MONDAY MORNING WAKE UP CALL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

 

Celebrate, and Have Fun!
Good morning! Wow, this is a fun week! Today is the Chinese New Year, and tomorrow is Mardi Gras! According to the Chinese calendar, this is the year of the monkey. The years of the monkey are 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 and 2016. Were you born in one of those years?

The monkey is a clever animal and is usually compared to a smart person. The general image of people born in the year of the monkey includes being smart, clever and intelligent, especially in their career and wealth. They’re lively, flexible, quick-witted and versatile. And their gentleness and honesty bring them an everlasting love life.

Are you wishing you were born in the year of the monkey? Don’t worry… you don’t have to be born in one of those years to be any or all of those things. Those traits are in you; sometimes you just need to work to bring them out.

Make it a great day!

Something to Think About
We each have our own definition of smart or clever, gentle or honest. Maybe you admire those who are intellectually smart, or maybe you’re attracted to those who are street smart. We each bring something to the table. It’s what you walk away with that counts.

Weekly Challenge
Take a few minutes from your busy day to think of someone who is smart, someone who is clever, someone who is gentle and someone who is honest. Surprise each one with a phone call to share the impact they’ve had in your life.

Words of Wisdom
“Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.” – Dennis Prager

“It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” –Noël Coward

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”– Albert Einstein

“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” – George Washington

“You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.” – Alan Moore

Monday Wake Up Call

Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Groundhog Day! Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. I don’t celebrate all of the crazy holidays, but I like this one because it reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day. It’s one of those movies that I can watch over and over and still laugh at the silly, insane theme. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it for two reasons: First, laughter is good for the soul, and it’s guaranteed to make you laugh. Second, and more important, it has a very thought-provoking message. The movie depicts a man living one day over and over again until he “gets it right.”    Groundhog Day stars Bill Murray as a crabby weatherman who’s tired of his job, tired of his life and especially tired of covering the annual Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. That’s when fate intervenes. The coolest thing about the movie is thinking about what you would do if you could live one day over and over. What great skills could you master? How could you improve? What life lessons would you learn? Definitely something to think about. Have an amazing week! Something to Think About Lessons exist in everything we do and in everyone we meet. We just need to slow down long enough to notice. Think of your career or personal life. Have you learned something “the hard way”? Did you take that lesson and apply what you learned the next time that scenario appeared in your life? That’s the lesson in Groundhog Day. Pay attention, and you’ll find the clues to “getting it right” are right there in front of you every day! Weekly Challenge Watch the movie Groundhog Day, and have a discussion afterward. Ask these questions: Why was Groundhog Day the day that Bill Murray had to keep repeating? How did his life improve through this experience? How were his communication skills different at the end of the movie compared to the beginning? If you could live one day over and over, what skill would you master? My favorite part is when his granddaughter kisses him. One of the things on his bucket list was accomplished in a way he never imagined. What was it? Words of Wisdom “Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.” – Napoleon Hill “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.” – Earl Nightingale “I tell a student that the most important class you can take is technique. A great chef is first a great technician. If you are a jeweler, or a surgeon or a cook, you have to know the trade in your hand. You have to learn the process. You learn it through endless repetition until it belongs to you.” – Jacques Pepin “Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.” – Norman Vincent Peale “You affect your subconscious mind by verbal repetition.” – Clement Stone

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Your Motivation, Inspiration & Direction for the Week Ahead

Inspiration!

Last week, our topic was encouragement. Encouragement and inspiration are similar in the way they make us feel but, as I see it, the difference is that we give encouragement to help others along the way, or we feel good when others encourage us, but inspiration is something we seek or, on occasion, experience from others or from our surroundings. We can look for ways to inspire others or ourselves. Inspiration creates a spark.

 

When I looked up the definition of inspiration, here’s what I found: The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. Since real estate agents are very creative, it’s a natural desire to seek inspiration. Today’s Words of Wisdom are quotes from people whom I consider to be great inspirational leaders. They spent their lives inspiring others through their words, their beliefs and their actions. They inspire us to be our best or to take time for others. They inspire us all in different ways.

 

Something to Think About

Who comes to mind when you think about inspiration? Is there a favorite author or speaker who inspires you? Maybe it’s a peer or family member. We’re all surrounded by people in our lives who inspire us. Take a few moments to think about whom those people are in your life.

 

Weekly Challenge

Write a note to someone who inspires you… just to say thanks!

 

Words of Wisdom

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” – Maya Angelou

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller

MARKET UPDATE REPORT

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Get Ready for the New Year! Welcome to the Monday Morning Wake-Up Call. I hope you had a fun and relaxing week with family and friends. It’s the last week of the year! Yes, New Year's Eve is almost here. Time to reflect on the past 12 months, break out the notebook, and start writing. The New Year is the perfect time to think, plan, dream and motivate yourself to accomplish things you may have never thought possible. You might even make a few resolutions (and promise to follow through with them this year!). So pour yourself a glass of champagne, and don’t let the fact that it’s still December stop you. Read this month’s Words of Wisdom, and prepare to be inspired! Something to Think About Yes, it really is a new year. Time to plan for the next 12 months. Use the advice and wisdom you gained in the past year as your guide. Weekly Activity Each year on New Year’s Day, I carve out some time to write personal goals for the upcoming year. I crawl into my favorite chair or sit by the fireplace and dream of the year ahead. Here’s a great quote by Sarah Breathnach that suggests that you also carve some time on January 1 to sit, dream and imagine all that is possible: “New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today, carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.” Words of Wisdom “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” – Helen Keller “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson “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 “Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” – Hal Borland “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. So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.  Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” – Neil Gaiman

