I wrote a blog just before Christmas of last year The Greatness of Virtual Assistants where I indicated how valuable a VA can be.  At that time I can say for certain that I really had no concept of how true that was until I actually started using my now Virtual Assistant, Judy Lorenz VA Judy.  She and I worked on a project to recruit members to our team.  The project started in March of this year and culminated in the development of a database with more than 27,000 plus candidates, a high touch program and a campaign with several unique documents, graphics and video mail.  Judy was spectacular with her expertise in Top Producer 7i,  project management and real estate background and experience.  Invaluable resource, those Virtual Assistants.  Don't know what I'd do without her.

It looks like Phoenix is marching to the same drummer as the rest of the nation in terms of residential real estate.  Here's what it looks like when a review of the ARMLS (MLS) statistics are reviewed for June 2007.

Avg. Days of market are running 115 days (up from 69 last year)

Avg. List to sales price ratio is 96.05% ( 97.12 % last year)

Average sales price (last 36 months) is $349,400 ( $348,100 last year)

New listings by the month is 14212 (16158 last June)

Number of RE Sales Transactions 5438 (7214 last June)

Currently 54,437 listings as of July 15, 2007.

The positive is that there is still a lot of activity.  As real estate professionals, we need to sharpen those skills in order to be part of the properties that move.

For the Phoenicians in the house and those interested in Arizona, the Phoenix Business Journal for June 29, 2007 had a few interesting things to say.  "Business Pulse" conducted one of those surveys asking participants the question "Are you planning to move to a new home in the near future?"  Of the group that responded, 43% are staying put, 35% are still watching the market, 7% said "I've sold my house and have purchased a new home or am looking to buy," and the remaining 13% said "I'd liketo move but can't sell my house."  With the 50,000 plus homes on the market (approximate) in Maricopa County and only something like 5000 being sold, I'm not surprised at the 13% waiting around to sell their home.

A Whole New Mind is just what the diet calls for and is the name of a book written by Dan H. Pink.  He's also the author of Free Agent Nation. 

Besides working like most of you at being the best I can be as a real estate professional,  I am also an active duty fire fighter and a Human Resource Professional of 35 years.   All three professions require current certifications in order to actively practice.  For the HR piece, I needed 60 CEUs in order to maintain my current status as an SPHR prior to the end of June.  So I attended the Annual SHRM Convention in Las Vegas last month in order to assure meeting my recertification requirement.  Mr. Dan Pink was the keynote speaker at the General Session before the 22,000 HR attendees.    

His "moving from the information age to the conceptual age" was something I had difficulty understanding until I started reading his book.  In his presentation, which was very entertaining, pointed and more meaningful than most, he made several interesting and astounding points.  He said that 10% of  IT jobs in the U.S. will move overseas in the next two years.  In his book he makes several points regarding  jobs and billions in wages moving from the U.S. to low-cost countries (India, China, etc. come to mind) within a few years.  In his talk, he pointed out that we'll all get up one day and wonder what happened unless we do something about a number of these issues.

If you ever have a chance to hear him speak or have an opportunity to pick up his book, I encourage you to do so.  His web site is http://www.danpink.com/.  Check it out.

I can't tell you how many times it hasn't in my life time.  Did you ever see that commercial where the guy starts out talking calmly with a technician (on-line of course) and ends up screaming his lungs out, stomping up and down and crying like a baby all within the first minute of the conversation?   I can relate to that particular guy.  My gosh, what I would have given for the "perfect technician to the rescue "the many times my computer has not worked.  This usually happens, of course,  in the middle of a critical project like creating Christmas cards for the family or checking on which is the least expensive airline ticket to purchase or where to  buy the best car ever in the whole wide world.

Now I have the perfect solution.  No....not the "Recently Declassified" Geek Squad or the Dell Direct team but My Computer Works.   You can actually find them at http://www.mycomputerworks.com/.  They actually do work for you (and me).  If my computer fails to work at any time, I give them a call.  A nominal monthly fee (no long term obligation) gives me a 4-5 hour diagnostic on my computer and unlimited calls.  It's a great insurance policy and stress reliever especially if you have computer problems on a regular basis like me.  This is not a commercial.  It's truly a tip for those looking for a solution to ongoing pc issues.

There is one thing I learned about the real estate business. In order to be successful I must determine what the end of this year will look like in terms of those things that are important to me.  I must develop a plan to get there and work the plan to death.  This means time blocking, time blocking and time blocking.  Family time is on the top of the list.  Time blocking family time has always been a challenge for me.  Ten years ago, I fixed that by planning at the beginning of each year, along with my business goals, a foreign vacation and a domestic U.S. vacation every year.  One of my more memorable vacations was a three day trek through the House of the Sun.

