Shut Down Time

Hello all,

"Shut Down Time"

Time of year I shut down my Monday Morning Coffee for a while. December will be a pretty strong closing month for the offices. Let's keep it rolling into 2015!

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"We stand at the crossroads each minute, each hour, each day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform. Each choice is made in the context of whatever value system we've selected to govern our lives. In selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way, making the most important choice we will ever make." 

 

 

- Benjamin Franklin  

 

 

 

ENJOY PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP! 

 

Remember the day you made the decision to go to college? What about the day you decided to buy that sporty red car? Surely you remember the day you decided you would get married. What about your present career path? Did you purposely decide it's what you want to do? Do you remember making a conscious decision to have three children? 

 

Some decisions are relatively simple. You decide to buy a TV, go to the store, write a check - and it's yours. You own it! Other decisions are also easy to make, i.e. the red sports car, but carry a higher price. The decision comes quickly, but entails both a down payment and a commitment to make payments on time for several years. Again, you make the decision to buy and the car is yours - you own it! 

 

At some point in life come decisions that shouldn't have been made, but were, as well as those you should have withheld. In high school, a day of classes skipped may have resulted in grades lower than acceptable to your choice of colleges. Later, a poor choice of friends may have resulted in a blemish on your "permanent" record. As an adult, poor decision-making not only may reduce the quality of your life, but of those you love. 

 

Regardless, each decision made is yours to keep - you own it! You also own the responsibilities created by the decision, i.e. following a healthy lifestyle to stay trim, working two jobs to keep your commitment to the mortgage company, giving up poorly chosen friends and activities to provide your children with a happy, nurturing home life. 

 

Every decision made can turn positive or negative, depending on the actions taken once the decision has been made. Either way - making the decision is followed by ownership of the results. Does "pride of ownership" appeal to you? Buy it, own it, love it! 

2015

Hello all,

"2015"

The link below is an article about the 2015 housing market. Not sure is if I agree with everything in the article but all the news we are seeing at this point suggests 2015 will out perform 2014. Couple of more weeks before we shut down for the holidays, let's spend the time making sure we are ready for next year. If there is more market share available you need to be in better position to grab it then your competition! 

 http://rismedia.com/2014-11-23/improved-home-sales-predicted-for-2015-despite-remaining-hurdles/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eNews

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe 

(Must have taken Thanksgiving off, repeat)

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"People fail forward to success."

~ Mary Kay Ash


FAILING FORWARD!

It's been observed that although experience can be the best teacher, you get it by taking the exam before you've actually taken the course!

Quite expectedly, many of us don't perform well initially when attempting something new. While there is such a thing as a "natural talent" in just about any field of endeavor, it's probably safe to assume that most people working (or playing) at anything, from the practice of law to the game of tennis, have a long road behind them paved with what they considered (at the time) to be failures.

Every experience we have, however, should be a learning process. And our so-called "failures" are in fact the “experiences” from which we learn the most. Early on in life, the way we gain our sense of balance is from falling down when we first attempt to walk. Every fall, every "failure," eventually led to success.

It's a rare individual who does well in his or her first attempt at anything. Despite Yoda's philosophy in the Star Wars saga that "there is no try; there is only do," most of us ending up "doing" after repeated attempts at "trying." Eventually, we “do” manage to succeed.

So perhaps what Yoda was saying, after all, is that when we finally achieve our goals, it's only the end result that matters - because of everything we previously considered, failure simply becomes part of the process of success. Then we have indeed "failed forward!"

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all,

"Happy Thanksgiving"

Wishing everyone and their families a Happy Thanksgiving. Lot's of things to be thankful for but especially your family that you will be spending time with to celebrate. Enjoy the holiday!

Don't forget to sign up for the holiday party on 12/5 6pm at Lakewood Country Club. This is a wonderful event and a great opportunity to spend time with our Remax Town Center Family. Here is the link to sign up.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-dinner-dance-tickets-14304227329?ref=enivtefor001&invite=NzE2ODk3NS90b3duY2VudGVyQG1yaXMuY29tLzA%3D&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inviteformalv2&utm_term=attend&ref=enivtefor001

FYI- The offices will close at Noon on Wednesday so staff can get an early start on the holiday.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"People fail forward to success."

