I have always been fascinated by what makes people smile, and my company is founded on a mission to help people design lives and careers worth smiling about. That’s why I wrote a book on the topic! The act of smiling is crucial to our well-being. Each smile triggers the release of what I’ll call the four “feel-good chemicals” (I remember them with the acronym D.O.S.E.): Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphin.
These are released from the limbic system, an ancient part of our brain that is responsible for emotion, motivation and many instinctive responses. This is important to understand because a lot of our behavior in this area is automatic, given to us by our ancestors and related to our survival as a species.
If you’re like most people, you probably believe that you have to wait until you feel something good, and then smile. After all, it’s only natural. But research shows that smiling actually makes us feel good. So, the “formula” we’ve been following is scientifically backwards! It’s important to understand why we smile, the different types of smiling, the impact that our smile has on those around us and on ourselves, and specific action steps that we can take which can make us happier in life… which, of course, leads to more smiling!
What’s interesting to learn is that the very act of smiling, when done purposefully and proactively, can impact our success both at home and in the office.
So, what does this have to do with becoming a new real estate professional? Real estate can be a little stressful. As you start out there will be much to learn and you will, undoubtedly, have some bumps along the way. That’s all right—that’s how we learn. I am a big fan of teaching agents that those breakdowns are what leads to breakthroughs. I wanted to share these smile secrets with you because during those times of stress or strife, you can count on using your own built-in stress relief system and SMILE to release a dose of the quick feel-good chemicals your body produces.
Smiling is also a great bridge when building relationships – something that you will be doing a lot of as you build your business foundation. Even when you are making prospecting calls, people can “hear” the difference on the line when you are smiling and when you are not. That’s why you see so many sales professionals with a mirror on their desk as they make their calls. It’s a good reminder to stay in the present and keep your wits, humor, and positive mindset about you when you’re on those calls. In fact, those are good things to keep close no matter what you’re doing!
You’ve got this. I’m here to help, with a passionate community of Power Agents® that can be there for you as well. Learn more at www.ThePowerProgram.com/NewAgentSuccess.
Darryl Davis, bestselling author of “How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate” and owner of Darryl Davis Seminars, has trained and coached over 100,000 real estate professionals around the globe for more than 27 years. He is the founder of the Next Level® real estate training system, The Power Program®, which has helped agents double their production over their previous year. For more information, and the new agent tools that can help take you to your Next Level®, please contact darryl@darrylspeaks.com or visit www.ThePowerProgram.com/NewAgentSuccess.
