Shutdown Time

Hello all,

"Shutdown Time"

I send this coffee out twice a year, now and in the middle of December. We never stop working in this business but we need to make sure we take some time now and then to charge the batteries. The lazy days of summer and the winter holidays are a good time to do it. One of my shutdown modes is to take a little time off from my weekly email so this will be the last one for a bit. I am around if anyone needs me but I will be spending a little more time with family and a little less time in the office the next couple of weeks. Good for the soul and I suggest you do the same.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet."  

 

~ Isaac Bashevis Singer 

 

PREDICTION VS. PRODUCTION! 

 

If you’re familiar with many “motivational” speakers and writers, you’ve probably heard or read a hundred times that you must make a “declaration.” It seems that without uttering your deepest desires, they will not come to fruition. Want a better job? Then you must declare that it will be so. Want a fitter body? First you must affirm you will have one. 

 

But be aware of the definition of motivation, “the reason one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.” Just stating that something will happen is not enough – you must “act” or “behave” in a very specific fashion to make that dream come true. 

 

Declarations comfort us, enthuse us, and even energize us, but only for a short period of time. After the initial emotional rush of acknowledging our desire to pursue something, our energy wanes, other issues become more pressing, and we lose sight of our goals. Unfortunately, when the outcome we visualized doesn’t happen, we feel disappointed and our self-esteem takes one on the chin. 

 

The vicious circle completes itself when we make our next declaration, recalling previous shortfalls, and losing our enthusiasm even more quickly. We say, “Ah, these affirmations don’t work. Just saying it doesn’t make it true.” EUREKA! 

 

Now you realize that success doesn’t come from motivational “tricks,” but from a profound effort to produce the desired outcome. Of course you must acknowledge (if only to yourself) what you want in this world, or you’ll just drift aimlessly. But be sure to follow through with a solid plan that anticipates plenty of detours. 

 

Want a better job? Declare it will be so, and then start taking courses in that field, find a mentor, polish your resume, and apply for the positions for which you have qualified yourself. Want a fitter body? First affirm that you will have one, and then sign up for a fitness club membership, actually go to the club regularly, stock your shelves with healthy food, and eat less of it. 

 

So, become a prophet of positivity! Go ahead, predict your future success! But make sure your prophecy is self-fulfilled! 

Lender Issues

Hello all,

"Lender Issues" 

I have been hearing many of you talk about Lender issues the last couple of weeks. Wanted to let you know that if you are dealing with outside lender issues you are not alone. This is an area we will really need to stay on top of for our clients, especially as listing agents. We need to do our due diligence when contracts come in, monitor the progress throughout and be ready for hiccups as closing day approaches. To be honest the no name Broker or big Banks do not care about us or our clients. We have been in a  refinance market and now we are heading into prime closing season for purchases, it appears there is a bottleneck at many of the banks. We are also in a rising interest rate environment which puts additional pressure on the Brokers and Banks to close their pipelines before lock periods expire. Buckle down, stay on top of things and be ready for anything. We are very fortunate to have to local Lenders that take care of us affiliated with our offices.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet."  

 

~ Isaac Bashevis Singer 

 

PREDICTION VS. PRODUCTION! 

 

If you’re familiar with many “motivational” speakers and writers, you’ve probably heard or read a hundred times that you must make a “declaration.” It seems that without uttering your deepest desires, they will not come to fruition. Want a better job? Then you must declare that it will be so. Want a fitter body? First you must affirm you will have one. 

 

But be aware of the definition of motivation, “the reason one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.” Just stating that something will happen is not enough – you must “act” or “behave” in a very specific fashion to make that dream come true. 

 

Declarations comfort us, enthuse us, and even energize us, but only for a short period of time. After the initial emotional rush of acknowledging our desire to pursue something, our energy wanes, other issues become more pressing, and we lose sight of our goals. Unfortunately, when the outcome we visualized doesn’t happen, we feel disappointed and our self-esteem takes one on the chin. 

 

The vicious circle completes itself when we make our next declaration, recalling previous shortfalls, and losing our enthusiasm even more quickly. We say, “Ah, these affirmations don’t work. Just saying it doesn’t make it true.” EUREKA! 

 

Now you realize that success doesn’t come from motivational “tricks,” but from a profound effort to produce the desired outcome. Of course you must acknowledge (if only to yourself) what you want in this world, or you’ll just drift aimlessly. But be sure to follow through with a solid plan that anticipates plenty of detours. 

 

Want a better job? Declare it will be so, and then start taking courses in that field, find a mentor, polish your resume, and apply for the positions for which you have qualified yourself. Want a fitter body? First affirm that you will have one, and then sign up for a fitness club membership, actually go to the club regularly, stock your shelves with healthy food, and eat less of it. 

 

So, become a prophet of positivity! Go ahead, predict your future success! But make sure your prophecy is self-fulfilled

Golf Tournament Day

Hello all,

"Golf Tournament Day"

Looking forward to a nice day with everyone away from the offices. Looks like the weather Gods are looking out for us!

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't."  

 

~ Gloria Steinem 

 

OPPOSITES DETRACT! 

 

Don't you just love the irony of today's quote? Steinem implies that simply separating people into two categories is too simplistic, but at the same time, she uses that very same technique to convey her meaning! 

 

Learning what something is by defining what it is not has been an age-long practice in education. It's hard to understand light without knowing darkness. How could we appreciate quiet without suffering through loud and constant noise? 

 

While dichotomies or contradictions help us in our understanding, it's very dangerous to define everything we experience in this way, that it's simply one way or the other. Is every declaration either true or false? If so, what do you make of the next two sentences? 

 

The following statement is true. The preceding statement is false! 

 

Okay, all philosophical joking aside, it's easier to categorize the world into "is" and "is not," but we also realize that there are "shades of grey" between the black and the white. If we always expect people to act in just one of two ways, we're in for some nasty surprises. 

 

This world cannot be divided into two kinds of people, no matter how simply you look at it. Can we say that if you make war, you must hate peace? Or that if you love peace, you must not make war? This isn't politicizing - it's a simple observation that we all have within us the capacity for understanding and appreciating not both sides of a situation, but ALL sides. 

 

By avoiding generalizations that reduce everything said or done into good or bad, we open ourselves up to varieties of interpretation that allow us to make truly educated decisions. Sure, it's more complicated and challenging that way, but it keeps us from morphing into the very stereotypes we’re trying to avoid. Vive la difference!