~ Mary Kay Ash


FAILING FORWARD!

It's been observed that although experience can be the best teacher, you get it by taking the exam before you've actually taken the course!

Quite expectedly, many of us don't perform well initially when attempting something new. While there is such a thing as a "natural talent" in just about any field of endeavor, it's probably safe to assume that most people working (or playing) at anything, from the practice of law to the game of tennis, have a long road behind them paved with what they considered (at the time) to be failures.

Every experience we have, however, should be a learning process. And our so-called "failures" are in fact the “experiences” from which we learn the most. Early on in life, the way we gain our sense of balance is from falling down when we first attempt to walk. Every fall, every "failure," eventually led to success.

It's a rare individual who does well in his or her first attempt at anything. Despite Yoda's philosophy in the Star Wars saga that "there is no try; there is only do," most of us ending up "doing" after repeated attempts at "trying." Eventually, we “do” manage to succeed.

So perhaps what Yoda was saying, after all, is that when we finally achieve our goals, it's only the end result that matters - because of everything we previously considered, failure simply becomes part of the process of success. Then we have indeed "failed forward!"

GCAAR

Hello all,

"GCAAR"

Please believe me when I say that hate to write this email as much as you hate to get it, but it is what it is. In order for you to be a Real Estate Agent in our offices you need to be a member of GCAAR or FCAR, the bills are out and the late fees start to hit on 12/1. We will be checking the list through out December to make sure everyone has paid. The reason you have to be a member and why we check is I am on the hook financially for anyone who has not paid after 12/31 and that is not an option. If you have any questions please let me know.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"Let us then be up and doing

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait." 

 

 

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

 

 

EVER NOTICE THE CHANGE? 

 

You may have noticed that towards the end of summer your energy level begins to sag. Depending on the heat level in your area, your tendency to accomplish less may be obvious or even quite subtle. Nevertheless, when that first fresh breath of autumn passes through, drying up the humidity, you suddenly feel rejuvenated. Your energy returns, your objectives come back into focus, and you're back on track. 

 

What a great time of year to formulate some positive autumn resolutions - to literally "turn over a new leaf." In a 1949 issue of "Good Housekeeping," an author notes that we make negative resolutions in January, i.e. "lose" weight, "quit" smoking, etc. - and we do it at a time when we are "worn out in spirit, body, and pocketbook, and have no real urge to do anything but rest." 

 

So - why not use October's entrance into the new season as your excuse to formulate some new goals? Instead of concentrating on the negatives (as in January), take some time alone to work on the positives you want to invite into your life. It can include everything from simple joys of time with family and loved ones to a complex plan to pump up the production level of your business. 

 

Best of all, you won't be distracted by blaring horns, confetti, or a Champagne hangover. In fact, there's no need to share your revitalized outlook with anyone. Work quietly, think outside the box, and plant some new seeds for future growth. Happy "New Year!" 

- See more at: http://www.eugeneoregonhomesforsale.com/Morning-Coffee#sthash.U7a0JqOm.dpuf

Office Numbers

Hello all,

"Office Numbers"

Well our little company continues to grow as it has every year since we started. Very proud to say that because not many Real Estate Companies can! In 2013 the three offices did a combined 370M in volume. We crossed the 370M mark at the end of October this year and should end the year around 425M. So thankful for all of you and to be a part of this amazing run. Many more great things to come for all of us and looking forward to an even better 2015.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

        

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." 

~ Henry David Thoreau

BUILD YOUR OWN!

"Follow the yellow brick road," sang Dorothy and her unusual entourage in The Wizard of Oz, as they marched toward the Emerald City. The road was clear and their direction set. What they didn't know was that the good witch and the joyful munchkins had sent them down a road leading to a wanna-be fake wizard behind a curtain.

Have you ever had friends or family direct you to take a "yellow brick road" of their imagining? If you blindly followed their advice, you may have ended up in your own Emerald City of disappointment. The truth is that you have the power to create and follow a yellow brick road of your own, one that leads to the realization of your dreams.

The hard part is that YOU must also lay the paving stones of that road. You must first decide on a destination, and then be certain that each brick faces in that direction. Along the way, you may be distracted by winged monkeys or a wicked witch of your own making. If you succumb to those distractions, you may look back to find that your paving stones are uneven and lead in the wrong direction.

