Be Movitated, but Be Thankful, too
June 25, 2008 | 2 Comments
I had a great time at my referee camp. I always come back with VERY tired legs and a head VERY full of new officiating info that I can use during the upcoming season. I told you before I left that I would give you a little glimpse of what it is like to go to officiating camp. I didn’t get to take as much video as I would have liked (at least 3 games per day will do that), but I did spend a few minutes one morning making this:
There has been quite a movement in officiating to hire not only good referees, but good people, too. One aspect of that is humility. Being a successful referee is one of the few things that I have ever done that simultaneously requires a huge ego and ultimate humility. It is a delicate balance that all refrees strive for. Some are able to do it. Some don’t.
For the ones whose ego gets a bit too large, it is important to remember that nothing is guaranteed. As quickly as the success came, it can be taken away. The most important game is always the next one, and be thankful that it is on your schedule.
Real estate is the same way. We are all independent contractors, running our own businesses. We are our own bosses. This does not, however, mean that we answer to no one. There are still responsibilities, to clients, to collegues, to family.
The one true path to success in this business requires that you remain motivated, but that you also remain thankful. Take nothing for granted, and remember that you are owed nothing.
It is a delicate balance, but one that I was reminded of this past weekend every time I put on the stripes.
The Zebra is Going to Camp. . .
June 19, 2008 | 2 Comments
. . .officiating camp, that is.
This evening is the beginning of the D-3 Supercamp I attend annually. It is always a good time, and filled with tons of learning and officiating. This year, I think I might take the camera with me and see if I can get some video that will give you all a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of basketball officiating.
There is always something that makes me think of business and real estate, so this year, I’ll try to share the lessons when I am back in the office on Monday.
Wish me luck!
Remember to Spread The Love Tomorrow!
June 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
In case it might have slipped your mind, this is just a gentle reminder that tomorrow is the day to Spread the Love!
The more who participate, the more who benefit. It should be lots of fun. I can’t wait to hear your stories.
How/Why Do You Use Social Media?
June 16, 2008 | 1 Comment
As you might imagine, I have been thinking a lot about community building recently.
Whether you blog for business, blog to inform, or just blog to amuse, we all want to build a community, don’t we? Or, if not build one, at least find one where we can be a useful, active member.
There are a lot of ways to go about doing that. Here’s some.
Sounds pretty good to me.
Spread the Love Day– June 18th, 2008!
June 13, 2008 | 7 Comments
What is Spread the Love Day?
We could all use a little more love, couldn’t we? My idea for Spread the Love Day was inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Brogan, and Benn Rosales (among others).
The concept is simple– I want you do something for someone else that you wish could be done for you. It could be anything, business related or not.
Wanna learn something? Then teach someone something first.
Wanna learn the secrets to success? Share your secrets with others first.
Want more comments on your blog? You better get out there and start commenting.
In short, I want you to spread the love. You can’t reasonably expect to get everything you want without being willing to share with others, can you? Of course not. Call this addition by subtraction, call it pay it forward, call it helping others to help yourself– whatever. Just make sure you SPREAD THE LOVE!
When Should I Spread the Love?
Well, you should be doing it every day, but since the longest journeys begin with just a single step, I’m suggest that you make a concentrated effort to Spread the Love on Wednesday, June 18th. That gives you some time to think about what you are going to do. Once you’ve done it, I want you to share your experience with others. For bloggers, you can write a blog post about it. For those of you who don’t blog, just tell a family member, friend, business associate, whoever. It doesn’t matter who it is, but make sure you share with them your Spread the Love experience. That way, you can hopefully inspire others to do something similar.
I’ll Go First to Get things Started
I wanted to give an example and spread some love first, so I did it in the video above. In the future, I want to launch a RealEstateZebra.com store, with various items that people could buy and wear, use, you know– schwag. Well, if I want people to do that for me, I am going to have to be willing to do the same for others.
In the video, I am wearing a sweatshirt given to me by fellow Virginia real estate blogger, Jeremy Hart. It is a very comfortable sweatshirt, and its got his logo on it. Very cool. I am also wearing a sticker given to me by the fine folks at RealSeekr.com. I like stickers, and they have a very cool website.
I wanted to spread the love to Jeremy and ReelSeekr. Hopefully, when the time comes, they’ll do the same for me. In the meantime, I want them to embrace the message and spread the love to whoever they can think of.
So, what are you waiting for? Come up with those ideas for how you will celebrate Spread the Love Day. I can’t wait to hear your stories, so remember to share them.
On Becoming the Inman News Community Mangager
June 9, 2008 | 27 Comments
Today, I embark upon what I expect will be a very interesting, enriching, and exciting endeavor. Today, I begin in my position as Community Manager for Inman News.
What does this mean? Well first of all, it means that I will still be blogging and creating the best possible content I can right here (did you really think otherwise?); and I will still be doing the samefor Agent Genius, as well. I will, of course, still be selling real estate. So I guess, in some ways, things don’t really change all that much for me.
In other ways, things will never be the same. Now, all that social media and Web 2.0 research that I do will have an additional purpose. I will be able to direct my efforts towards building, enriching, and expanding the already strong community at Inman.com. The Inman.com Community site is up and running, and one of my responsibilities will be doing everything I can to make sure that community is a vibrant one.
