Hawaii Real Estate | Hawaii Relocations | Hawaii Home Buying & Selling

It is without a doubt that we walk hand in hand through ActiveRain to many social media sites. For one,we comingle around these sites with the solid fact that we will make connections with many others whether it be to reconnect with family, friends or to make new acquaintances and business connections.  Sooner or later we meet face to face or at the very least converse on the phone across oceans and miles nationwide and to other countries.

I had an epiphany when ‘traveling' through cyberspace while learning the ins and outs of blogging on ActiveRain and then hopping across the social media universe. The transparency of ‘self' was the focal point of this whole blogging thing and while being ‘social' on all sites. It was this transparency that brought me success.

We all have read many a ActiveRain Success Story here and the first year of my time on ActiveRain I wrote my first one One Year in ActiveRain: Time & Effort Equals Success. 

The one thing I believed ‘back then' and still do today is what I stated in that post........  

"If it is one thing I have respected are the people who did not change in spirit and in soul along their pathway to blogging freedom and remained themselves......

....The ones who have written from the heart and let their whole persona shine through."

Now, 3 years later of being an ActiveRain Member and I had another realization come to life through another's passing. I may not be able to muster as much time to write many blogs here although my heart is here each and every day.  I attribute my hard work and effort to apply what I learned on ActiveRain in my business model and I bonded with my peers and made astounding connections and friendships.

It is because of those connections I made here on ActiveRain that I went out to mingle on other sites like Facebook to stay connected with those friends I made here on ActiveRain. Without that transparency and bonding I may not have found out about my dear friend Carole Provenzale's passing....  Proof that we did not have to meet face to face to form a friendship that spanned over three years on ActiveRain. I know this to be true.....because my heart aches.

Write from your own thoughts and creativity with conviction, passion, integrity, honesty and respect.

In turn receive business, connections and awesome friendships .....

This is the Power of ActiveRain.

Our founder, Jonathan Washburn asked a question the the other week on his post  What is ActiveRain? I went back there a few mornings later to see if he responded to my question about coming back to tell us all how wonderful ‘we' are. And he did.

Because of Jon and his staff's involvement with the community I have remained a loyal member on ActiveRain since March of 2007.  It made a difference to have them interact with us on a daily basis. It made a difference that they cared and took into consideration when I had a concern. It made a difference that I just wasn't a number here.

Then I read William Johnson's post A True Friend is a "Work of Heart".  It was about his experience ‘growing up' with ActiveRain and the excitement of getting his first comments and how he kept coming back for more. And his statement about our friendship that blossomed from being here on ActiveRain.....

"It was an instant real friendship and I could not guess the number of hours of phone time we have spent since then building one of the most amazing friendships of my entire life." My eyes watered.

It's meeting other ActiveRain members who are professionals in the Real Estate Industry and how we connect here on a larger plane than just .....real estate.

•  ActiveRain Meeting of Peers 2009! Linda Bourgault Visits Hawaii!  Linda Bourgault revists Hawaii!
• The Phenomenal Connections Through ActiveRain  Katherine Carey
• "Traveling the Road of Aloha....The ActiveRain MEETING with Peers"  Kathy McGraw, her grandchildren and daughter too!  Kathy and I have a running conversation every week since :)
• Breeding Friends Through a REAL Estate Network: ActiveRain Desiree Daniels and Al!
• The Haydon Family in Hawaii (And Randy Cheats) Cyndee and Jack Haydon and their wonderful boys!

And this gathering that Hawaii Randy Prothero  and Celeste WooHoo Sally Cheeseman sponsored....

• 2008 First Hawaii ActiveRain Gathering a HUGE Success! 

Sharon Simms, David Kucic, his wife Tonya, and Jay Oku (all from Hawaii), Jeff Dowler and his lovely wife Kay, Rob Lang, Matt Heaton (Co-Founder of ActiveRain) and his wife Lydia, Marlene Bridges  and Lynda Eisenmann, Jerry Bangerter Hawaii) Joeann Fossland, Mario Trejo Romero, Mary Pope -Handy and Kathleen Barnato ALL were here! 

It's the friendships formed with other real estate industry professionals is what matters. It's what makes this a unique real estate network.  It's the constant communication with the staff ....like  Bob Stewart does.... that has made this a quality network and the time I've invested ....truly worthwhile.

What is ActiveRain?

It's the people behind the words.

  

Regardless if I have a business plan for 2009 that surpasses all goals that I have previously set for myself, the amount of effort and action I put into it will dictate my success no matter what year it is.

Regardless if I have a plan for my social and personal life for 2009 that surpasses all life goals that I have previously set for myself, the amount of effort and action I put into 'self' will dictate my success in ALL areas ....no matter what year it is.

• Blogging for Business- Bonding with peers - Plain old blogging and blogging on ActiveRain are two totally different things.  We blog on our outside blogs for business. We blog on ActiveRain to connect with our peers, for business and for fun! It's the people that make this place alive!
• The possibilities are endless - No matter what time, place or circumstance, my possibilities are endless. Change is the only constant in this world and without growth my life would remain stagnant. I think I'll keep that in my memory bank now....and forever. (whatever forever means) It just makes sense. Sure I can have a few goals or a business plan but what is all that worth if I limit myself? Nope....there's more to life!
• Balance and Boundaries - Continuous are the challenges for these points. Keeping healthy boundaries regardless of who it is is my life goal. People respect me more for being honest. Who trusts a person who ALWAYS says yes? Who has respect for someone who has no balance in their life? There is more to life than business and more to business than just living.

The virtual meetings and interactions while blogging, connecting through social sites and contacts through websites that I have encountered lead me to REAL face to face meetings. PEOPLE. And isn't that what all this is worth?

 This is just the beginning.

Look out 2009....here I come!

If you are one to always have a positive twist to all the winding roads in your life then you have many things to be thankful for each day, each year. Around the Thanksgiving Holidays we all start thinking about what we are thankful for and it dawned on me that I would not be able to write any of this right now, at this moment without ActiveRain. 

So, first of all I am thankful to Jonathan Washburn, CEO and Co-Founder of ActiveRain for without his ingenuity, insight and this 'gift' I would not have all the knowledge, business and friends that I have gained on this REAL Estate Network. 

I would like to also acknowledge  Bob Stewart, Community Evangelist, Rich Jacobson, Community Builder, Brad Andersohn, Community Builder who have played a crucial role in the community. I am thankful for the times when I needed an answer and they answered their phone or called me back. I am thankful that we have a social network where they all are actively communicating with the members to give and receive information and feedback.

The rest of the staff are on the ABOUT page and they all strive to improve ActiveRain.

I am thankful that I took the risk of trying something new back in March of 2007. To step out onto this platform and learn what this blogging on ActiveRain was all about. I am thankful I pursued writing (blogging) with determination and consistency to get to where I am today.

I am thankful for the friends and peers that I have made along the way through phone calls, blogging and meeting face to face. That IS the mystery about ActiveRain. How we connect. We not only connect with the members but we connect with the consumer and the public. I am thankful for the closed transactions in 2008 and the current one in contract BECAUSE of ActiveRain. My writing about my industry, my local area and life in general gave me the opportunity to have the reader see the transparency in my writing and walk right along with me in that post.

For all of you on ActiveRain who give so much.....A very Happy Thanksgiving from WooHoo Sally!