It’s wonderful to interview with you again and see where life has taken you since the last time we spoke. Let’s start with your summer. How’s it going?
Thank you. This summer has been wonderful for me. I’m using the extra home-based time created by the quarantine to write and spend more time with my family. Work has been busy too and life is great.
How did your family adjust to COVID-19 and especially your children who were doing the distance learning?
Covid-19 has been challenging for sure. I would say our family has gone through many phases of adjustment. At first, I think we just didn’t realize the severity of the situation and assumed life would be back to normal quickly. Once it became apparent that it would not be the case, there were stages of acceptance that had to happen—no more activities and in-person school for the kids and a complete stop to my real estate work. Thankfully, I also have a thriving coaching business that went into overdrive at the same time. Like other families, juggling kids attending online classes at home and work demands, cooking and cleaning, etc. The days tended to get very long and busy. Summer has been a welcome respite!
In your opinion and if you can offer advice to our state leaders, what would you tell them about the upcoming school year?
How to best deal with health and safety while balancing the need for kids to attend school is a tough dilemma to resolve. Kids need to be in school with the structure, their friends, and most importantly, their teachers. This situation is particularly difficult for younger children and children with special learning needs who strongly rely on a higher level of teacher guidance. Many children also lack access to technology and or connectivity needed to participate fully in remote learning models. However, it’s not clear how to return to school safely. I am interested in my children returning to school, but I can’t honestly say it doesn’t scare me.
Many New Yorkers have fled and are fleeing the city for greener pastures. How has that effected your business?
While it is true that many people are choosing to head to the suburbs, we see a considerable uptick in real estate buyers in New York City. In-person showings were again possible from July 6th, and I have been very busy with my clients seeking to buy. One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that my clients want to be within walking distance from their offices to avoid mass transit.
Do you envision Manhattan rebounding like it always does or do you see these trying times setting the city back for a longer period of time?
New York City is the ultimate comeback kid! We will be back and stronger than ever.
During the pandemic, you have written two e-books, both of which I read. Congratulations! What made you decide to put the pen to paper so to speak?
Thank you! I am looking for ways to offer tips, tools, and guidance to help others level-up their own life experience and enjoyment. We are all going through a range of reactions to our current conditions, including; the pandemic, economic, health, and political environment. These realities have led many to look for ways to cope and even improve their self-growth and development. In sharing my perspective, experiences, and exercises, I hope to aid others along their path.
Tell us about Bring Yourself Home which is your first book you wrote and what was the inspiration behind it?
In Bring Yourself Home, I wanted to introduce the concept of discovering your true desires in life and how to remove the limitations that are impeding your progress. I tried to explain a bit of my approach in combining my skills and experiences to create an entirely different approach to buying and selling real estate and building your dream life as a comprehensive undertaking.
Is Bring Yourself Home a book for all ages and who is your target audience?
Bring Yourself Home is for people who are at a point in their lives where they seek to understand themselves better and consider all of the elements of their environment, including their home and work, and how to optimize them to create a fulfilling and joyful life.
What is the biggest takeaway from Bring Yourself Home?
The biggest takeaway from Bring Yourself Home can be summed up in one line from the book; Personal development is not just about identifying your worth; it’s about taking action to increase your experiences of joy and success in whatever way works best for you. We can live beyond the confines of our current reality. We are unlimited in possibility, and we can take charge of designing the life that we deserve. Unbridled happiness and joy are within our reach. We have to unlock our potential.
Let’s talk about Six-cess? Wow! Wow! Wow! 6 kids being an inspiration! Talk us through this.
Six-cess is all about the concept that each person we encounter is our teacher and our student. This is not based on a person’s age nor station in life and is no different with our children. In the book I reflect on the lessons I have learned in raising my children and offer exercises for the reader to use to reflect on the concepts.
Not many parents can say that their children are actual inspirations because they are the ones that do the inspiring. What advice can you give to parents when trying to see certain characteristics in their kids and bringing that out of them?
My advice would be to make sure you’re not projecting your own thoughts, feelings, and talents on your children. Stand back to reflect on your child with a completely open mind, without any conclusions drawn. It’s important to be observant without leading your own agenda. We are here to guide, teach, and protect them, however, we do them a disservice if we try to live out our own dreams through them. Seek that which is unique to them and acknowledge them for it. Validate their feelings and ideas and empower them to create their own vision of life. Pretty much the same way we should treat ourselves; love and acceptance result in self-confidence, satisfaction, and success.
How can people contact you for your services during these challenging times?
I can be reached via email at bdb@brendadibari.com or my website www.brendadibari.com
Thank you so much for sharing your life with us. You truly are an inspiration and we look forward to speaking with you again.
It is my pleasure and I look forward to our next interview!
