How many times have you heard someone say that are doing the best they can but that because of the economy or the month of year, their results had fallen short. The truth is that part of life is falling short of what we hope for – it’s part of human nature. In many cases, what drives us all is how we bounce back from the failures of our past; after all, it is how we learn. Excuses however, are never going to help anyone, and I believe strongly that there is nothing more debilitating than “E” word.  Having said that, I wanted to take this time to share with you some inspired performers, who could have made excuses and never did, and performed above and beyond regardless of market, statistics or plain excuses.  These people represent some of the best of what we do…I hope you can learn from them as I have.

Sherman McDaniel:

As an agent in my office, Sherman is someone I have gotten to know very well over the last three years. She has always been a top producer and an amazing talent in regards to how she takes care of her clients and takes care of people even when they are years away from a purchase. But in 2009 Sherman’s world was rocked by circumstances beyond the best of us can handle. You see, Sherman’s grown daughter is a cancer survivor, and the cancer has returned. It is relentless and terrifying for her and her family. Now Sherman isn’t the first to have to deal with family tragedy and illness. But it is remarkable to me that in 2009 she had more transactions than she did in 2008 (and oh, by the way, she was my office’s agent of the year in 2008). The fact is Sherman McDaniel performed professionally in a way that exceeded her own expectations because what drives her is not excuses but perseverance. And it is that spirit that makes her story special.

My RE BarCamp Peeps:

Nothing more profoundly impacted my business in 2009 then that of the phenomenon of RE BarCamp. I have now been to five of them and I have become a serious addict. I have become so because the people I meet at these things inspire me to the best at what I do the way they are the best at what they do! Here a couple of examples:

Jeff Turner: I have told Jeff before that I think he is the smartest person I have ever met. I have joked it’s because he has made the whole shaved head thing work so well. The fact is my introduction to Barcamp was a breakfast where I sat at a table with several people and Jeff was leading a discussion on Social Media and the Real Estate Industry. Now, I do not remember a single thing he said that day. All I remember is I was blown away. And for the record…I’m never blown away! REgardless of market conditions, or excuses, it is people like Jeff Turner who have a created opportunity for us all by creating and innovating ways of how we do what we do. Thank you Jeff! You inspire me.

Jeff Corbett: Another smartie pants! Jeff is a quiet guy but who has so much to share and when I listen to him I always come away with learning something I didn’t know before. His understanding of both social networking his foundation of how traditional business is run makes him a very legitimate resource in the industry. Good timing since he just started a consulting business

http://www.facebook.com/respres

Ines Hegedus-Garcia: Ines was at Breakfast that morning with Jeff Turner. She is an absolute goddess of marketing genius and I am always blown away about how she uses social media to help her clients and build a business. @Ines is my marketing social media maharaja and I am proud to be her padawan.

http://www.miamism.com/

Kim Woods: If there were an award for the sweetest, most accepting, Real Estate queen who uses online whuffie to propel others before anyone else, then Kim would be so crowned. I just plain love Kim Wood. She is everything our industry should be about and so seldom can be. The fact fact is she is special and it amazes me that without Barcamps I never would have met her. And the fact she is the ultimate NO EXCUSES person in the history of the world puts her on list easily.

http://westofphillyburbs.com/

Derek Massey: There are few people I have met in business that I have liked more than Derek. I say this as a disclaimer. He’s just a great guy. I mean seriously, you just want to squeeze him and say ya’ love him. But the fact is he is one of the smartest people I know. Everything I learned this year in regards to how to propel my business through social media is through him. He introduced me to barcamps…he introduced me to Twitter in a way that finally makes sense…he introduced me to people nationally that I never would have met that have helped open a world to me that I thought I already knew but didn’t. The fact is, my 2009 growth is due greatly to Derek. In 2010, I hope you all find someone like him.

http://posterous.com/people/kemjIBBW5b

What we can learn…

What it all comes down to is this, 2010 is what you make it…surround yourself with amazing people, who you can learn from and this year will be the kind of year that will make excuses irrelevant. Why? Because the most successful of us never use them!