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Harry’s Letter For this very special week, I want to share a letter that I recently came upon, written by Harry Edson Browne to his daughter. Harry was an American writer, politician and investment analyst. He was a presidential nominee in the U.S. elections of 1996 and 2000 and has written 12 books that in total have sold more than 2 million copies.   Harry’s letter to his daughter: If I could give you just one thing, I’d want it to be a simple truth that took me many years to learn. If you learn it now, it may enrich your life in hundreds of ways. And it may prevent you from facing many problems that have hurt people who have never learned it. The truth is simply this: No one owes you anything. How could such a simple statement be important? It may not seem so, but understanding it can bless your entire life. It means that no one else is living for you, my child. Because no one is you.   Each person is living for himself; his own happiness is all he can ever personally feel. When you realize that no one owes you happiness or anything else, you’ll be freed from expecting what isn’t likely to be. It means no one has to love you. If someone loves you, it’s because there’s something special about you that gives him happiness. Find out what that something special is and try to make it stronger in you, so that you’ll be loved even more. When people do things for you, it’s because they want to — because you, in some way, give them something meaningful that makes them want to please you, not because anyone owes you anything. No one has to like you. If your friends want to be with you, it’s not out of duty. Find out what makes others happy so they’ll want to be near you.   No one has to respect you. Some people may even be unkind to you. But once you realize that people don’t have to be good to you, and may not be good to you, you’ll learn to avoid those who would harm you. For you don’t owe them anything either. You owe it to yourself to be the best person possible. Because if you are, others will want to be with you, want to provide you with the things you want in exchange for what you’re giving to them.   Some people will choose not to be with you for reasons that have nothing to do with you. When that happens, look elsewhere for the relationships you want. Don’t make someone else’s problem your problem. Once you learn that you must earn the love and respect of others, you’ll never expect the impossible and you won’t be disappointed. Others don’t have to share their property with you, nor their feelings or thoughts. If they do, it’s because you’ve earned these things. And you have every reason to be proud of the love you receive, your friends’ respect, the property you’ve earned. But don’t ever take them for granted. If you do, you could lose them. They’re not yours by right; you must always earn them.   A great burden was lifted from my shoulders the day I realized that no one owes me anything. For so long as I’d thought there were things I was entitled to, I’d been wearing myself out —physically and emotionally — trying to collect them. No one owes me moral conduct, respect, friendship, love, courtesy, or intelligence. And once I recognized that, all my relationships became far more satisfying. I’ve focused on being with people who want to do the things I want them to do.   That understanding has served me well with friends, business associates, lovers, sales prospects, and strangers. It constantly reminds me that I can get what I want only if I can enter the other person’s world. I must try to understand how he thinks, what he believes to be important, what he wants. Only then can I appeal to someone in ways that will bring me what I want. And only then can I tell whether I really want to be involved with someone. And I can save the important relationships for them.” ? Harry Browne   Something to Think About These are powerful words, spoken humbly and truthfully. He loved his daughter enough to pass on the best advice he could give her for a life that would bring her love, joy and meaning. Harry died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2006.   Weekly Activity Relax, and enjoy time with those you love. When you’re eating meals, engaged in conversations or participating in festivities, turn your phone off. Don’t panic! I’m only asking you to do it when you’re with people who deserve your undivided attention, or when you’re relaxing or eating or having fun. You’re a great agent. Your clients will wait a few hours for you to return their call. You might even record this message on your phone for the week: “I’m enjoying time with my family and friends right now and hope you are, too. Please leave a message, and I’ll return your call soon.”   Words of Wisdom “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” – Norman Vincent Peale   “Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come. Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past, which can bridge to the future.” – Mattie Stepanek   “Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder   “You take away all the other luxuries in life, and if you can make someone smile and laugh, you have given the most special gift: happiness.” – Brad Garrett   “To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.” – Pope John Paul II

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

 

 

 

 

Ugly Sweater Day
I hope you had a fabulous weekend and are ready for a fantastic week. If you’re up for some silly fun, Friday is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. Yes, it’s a real holiday – started in 2011 by ugly Christmas sweater lovers and now an international event. Occurring on the third Friday of December, the day gives people worldwide a chance to wear their ugly Christmas sweaters.
 
Don’t have an ugly Christmas sweater? You still have a few days to shop for an outrageous getup – designed to make everyone laugh.
 
This Friday, whatever you do, don't even think about wearing your suit to work. Wear your ugly Christmas sweater because this is your day, this is our day, this is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. Wear it to the office, on your appointments, to your showings, everywhere! Have fun with it!
 
Something to Think About
How often do we adults have reason to be silly, have fun, laugh and do something outrageous? Why not host a holiday get-together with friends Friday night? All guests MUST wear an ugly Christmas sweater, or no admittance!
 
Weekly Activity
Rock your ugly sweater all day and all night, from the time you wake up on Friday until the time you go to sleep. No breaks. No cop-outs. No excuses. The sweater must stay on.
 
Words of Wisdom
“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.” – Victor Hugo
 
“There is little success where there is little laughter.” – Andrew Carnegie
 
“The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.” – Bennett Cerf
 
“Laughter is an instant vacation.” – Milton Berle