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

Four and a half years ago, I wrote a post here on ActiveRain titled Stewardship: The Way to a PLEASANT Blogging Experience.   The idea was from a post from a comment thread in which our own Bob Stewart - ActiveRain talked about holding ourselves to a higher standard. 

Bob wrote, ""If you have a following on ActiveRain, you need to HOLD YOURSELF TO A HIGHER STANDARD. Having a big following (and there are a ton of you commenting on this that do) means that you take stewardship over the community as a whole. ..........Your actions reflect positively and negatively on ALL OF US."

Hang around the ice cream shop long enough and you end up eating the ice cream.  If you know me well you know my weakness (addiction) is ice cream and I can’t afford to eat it every day (it’s the darn sugar level in my ‘older years’ of life)  Bottom line is that if we gravitate towards  negative posts in our community we end up being negative right along with them.  Same goes for positive ones.

We on ActiveRain ARE a community and it is the people behind all the words that make this a great community.  There will always be disparaging posts or comments and we can make that choice to ignore, jump in and look like fools or look on the positive side of the story.

There is always a positive to every negative.

Your success in business and even in personal relationships is not dependent on others giving it to you. YOU WORK FOR IT.  Same goes for blogging. We have to work hard at creating a creative content with a little bit of self in it so that the consumer and our peers see a bit of who we are and what we stand for.

I choose to engage my readers with:

• Quality Content:  Yeah, I can cram a load full of creative content into one post or very little with thought provoking tidbits to make you think.  That's the beauty of blogging....I MAKE my own blogging experience turn into business and connecting with my peers by putting interesting information out there for conversation.
• Transparency in Content:  When I’m talking to someone about real estate (or staging, loans etc.) am I just reciting and talking AT them instead of WITH them? The same goes for my blogging.... I FEEL the reader walking beside me and write as if I’m talking with them.  Being real goes a long way.
• Variety in Content:  Whoever says that local area, restaurants, the best auto repair place in town, local history and points of interest in your neighborhood has nothing to do with real estate is OUT OF THEIR MINDS!  Everything around us is Real Estate Related. If a client asks where a great dining place is I have answers or at the very least can point them in the right direction . This WILL make the difference in their believing that I AM THE LOCAL AREA EXPERT.

ActiveRain will always be my best source for getting myself and my information out to the public. It is my best source for referrals and without a doubt the only place (since March of 2007!) that I have truly bonded with my peers and turned many a connection into long lasting friendships.

I HAVE created my own blogging experience on ActiveRaim.  With dedication, consistency and a whole lot of effort, I have turned my words into business and relationships. It took time to implement blogging into business (about six months in the beginning) and a strong commitment to make it last through today.

One piece of good advice I can give is focus on your own self instead of worrying about everyone else and what they’re doing. All that time and energy can be best utilized by creating your own positive reinforcement for your business, your life and our community and be the person behind those written words that everyone will read.

Ask yourself……  Are You Engaging Your Readers?

It takes a positive attitude to work as a team in your business..

It starts here with blogging.

Hold yourself to a higher standard in The ActiveRain Community.....

The significance of a friendly gesture such as a nod, a hand shake, a smile, a hug and the like is like  a day of sunshine.  

Even just a few words of kindness when someone is down by an email or card can make the difference between the feeling of alone and the feeling of support.

It takes so little to do something kind for someone. Never mind the selfish reasons why you can't because when you say you can't ...it really means you won't.

Acknowledging someone for their accomplishments; no matter how small, or a friendly word of advice when they need it shows support for another.

Acknowledging someone when they are sad about a certain event can mean so much during a time of grief. Showing we care takes so little.

It's the quality of the relationship we have within ourselves that will determine if we have the capability to have lasting meaningful relationships with others. This transforms into our businesses as well. It is the difference between just ‘doing a job' and having a relationship with the people we're doing business with.

Think about it and put your personal differences aside.

A little support can go a long way.

It could make a difference in your life...and your business.

I'll be 52 years old in a couple of months and I'm proud of it. I have learned many lessons in those years and believe me I was one of those that HAD to learn the hard way. Or so my Pop used to tell me over and over. He didn't agree with many of my impulsive decisions back then and mom was the one who was there to support me when I fell. It hurt my dad too much to face me and see me hurt with my failures.