Only by having your destination clearly in mind will you arrive unscathed by life's many dead-ends and hairpin twists and turns. You must also be committed to the work involved - choosing only the right bricks, having the patience and perseverance to lay them straight, and the strength to avoid life's temptations as you work.

In the words of Thoreau - "If you have built castles in the air . . . "

Marketing Focus

Hello all,

"Marketing Focus"

Before you decide on your 2015 marketing plan/budget a couple of thoughts. First, don't be this guy...

​

Second, I heard a couple of stats about the market that got me thinking a bit. In normal years investors make up 20% of the market, so far this year it is 12%. First time home buyers usually make up 40% of the market and this year it is 19%. The investor part is easy, foreclosures and short sales are fading fast so a lot of the value for investors have left the market. The first time home buyer number is tougher to swallow. New rules passed about two weeks ago which will make it easier for new buyers to come into the market but it is a year off.

So where should we focus are marketing dollars in 2015? In my opinion it is with move up buyers. I would focus on a farm of townhouses ranging from $250.000-$400,000 and start working it hard, and harder, and harder... you get two sell and buys out of it that's 1.5M-2.0M in volume. Not a bad return on the investment. 

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

Sorry-It's a repeat. 

 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY: 

 

"You've failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you? Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot. R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs. Don't worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try." 

~ Full-page ad published in the Wall Street Journal by United Technologies

 

"I CAN'T" IS DEAD!

 

There's a wonderful story in "Chicken Soup For The Soul" about a 4th grade teacher and a funeral. The teacher had her students fill a sheet of notebook paper with all the things they couldn't do. They wrote furiously for quite a while filling their paper with "I can't do ten push-ups," or "I can't kick the soccer ball past second base," or "I can't get Debbie to like me."

 

The students were then instructed to fold their papers and place them into a shoe-box at the front of the room. The teacher then tucked the box under her arm, and invited the students to follow her out into the playground. There, they each took a turn at the shovel and dug a hole four feet deep. The box was placed in the hole and quickly covered with dirt.

 

The students then held hands while the instructor delivered a eulogy in memory of "I can't." In it, she noted that "I can't" was survived by his brothers and sister, "I can," "I will," and "I'm going to right away."

 

"I can't" is a close relative to most of us, yet maybe with a little extra effort we can finally let him go. It won't be easy since he's been such a close relation, yet maybe by dwelling on his brothers and sister and their importance to us - we can!

 

Remember the unforgettable line from "The Little Engine That Could"? "I think I can - I THINK I can! I THINK I CAN!" Don't forget the last line of our quote for the day. "Worry about the chances you'll miss when you don't even try!"

-

2015 Business Plan

Hello all,

"2015 Business Plan"

It is that time of year to focus on finishing 2014 as strong as we can while preparing to kick some %#@ in 2015. Having a solid business plan is a necessity you can't do without, what is your budget, marketing plan and where will your leads come? Some questions that need to be answered in order to prepare for the new year. This year the office will like to offer it's help in two ways, feel free to pick the one you will be comfortable with.

1- On November 5th Mark will be having a training on business planning in Potomac at 10:30 during his agent round table. He will be covering the basics everyone should know. You can also schedule with Mark to have a one on one to review your business plan for the upcoming year. We are calling this a softer approach to looking at business planning.

2- For those of you who would like to take it a step further I have attached the Tom Ferry business plan work sheet. This will be a harder look at not just your business plan but your overall business. I will be having one on ones with anyone who wants to go down this road, you will need to be honest filling out the sheets and have an open mind.

Get with Mark or I individually to schedule your one on one, the sooner the better.

Enjoy your coffee,

Joe

 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY: 

 

"You've failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you? Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot. R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs. Don't worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try." 

~ Full-page ad published in the Wall Street Journal by United Technologies

 

"I CAN'T" IS DEAD!

 

There's a wonderful story in "Chicken Soup For The Soul" about a 4th grade teacher and a funeral. The teacher had her students fill a sheet of notebook paper with all the things they couldn't do. They wrote furiously for quite a while filling their paper with "I can't do ten push-ups," or "I can't kick the soccer ball past second base," or "I can't get Debbie to like me."

