Robert Moles, president and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate Corporation, has challenged the Century 21 System's more than 110,000 brokers and agents to "feel the power" of the system and take full advantage of the products and services made available to them during his keynote address at the 1998 Century 21 International Convention, held recently in San Diego, Calif.

Moles cited the expansion of one-stop-shopping and the further integration of the Internet as key components in the system's evolution as the 21st century approaches.

"Time -- or the lack of it -- is a powerful force for change. We are living in a unique age where for the first time there may be less time than money," Moles stated. "The consumer expects to be able to go to one place and get it all. They want to be able to go to one source -- their real estate broker or agent -- and get the mortgage, the insurance, the referrals for inspectors, everything associated with purchasing and moving into their new home.

"We must realize that we're in something much bigger than the home sales business. We're in the making-it-your-home business," Moles emphasized to brokers and agents. "We must continue to maintain our ability to be more valuable to consumers. We must establish one-stop shopping in order to stay on top of the wave of great consumer expectations."

Additionally, Moles promised a continued corporate focus on the development of technology, such as expanded home listings on the system's Internet sites, www.century21.com and Century 21 Communities. "The Internet is taking us from a closed environment to an open environment, where the customer has access to the same information that we do," Moles added. "No one is better positioned to influence the future than we are, because we are the largest system in the industry. No one has more information to exceed consumer expectations, and no one has better tools to serve the consumer than the men and women who comprise The Century 21 System."

Above all, Moles' message to the system was that each broker and agent is responsible for his or her own fate and success. Moles cautioned the system from becoming content. "The real estate industry is at a point of great change," he said. "The Century 21 System can provide you with the best tools and resources available, but at the end of the day, your success boils down to what you as an individual make of those tools."

With the help of motivational speaker Anthony Robbins, Moles had the convention attendees on their feet. "The 36 hours of convention are exactly how I see the Century 21 System moving into the future,'' Moles said. "By the end of the day, there was a power that you just can't explain -- a power of personal achievement and pride felt by everybody in the room that is just unstoppable. That power and pride in our work is what makes the Century 21 System stand out from the crowd."

To further enhance the energy at the convention, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Moles during his keynote address to announce that Century 21's parent company, Cendant, has signed on as a corporate sponsor for the Inner City Games Foundation. The organization, with Schwarzenegger as executive commissioner, develops and oversees sports and education-based competitions in inner cities around the country, providing more than 1 million young people with an alternative to drugs, gangs, and violence.

Additionally, the 1998 Easter Seals child representative, 7-year-old Zachary Hastings of New Hampshire, took the stage with his parents to publicly thank the Century 21 System for its continued support. Brokers and agents raised $2.4 million for Easter Seals in 1997 and have contributed more than $60 million since beginning their corporate affiliation in 1979, making the Century 21 System the largest single contributor in the charity's history.

The 1999 Century 21 International Convention will be held March 16 through March 18 in Las Vegas. Century 21 Real Estate Corporation is the franchisor of the world's largest real estate brokerage system, with more than 6,300 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in more than 25 countries and territories worldwide. Century 21 Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation.