As I stumbled into my kitchen to turn on my coffee pot this morning I was having a difficult time shaking the spider webs from my mind.
My living room looked like a hay field shortly after harvest since my dog Dallas enjoys chewing the decorative balls on my coffee table. As I looked around at the mess and his smiling face all I could think of was Real Estate.
After the coffee was poured and I began to think a bit more clearly, the assessment of who I am as a Realtor and WHAT ALL REALTORS MUST BE, made me feel FULFILLED. Not prideful but full of hope and the feeling of success.
I am learning every day!
I took my cup of coffee, scooted some of the mess to one side, and headed straight to my computer.
Does anyone here need to guess what the first thing was that I pulled up?
If you said "Active Rain" then you get a gold star!
Any other answer and you will have to GO TO JAIL And DO NOT PASS GO!
Yes, I was playing Monopoly last night long after everyone reading this went to bed.
I have discovered that within 20 minutes I can become a millionaire at the game and I'm still trying to apply this to my life.
My life.
Let's talk about that.
There are many changes going on in my life right now as with you too.
The economy, the Real Estate market's fluctuation, and simply the way I view myself and others around me.
Before I found and joined Active Rain I was driven to create my own little Brokerage for the sake of feeling free to do and be what I felt was right. I did not want to live under the guidelines of "Old Brokerages" that would be set in their ways and possibly not as "progressive" as I wanted to become. This statement sounds a bit "haughty" don't you agree?
I have always reached for the stars.........
And, I found them.
Right here on Active Rain.
People are the ingredients of the Active Rain Recipe.
Add lots of people and personalities, add "Old Brokerage" knowledge, add opinions and questions that are answered and a network of "FRIENDS" and you get Active Rain.
Yummy! no wonder it goes so well with coffee.....
When I made my first few comments and received comments back I felt the greatest feeling in this world.
I felt "included." It doesn't get much better than this. I learned that all I have to do is to ask and I receive answers from educated, interesting, professional, personable, people.
Most importantly....FRIENDSHIPS THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME are created on Active Rain. Genuine friends that I feel I could call and visit with as if they were my next door neighbors. Although, they may be halfway across the world I feel as though I can count on them.
Active Rain and its members offer a wealth of knowledge and ask for nothing in return. Through simple communication amongst us members and our regular visits and writing we are given the gift of Search Engine Placement and acknowledgment from our peers and the CLIENTS TO BOOT!!!
Now, back to the coffee.
And, my computer. Remember the saying, "I love my computer because all my friends live in there?"
Well, you do....live there that is!
It's my mantra.
Oh yeah the coffee...I drank...read a few posts...made a few comments...then finally went to work. I completed a Broker's Price Opinion on which I will receive a listing, loaded a new listing on to the MLS, added new photos to another listing, and realized that Sally's contest ended today.
Because I have been so totally transformed with confidence, appreciation, unlimited learning capabilities, Google Juice and all the friends a girl could possibly want...I write this post.
I'm very wordy for a person that couldn't think of anything to write!!
Get my point? Point? Points???? Do I get points for this????? Cool. I love Active Rain Points! Yea! Points and Google juice....the heart of success....he,he.
If you have not begun to participate in Active Rain you're just being a drip. lol.
Later in the rain~~~~~~oops, and I still have to vacuum!
**********************************************************************************
Waterfront Real Estate Specialists
936-295-0005
Lake Conroe Real Estate, Lake Livingston Real Estate
Your Waterfront Realtor® Deb Brooks
Some photos attributed to FreeFoto.com 
Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston Video Advice!
You kill me! Remember that old saying, Deb? I love your writing! Have a good week and come see us sometime!
Hi Deb...You are a millionaire! You are making millions of friends on Active Rain.
Kate
Deb, how did you create the different fonts and colors in your post?
You are always the energetic member with so much to say and only a little time to say it :) Thanks so much for participating in the contest Deb....I thought about you today...and here you are! Good luck!
Sally, I'm so glad to know you thought about me. See? You are one of the amazing friends that are like gold. We can go forever without talking but the end result is: Make new friends but keep the old, the new are silver and the other's gold. You are gold. The Golden Woo Hoo girl! He! Thank you.
Cheryl, I will post on this. I keep forgetting myself since it isn't something I do every day!
Kate, and you are worth at least $999,999.99. ;-)
Ricki, I would love to see you again. Time passes soooooo fast.
I really enjoyed your post. I love AR too, it is an amazing place to spend time!
Janna, thank you. I really mean what I say about Active Rain and all my friends. Friends are precious to our health and well being. There is always someone here willing to help!