 

The students were then instructed to fold their papers and place them into a shoe-box at the front of the room. The teacher then tucked the box under her arm, and invited the students to follow her out into the playground. There, they each took a turn at the shovel and dug a hole four feet deep. The box was placed in the hole and quickly covered with dirt.

 

The students then held hands while the instructor delivered a eulogy in memory of "I can't." In it, she noted that "I can't" was survived by his brothers and sister, "I can," "I will," and "I'm going to right away."

 

"I can't" is a close relative to most of us, yet maybe with a little extra effort we can finally let him go. It won't be easy since he's been such a close relation, yet maybe by dwelling on his brothers and sister and their importance to us - we can!

 

Remember the unforgettable line from "The Little Engine That Could"? "I think I can - I THINK I can! I THINK I CAN!" Don't forget the last line of our quote for the day. "Worry about the chances you'll miss when you don't even try!"

Anomaly

Hello all,

"Anomaly"

We have been talking about the 2014 Real Estate Market, disappointments, changes and problems it has brought. This will be the last I will be talking about it in my coffee and moving forward we will be focusing on the future and preparing for 2015. Lisa and I have had the pleasure of being coached by Tom Ferry personally (she won a contest) for a couple of sessions in September. What he is hearing from all of the top agents and prognosticators is the 2013 Real Estate Market was an "Anomaly". Not so much that 2014 was so bad but 2013 was a lot better then it should have been which led everyone to believe that 2014 was going to be that much better. So the bottom line is the market is taking a step backwards to 2012 and this market appears to be the new normal for the foreseeable future. Are focus really needs to be how to succeed in this market, not worry about what we can't control and work harder then our  competition.

Speaking of working hard and it is a pet peeve... It is difficult for me to see open house requests go unanswered when some of you are not having the year you were hoping for. Buyers are Gold right now and if you need them you should be doing 2 open houses per month.   

  

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"Your imagination is the preview to life's coming attractions." 

~ Albert Einstein

 

YOU'RE THE STAR!

 

Do you believe Orville & Wilbur were first to fly because they had a hammer, nails and a free weekend? Think the television was created by accident? Did Bill Gates just stumble upon the software code that has changed the world? Not a chance!

 

The Wright brothers created the previews of their first flight in the theatre of their minds. Naturally, there were no limitations to their imaginings as they dreamed of flying. Who knows how the dream of television became reality . . . how it was transformed from a mere visualization into vacuum tubes, knobs, and channels?

 

What went through Bill Gates' mind prior to his early experiments? Surely his first visions were not of a colorful package entitled "Windows 2000." Nevertheless, his vivid imagination took us all from the concept of "1's" and "0's" to today's monumentally complex world of computer software and internet browsers.

 

What about you? What goes on in your mind's eye while no one is looking? What do you see yourself doing in one, three, or five years? Do you hear a special future beckoning you to create an action thriller from the previews running through your imagination? Is there a stirring inside you that begs to be brought to fruition?

 

Why not grab some popcorn, a soft drink, and settle quietly into your favorite chair to enjoy the previews of your own imagination? Then, with a clear picture fresh in your mind, create the main attraction - your life!

One More

Hello all,

"One More"

So I have been talking about how to handle sellers in a changing inventory market and I have ended in a each with a way to approach your sellers in a different way, "You see Mr. and Mrs. Seller...". Well I have one more, it is my favorite however I need to caution you to only use it at the right time and with sellers you are comfortable with. Friends and Family usually. Ever have a seller who is also buying who thinks their home is worth substantially more then what the market dictates? They also believe they are crafty enough to get a deal on the buy side? You can show them all day long if they lose it on one side they should get a bit of a break on they other but they just don't get it because they think they can get it on both sides. Frustrating but if you are comfortable... "You see Mr. and Mrs. Seller the sun does not shine on your face and your ass at the same time".

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"To have a friend, you must first be a friend." 

- Unknown

ARE YOU RELATED?

In the long distant past, all generations of a family lived in the same town, if not just across the road or down the lane. Each member of the family knew all the good - and the bad - about every other member (as well as all the neighbors). They worked together, played, and prayed together.

