What Are YOU Thinking?

 "All conditions and all circumstances in our lives are the result of a certain level of thinking. When you want to change the conditions and the circumstances, we have to change the level of thinking that is responsible for it." Albert Einstein

Your thought is the most powerful tool you have for your success. That is good news. Creating your ideal life is not about having to struggle really,really hard to do more stuff to make something happen. It is about RELAXING and finding your own way that is a natural self-expression of your values and what lights you up. When you have a dream that excites you, you'll naturally get ideas of actions to take. And, when one doesn't work, you'll just try something else for the curiosity of it (rather than deciding YOU or your lack of something is the problem)!  

 So, what ARE YOU THINKING? Do you consciously monitor the thoughts you have and then choose the most empowering route? Or do you let those inner children and wicked critics rule the castle and live rent-free? Each thought you have is NOT necessarily the truth. You can choose to accept or reject each as you decide if they are appropriate and empowering.  

 COACH's TIP:   HOW TO LIGHTEN UP AND RELAX
If you find yourself struggling today or tomorrow, take these steps:

1. Take a look at the thought you have that is causing the struggle.
2. Examine if that thought is grounded or ungrounded. i.e. Is there evidence that you will really end up homeless if you don't sell a house to these buyers or is that just one possible outcome?
3. Make up 3 or 4 other possible outcomes
4. Let go of your initial belief.
5. Choose a belief that makes you feel lighter, more empowered.

My 200th Active Rain Posting

Really Awesome Women

Are you one? Or do you know one? I am so impressed and inspired with the women in real estate today! I just had the opportunity to spend the day at my friend,Bernice Ross's 2nd Annual Really Awesome Women in Real Estate Conference with some of the most amazing people! Bernice, founder of http://www.realestatecoach.com/, is definitely an awesome woman. She's an author, speaker and Master Certified Coach who has a body of wisdom that is aligned with my own thinking: having a great life, with a highly productive business and time to enjoy the things that are important to you.

On the Business Side

There is good news! Bernice interviewed Anne Randolph, publisher of LORE Magazine and Leslie Appleton-Young, the economist for the California Association of Realtors. Both of these women are brilliant visionaries with their pulse on what's happening now and how that can give us a compass for future success.

Leslie wrinkled her nose when Bernice asked her about the good news, and then proceeded to share information

 that clearly wasn't the rah-rah of the past frenzy days, and yet, full of opportunity and hope from where we are now. One of the facts I found most interesting was Leslie's warning of how inaccurate the broad averages can be. She said that it is imperative we not only take local data, but focus down specifically at the subdivision or narrow price range data. She said can be considerably different STREET TO STREET! The opportunity here is for you to bring that expertise you have to the consumer to really educate them to what the true picture is for their house...not some national or even city specific generalities. This is your opportunity for different ion and deepening of your expert status!

Besides publishing the most interesting real estate magazine available, Anne conducted two surveys last year. The first was with investors-real investors who are still in the market and still being successful. The opportunities right now for investors are broad. This is not the fix and flip (or just flip) market of a few years ago. Anne's numbers were persuasive in showing an increased demand for rentals. The opportunities exist to be successful as a landlord, or, from a practitioner's perspective, as a property management company. She shared that we are still programmed to think of what was the traditional buying unit, the family. Right now, they are only 25% of the market. A whopping 22% of the market is single women and 21% investors. Anne's second study was with over 3500 CRS Designees to discover some of the commonalities in running a profitable business these days. She confirmed what I have been preaching for years: you must niche yourself. Find those segments of the market that you can dominate and focus yourself on that!

This was only the first morning of the conference. You can see from the schedule, there was much more! Next year's conference will be in Savannah in March. If you are in a leadership position in real estate, you don't want to miss this.

COACH'S TIP >>

1. Take a look at your local data in a much more defined way. When making a listing presentation, differentiate yourself, with absorption rates and other data that will show the consumer you that you are the expert!

