Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

Spending Time Wisely Was it a fun filled, productive weekend? How do you spend your time? Did you spend it wisely? Did you spend it doing something fun, working – or both? Regardless of how you spent it, each of us has 66 hours from Friday at 5:00pm until Monday at 6:00am to invest wisely. Whose life was impacted by your hours? Clients, family, friends? What memories were created? How many times did you smile, or make others smile? What was the best part of your weekend? If you could turn back the clock, would you spend that time differently? The goal is to end each day with the satisfaction that it was well spent. That you contributed to something bigger than yourself, and that you took the time to also take care of yourself. When we take the time to care for ourselves, we are better able to care for others. Here’s a quick checklist: • Did you get 8 hours of sleep each night? • Did you eat healthy? At least 75% of your food should have been whole foods & water. • Did you exercise? You should exercise at least 30 minutes per day. • Did you hug someone you love? Studies show that hugs build our immune system. • Did you laugh? It can be a funny movie, or laughter in a conversation. Laughter actually extends our life. It’s the little things that can keep you healthy and going full blast, as most of us do, most of the time! Something to Think About Some people always seem calm, relaxed and prepared, while others are stressed, feeling pressure and never have enough time to do what they need to do. Why? We have the same number of hours to work with. What’s the secret? Weekly Activity We all have that person in our life who seems to keep it all together; they stay balanced, and calm all the time. What is their secret? Take this week to reach out to someone who “appears” to have it all together and ask them to share their secret. Don’t be surprised if they have the same challenges that you have. Be prepared to share a few of your secrets as well. Words of Wisdom In all aspects of our lives balance is key. Doing one thing too much can cause upset, like the old saying goes, everything in moderation is the secret! Catherine Pulsifer The problem is that technology has become an extra limb for some of us. It's important to utilize this technology, but at the same time it’s important to know when to take a break from it. Alex Broches Like with anything in life, find the balance between too much work and being too lazy; between spending too much and being a scrooge; between being gone all the time and being in each other's way; between talking each other's ears off and dead silence. Christian Olsen It's not about balance, it's about designing a work-home-family life that makes you feel good. A life you don't need a vacation from. Jacqueline Fisch Your beliefs should knock the scale way off balance leaning to the side of love. If the other side is weighed down with worry, guilt, shame, anger or frustration, choose right now to change that! Debbie Dixon

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

Health Check. I hope that you had a relaxing weekend filled with friends and family. Are you like the millions of Americans who are constantly looking for ways to improve your health? You may have heard the new research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke that finds that the artificial sweeteners used in diet drinks have been linked to a greater risk of stroke and dementia. The April 2017 study, observed participants for 17 years and learned that those who drank at least one artificially sweetened drink per day were nearly three times more likely to have a stroke or develop dementia. Their findings held up even after adjusting for other factors such as age, gender, calorie intake, diet quality, physical activity and the presence of genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. Matthew Pase of the Boston University School said, “We recommend that people drink water on a regular basis instead of sugary or artificially sweetened beverages.” We work in a high stress business and we need to take care of our health! Something to Think About It’s not just stokes and dementia. A 2015 study of adults 65 and older found that those who drank diet soda daily gained more weight than those who did not drink it. Still another previous study found that diet soda could disrupt gut bacteria, leading to glucose intolerance in some people and raising the risk for Type 2 diabetes. Take care of your health so you can be around to celebrate your success for a very long time to come. Weekly Activity Take the water challenge and replace sugary drinks with good old H2O! Words of Wisdom Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. John F. Kennedy I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you. Joyce Meyer Health is a large word. It embraces not the body only, but the mind and spirit as well; and not today's pain or pleasure alone, but the whole being and outlook of a man. James H. West Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open. B.K.S. Iyengar The root of all health is in the brain. The trunk of it is in emotion. The branches and leaves are the body. The flower of health blooms when all parts work together. Kurdish Saying

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

Planning Ahead I hope that you had a fabulous weekend. This week’s message is about planning for the future. Did you know that studies show that most people spend more time planning their vacation, than they do planning their life? Why? It’s fun planning vacations and we look at a vacation as that time when we can relax, unwind, and make memories. Planning for your future, is not quite as much fun for some of us, but it can be. There are several elements to a plan for your future. Start with something fun. Where will you live when you retire? What are the taxes for that area? What are the benefits to living in various areas for retirees? Should you purchase an investment property now, and have it paid off when you retire? Take a trip to the areas of interest, and make it fun! Retirement is still quite a way off for many of us, but it arrives before you know it. What will you do this week to start thinking of the future? Something to Think About Statistics show that most people are not ready for retirement. Research by the Insured Retirement Institute suggests trouble for retiring Baby Boomers. According to the study, 24% of baby-boomers have no retirement savings — the lowest number since the study started in 2011. Only 55% of baby boomers have some retirement savings, and of those, 42% have less than $100,000. Thus, approximately half of retirees are living off of their social security benefits which are an average of $1,500 per month. Weekly Activity: Do one thing this week to start planning for your retirement, regardless of your age. Words of Wisdom: Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money. Jonathan Clements Don't simply retire from something; have something to retire to. Harry Emerson Fosdick The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off. Abe Lemons I'm retired - goodbye tension, hello pension! Author Unknown There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want. Bill Watterson

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

Goal Check! I hope that you had a fabulous weekend and that you are having a very successful 2017. As we enter into the month of May, it’s time for a checkup! Traditionally, most agents will have earned 50% of their annual income by the end of May. What was your goal for 2017? Are you halfway there? If so, congratulations! If not, what will you do differently for the remainder of this year, to achieve your goals? They could be personal or business goals. Market research shows that most people will set a goal in January, but very few people can tell you what that goal was when it gets to this time of the year. Why? Because if you are not reviewing your goals on a regular basis, or have a plan of action that you are following, it’s easy to forget. When you see the impact that achieved goals can have in your life, you look at goals differently. Something to Think About Where are you in relation to your goals? If you can’t remember, or did not set a goal for this year, ask this very simple question: Am I happy with where I am in my personal and professional life? If not, it’s not too late to set some goals for 2017. Think of it as a decision to do something different, so you can have different results in the future. Weekly Activity Review your goal. Are you on track? If not, what can you do to get on track for the remainder of the year? If you did not set a goal, that’s fine, but is there a change that you would like to see in your life? If so, what would be the appropriate goal, as well as the action plan to accomplish that goal? Words of Wisdom Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Albert Schweitzer 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 Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Albert Schweitzer Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. Franklin D. Roosevelt Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude. Dale Carnegie