Patience

Hello all,

"Patience" 

There is never a good time for a storm like this to come in. Being it is during the last couple of days of the month makes it especially difficult in our business. We have several settlements for today and tomorrow, I hope everything goes well. However you might want to prep your buyers and sellers that logistics will be a little more difficult for the Lenders, Title Companies, Movers... Things could get delayed a bit. Also, Doty had a family emergency and will be out of the office for the next week or two, Ella and I will do the best we can while she is away. Wednesday when everything blows through do not forget to get out and check on your yard signs and especially on vacant properties.

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!"

Thankful Tuesday

Hello all,

"Thankful Tuesday"

Our next big office event will be our second annual Thankful Tuesday, It will be held on November 13th in the Potomac office. There will be a short sales meeting from 10:45-11:30 then the party will be from 11:30 to 1:00. I will try to show off some culinary skills by preparing 4 Turkeys, 2 smoked and 2 fried. We do not need everyone to step up but we do need volunteers to bring in salads, appetizers,  side dishes, desserts... Our ever reliable Carol Newcomb will be keeping the master list of what everyone will be bringing so please email her at the address below to let her know how you can help out.

cnewcomb@mris.com

This event is intended for our agents but if there is an agent you like or did a deal with from the outside that you would like to invite for the party feel free! Please park in the garage and we will have validation stickers for everyone when they leave.

                                   

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

~ Unattributed

FALL FORWARD!

With the arrival of the fall season, life’s pace picks up a bit. With the dog days of summer behind us, we look toward the seasonal shifts in business and the approaching holidays. Our “To Do” lists start to get longer, and our enthusiasm sometimes wanes.

So as the days get shorter, how do we increase our productivity? The short answer is “a little bit at a time.” Specifically, just fifteen minutes at a time, according to REALTOR Magazine “Sales Coach” John D. Mayfield.

The argument is simple: you get more done by organizing your day into small chunks of time, instead of devoting three hour blocks to a project. It’s only when we’ve fallen too far behind that we force ourselves to spend so much time and effort on an unfinished task. Then we burn out and can’t seem to get anything done at all.

Take something as routine and unexciting as catching up on phone calls or email messages. Put it off all week, and suddenly you’ve got thirty calls to return and ninety messages in your Inbox. But just fifteen minutes a day spent on each of these two tasks adds up to two and half hours of quality work during the week. Extend that concept to other things like exercise and reading, both of which improve the rest of your day and your labor.

Devoting fifteen minutes isn’t difficult, and once you’ve begun, you might find yourself working even longer. Maybe you’ll feel that the project at hand isn’t so overwhelming after all, and once it’s behind you, you’ll feel renewed enthusiasm for the next item on the “To Do” list.

Ultimately, just remember that fifteen minutes a day is better than nothing at all, and in one hour you can begin to attack up to four different responsibilities. John Mayfield reminds us of the old Chinese proverb: “A minute of time is an inch of gold.” Invest just a few minutes and discover your reward!

Trivia Time

Hello all,

"Trivia Time"

We welcome our new friends in Aspen Hill and their zip code to a Monday Morning trivia question. The first person from each office to answer correctly gets a $25 Starbucks card. Please only hit reply and not reply to all, managers can't play. 

How many months of inventory do we have in the following zip codes, 20906, 20854 & 20874?

If you do not know how to calculate absorption rates and inventory levels please pull me aside and I would be glad to show you.

Last shot today to sign up for Verl Workman on Thursday! Need to get a head count.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."

~ Aristotle

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING?

Aristotle’s quote seems pretty straightforward: If you like what you're doing, chances are you'll do it pretty well, and will find your work satisfying.

But what about the dozens of smaller jobs that we do on a regular basis and do not particularly enjoy - chores we consider robberies of time, but necessary? You know, housecleaning or mowing the lawn or grocery shopping or washing the car.

The fact is that most of us have too much on our "To Do" lists, and much of our “free time” is spent on what we consider menial work that we often begin to actually resent. Viewed objectively, however, how many of the items on your list of chores have self-imposed deadlines and subjective requirements?

Are you setting standards that are unnecessarily high or that are interfering with your enjoyment of time with your family and friends? When you lament "having no time," stop and consider to what extent that is due to your own personal sense of priorities.

You might re-evaluate what is truly essential. Chances are that duties to which you're giving up your entire Saturday are not as important to others as having time to spend with you. After all, how many of us are introduced, "This is Joe - he really keeps his lawn looking great...” or, “This is Mary - she's a wonderful housekeeper…"? How many of our children tell their friends, "You'll really like my mom and dad. They keep all the windows in our house clean…"?

Put down the car wax and the mop and get out and enjoy some time with friends or family, or - here’s a novelty - just yourself. It’s quite likely that the sun will still rise the next day, and your To Do list will wait for you!

