Monday Morning Coffee

Hello all,

“Back to School”

This is an annual Monday Morning Coffee that I send out to congratulate all of the parents in the office. The balance between work, family and personal needs can be very difficult in our business. Having the children home all summer (even though we love them) can throw a big wrench into the balance. So to all of you parents who made it through the summer and are delivering your children back to the school system today, congratulations! I found out this summer that this goes to another level as they get older… I delivered our oldest to Towson University yesterday. There comes a time in their lives where you are ready for them to go and THEY are ready to go. Personal note- Starting with our oldest we will have a kid in college each of the next 10 years, 4 of the years 3 will be in at the same time, 2 of the years 2 will be in and the other 4 just one. Below is the famous Staples back to school commercial to get you in the mood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwcYbo7pjto

Enjoy the coffee,
Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness."

- The Buddha

PLEASE RELEASE ME!

Remember the song "Please release me, let me go"? If you've ever felt that someone or something had a hold on you and wouldn't let go, perhaps you needed an "attitude adjustment."

Why? Unless you are literally chained to a wall, people and things don't have a "hold" on you. It is you who have taken hold of them, and refuse to let go. It's so easy to latch on to the situations, relationships, and baggage of others - believing it possible to have some control over their outcome.

The result is never-ending worry, sleeplessness, feelings of helplessness, and other symptoms of being "out-of-control." Anger is another matter - there seems to be so much of it today. TV shows are full of it. Anger is directed at family, the boss, the spouse, or anyone else in sight. Yet anger results from feeling that things or people are not doing what you think should be done. Anger is felt when you can't control the outcome.

The truth is we are only in control of our own lives and actions - nothing more. Buddha had it right when he said, "Learn to let go." Martin Luther said, "Let go and let God." Regardless of who said it, or how it was said, letting go will open many doors of happiness in your future.

Monday Morning Coffee

Hello all,

“New Stuff”

First of all a big thank you goes out to Colleen & Danny for sponsoring our outing Saturday night. Also, to Carol of course for putting everything together. The weather Gods treated us well and everyone had a great time. For those of you who were unable to attend you were missed.

We have a couple of new things coming to the office in September so I wanted to give you a preview.

New website and back office intranet- We will be upgrading the website, the biggest thing here is agents will be able to get customized personal websites with a full IDX solution for $20 a month. Currently everyone gets a free micro site from RE/MAX but it really does not do much. The new site will give you more options and the IDX solution, it is similar to Homes Database capabilities through MRIS. The $20 per month is a pass through cost which can be added to your bill. The back office intranet (no cost to agents) will allow agents to log in to your statement to check on upcoming settlements, print commission reports, we will have a storage solution where we can put all of the important documents you need, schedule events, reserve conference rooms… It will take us a little time to learn how to stear the ship so we will be doing a full unveiling at the September sales meeting.

Small Buffini Group- Lisa and Sharleen will be starting a small Buffini group, the group will meet once a month for about an hour. This is a great energy builder and accountability session for all that attend. However to attend you must be in the Buffini system getting your blue box every month J

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"A candle loses none of its light by lighting another candle."

- Unknown

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE!

Ever notice how those around you sometimes keep their best ideas to themselves? Perhaps it's you who calls for information from a supplier about a hot new prospecting idea . . . and asks that the information be mailed to your home so others in the office won't see it. Even if the shoe fits, you're not alone and won't be condemned for not sharing.

On the other hand, have you noticed how those who are most successful rarely mind sharing and teaching others their best moves? It's like lighting a candle. Those who are comfortable with their own success rarely feel threatened if they light someone else's candle. They know they will lose none of their own shining light by igniting the candle of opportunity for someone else.

How is candle-lighting best accomplished? First, it takes an understanding of your own strengths. Perhaps you're blessed with a beautiful smile and a never-ending supply of good attitude. If so, the candle you light for others may be words of hope and encouragement. Maybe time management and efficiency in your work ethic are your forte. If so, be a teacher and mentor to those who are not so focused.

The list of possibilities is long, but you probably get the point. Give your strength to others with no thought of reward. Do it every day. The simple candle you carry, when shared, may turn another's life into a multi-colored roman candle of health, happiness . . . and success.

Monday Morning Coffee

Hello all,

“Store Your Nuts?”

