Looking for Bright Spots

Monday Morning Match is a quick post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.

It’s the time of the year where people all over the world are putting up Christmas lights and other various decorations. To the garage, attic, and basements we go, digging out boxes and containers filled with lights, baubles, and other keepsakes and family tradition pieces that people use to celebrate the season.

As we pulled one of our small artificial trees from the crawl space today, we were quickly disappointed to find that the lights that came with the tree weren’t working. Knowing the resolution to this issue was to go light by light along the strand trying to identify if it was all the lights that were not working, or just one rogue light that was keeping the others from brightening the room. We weren’t in the mood to check so we went back to the crawl space to grab another similar tree. We plugged that one in and it immediately lit up. 

I was determined to see if the first tree could be saved so I began the painstaking process of going bulb by bulb to make sure nothing was loose or detached. After the painstaking process of finding every hidden bulb attached to the fake tree branches, I sat back in my recliner, disappointed and somewhat defeated that I could not get the tree to light up. No less than ten minutes later, a minor Christmas miracle occurred when about 60% of the lights suddenly popped on. 

It wasn’t perfect, but it was suddenly a more functional, usable tree. It also quickly helped me focus on the lights that were not illuminated, so I could inspect and/or try to repair the ones that needed attention. The ones that did work helped me better identify the ones that didn’t and guide me along the process to make things better.

Have You Checked All Your Bulbs on Your Strand?

As you begin to put the final wrapping and bow on your 2018, it’s time to identify your bright spots from the last 12 months and see which of the bulbs might need to be replaced in the new year. It’s easy to see the bulbs that are glowing brightly, but some might be flickering and need attention, while others have simply lost their glow. You will need to make the decision to replace them or simply ignore them and allow the other bulbs to shine for all to see.

Are you happy with the glow of your prospecting efforts? How about your time management, personal and property marketing, client care, negotiating, transaction management, and long-term follow up? Can you leverage some of your “twinkling lights” and partner with team members, fellow associates, and affiliates so bring the incandescence up just a bit? 

And never forget the “electricity” that helps provide the energy to your strand of bulbs – your attitude. Whenever you can plug into that energy, your bulbs will bring an extra strong glow. Use the next few weeks to fuel up on added sources of energy to start the year off right. 

So wiggle the loose bulbs and do what you can to make sure that every bulb is glowing brightly, but don’t spend too much time focusing on the darkness. Make your holidays festive and cheerful by hanging the additional ornaments of “building relationships,” “solving problems,” and having fun” between the lights and then reach up to the highest branches and be sure you’re the “shining star” on top that will make everyone around you appreciate the spirit and joy of the season. Allow the energy you bring to your clients, company, and community every day be the light that will make the outlook for the year ahead so bright.