Income Vs Activity

Hello all,

"Income vs. Activity"

There has always been a correlation between the activities we do and the income we make. In watching over the offices it is very easy to detect the ebbs and flows of the income we will be bringing in with respect to the activity we see in the offices. The important thing to remember is the lag time between the two. After the spring market we continue to have strong closing months through the summer but the activity in the offices drop dramatically. Once the activity drops in late June, July and early August the income slows 60-90 days later which is, well now! After the summer agents start coming back into the office, activity picks up and contracts start coming in which makes December usually a strong closing month. Get into the early winter our activity slows down which makes February and March slow closing months... repeat next year. Obviously there is a seasonal component to this which makes it worse but we should all be striving to have marketing systems in place to make sure our business does not stop when we take a break. Don't hesitate if you would like to get with your Manager, Mark or Myself on some ideas on how to do this.  

Sales meeting today, 11:30 at That's Amore.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best."

~ Epictetus

GIVE YOURSELF A LIFT!

Have you ever aspired to be deeply depressed? On your list of major life's achievements, have you included becoming an itinerant ne'er-do-well? Does your daily task list include hanging out at the local pub, gossiping over the back fence with nosy neighbors, or spending time with a loser who does nothing but grouse about how the world has dealt him a lousy hand?

Did that first paragraph seem to pull you down? Did you say, "Ridiculous! Who would want to do those things?" If so, congratulations, you've already received this week's message.

Now, let's give this message a lift. Have you ever met someone with a bright inspiring spirit about them, and thought to yourself, "Wow, I'd like to know them better!" Have you noticed that when you attend a community education course, you leave with many fresh new ideas and a powerful boost in your attitude?

A well-known quote says, "You are what you think about all day long." If you hang out with the losers, your thoughts are likely to be dark and depressing. Spend time with those who possess magic in their attitude and enthusiastic vitality in their work ethic, and your thoughts are likely to soar.

Take a close look at your list of goals for this year. Have you included the addition of positive new personal relationships in your work and play environment? Remember that "to have a friend, you must first be a friend." Consider expanding your sphere of contacts to include those who would inspire you to greatness!

RE/MAX Convention

Hello all,

"RE/MAX Convention"

It is a little early to start talking about a convention that is 5 months away however RE/MAX has a special through the month of October. We did not push convention to hard last year but we will be pushing it this year. This year RE/MAX will be celebrating it's 40th anniversary and the convention will be turned up a notch. It will be a great experience, great education, great energy and they also announced that Stevie Nicks will be performong on closing night. See below for the discount, half off through the end of October. Love to see as many of you join us as possible.

For my Park Potomac friends we will be getting a visit from Kevin Northrup who is our RE/MAX regional vice president on Tuesday at 11:30. It would be great if we could have a strong showing in the office during his visit!

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe                                   

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take . . . but by the moments that take our breath away."

~ Unattributed

GO RETRO - SIMPLIFY!

You've heard that it's good to "take time to smell the roses." You may have also read how Steven Covey encourages you in "Seven Habits" to take time to "sharpen the saw." You no doubt have also experienced the frustration of trying to find even a spare moment for yourself.

Why do so many sources advise taking time off for yourself for thoughtful introspection? Don't they know it's impossible in today's fast-paced world of money, soccer games, career challenges, family responsibilities, church & school activities, and so much more?

In fact, our society is totally preoccupied with all of the above. For those living in a big city, or even the suburbs, the pressure is even greater. Those who live in the country at least enjoy a little peace and serenity at the end of the day.

How did this happen? It's simple - or at least it was in the 1950's. Back then there were two kinds of soap - Lifebouy and Ivory. There were four automakers - GM, Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors. There were no computers or Internet, and long-distance was used only to inform relatives of illness or death. A schoolteacher's most serious behavior challenge was passing notes in class. Families watched "I Love Lucy!" together. There was no MTV. Divorces were rare.

Today the choices that face us each day are awesome. Which of many Internet providers or long-distance services should you use? Which cell phone or notebook computer should you have? Where will you find the money for the special dress, chauffeur, and professional photograph required for your daughter's fifth-grade "Prom"?

The world is spinning so fast, and isn't likely to slow down soon. As usual, relief must come from within. While you can't change the world's pace, you are free to change and simplify your own life. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Most importantly, take time to create those special moments that "take your breath away."

The 2013 RE/MAX R4 Convention in Las Vegas, is going to be the biggest RE/MAX party yet as the network celebrates its 40th anniversary! RE/MAX R4 takes place February 25-28 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  You and everyone at your office are getting a major deal on R4 registration, because your Broker/Owner attended the RE/MAX Broker Owner Conference in Washington, D.C.

The special discounted rate of $250 – half off the regular base price – expires at 5 p.m. MT on October 31, so don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to enjoy the convention at a great rate!

Discounted rate of $250 terms and conditions:

• Includes admission to all educational sessions, the Opening General Session and the RE/MAX MarketPlace.
• Includes a ticket to The Big Give.
• Rate is available for RE/MAX affiliates only.
• Pre-convention courses, social events and guests may be added as of November 1st.
• Cancellation requests received by 12/31/12 will receive a full refund. Cancellation requests received after 12/31/12 and by 02/20/13 will be assessed a $150 cancellation fee and the remaining balance will be refunded. All requests must be in writing and will not be honored after 02/20/13. All refunds will be processed after 03/30/13. 

We can’t wait to see you at R4 in February!

Please click Yes to register for the event with the special discount.