Today, families are scattered throughout the country. What we call relationships now are often only acquaintances introduced through business situations or chance meetings. They may be casual and based only on a single shared interest, i.e. golf, fitness, children's school activities, etc. These relationships may lack depth and rarely go beyond that single shared interest.

Even with family relations more scattered and unavailable to us on a day-to-day basis, our human side still has a need and desire for deeper relationships. The good news is that they are not only possible but also available to us with just a little effort.

A single common interest through school-aged children may result in having lunch together. The lunch may reveal that both individuals appreciate the arts, with one being an amateur photographer and the other a proficient watercolor artist. Further conversation may find that both are caring for aging parents, have endured similar life challenges, or witnessed brilliant successes.

In short, deep relationships, akin to those shared by families in the past, are still possible. Yes, they must be cultivated. They don't just passively occur as in the daily activities of a family. The result is the same, however, as these relationships can provide a richness to life that is missing in their absence. Try to find some missing relations today!

It's a price war and a beauty contest

Hello all,

"It's a price war and a beauty contest"

Continuing the conversation on handling sellers in a changing market... Let me reiterate that the change is going to be healthy with a good amount of inventory hopefully matching buyer demand over time. However when market shifts from selling everything in 10 days to excess inventory and 30-45 days on market we need to handle our sellers differently. Marketing is great to gain listings and market share but we all know at the end of the day there are three factors that sell a house, price, location and condition. Many sellers are more emotional then logical, telling them it is price, location and condition appeals to the logical side. Sometimes saying the same thing in a different way can hit on the emotional side of things. "You see Mr. and Mrs. Seller in the market we are in it is a price war and a beauty contest, in order to be the next house to come off of the market we need to beat the competition at both".  We did not address the location because, well, you can't move the house but we hit the other two points in a way that hopefully they can relate to emotionally. 

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"A man will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.... Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life. Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.... The divinity that shapes our ends is in ourselves. It is our very self.... All that a man achieves is the direct result of his own thoughts.... A man can only rise, conquer and achieve by lifting up his thoughts. He can only remain weak and abject and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts." 

 

~ James Allen, "As A Man Thinketh"

 

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE!

 

It's so simple . . . the advice given in the above quote . . . and so true. Each of us has the power to elevate the value and quality of our life, simply by "lifting up" our thoughts, by placing our hands firmly on the wheel of positive thinking. Earl Nightingale gave an example in one of his taped programs. He said imagine that you are the operator of a huge piece of earth-moving equipment. You are perched in a small cab, hands on the wheel, and have the ability to move vast amounts of earth. Would you take your hands off the wheel and let it run itself into a ditch?

 

Your mind, and hence your thoughts, mirror that steering wheel. Through positive thoughts, you guide your life in a direction that produces positive actions, resulting in positive re-actions from others. Refusing to keep your hands on the wheel will quickly deliver you into life's ditches.

 

Life today is complex. It brings with it many opportunities for negative thinking. They range from the personal early morning "Hurry up, we're going to be late!" to the mid-day business crisis of "The deal isn't going to close!" Another quote goes like this: "Think you can, think you can't, either way you're right!" Again, it's your choice, isn't it?

 

The next time you feel frustration and doubt creeping into your vocabulary, think of a time when you felt really good about a similar situation . . . then replace the negative thought with a positive statement. As another wise individual once said, "Our lives are what our thoughts make of it." 

Absorption Rates

Hello all,

"Absorption Rates"

To continue the conversation of a changing inventory market using absorption rates to help explain the state of the market can be a useful tool with your sellers. To calculate absorption rates in an area you need to go back 12 months and get the total closed sales, you then divide that number by 12 to get the closed sales per month. Next find the number of active listings and divide that by the number of sales per month to find the number of months worth of inventory there is in that area. Here are two examples:

Area = 20874 Zip Code (Macro) Number of closed sales past 12 months = 768. 768 divided by 12 = 64 which is the closed sales per month. Number of active listings in 20874 is 254, 254 divided by 64 = 3.9 which is the number of months the market would take to absorb all of the properties if nothing else came on the market. 

Area= Churchill Town Sector which is a subdivision in 20874 (Micro) Number of closed sales past 12 months = 131. 131 divided by 12 = 11 which is the closed sales per month. Number of active listings = 47, 47 divided by 11 = 4.2 months worth of inventory.