At this moment...I am at the exact point and time I am supposed to be.

There are many things I have learned in my half century of living:

• It IS MORE than Words. The way I speak to other people is not so much the words being spoken but the way I am speaking them.  Definitely not like the person I was in my younger years. I used to believe that expressing my views and opinions is all that mattered and the way I barked at them didn't.  
• Setting Personal Boundaries .....The Key is Communication Setting healthy boundaries takes communication skills and being assertive. Taking care of ourselves means that we make sure we know where our boundaries start and we let others know where their side ends.  Just remember...  There's a Diplomatic (Nicer) Way to Say IT!  Go and bark at me and I just won't listen. Plain and simple. Now I know why no one listened to me....way back when. 
• Someone asks me for help and I'm very busy.  I can only speak for myself as I have been in many a situation where I have been very busy and managed to squeeze in a moment or at the very least, let them know I'm busy but will get back to them shortly. Give a Little.....Gain a Lot.  Everything in life is a give and take situation.

Awareness of how I affect others is one thing I am conscious of every day now.  I learned that the small simple things really matter and that a smile, a kind word or a little task can help lift someone's spirit when they're weary. These traits of ours carry into our business. That's a FACT.

I know this to be true.  I just told someone this morning that the small things like answering my questions or an email made a difference for me.  And these are the small simple things that I do for my clients that make a difference for them and that they remember.

These are the small simple things that DO matter.

These are the details that make me a good Realtor Associate®

.....and a good human being.

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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs  she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

In March of 2007 I joined the  ActiveRain Real Estate Network and started blogging for the first time in my life. It has become my most valuable tool for internet marketing as well as a place to get to know other professionals nationwide that I have ever come across.

Back in January of 2008 nine members of ActiveRain were invited to co-author a book on Technology, Social Media and Blogging.   In March I wrote:  Co-Authoring a Book: "Profit From Technology - A Guide for Today's Real Estate Agent" and now I am proudly announcing the release of this book along with the other co-authors of the book.

Following are the Chapters and the members who wrote them:

Chapter 1 - Technology: Nemesis or Redeemer?                                                        Carol Smith

Chapter 2 - Towards 100% Online Lead Generation                                                Brian Block

Chapter 3 - Using Internet Tools to serve the Seller                                          Natalie Langford

Chapter 4 - Speak the Language of Today's Internet- 
Enabled Client                                                                                                                  Kathi Frank

Chapter 5 - Through the Eyes of a Real Estate Industry
Social Media Blogger                                                                                      Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman

Chapter 6 - Virtual Assistants-The Future of Real
Estate Support                                                                                                                 Sarah Reiter

Chapter 7 - Time vs. Money (Organic Searches vs.
Pay per Click)                                                                                                                   Missy Caulk

Chapter 8 - Become the Master of Your Own Domain!
Build a Profitable Custom Website                                                                       Colleen Fischesser

Chapter 9 - The new challenges to time management -
how to avoid burn out or addiction                                                                        Joeann Fossland

I am honored and proud to be amongst some talented bloggers from ActiveRain to get this book together and most of all a big appreciation to  Kathi Frank who first introduced us to Would you like to co-author a book?  for without Kathi none of this would have transpired.

I kept reading my Chapter 5 over and over and there is one thing that showed through my writing. My love for ActiveRain and all it has given me to get to the point and time of ......NOW. The part of my life that is imperative to keep working at for my business as well as the rewards ActiveRain has given me for the past 2.5 years.

The connections with my peers and MANY clients and the friends I've made along the way.

............... Blogging and Social Media is without a doubt THE way for consumers, peers and the public to get information and possibly connect with individuals in our Real Estate Industry through our writing. We all have presently turned to the internet for information for anything and everything and it surely will continue with unsurpassed knowledge at the click of the mouse. ........Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman, page 91, Profit from Technology

It is with this networking on the ActiveRain Real Estate Network that gave this member an opportunity to connect through blogging on this platform, gain knowledge, connecting with the public and consumer ..... and is what made all of this possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Co-Authors Announcement Posts

1.  Learn from Other Agents to "Profit From Technology"  Kathi Frank
2. 9 Active Rainers Co-Author a book! Profit from Technology - A Guide for TODAY's RE Agent Natalie Langford
3. Do YOU want to PROFIT FROM TECHNOLOGY????? Have we got a deal for you!!!! Joeann Fossland
4. Profit From Technology with A Little Help from YOUR Friends Missy Caulk
5. Profit from Technology: By Real Estate Agents, For Real Estate Agents -- Buy this Collaborative Book! Brian Block

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Easy to use technology tips and tools from us....your colleagues.....

