“If you’re like me at all, then you probably like to spend your free time watching episodes of Shark Tank, laughing every time Barbara Corcoran says, “and for those reasons, I’m out”.”
Corcoran is a hard-working woman, an example of a female leader and entrepreneur in today’s world, and so I decided to check out her podcast, titled Business Unusual with Barbara Corcoran. In this podcast, Corcoran talks about her business beginnings, having a whipping twenty-two jobs before starting her real estate company, and having dyslexia, which hindered her learning. This podcast is all about finding positivity and confidence to kickstart a career in business. The episode I listened to was Episode 85: Why Positivity Wins.
This episode was very inspiring, because I honestly did not know how difficult Corcoran’s beginnings were. In the episode, Corcoran gives advice to those struggling with self-confidence, and many of her tips seem to have given her real results. We’ve all been there- something bad happens, and we go down a rabbit hole and think about all of the bad things that have led to this moment, and wonder why these negative experiences always happen to us. Corcoran suggests not allowing yourself to listen to these old memories, and instead rewrite these tapes that rewind in your mind, even if the new tapes are fake.
“Oh Barbara you’re amazing; you’re a genius; you’re incredible; you’re gorgeous; we’re so lucky to have you; oh my gosh, you grace them with your presence. And what do you think happened after doing that for a few years? I actually believed my own bullcrap! But guess what? It built my confidence”, Corcoran says.
She then states today’s tip, a segment she has often. The tip is- perception creates reality. Corcoran tells a story of when her salesperson was complaining about not having a big enough market. Corcoran decided to type up a report listing her sale price, and the average New York apartment price. She mailed it to every New York Times writer, and ended up being featured on the headlines. This silly report created big buzz for her, and her salespeople had much more pride. She then tells another story about Madonna, but I’ll let you all listen in to see what happened. From these experiences, Corcoran was able to create a perception that she was this and that, and then once the perception was created, she could catch up and prove herself to be. At the end, Corcoran promotes her podcasts as usual, mentioning that you could call into her hotline, 888-BARBARA, to ask questions and possibly be featured on the show.
Overall, I really loved this podcast, because of how real it feels. I felt that Corcoran is relatable, despite being such a big figure in business. Through her podcast, she follows her tip that perception creates reality, in that my previous impression of her was a no frills, somewhat strict, powerful woman, but now I know that she is a hard worker with a wonderful sense of humor (the podcast logo is so funny to me!) that was able to build her success, and give back to those who want to do the same. I think Corcoran is very straightforward, giving useful tips, telling interesting and relatable stories, and overall increasing her listeners’ confidence. She is a woman that I look up to a lot, and I highly recommend her podcast.
Rating: 10 ears out of 10!
article by Sarah Guo ’23
design by Carolyn Lu ’24