Deb, I agree about Active Rain. Deep friendships are formed here. I love it...everything about it. Heck, I even enjoy the occasional squabbles that occur on a few posts, lol. Keeps things exciting. We are one big (and at times, dysfunctional) family :) Doesn't get much better than that!
Looking forward to your post about changing font colors!
Hi Elizabeth, me too. Even the squabbles. Not that we would know what that was like...right? lol? I do care for all the interaction and diversity and knowledge and personalities that we are given all in one little space.
I hope you are doing well....not a newlywed anymore, huh? But, still the Golden Girl...lol.
Miss u,
Deb
Deb, I loved your post and couldn't agree more....Activerain is a wonderful place to be. I miss it when I'm not here :)
Carole, I recently took a few weeks sabbatical due to personal reasons. It was just like reuniting with an old friend from high school. I came back on, knew everyone, and felt an immediate acceptance and sense of COMMUNITY. Where else can you get something like this that promotes your business and your well being?
NOWHERE!
Good to see you my friend,
Deb
Hi Deb, I sure do identify. This was a great read and a really good "before and after" in the Rain, the after of course winning out.
Your little one ( Dallas) and your reaction to it was classic, "As I looked around at the mess and his smiling face all I could think of was Real Estate" But you thought of real estate? Really? Maybe buying a new coffee table but real estate? I call that one committed passionate REALTOR, LMAO Got to love them. I had two I loved so much and still think about them all the time as they crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge. A wonderful post Deb.
Hi Deb, Nice to 'meet' you. I have been an agent since May of this year - with energy spurts that come and go. However, since I couldn't sleep tonight and was recently informed of the Active Rain website, I climbed out of bed at 2:30 am and decided to give it a whirl. Wow - I am so surprised and EXCITED that there is so much genuine activity going on here in this virtual community. I can feel the energy boosts coming on strong, and with support like AR, I believe this energy spurt might last for awhile. Thanks for your wonderful posts --- it truly encourages newbies like me!
Hi Deb - If only being a millionaire was as simple as a game of monopoly....sometimes we do feel like we are just the pawns in that game ...or perhaps at least in the game of LIFE!
Deb, and I am glad I am one of those friends living in your computer too!! Love that expression in our cyberspace world. I remind through email, phone call, or face to face, that we are REAL people too.
William! lol. Yes, I really pushed all that mess from my mind and was thinking Real Estate. I wake up in the mornings thinking, "wow, I've got a lot to do today," but it takes a while for it all to come to me! I'm sorry to hear that your little buddies are gone.
Wanna a dog?
We could work something out I'm sure! lol. Glad you enjoyed the post! And, always great to see you here.
Deb
Carole, you are something else my friend. Your posts were one of the first to catch my attention when I first joined. I love what you do and how you write about it! Thank you!
Michelle, you couldn't have stumbled into a better place my friend! If there is anything any of us can do for you EVER then just call. We all have our ups and downs. One thing to remember is that when you're down....there's only one place to go and that's UP! When you need a pick me up come here. lol.
Carol, how have you been? Long time no hear! You are such a hoot and I'm always glad to see when you are posting!
Gary, Gary, Gary, what can I say? I do know you are real and someday I wanna hug. ;-)
Deb
Deb, your post was fun to read. Your daily ritual sounds a lot like mine. Have the coffee brewing and ready to go, get the kids off to school, and then off I go myself. Its a great way to start the morning (and honestly, I sometimes finish my evening here also, just to check in on my friends who like to sleep in a little).
Deb, Our mornings start very similar. If not for AR I would not know you. I hope you got that vacuuming done.
Deb, I like the contest, but didn't have time to enter. Plus I got pretty burned out on contests.
Oh well, I have thought about writing a post too. We shouldn't need a contest to tell us what is good about Activerain.
Love your take on this...mine is very similiar.
What a great post to start the day Deb! Your dog sounds like mine. There are thread remnants all over my carpet from her rope toy. Hey, at least it's adding color to the room, lol. Gotta love our pooches! :)
You said so well what many us feel.
Enjoyed the peek into your life.
Hope the room was really tooooo bad!
Deb - Reading your post was a great way to start my morning! Made me smile and left me feeling energized! And you're absolutely right about AR....I'm on it first thing every morning just to see what my friends are doing. Things have gotten so busy that I've slacked off my blogging.....now I'm going to get my butt in gear and start posting again! Thanks for the motivation!
I enjoyed reading your story Deb on life before AR. It certainly has helped many of us with our business and interaction with others in the industry.
I took a no vacuuming vow as part our wedding vows...:)....making "the rain" as regular a part of your day as the coffee will do nothing but enrich your practice...your relationships...your life...mmmm...enjoy !