2. Take a look at your business plan and marketing plan and see if you need to restrategize your target markets? Are you focusing where the opportunities are? Are you targeting your "perfect" client?

A Cool New Phone That is a MUST HAVE!!!!

As a tech instructor, I have to confess, I am always looking for the cutting edge tools. When I saw the preview of this great new phone,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYimJPi5qJY

What do you think?

I said to myself,"Cost is no object, I have to have this phone!"

Or maybe I should wait for the vibrating model!

How are YOU doing????Are you Struggling or Going With the Flow????

 Are you paddling as fast as you can upstream to try to make things happen? I have been using The Law of Attraction principles with my clients, in my class, Relax and Attract and with my own life. The concept of going WITH the flow instead of fighting it is very compelling for me. I love being able to relax and trust that I am doing what I need to do to have all the things I want. And I can't tell you how much fun it is to see things show up in ways I'd have never imagined and maybe, even have missed, if I hadn't stop trying so hard.

One of the important components in The Law of Attraction is being attractive. And, yes, while being pretty is good, that's not what I am talking about. What I mean is getting the stuff OUT OF THE WAY that drains energy and keeps me in a state that attracts little or nothing that I truly want and, sometimes, actually repels! So, my attention is on clearing the stuckness so life becomes easier. What practices do you have that get you unstuck?

COACH'S TIP>>>>> This week, spend some time every day being selfish. Not the bad selfish that hurts others, but selfish (AKA self-care) that nurtures you. Spend time doing those things you LOVE to do. Spend time with those you love and who make you feel great.

And then on the other side of this:

• What self-limiting beliefs are in your way?
• What are you doing that is out of integrity?
• What are you wasting energy resisting what is?
• Where are you not taking care of yourself?

Others won't give us the respect we want and deserve if we don't give it to ourselves. Take an honest look at how you are treating yourself and, if need be, make some changes. Be very, very selfish this week and watch what happens!

Networking & Referrals-WCR Style!

I LOVE WCR!!!!!! I have been a part of many organizations and I find the energy and support I find at WCR Meetings is second to none! I just returned from The Mega Networking Summit in St. Charles Missouri. There were hundreds of real estate professionals all intentional on growing themselves and, in the process, their businesses. Thank you, WCR, for the opportunity to meet and learn from other members.

 So far today, I have accepted 4 LinkedIn requests. This tells me people were listening when my friend and tech trainer extraordinaire Amy Chorew told them they needed to participate in Web 2.0! Are you on board yet? Because you are reading here, my guess is you are already on board. Are the other Web 2.0 apps you need to check out? Do you Twitter?Are you using LinkedIn? 

To be successful in 2008, you need to use some more strategies to bring value, service and education to your clients. If you took out to lunch 1 person per week and talked to them about all the ways they could benefit from real estate:

• A second home
• A retirement home
• A rental or other investment
• Using a self-directed IRA
• Using their Health Savings Account

Do you think you'd end up with an additional transaction? I bet this strategy could add 6 more transactions to your production. All for the cost of a lunch (and maybe some additional education for you)!!!

As a side note...if you are interested in knowing more about Web 2.0, my Fossland's Forum this month was on that topic and can be downloaded here.

AND>>>>>>If you haven't already........ do yourself a favor, make plans right now to go to the Influential Women Summit in Boston this summer. You and your business will be glad!

What the heck is Twitter?????

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that limits posts to 140 characters, but allows for replies and direct messages. Each post is an answer to the question "What are you doing?"

I don't know about you, but reading that definition leaves me asking, "So what?" It sounds almost like the stupidest idea ever. But actually using it, diving into it, working with it makes you realize that no explanation could really describe what it's like to use Twitter. Doesn't even come close! Just like blogging, once you participate, you get bitten by the bug!

In an article in FAST COMPANY, Robert Scoble says "Twitter will change the way business communicates (again)." He goes on to say,"The professional intimacy these services create...can also win you clients." And, of course, using technology to win clients is what it is all about, isn't it?

