Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

The Making of a Mentor How was your weekend? Did you have an opportunity to inspire someone this week or to “give back” in some small way?   It’s easy to get caught up in the everyday challenges and “stuff” that comes our way, but the benefits of giving back can be the best part of our week! The question that many people ask is how do you do it? Certainly, there are many opportunities by way of existing charities and outreach programs, but on an individual level, it takes a little more effort. One of the greatest ways to inspire is to serve as a mentor. When considering someone to mentor, you must make sure that your background and experience aligns with what they hope to achieve. More importantly, you must ready yourself to be completely open and honest. When people look at you as a mentor, they believe in you completely. If you aren’t totally authentic in your advice to them, you are doing them a disservice.  If mentoring sounds like something you might want to do, start with a blueprint or outline of what you do and how you do it. If you need assistance in this, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We love seeing agents thrive via mentor/protégé relationships. They are powerful and inspired. I’m here to help! Something to Think About:  You might be thinking that the only time in your life when you can inspire someone or mentor them is when you have achieved greatness or your own dream. That is simply not so. No matter how far along you are on the path to greatness, you are further along than someone else. There is always someone who could benefit from your help and advice. To that person, you can be a great inspiration. When it comes time to giving back, there is never a better time than now. Weekly Activity:  Create a blueprint for success that you can share with someone who could use a mentor. Words of Wisdom: Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently. Maya Angelou I know that I came into the world with what I call 'big dharma' - with a blueprint to teach self-reliance and a positive loving approach to large numbers of people all over the globe. I am ever so grateful for the circumstances of my life that allowed me to be pretty much left alone and to develop as I was so intended in this incarnation. Wayne Dyer If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down. Toni Morrison People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things. Steve Jobs “People who made their dreams come true didn’t simply go after it. They changed the person they were, in order to fit the type of person that would live that type of dream.  Shannon L. Alder

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

Inspiration in the Ordinary Were you inspired this weekend, or were you an inspiration to others?  Traditionally, what inspires us most are ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. We appreciate when someone has the ability and willingness to be selfless, creative, innovative, or just dares to be different. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were ordinary people who decided that the world needed their help — people who believed that they could change the world, despite nearly impossible odds and tremendous opposition, and they weren’t afraid to try. The beautiful thing about inspiration of this kind is that “ordinary” part. Each of them came from backgrounds of great poverty and difficulty and faced giant hurdles. They succeeded because they were not afraid to be who they were. They were authentic, and they were passionate about their beliefs. Too often, many of us fail to see the greatness within ourselves. We sometimes assume that a person is only great if he or he makes headlines. But press isn’t necessary. In fact, sometimes the most inspiring people in the world go completely unnoticed. What inspires me are the people who do something to better humanity in their own small corner of the world. They don’t need headlines or accolades. They need only to know that they stepped up to make the world a little bit better. Have an inspired week, and if there is anything I can ever do for you – please don’t hesitate to call! Something to Think About Each of us can be an inspiration to those around us. You never know who you’re going to impact when you give. Giving back leaves a legacy that will live on far longer than you will. You will be amazed at the way inspiring others makes you feel. In fact, it is the only feeling that rivals the one you get when you realize you have achieved your dream. Weekly Activity: Be an inspiration to someone in your world this week. Reach out and connect. If you are not currently doing so, can you consider adopting a charity or cause this year that can be a focus for you as you grow your business, you can also create a legacy? Words of Wisdom Do one thing every day that scares you. Eleanor Roosevelt What's meant to be will always find a way. Trisha Yearwood The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all. Walt Disney If you're reading this ... Congratulations, you're alive. If that's not something to smile about, then I don't know what is.Chad Sugg We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.  Maya Angelou