Where this becomes useful with your sellers is the dialogue you can create with it. "You see Mr. & Mrs. Seller with the data we just went through in Churchill Town Sector there will be 11 sales in the next 30 days, to be one of those properties to sell we need to be in the top 11 based on condition and price". So if you have a listing that is overpriced or not in the best condition you can show them what they need to do and where they need to be to sell based on the competition. If you need further help with this on a particular property don't hesitate to ask.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"A man will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.... Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life. Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.... The divinity that shapes our ends is in ourselves. It is our very self.... All that a man achieves is the direct result of his own thoughts.... A man can only rise, conquer and achieve by lifting up his thoughts. He can only remain weak and abject and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts." 

 

~ James Allen, "As A Man Thinketh"

 

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE!

 

It's so simple . . . the advice given in the above quote . . . and so true. Each of us has the power to elevate the value and quality of our life, simply by "lifting up" our thoughts, by placing our hands firmly on the wheel of positive thinking. Earl Nightingale gave an example in one of his taped programs. He said imagine that you are the operator of a huge piece of earth-moving equipment. You are perched in a small cab, hands on the wheel, and have the ability to move vast amounts of earth. Would you take your hands off the wheel and let it run itself into a ditch?

 

Your mind, and hence your thoughts, mirror that steering wheel. Through positive thoughts, you guide your life in a direction that produces positive actions, resulting in positive re-actions from others. Refusing to keep your hands on the wheel will quickly deliver you into life's ditches.

 

Life today is complex. It brings with it many opportunities for negative thinking. They range from the personal early morning "Hurry up, we're going to be late!" to the mid-day business crisis of "The deal isn't going to close!" Another quote goes like this: "Think you can, think you can't, either way you're right!" Again, it's your choice, isn't it?

 

The next time you feel frustration and doubt creeping into your vocabulary, think of a time when you felt really good about a similar situation . . . then replace the negative thought with a positive statement. As another wise individual once said, "Our lives are what our thoughts make of it."

Inventory

Hello all,

"Inventory"

In this business it is very important to follow the micro trends to see if they become macro issues. Inventory has been on the rise and it is now becoming enough of an issue that we may need to adjust our approach to some things. Click on the link below for a complete market update, inventory is up for the last eleven months and we are 30% higher then we were at this time last year. This is not the end of the world and in the long run probably healthy. However it will affect how we handle our sellers, days on market, pace of showings... In the next couple of Mondays I will be revisiting some of the strategies we used back in 2007'ish when inventory was through the roof.

 

http://www.rbintel.com/marketwatch-videos

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace - and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock."  

 

~ From the movie "The Third Man" (1949) 

 

THE CUCKOO BIRD OF HAPPINESS! 

 

This passage makes you ponder where our inspiration and our motivation come from. How many great movements came out of times of peace? Not to knock happiness, but complacency tends to breed laziness, unless we keep ourselves aware of the issues that might truly affect us. 

 

We're all familiar with the concept of the "starving artist" - rationalized for ages now by saying one must suffer for one's art. Of course, this isn't necessarily true. Plenty of beautiful art and literature has been produced by "happy" people. But isn't it interesting that the most controversial, thought-provoking, and powerful works do in fact come out of suffering and a desire to educate others about suffering, cruelty, and wrong-doing? 

 

It seems that people really get motivated by what angers them - when we're happy and complacent, we tend not to get involved in troubling issues. Apathy often arises when we feel that we simply have no say in the result, when we feel disempowered or our vote doesn't really count. But very often our apathy is the result of the fact that overall, we feel pretty good about our situation and feel that we don't necessarily need to get involved - we're happy with the way things are, so let them be and let other people worry about the issues that affect them. 

 

It's our problems - and how we handle them - that help us to grow as individuals. Those challenges in our lives force us to find solutions, solutions that sometimes mean changing ourselves in some way, or changing how we interact with others. Too much "smooth sailing" can leave you asleep at the rudder! Try to see your problems and challenges as opportunities to produce something great or effect a change for the better. 

 

If you're fortunate enough to say, "I am truly happy with all things as they are in my life," then don't become complacent. Find yourself a cause that you believe in and become involved in its promotion. Your life and the lives of those around you will become better for it!