Quite frankly, it isn't for everybody. However, if you want to connect with tomorrow's buyers and sellers, Twitter is an application you should know about and, maybe, differentiate yourself with!

Here's a good blog post with more on this.

On The Personal Side- Spring is my favorite time of year!

Robin Williams says,"Spring is Mother Nature's way of saying Let's Party!"

My irises are blooming, the sun is shining and the wildflowers are in bloom all over Arizona! Life is good!

And since I turn 60 on Friday...I plan to follow the preaching's of that wise Mother!
I don't know about you, but this aging thing has been quite interesting. I used to have some concept of 60 being old. Just doesn't apply! Bub says maybe I will grow up by the time I turn 60 on Friday, but I doubt it.

I can say I am enjoying myself more than ever. Being a Grandma has to be the best title I have earned in all these years. I have made some decisions about what is and what isn't important. People are always trumping things! I have also begun to become a lot more LOW MAINTENANCE!! I have let the color grow out and now have hair that has natural highlights! (and it isn't nearly as grey as I thought it was). A good day is waking up above ground with food in the fridge, gas in the car and a roof over my head with the wherewithal to enjoy the people in my life. "Let's Party" seems like a good theme for not only the week, but for every day.

I don't want to make light of the problems with the housing market, the economy, the war, and global warming. I also know I can only make a difference in certain ways. So, the way I plan to contribute this week is by smiling and attempting to bring smiles to others. It may seem selfish or small, but I have a certainty of belief that it will all turn out if I do the best I can! My birthday wish for you is that you also have many things to be grateful for that you can focus on today and get joy from. Let's leave worry somewhere else and LIVE our best lives today!

And, if you want to come to one of my 2 birthday parties...here's the e-vite

Law of Attraction 30-Day Workbook Follow Up

Almost 100 of you downloaded the 30 Days to Turn Your Life Around Workbook I offered you last week. If you missed it, it is still available. We had some tech problems with the site. If you weren't able to download, try again or just email me and I'll send it to you.

I've gotten some offline questions mail about some of the terminology and exercises in the workbook.

BOPA stands for Book of Positive Aspects.

There is more information for the placemat exercises & segment intending on these 2 posts:

http://pat.powerfulintentions.com/forum/coaching/message-view/9342144

http://thesecret.powerfulintentions.com/forum/thesecret/message-view/15652554

If this all interests you, come to

RELAX AND ATTRACT MORE
Starts March 24

Are You Having A Bad Day? How Bad is it?

The real estate business may not be easy or the way you want it to be, but, as my husband said the other day, "At least they aren't shooting at us!"

I came across a link to a video of Carnegie Mellon professor, Randy Pausch on my Arizona Real Estate Educator's listserv. Not the place I would have expected to find this kind of inspiration, but I thought you'd find value too.

Randy was given 6 months to live. This is his "Last Lecture" to his students at Carnegie Mellon.

I checked him out further and found his home page here 

Perhaps, thinking about your bad day with this in mind, you'll see another picture.

Get Off The Hamster Wheel-Start Using The Law of Attraction

Are you calm and peaceful, serene and satisfied? My byline is "Relaxed Real Estate for Magnificent Agents" and my vision is that each person I touch gain some value from me that leaves them creating extraordinary satisfaction in living a life they love. Of course, I can't make you or any of my clients calm, peaceful, serene or extraordinarily productive, it is ultimately up to you. The good news is that we always have the power to change what we are getting, if we don't like it!

I recently read The Astonishing Power Of Emotions by Esther and Jerry Hicks. In reading this and studying some of the other works by the Hicks, I am learning more about how to relax and go with the flow. The most profound shift for me has been to use accepting rather than resisting to take me to where I want to go.

For more on this and a gift of a free 30 Day Workbook to help you buff up your attractiveness, take a journey over here