LIVING THE DREAM

WELCOME

Hello and happy early Mother’s Day to those who celebrate! I hope everyone has something fabulous planned for either yourself or the mom in your life.

I guess I’m inspired by Mother’s Day this week, so our main topic is a little bit different. Today I want to talk about what it means to live your dreams and what it took for me to shift my mindset. I’ll also touch on what’s happening between Compass and Zillow and Redfin. So let’s get right into it!

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

Who’s Winning Here?

As we all know, Compass is currently squared off against Zillow and Redfin in regard to private listings. Compass is promoting private listings as a way for sellers to test the market or maintain their privacy. They’ve built tools for their agents to share these listings within their internal network, creating a “walled garden.” Critics argue that this limits transparency and broader market access.

By “critics,” I mean Zillow and Redfin.

These entities believe the use of private listings hurts both buyers and sellers, so they’re fighting back by talking about banning properties that aren’t put on the MLS within 24 hours.

Now, while I understand the benefits for each side, what I don’t agree with is how everyone has their own agenda here. The ones who are losing are the buyers and sellers, because none of this aligns with what benefits them. I truly believe that it’s up to the seller on how they want their home marketed. It’s my experience that when someone takes what should be a simple concept and makes it convoluted, it’s always to their own benefit.

But I’m curious what you think!

STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

Only in My Dreams

When anyone asks me how I am, I always reply with, “I’m living the dream, selling real estate every day.” I say this because it’s 100% true and sometimes I have to pinch myself that I get to do this every day.

Today I’m taking a big step back and breaking down what I mean when I say it. When talking about what it means to “live your dreams,” I think there’s only two people's opinions that you should take into consideration. The first is who you were at eight years old who dreamed of who you’d be today, and the other is the person who is 80 years old, looking back at the memories you made today.

Here’s what I mean: this weekend after an open house, I went to my daughter's house. My kids were all going to be at Victoria’s place and they knew I was coming. But I told them, “Don't tell the babies I'm coming,” because I wanted to surprise them. So when I showed up unexpectedly, those babies ran across the backyard and hugged me like I’d just returned from war. Oh my stars and stripes, did that make my heart smile!

People get hung up that their dreams have to be so big, so grand, so tangible and expensive (like going to Paris and buying a handbag that costs as much as a car) that they fail to recognize the beauty and love in their everyday life. One of the reasons that I’m a happy and positive person is that I always make sure to appreciate exactly where I am and what’s happening in my life.

To me, that’s the dream.

For example, on this past Sunday, I also got to hang out with clients who I consider friends, two people who I enjoy spending time with. I was showing them two houses, two beautiful houses with two amazing real estate agents. (Being a listing agent, they had to be there because the price range.)

Then I went to lunch with my church group and got to meet some people who I hadn't met before. I went to my open house, where I was able to help people who really value my council. Finally, I went to my daughter's house and that was just perfection, seeing the joy on those little faces. Afterward, I headed home and watched basketball. Like, that was my day Sunday, and the entire time, I kept thinking to myself, It could not get any better. I mean, I didn't sell anything, I didn’t buy anything; I just enjoyed myself and those around me. There was zero pressure, zero stress. Everything that I did was designed for me to enjoy my life. That is the dream right there.

I assure you, it was not always like this. I was not always so good about being present in the moment. And I was downright terrible at articulating what I wanted. For so many years, I was absolutely crippled by the notion of what other people thought of me. Forever, I wanted to be liked by everyone. Forever, I wanted to be with the cool group. Forever, I wanted people to think I was amazing.

I wasted seven years of my life trying to be whatever the person I was with was looking for. What I mean is if someone I wanted to impress wanted to go antiquing, well, then I wanted to go antiquing with them. That’s because I wanted them to enjoy being around me, even though the last thing I truly wanted was to trigger my allergies while poking around some dusty old shop.

Not anymore.

Now I just want to spend time people who I love and cherish. So if you were to say to me, “Okay, Glennda, today is your last day. What are you gonna do?” I’d do exactly what I did on Sunday.

Again, I wasted so much time being like this. The turning point for me was going to see Tony Robbins because when I came back from that event, the scales had finally fallen from my eyes. I realized that in trying to be cool, in trying to be liked, I’d surrounded myself with people who weren’t cheering for me. Instead, they were watching for the fall, waiting for me to fail.

I remember so distinctively these three women in particular who were my “friends.” “Friends” who got me to drink too much, who’d laugh as they put me in a bad situation. Who’d gossip to me about everybody else, when it never occurred to me who they savaged when I wasn’t there.

When I saw those women again after Tony Robbins, I was like, Oh, wait a minute, these are not my friends. Why am I devoting my precious time to those who don’t lift me up?

I do not have people like that in my life anymore; I just don’t have the time for them. Recently, I went to breakfast with my girlfriend and I was like, “I love you so much.” People might think it’s weird that I’m so effusive, but when people love me, I love them back. And that’s the bar I’ve set—if I'm not doing what I love so much, I ask myself why I’m doing it. I no longer pour energy into people who don’t give it back, or things that don’t give me that feeling.

When people think about me when I’m dead and gone, I want them to say, “She was so real and she loved so big.” I want people to say that I had this energy that was just contagious. That I made every environment that I was in better, I made every person who I spoke with better, and I really did inspire, impact, and inform every person I came into contact with.

So when I say that I’m living the dream, selling real estate every day, this is what I mean… and I wish this for y’all as well.

@glenndabaker

What I wouldn’t do for one more minute with my mom…#GlenndaBaker #RealEstate #AtlantaRealEstate #GetToKnowGlennda #Mom

Win the Listing Before You Walk In — Free Q&A with Glennda Baker

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I’m sharing exactly how I win the listing before the appointment even starts. From powerful pre-listing packages to authentic video messages, I’ll show you how to make sellers say, “You’re the one.”

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👉 Watch the free Q&A — on demand now!

GLENNDA’S GURU

Welcome, Marki Lemons Ryhal!

I am super excited to share my interview with Marki Lemons Ryhal today! Marki is a dynamic keynote speaker, international bestselling author, and a real estate educator. This Chicago-based dynamo has taught more than 500,000 students through more than 100 class for continuing education, so we would be safe to call her reMarkiable. Anyway, I loved our chat and know that y’all will, too!

Thank you, Marki!

GLENNDAISM

Today’s Words of Wisdom

GLENNDA BAKER & ASSOCIATES

The Shiny Penny

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