                              Co-Author of "Profit from Technology"

Special Limited Time Offer
Receive BOTH the digital and printed versions
of Profit From Technology for one low price of $19.95
if you order before June 30th, 2009

 Published by
                              Foundation Coaching Group
                             www.fcgpublications.com 

There have been times where we all get a phone call in the wee hours of the morning or wee hours of the night. A call for solicitation. I really don't want to hear that they want to make sure I know what the program is all about....when I haven't had my first cup of coffee.

In Hawaii WE ARE BEHIND pacific time (3 hours), behind central (4 hours) and behind eastern (6 hours) time zones. We do not have daylight savings time so OUR TIME DOES NOT CHANGE.

Please be Cognizant of others time zones when calling people..... Moreso, follow the ActiveRain guidelines if you're a member:

Do not send unsolicited emails, or faxes, or make unsolicited phone calls to another member.

 Otherwise, please respect others...

And for those who really need this for hyper awareness...... 

The World Clock - Time Zones

For those who do not know what taglines are this simple lesson will be of great use to you. The whole concept of entering taglines is to have a summarized phrase that will be remembered as YOUR brand for your product's emotional and functional benefits for advertising. They are used for your marketplace, your topic to be searched and so forth.

They are the phrases and words that are identifiable by a search engine and even by us members here on ActiveRain. We are able to click on the tag word and bring up all posts pertaining to the subject at the click of a mouse. We are able to click on the search tab on the top of our pages and enter a 'keyword' which will no doubt identify that tag word that appears on your post, the right sidebar under your dropdown box titled 'tags', or certain keywords in the content of your post that you have highlighted in bold.

When ActiveRain groups hold a contest they specifically want you to add words to identify your post as an entry to the contest. When we click on the words it brings up all posts with the entries. For example, the POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul group is holding a "Spring Cleaning & Fresh Ideas For Changing Times" contest and though the theme is very broad the words "Spring Fresh Contest" in the tag line will bring up all the entries for the contest.

Your tagline is located in your draft/edit/write mode of your post. It is right under your content of your post and titled, "Tags" and a blank space to enter your words. As in the case of the PAWS Group Contest I have entered the words "Spring Fresh Contest". When you click on the tag after I publish the post it will bring up the page of all entries to the contest.

Remember, the Titles you enter for your post, the keywords (matching the description of the topic of your post that are highlighted in bold in the content of your post) and your tagline words are the words that Google picks up.  When a consumer goes to the search engine and types in a search term (i.e Spring Fresh Contest, Hawaii Relocations) they will FIND what YOU wrote!  In the example picture above the search term Spring Fresh Contest brought up my contest post and the first entry post for the contest  Spring is the Time Freshen Up Your Home and Soul, Spring Fresh Contest by Tina Gleisner. She had the words Spring Fresh Contest in bold in the content of her post.

I may not be all techno babble talk but I do hope this simple lesson helps those for the one of the things we're here for......our businesses.  Your search bar is one of the most valuable tools here on ActiveRain so please utilize it. We have so many talented writers here and you can get all the information you need right here from all of us.

Happy Blogging!

It all started for me over two years ago when Randy Prothero (fellow agent in my office) invited me to join ActiveRain. I hesitated for four months and finally joined in on March 10. 2007. I kept reading until I finally wrote a post on March 20, 2007 Ethics, "Rookies" and etc. and it was about being the ever professional attitude online. 

And it's no wonder on June 18, 2007 I started the group Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul  It proved beneficial for all the members who wanted to keep their spirit alive, get inspiration and positive feedback; a place to go when the soul got weary. This group remains successful with 1937 members and 9278  posts of only quality writing.  It remains the ONLY group I have founded and with the help of Kathy McGraw and Brian Block it has proved to be a quality content and myriad of positive, inspirational as well as quality Localism posts.