I want to thank all of the folks at Inman, Joel and Don especially, for being willing to give me this opportunity, and I want to thank all of you here who have supported my efforts at RealEstateZebra.com. Without you, there would be no community. Together, I know that we can spread the word and grow the community to include everyone who could benefit from the knowledge and experience we have all gained.
I am excited to have this opportunity, I am excited to be able to share it with you. But right now, an opportunity is all it is. I want to grow this opportunity into an experience that the industry and its professionals will look upon not as a high point, but as a foundation for how the real estate industry can innovate and revolutionize the profession.
It’s gonna be an exciting and interesting ride, so come along!
What is the Next Level For Your Blog?
June 7, 2008 | 6 Comments
On July 23rd, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion at Inman Bloggers Connect. The discussion is entitled, “Growing Pains: Taking Your Blog to the Next Level.” I am humbled to be on the panel with some really great people:
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Growing Pains: Take Your Blog to the Next Level
Going the distance and maintaining your blog.
Moderated by: Jeff Turner, President, RealEstateShows.com
Panelists:
Jim Cronin, Owner/Author, Real Estate Tomato
Dustin Luther, Founder, 4Realz.net Consulting
Nicole Nicolay, Co-Founder, Effektive Solutions, MyTechOpinion
Daniel Rothamel, Realtor, Strong Team REALTORS; Blogger, Real Estate Zebra
The Next Level?
The title got me to thinking, what exactly is the next level? I just wanted to share some of my initial thoughts with you here, and I’ll probably spend a bit more time addressing this topic as the event approaches.
The entire lineup for Bloggers Connect is fabulous, and I hope that I will see you there!
My Brother Riffs About Online Reputation Management
June 7, 2008 | 3 Comments
As much as it pains me to say it, my brother, Bryan, is a pretty cool guy. 
He is currently a Senior at High Point University. When he’s not studying, he’s also a blogger. Right now, he is taking some summer classes, and preparing to spend next year as a Resident Assistant. I came across his latest post in my RSS reader, and wanted to share it with you all because I think he makes some very good points about online reputation management. Reputation management is a subject that all professionals involved in social media should pay attention to. The internet never forgets, and you should always think about what you are putting out there for the world to see. I could go on and on about it, but Bryan gives some very good real-life examples of what NOT to do, so you can just listen to him.
My brother is a pretty smart dude, especially for a 20-year old. He can see the importance of social media reputation management. If it is important to him, you can bet your reputation that it should be important to you.
So check out the advice from my brother (you can skip the first 30 seconds, unless you really want to know what is going on at High Point University):
If You Are a Blogger, You MUST Watch This Video
June 6, 2008 | 6 Comments
The following video is from Gary Vaynerchuk. If you like inspiration and blogging, check him out. If you like wine, even a little, then you should definitely check him out.
Every blogger (real estate or otherwise) should take this lesson to heart. The faster you can learn this and act on it, the more happiness and positive change you will bring into your life.
I Got Memed HARD
June 5, 2008 | 5 Comments
Okay, so there has been this meme going around the RE.net. A bunch of people memed me, but Faina Sechzer was the first, and the most persistent, about getting me to finally participate, so here goes. . .
1) Who is your favorite musical artist? Simple– The Chairman of the Board himself. . .
2) Who is your favorite artist? This one is a bit tougher. If I had to pick just ONE, I am going to go with Salvador Dali. His stuff is really weird, but always interesting.
3) Who is your favorite blogger? Another easy one. Chris Brogan. Emphatically.
4) If you could meet anyone, alive or dead who would it be? I would like to meet my grandfathers. Both my maternal and paternal grandfathers died before I was born. On my Mom’s side, my grandfather was Filipino, so I think that would be interesting. On my Dad’s side, my grandfather was quite a baseball player when he was younger, and I think I would ask him about that.
5) What did you want to be when you grew up? Funny story. I actually used to tell people that I wanted to be a fire truck. Not a fire fighter, but the actual truck. Once I figured out that wasn’t going to happen, I decided that it would be awesome to be the garbage man who gets to hang onto the back of the truck and ride around. Some would call that lack of ambition, I tend to think of it as unbridled creativity. Either way, I turned out alright.
6) What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know? An aircraft carrier gets about 6 inches for every gallon of fuel used. Now, I think most of them are nuclear, but that used to be the stat. Puts your gas bill in perspective, huh?
7) If you could live at any point in history, what would it be? Since I guess the future is out of play for this one, I would have to say the roaring 20’s. Things seemed fun then. Plus, men still wore hats, and women still wore gloves. I like that.
What is the most interesting job you have ever held? For one summer during college, I was a professional poop-scooper. I worked for a company that cleaned yards and apartment complexes for pet and goose waste. No, I never stepped in poop, but that was because I was LOOKING for it. Funny thing is, that job is the reason that I got my next job, which was as a legal assistant at a corporate bankruptcy firm, but that is another story. . .
I’m not going to meme anyone else, since I think that just about every blogger I know in the RE.net has seemingly participated in this thing, but I had fun. Thanks, Faina!
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Disclaimer
My name is Daniel Rothamel. I am a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the National Association of REALTORS. As such, I adhere to a strict code of ethics and all laws with regard to equal housing, which is reflected in the content of this blog. My broker is Strong Team REALTORS, 86 Joshua Lane, Palmyra, VA 22963; (434) 589-5800. My VA Real Estate License number is 0225 077325. All of the opinions in this blog are mine, unless otherwise noted.