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

Here’s to Healthy Relationships! Happy Monday! I hope you found some time this weekend to spend with that special someone in your life. Or maybe this is the year to find that special someone. Did you know that one of the top New Year’s Resolutions is the find that “special someone”? If you or someone you know is looking for that special relationship in 2018, here are some values to look for in any relationship: 1. Trust is one of the most important factors in a relationship. If you don't trust the person you are with, then it is probably not a healthy, stable relationship and you most likely will feel insecure about it. 2. Being truthful and honest is major when it comes to relationships. If you can’t be honest in the relationship, it’s not the right one! 3. Respect is a must. No amount of love is worth giving up who you are and the respect you deserve. 4. Communication: You need it to express feelings, needs, and expectations. You need it to solve conflicts and you even need it when it comes to intimacy. Without good communication, how can any relationship grow? 5. Relationships aren't always sunshine and rainbows, but the happy times should far outweigh the unhappy ones. Being happy is really important in a relationship and if you are not happy then it is time to move on. 6. Compromise: Healthy relationships need compromise in order to work and to establish happiness between both partners. By the way, having amazing, trusting, mutually-beneficial relationships of ALL kinds are a big key to a successful and happy life. From partners to family to friends – and even business colleagues. Is it time to make a shift in the company you keep this year? I’d love to share with you some of the ways we help support our team members, so they have the best possible foundations for success. Something to Think About: Those traits above are not just for new relationships, but sometimes it’s good to reflect on your current relationships. Are they healthy? Are you respected? Are you happy? Those guidelines apply to all the relationships in your life! Weekly Activity: Reach out to at least ten past clients who’ve been wonderful to you and let them know how much you appreciate them. Make this the year you nurture those valuable relationships in your life. Words of Wisdom: In finding love, I think it's important to be patient. In being in a relationship, I think it's important to be honest, to communicate, to respect and trust, and to strive to give more than you take. Kina Grannis Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Ann Landers “My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and the courage to accept the love in return.”  Maya Angelou “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Lao-Tzu “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” Sam Keen

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

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

Invest in Your Future! I hope you had a fantastic first week of the New Year, but what about your future? If you were to write the final chapter of “your book”, how would it read? Where would you be? What would you have accomplished? Most people spend more time planning their vacations than they do their retirement! Do you put a certain amount of money away each month to ensure that you will be where you want to be, and doing what it is that you want to do? When I was young, I was told that if I were able to contribute $100 to an investment account each month, with a 6% rate of return, I would become a millionaire in 66 years. Of course, depending on how old you are now, putting away only $100 a month may not be a reliable long-term plan for building wealth and planning for retirement, but it’s a start. More importantly, for your children, this is a great way to ensure they are ready for retirement some day. Getting into the habit of saving any amount will be helpful for you in the long run. A great rule of thumb is to set aside or invest 10% of each commission check. Something to Think About:  The average American puts aside less than $1,000 per year towards their retirement. What will YOU do to invest in your future? Weekly Activity: Contact 25 past clients, customers, friends and family this week. Let them know that there is so much new news regarding the housing market, and that you know a LOT of people have questions and you are happy to answer them! See what you can do to offer answer – then ask for a referral or see what their plans are regarding buying or selling a home in 2018. Words of Wisdom:  Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.  Allen Saunders By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Benjamin Franklin If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else. Yogi Berra Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Warren Buffett All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose. Brian Tracy

New Year Wake Up Call

New Year Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

A Brand-New Start ! I hope you are ready for a very happy and prosperous New Year! It’s the perfect time for people to wish each other another year filled with happiness, good health, joy, and significant success. It’s magical in its own way. New Year's Day is a symbol of new beginnings, fresh aspirations, renewed hope, and hopefully a path and plan for an amazing season of ease. A time to let go of what’s behind you and roll full steam ahead into creating the kind of life you’ve always wanted. Each year we get to write a new chapter of our lives and we even get to control the characters, timeline, and pace. What will your story look like for 2018? What will you say YES to with gusto that can take your life and career to the next level? What inspiration will fuel your journey? How will you take the very best care of yourself so that you can be your very best in return? Start today. Make a plan. Outline your story – and make it MEMORABLE. If there is ANYTHING I can do for you to help you grow your business, find more joy, or have a whole lot more fun in your success, please give me a call. It’s what we absolutely love to do around here. Make it an amazing first week of the year! Something to Think About:   Embrace simplicity and sincerity and you shall have a wonderful New Year ahead. May you discover all your hidden potentials this New Year and turn them into delightful ventures, bringing you much joy! Weekly Activity:  Outline what you want YOUR story to be for 2018. What goals are most important to you? Where do you want to go? What would you love to do? What bucket list item do you want to check off this year? Dream big. Commit. Then DO. Words of Wisdom: The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals. Melody Beattie I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something. Neil Gaiman Your success and happiness lie in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. Helen Keller Let our New Year's resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word. Goran Persson All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.  Mae West  (A little humor to begin the New Year!)