Adrian’s Advice

I have the wonderful opportunity to live in Paris and work for Adrian Leeds, who is an amazing Real Estate entrepreneur in France and editor of Parler Paris: http://www.parlerparis.com/ and that’s just the tip of the iceberg of her company. I first met her in 2004 when she had a conference in Washington D.C. and I was visiting my friend Carrie J. who had a wonderful condo on Pennsylvania Ave.

Since I have been working with Adrian, she never fails to share excellent words of wisdom with me. Okay, sometimes the words are delivered when she’s frustrated or simply trying to get a point across to me, but for me some things she says are like little “Light Bulb Moments” for me. Maybe just common sense for others…but I’m going to blog about them anyway.

Last Year's Conference-Paris, October 2008

The first one is: “Don’t Worry”, yes I know it could be common sense, but when I talked to her before deciding to quit my job in the states and explained to her that my life was unorganized, my real estate investments were falling apart, my future was uncertain and the sky was falling…..her first piece of advice was simply, “Don’t Worry”. After I stopped worrying and kept reminding myself of those two simple words, I was able to “FOCUS”, make plans and take action for my life…and today here I am sitting in my Paris apartment and the sky never fell.


Yesterday, she was trying to get a point across to me, and I wanted to make sure I did not miss what she was saying, so I asked her to repeat what she was saying, say it again, and say it slow (yes…she was speaking in English), because I told her I was writing it down. I wanted to write down every word she said. Her reply was simple, but I could tell she was frustrated as she calmly yelled, “Don’t write it down, ABSORB IT!”

Wow, what a concept?! I was missing most of what she was saying because I just wanted to get it on paper. Never mind hearing her…I’ve always known that to learn a language I must absorb it, and not just have notes written on a paper or some words memorized, because the words on paper is just that, and things memorized can be forgotten. But when I’ve learned it , I’ve absorbed it.

It also reminds me of places I’ve visited, but was too busy taking pictures and videos, I never really experienced the visit. I only experienced taking pictures and videos.
Her advice of: “Don’t write it down, ABSORB IT!” is advice I can use, not only when she’s explaining a concept, but also when I am experiencing some of life’s events.

Adrian's Birthday-Paris, Last Year 2008

p.s. When she started explaining intricate details of a French process, she then said:” Now this, you might want to write down….” So I quickly pulled out my pen and paper…