Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Know Your Value How was your week? I hope that it was as special as you! Today, I would like to show you how things that are valuable and precious, do not decrease in value, regardless of the circumstances. At a recent conference, a popular speaker started off the session by holding up a $100 bill.  He asked, “Who would like this $100 bill?”  Everyone held up their hand.  He said, “I am going to give this $100 bill to one of you but first, let me do this.” He crumpled the bill up.  He then asked, “Who still wants it?” All hands were still raised. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” Then he dropped the bill on the ground and stomped on it with his shoes. He picked it up, and showed it to the crowd. The bill was all crumpled and dirty.  “Now who still wants it?” All the hands still went up. “My friends, I have just showed you a very important lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $100. Many times in our lives, life crumples us and grinds us into the dirt. We make bad decisions or deal with poor circumstances. You might even feel worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special – don’t ever forget it! Something to Think About... A man that I respect very much used to say:  Don’t feel bad when you make a mistake. You’re human. It happens. However, making the same mistake twice, is just plain dumb! Weekly Action Plan Are you remembering to send out these weekly emails to your clients and customers each week? These messages are designed for you to stay in touch with your clients. This is the time of the year when many of your clients will want to buy or sell their home. Words of Wisdom With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” – Dr. Wayne W Dyer “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale “Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.” – Maya Angelou “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle “An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of the superior personality.”  – Brian Tracy

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

You Don’t Need Luck You don’t need the luck of the Irish to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but you do need a plan.  Folklore says that even though the rainbow tells people where the pot is, humans have to catch the leprechaun first in order to find it.  You have to be smart to catch the leprechaun, and the smart agents find their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow each year.  Your pot of gold is that amount of money that you want to make each year in real estate. The rainbow, or your path to the gold, is your business plan and action steps.  May the Luck of the Irish be with you this week. Something to Think About Throughout history, humans have chosen to believe in something to aim for. It does not matter how crazy it was, or unattainable it was in the eyes of many. Maybe this belief is what kept us moving forward. Weekly Action Plan Are you on track to hit your goals for the first quarter of 2017? If not, time to pull out the plan and re-evaluate. If so, Congratulations! Words of Wisdom “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams “Learning is a gift. Even when pain is your teacher.” – Maya Watson “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened” – Mark Twain “The past has no power over the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle “If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.” – Guy Finley

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Obstacles and Opportunities How was your week? Any obstacles? It’s always great when our week is obstacle free, but that’s not always the case. It’s not the obstacle, but how you handle the obstacle that counts.  I am reminded of the story of the King who wanted to see how his people would handle obstacles. This king had a huge boulder placed in the middle of a road. Then he had his most trusted advisor hide nearby to see if anyone would try to remove the gigantic rock from the road. The first people to pass by were some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers. Rather than moving it, they simply walked around it. A few loudly blamed the King for not maintaining the roads. Not one of them tried to move the boulder. Finally, a peasant came along. His arms were full of vegetables. When he got near the boulder, rather than simply walking around it as the others had, the peasant put down his load to move the stone to the side of the road. It took a lot of effort but he finally succeeded.  Under the bolder was a purse, lying in the road where the boulder had been. The peasant opened the purse and discovered that it was stuffed full of gold coins and a note from the king. The king’s note said the purse’s gold was a reward for moving the boulder from the road. The king showed the peasant what many of us never understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. Something to Think About Think about your past. How many times has something happened that seemed like a disaster, at the time, but it forced you to take an alternative path, or do something that you would not have otherwise done? Now looking back, that obstacle or situation had a positive impact on your life. You are who you are today, because of those obstacles. Weekly Action Plan This week, when things don’t go as planned, don’t panic! Take a breath and look for an alternate plan, remembering that it might actually work out better. Words of Wisdom You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind. Joyce Meyer Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you. Les Brown Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them. Jack Canfield “Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” – Paulo Coelho “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.”  – Edith Wharton

4 Reasons to Settle in Syracuse

Buying a house is a major life change, especially if you're considering a new city. With Syracuse named one of the best places to live by U.S. News and World Report, the city is on the radar of many young families, empty nesters, and everyone in between. Here are four of the best reasons to think about moving to Syracuse.

Proximity to Weekend Getaways

Living in Syracuse means you have a bevy of entertainment options at your fingertips. You can get to Buffalo for a Bills game in three hours, or to New York City in just four. When you're close to home, it's just a short drive to the wine region of the Finger Lakes, and minutes to desirable suburbs with tons of shopping and dining.

Low Housing Costs

Purchasing a home is an expensive proposition, but those buying a house in Syracuse get more value for their money than in other U.S. cities. Not only is housing less expensive, but you'll also pay less for amenities like gym memberships, parking, and personal grooming.

Kid-Friendly Fun

Syracuse is a city on the younger side, with the median age of residents at just 30. With that in mind, it's a great place to consider buying a house if you have or plan to have children. Not only is it home to the 12-day Great New York State Fair, but favorite family locales within the city also include the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology and the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park.

Higher Education

Syracuse is, of course, home to Syracuse University, as well as close to such institutions as Cornell University, Ithaca College, and several State University of New York campuses.

With these benefits, it's no wonder that the city is so highly ranked as a potential home base. As a qualified realtor who specializes in the greater Syracuse area, I can help your family find the perfect home at the right price.