"When you can do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you can command the attention of the world."

-- G. Washington Carver

f ever there was a quote that summed up the lifestyle of real estate broker Carolyn Shamis, this is it. With her zest for life and total dedication to success with flair, she does command attention. At age 38, she has made over 7V2 million dollars in sales just in the last year an extraordinary figure, but then, this is an extraordinary lady.
    Specializing in townhomes and condominiums located in Turtle Creek, Preston Road, and other North Dallas neighborhoods, she gives exclusive and elegant service to a list of clients that read like a "Who's Who" of Dallas. In addition to her prestigious local clientele, Carolyn has also found many of the locations for the television series "Dallas" as well as finding residences and offices for the show's stars and personnel. Over the years, she has dealt professionally as well as socially with many celebrities in the entertainment field and they in turn continue to refer customers to her.
    How does she do it? How does she attract such glamourous clientele and lucrative listings? "My clients know I'm going to give them all my personal attention. I'll listen carefully to what they're saying, and then follow through on every detail until I find exactly what they want." Small but impressive touches such as a chauffeur driven limousine to show her clients around, or a thoughtful "thank-you-gram" for favors done is just part of her style.
    "I just do a little more than usual to make a customer feel comfortable," she smiles. "One of my favorite quotations is from Richard Bach's Illusions which says, 'Do unto others as you truly feel like doing unto others.' I sincerely want to do the best I can to meet a client's needs and to give him the respect that he is due. It's not something I do because I feel I have to. My client, in turn, will treat me in the same way."
    Just as she treats her clients  with  special concern, Carolyn gives a great deal of attention and care to the  way she  looks  and  the  style  of  living  she

maintains. From her diamond-studded fingernails to her immaculately coiffed hair, fashionable wardrobe, and stunning diamond jewelry, she is both flamboyant and elegant at the same time. With her flashy Excalibur car and luxury townhouse, she is obviously enjoying her success.
    "If you look successful, you're going to be successful. People will have confidence in you if you look like you have confidence in yourself. I like women who are doing the best they can with what they have. None of us is born beautiful, but almost all of us can look better if we work at it.
    "Sometimes business can be a real headache and I feel like I'm fighting in a jungle. I've had to learn from the first to shrug off petty criticism, gossip and backbiting. If you're good at what you do and are climbing the ladder of success, you've got to learn to expect it and deal with it. After all, for every action, there's an equal and opposite criticism.
    "You've got to learn to fight, but fight fairly. And never hold a grudge. In the end, if you're right, you'll win. It's like the saying goes, 'Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell someone you are you ain't.' "
    Her road to success began 12 years ago when she came to Dallas and began working as director for catering and sales for the Fairmont Hotel. From there, she went to Acapuico where she sold real estate for the Troy Post Company's Tres Vidas resort. With this experience behind her, she came back to Dallas and applied with a local agency.
    "The women running the agency couldn't handle my approach to sales my style shocked them and they told me I'd have to tone it down. So instead I went to work in the male-dominated field of commercial real estate. At first, I was the only woman working with seven men. Then as I out-leased them, their number dwindled and I ended up running the show." Soon she had established a firm reputation through the successful leasing of the 200,000 sq. ft. LBJ Business Park at LBJ and Webbs Chapel Road.
    As she finished that project, Carolyn chose to take a vacation and decided which direction her life would take next.

During this period of relaxation, a friend asked her to list her home which sold almost immediately. Her next listing came just as unexpectedly and she sold it in three days for $650,000. Suddenly, Carolyn knew which direction her life would take. She named her company "CARSHA, Inc." a combination of her two names and got ready to take the world by storm.
    "A friend warned me, 'Enjoy it now, because it'll never be this easy again,' " Carolyn laughs. "And sure enough, it wasn't.
    And what other advice does she offer to women (or anyone) starting out in business on their own?
    "Stick to what you believe. Decide this is what you're going to do ... and then do it! You must be dedicated and persevere. People will say about someone: 'Oh, she made it because she's so pretty' or 'She's successful because she's so smart.' Neither of those factors is enough you've got to keep at it all the time.
    "Never get into anything you don't like but once you've found what you like to do, know what you're capable of doing and push yourself more.
    "Above all, listen to yourself no one else. Advice from others is not always sound, not always well meant. If it goes against what you think or believe, trust yourself."
EDITOR'S NOTE: For Carolyn Shamis owning an Excalibur is like enjoying a bottle of fine champagne . . . it makes her happy and she's proud of the way it signifies her success. To use Carolyn's words to sum it up, "Even if I could no longer afford to buy an Ex- calibur, professionally I couldn't afford not to own one . . . for in Dallas, a white Excalibur is synonymous with me.