The following posts are a few of my footprints over the last two years:

• Looking Back on 2007: Giving Back to the Community  is where I gave credit and appreciation to new and old members for contributing to this community. I also stated, "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."
• "The Long and Winding Road" of Blogging  is one of my own favorites and I think I told it best with this:  1) Write with conviction and passion because everyone will read you if you do. 2) Write with wit, humor and emotion because everyone will read you if you do.  3) Write with the intent of giving back to the community because everyone will read you and give back to you and the community too.  4)  Write with integrity, honesty and respect because everyone deserves it and so do you.  5) Write a comment or two relating to the post you just read (it shows sincerity) and everyone will continue to come back and read you too. What's the sense of writing a post if there is no one to give feedback, comment, give support etc.  6)  Write from your own thoughts and creativity because no one will read you if you don't.
• A while back Rich Jacobson -Community Builder of ActiveRain asked us to write our  "Testimonials in the Rain" - What's YOUR Story?    A lot of my time here can be measured in this ActiveRain Community Building assignment ActiveRain Community Building: My "Testimonial in the Rain"  and this is a paragraph from that post:   ActiveRain introduced me to a REAL Estate Network to Blog for Business, to blog for conversation with my peers and to read informational and localized posts for all others areas and neighborhoods. ActiveRain is an all- in -one place to work, relax, read and socialize with members in the Real Estate Industry. No matter how I word it, ActiveRain has been the learning experience of a lifetime for me and there IS still more to come.
• Hawaii Relocation Clients DO Read MY ActiveRain Blog A recap of 2008 and how my blogging on ActiveRain and the information that I've learned here helped me to turn my business around and allowed me to turn leads into closed transactions.
• What's the Scoop on VA Home Loans in Hawaii? Writing about what we know of our industry is a big thing....and this post is the latest scoop on what you should expect from your Realtor® and Loan Officer. Just because they have signs on the side of the road it does not qualify them to know the VA loan and transaction process for purchasing real estate.  Other related articles for KNOWING your Realtor® and Loan Officer and making sure they know their stuff >>Hawaii Military Relocations & Hawaii VA Loan Process: Choosing the RIGHT Realtor® & Loan Officer.   
• Localism Writing & The Relevance to Real Estate We write about local businesses, people in our community, tourist attractions and points of interest with interesting and original content.  We post beautiful , clear and related pictures to each post and create a great post that is attractive to the eye. Mililani Town Information & Housing Statistics- Honolulu County Hawaii Military Relocations is another form of writing about my local housing market and of course mixing it with information and just a smidgen of statistics as if the consumer is walking right alongside me through my writing.
• The Mystery & Beauty of The Waikiki Aquarium is just one of a couple hundred Localism posts I've done in the past two years. Giving the public and members information about my local area is one additional attraction. Everyone loves to hear about every aspect of our local markets. It's not only houses or condos or real estate industry advice...it's giving a piece of community for them to ponder on as well!
• Respect Your Fellow ActiveRain Member - Follow the ActiveRain Guidelines and this is where we learn that there are guidelines and rules to just about everything in life. Our jobs, our relationships and even on our professional network here on ActiveRain. We respect others on or offline and rules just make for a better association, complex, industry and even on this network.

It is without a doubt that I utilized ActiveRain to the highest level and knew there was potential in this network to get the education and information and try different tips to gain ground in Web 2.0. It enabled me to blog for business and well as make so many friends (WAY TOO MANY TO MENTION!) with my peers. I've written about everything and anything about myself, my family, my dog and my business. I've given a little bit of me within each word I write. In the end......it's.....

Blogging for business and bonding with peers....

Last but not least.....I sincerely thank the founders, staff and members who have guided and supported me throughout....to get to where I am today. Without that quality of relationships....what is THIS professional worth?

With time, effort, consistency, determination and a willingness to learn...ActiveRain will help you with your business as well as interacting with others in a positive manner online.

This is what I give to you for my past two years; and the rewards that lie within and within this network.

We come we go...it's what we do in between that matters.

** Mahalo for everyone's support throughout the last two years!  **

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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs  she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com