Great post and so true for many of us!
Hi Debbie...This is my first comment on your blog and I see you have a good number of friends from ActiveRain. I hope to do the same. I have been a member now for over 6 months and a day does not go by that I do not check my ActiveRain. It is the best tool for Realtors and I already recieved a referral client through it. Now back to my coffee and biscotti.
Deb, I am new to ar and love it here. Look forward to more of your post. Thanks.
I think you're so Addicted :-) My first logons are Top Producer, ListingBook, then Twitter. But ActiveRain is high on the list! I love the networking opportunities here on AR, and congrats on your GoldStar...points rock!
Deb I really enjoyed this post and am a big fan of Active Rain along with your blog and quite a few others here. I am amazed at the relationships I've built and continue to build here with agents and brokers from all over the country as well as the new clients I have started to generate! Active Rain is my first stop in the day followed my my email so I guess I am Hooked!
Yes....AR is routine for me each day. I go there every morning and see what's going on.
Patricia/Seacoast NH
Deb you are so funny and as I was reading your post all I could think was 'did I write this" ? It was something so much like I might write and you echoed my sentiments exactly. I love your statement that your friends live in your computer! Hope you don't mind but I am going to use that phrase when people get after me for being in front of my computer all the time. Also, I know what you mean about making friends that you have never "met" other than through your computer. I have made a friend that I have met only through a referral (thanks to WCR on that one) that we communicated only through e-mail. I never did get the listing (they didn't like hearing the truth about their property's worth) but the agent and I have stayed in touch and I would feel very comfortable having her visit and vice versa - in fact, I can't wait to meet her. I am therefore, really looking forward to the same sort of thing though Active Rain.
If only life was as easy as Monopoly! Thankfully, Active Rain provides an amazing and diverse community to engage with. I loving logging on over coffee in the morning too, only to learn something from agents in my own backyard and across the nation.
Deb, Active Rain has become part of my daily routine. I wish I would have discovered it right when I got into the business. There is such a wealth of information on the site. I can find answers and advice to all the things I want to learn. And the feedback is the best. I've had some many "ah ha" moments since becoming a member. I agree with you 100%. My business is changing for the better!
Deb, I am so inspired by your post. I am with you. Active Rain is a part of my day. I make it a must to log on at least once a day. The past two or three days, I was passing myself in the hallway, it seemed. I missed those days on here, and I felt the loss. This is our community of friends.
Thanks for the post, Deb. ActiveRain is fast becoming my daily routine as well. I, too, find it to have a wealth of information. I already blog on my website, have a Fan Page on Facebook, and utilize Twitter. Now, I just need to make an effort to post here on ActiveRain as well.
How do I get a picture on my comments?
Hi Deb -- What a positive and uplifting post, it made me smile! I can see what it was featured. :)
If real estate is location location location, then the game of life is all about people people people, thanks for the fun post.
If real estate is location location location, then the game of life is all about people people people, thanks for the fun post.
We have a cat who is always into mischief and making messes for us to wake up to, I'm glad that you were able to handle it so well :) ActiveRain is a great place to learn from other Stars in the industry, and it's a great pick-me-up for those tough days. Thanks for sharing :)
Great post- I love how easy it is to read! I too enjoy my daily dose of AR and when I get busy and don't log on, I feel like I am missing out on something. There ARE some great people here!
Thanks for the uplifting post, Deb. I, too, feel as though I am a part of a special group here on Active Rain and I try and tune in every day for the latest and newest. Cheers!
Deb, good luck with the contest. A great entry, and I am VERY HAPPY to call you friend, and would have never known you if it were not for the Rain.
Tammy, In answer to your question about placing photos in the comments section I am providing you a link to go check out. I wrote the post based upon placing the photo into the regular post but it is identical...
call me if you have any more questions and I will be happy to walk you through it! Good luck!
Deb
http://activerain.com/blogsview/510214/how-do-i-put-a-picture-in-my-post-the-12-step-program-
Thanks for responding Deb! But, I should have been more clear on my question! lol...
Maybe you can help me -- almost everybody who posts comments has their profile picture on the comment. Is there something special I have to do to get my photo to show up when I post comments? Thanks again!
Tammy, I am still waiting for mine. I believe it is when you earn 10,000 points (or pay for the monthly subscription). If I am wrong, someone please correct me so I can know also!
Deb: What a lovely way to start my day! I have had times where I have not been active on AR...but I find its always the positive friends I've found here in the Rain that draw me back...I miss them all when I'm away for a while.
Hi Deb,
AR rocks!
However, it is not the first page I go to. I hit my two email pages first and then facebook. I close with AR. At least it's in my top 4!
: )