Recently, a friend asked me how business was going. I informed her that at the half-way point of the year, my sales volume was already 80% of what it was for the entire previous year. “Wow,” she said. “What do you attribute that to?”
Great question. The answer held two reasons. First, I am writing more personal notes than I ever have before. Again, to compare numbers, the entire previous year I had written about 700 personal notes. At the time of our conversation I had already written over 1,000. I was simply letting people know how grateful I was for them or for what they had done for me.
The second, and I believe larger reason for the success in business we are experiencing this year, is that we are leaning more into our Big Why than we ever have before. I believe people are supporting us so generously because we are learning to become completely authentic with who we are and with what makes us tick. We let them see behind the curtain into our entire life, not just our business life. And this was a real “aha” moment for me. I realized that people don’t hire me because they need help buying or selling a home. They have 1400 other people they can call to help them with that just in my local board of realtors alone. What is the old adage? People work with you because they know you, like you, and trust you. But the key to any relationship is authenticity. People cannot know you, like you, and trust you if they have no idea who you are.
For example, in my personal experience, I don’t love my plumber because he is able to come and fix my leaks. I expect any plumber to be able to do that. I love my plumber because he asked his mom at age 15 to home school him so that he could start working full-time during the day. I love my plumber because he has 4 kids about the same age as mine. And I love my plumber because he told me about this cool little organization he is passionate about called Life for the Innocent. It’s a small world. How do I know all of these things about my plumber? Because he took a little extra time out of his jam-packed day to be authentic with me about who he really is. And because of that I am sending him enough business to put his kids through college. That is the power of authenticity and living out your Big Why for the world to see.
Matthew 5:14 in the Bible tells us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” NIV
The world needs to see a little bit of hope from their fellow man. Stand up today and give them that hope. Be authentic. Tell them about your passion, about your Big Why. Let them see the good that you are doing in the world and watch the amazing things that will result in your life because of it.