitement for the months ahead. The unknown beckons me.

Many of you know I also like to write. I’ll share highlights of my journey here, along with intriguing things I’m learning (because we’re never too old to learn) and whatever else I think might be of interest.