Good morning! Hopefully you had a good and restful weekend. If you were at the WMCCAI Expo like me (a really great event), perhaps you learned a few things, talked with some dedicated professionals, got some good business exposure, picked up some sweet swag, or even just enjoyed the day.
Regardless, Monday is here. So to help get off on the right foot (and wade through those post-expo follow up mailers), I am once again suggesting that one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day. Here’s the quote:
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”
— Oscar Wilde
Often when I write these MMM posts, I include an aspirational quote – something I don’t particularly do well, or that I know I could use some improvement on. However, if you know me at all, you are probably already aware that this particular quote actually highlights a character trait that I do not have to try to hard to achieve. Perhaps my defining characteristic is that I am comfortable in my own skin – what you see and hear from me is what you get (and when I make mistakes I try to own up to them and learn from them). My motivations and my intentions are not terribly complicated, or difficult to discern. It is baked into the third prong of the FLS motto: “Simple.”
It is also a trait that happens to be one I admire. I often say that the highest compliment I can pay someone is that they are “genuine” – that they are good at being themselves.
This idea of being yourself, of embracing what is distinctive and important about you, is one that was on display this weekend at the Expo. Walking around, it was refreshing to watch people embrace what makes them worth hiring and what sets them apart. So much of marketing or branding is dedicated to imitating and comparison, it is always great to see people talking about what sets them apart – or even better, just talking about what they believe in, and what they stand for.
For me it was a very enjoyable opportunity to talk about the things I believe in, what the brand that I am building should stand for, and how I want to continue to shape it in the coming weeks and months and years. What makes this firm different, and why can that be a good thing? What does a good decision making process look like? How can we improve communication with legal counsel?
There are big questions out there facing community associations. Some of them have broad common answers, and we should be talking about the big ideas. Others need specific responses, where someone is going to have to roll up their sleeves and get the work done. What I hope to continue to do as I work on the big picture and the nitty-gritty, is to do so on my own terms. Based on what I saw Saturday, there are many dedicated individuals out there ready to do the same.
So whether you are a board member, an industry professional, or just someone reading along with these mumblings, I invite you to dig into this week on your own terms. Forget how anyone else would go about it, or what people expect from you, or what perceptions will be. Just be yourself, and know that the world is a better place with your perspective in it.
And have a great week everybody.