I have been at this Manager/Broker thing now for 5 years which has included my Monday Morning Coffee email. Each of the first four years I have sent my annual “Store Your Nuts” email about this time of year. Being in it every day it is easy to pick up the correlation between activity and closings. When general activity is strong you know your closings will be strong 60-90 days out because of the time it takes to get to contract, then the table. When activity is slow obviously you can forecast the opposite. Sometimes we get lulled into confidence because we are having a strong closing period but if the activity is down we need to budget for the future. Coming out of the spring market each of the last four years the activity in the office came to a screeching halt. July & August continued to be strong closing months but the road ahead looked a little gloomy, so I sent my “Store Your Nuts “ email for the fall and winter. I am not quite ready to send up the warning flag just yet for this year. Activity in the office the last 30 days has been as strong as I have ever seen, so the fall is looking good for closings. This is a bigger picture of how I look at the office however I encourage you to take the same approach with your business. Is the phone still ringing, do you have buyers in your car, going on listing appointments… These are all signs that the pipeline will stay full and the cash will keep flowing. I am not saying we are out of the woods and it could be a cold winter but for now the fall is looking good. Let’s keep working hard and keep this rolling as long as we can.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe      

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"A single thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning."

- Unknown

THESE SHOES ARE MADE FOR WALKING!!

Remember one of the ancient sayings from your first-grade teacher? It went something like this: "We learn to do by doing." So . . . from "Chicken Soup" comes this story by John Holt:

"Not many years ago I began playing the cello. Most people would say that what I am doing is 'learning to play' the cello. But these words carry into our minds the strange idea that there exist two very different processes: 1) learning to play the cello; and 2) playing the cello. They imply that I will do the first until I have completed it, at which point I will stop the first process and begin the second. In short, I will go on 'learning to play' until I have 'learned to play' and then I will begin to play. Of course, this is nonsense. There are not two processes, but one. We learn to do something by doing it. There is no other way."

How do we learn to swim? Do we get the basics in a classroom, taught to us on a chalkboard, and then hit the pool like Mark Spitz or Esther Williams? How about riding a bike? Do we study the laws of physics, the effects of gravitational pull, or other Einstein-like theories, and then launch ourselves into the top spot in the "Tour de France?" No - we just fall down and scrape our knees a lot.

Want to add new direction to your life? Begin walking in that direction. Put one foot in front of the other. In other words, "Just do it!" It all begins with your imagination harnessing the power of your mind and the energy of your body. Once you choose a new role for your life, don't learn the part - act the part. One other thing - don't let that "single thorn of experience" deter you!

Monday Morning Coffee

Hello all,

“Sales Meeting”

Quick coffee this morning. I wanted to remind everyone about the sales meeting tomorrow, 9:30 at the Black Rock center. We have had several exciting additions to our organization over the summer, this will be a great opportunity for everyone to meet each other. We will also have a brief presentation from ATC which is a short sale negotiating company which has really figured out the process, they will also be staying after for Q&A. We only have 10 meetings a year and we were off last month so I would like to see as many of your smiling faces as possible.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
- Stephen Covey

WHEN THE WIND BLOWS!

From the book "Wellsprings of Wisdom" comes this story:

A sturdy but diffident young man asked a farmer for a job as a farm hand. "What can you do?" inquired the farmer. "I can do whatever needs to be done, and I can sleep when the wind blows," replied the applicant. Although mystified by the phrase "sleep when the wind blows," the farmer did not press the question but hired the young man.

Some nights later a violent storm awoke the farmer. He got up and tried unsuccessfully to arouse the farm hand, then with considerable annoyance went out himself to see if all was well. He found the barn locked, the chicken coop properly closed up, a wagonload of hay covered with a tarpaulin that was securely battened down, and all else in a condition of safety from the elements. Then the farmer realized what his new farm hand meant when he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows."

Think how often the storms of life give us a wakeup call. How many times have those storms caught us with our guard down and our barn unlocked? The hired hand knew that simple precautions practiced on a daily basis could render impotent the howling winds of uncertainty in life.

Stephen Covey, in his "Seven Habits," talks about being proactive - heading off problems before they arise. While the hired hand never read the book, he understood the practice of closing up the chicken coop every evening. So, how are YOU sleeping when the wind blows?