Ka Lu'u O Ka OO Crater looking toward sliding sands trail, our access to the crater.

Perhaps one of the most unique characteristics of the Hawaiian Islands is the variety of environments offering an unlimited amount of outdoor activities.  In Hawaii there are mountains and valleys, the ocean and beaches, tropical forests and arid wastelands.  And if you're the type of person who want the moon, you can have that too....at Haleakala, the House of the Sun on the Island of Maui.

Haleakala is 26 square miles of dormant volcano and even if you've never been to the moon, the huge crater will remind you of the lunar surface. The best way to experience the wonder of Haleakala is to hike into the crater yourself.  Twelve of us decided to do just that in the middle of the summer several years ago.

We arrived at Kahului Airport, Maui about 8:30 in the morning and immediately assembled our gear and began the two hour drive up a scenic, winding road to Haleakala.  As we approached the crater, we hit a layer of clouds at the 7000 foot elevation and drove through the mist and fog until we reached 10,030 feet. 

Before we actually began the hike, we were required to report to Haleakala National Park Headquarters.  There we obtained literature and maps on the crater and paid for the cabins we had reserved three months earlier.

Camping is allowed in the crater in the event cabins are not available.  Cabin rental is very reasonable and can be made by writing the National Park Service.  Additional information can be gotten by signing on to http://www.nps.gov/hale/ .  You can take one-day, overnight or two and three day hikes into Haleakala, depending on which trails and sights you want to include in your journey.

We entered at the Sliding Sands Trail, which took us down some 2500 feet into the crater.  The footing on the trail varies from a hard, lava-type surface to loose, sandy ground.  Sliding Sands Trail is constructed along the south side of the crater to Kapalaoa Cabin six miles away.  This is one of three primitive cabins maintained by the National Park Service.

As you descend into the crater, the view from the summit which is a little over 10,000 feet above sea level, is quite spectacular.  A sleeping layer of status and cumulus clouds blanketing the crater floor is usually the norm during the summer months in the early morning hours.  Beyond Kapalaoa Cabin, you can see a portion of the huge Kaupo Gap, where you might find some koa trees or an occasional mountain goat.

The crater floor consists of old lava flows, numerous cinder cones averaging 500 feet in height, spatter cones and rather unusual plant life, such as the Silversword, one of the rarest plants in the world which grows only at Haleakala Crater.  The cinder cones are rounded and smooth like windblown sand and look something like sand dunes in a desert.

The rare silversword plant that lives in Haleakala Crater

In addition to the listed attractions in a guide provided by the Park Service, there are a few lava tubes and heiaus (ancient Hawaiian temples) to be found if you're experienced enough to deviate from the trail.  That, incidentally, is not recommended, even though the crater is patrolled regularly by rangers on horseback.

Another tip for hikers....dress appropriately.  The temperature in the crater is generally 30 degrees cooler than at sea level.  At the same time, the sun is very direct, so wear a hat if your skin is fair.  Bring food, soap, towels, matches, simple first aid and sheets or a sleeping bag for the cabin and wooden bunks.  You should also be aware that anything you take into the crater must be packed out including trash. 

During our three days in the crater, we spent most of our time exploring cinder cones and other geographical features and photographing the crater from hundreds of different angles.  You get an overwhelming feeling of inner peace as you are surrounded by the vast wasteland which was once a fiery volcano.

A hike into the House of the Sun is truly a unique experience.  Silversword Loop, Pele's Paint Pot, the Bottomless Pit and Koolau Gap are elements of a place some people say looks just a little bit like the moon.

I spent the day with Tony DiCello at the Biltmore in Phoenix AZ with what looked like more than 250 fellow Keller Williams associates.  For those of you that know Tony, it goes without saying that the group dynamics was as good as it gets and the presentation as valuable as all get out.  The theme for the day was "How Millionaire Agents Thrive in a Shifting Real Estate Market".  He described the options and gave us a choice by making the point that "Avoiding the truth does not change the truth".  Making Your Own Market was full of very interesting data and information.   The reality, he said, is that sales of existing homes and the average sales price over the course of the last 35 years have increased.  There will always be people who need to buy and sell, homeownership will continue to be the American Dream and homeownership is a good investment.  My take away was control my mindset because it's 90% of my real estate business.  I like what Tony presented as a quote from  Earl Nightingale who said; " You become what you think about most of the time."    Glad I spent the day with Tony.

The title of Chris Elizabeth Griffith's post Just Because Someone's Holding A Hose , Does That Make Them A Firefighter?  caught my eye.  I'm an active duty firefighter and an active duty realtor. 

Do you ever see those people on ESPN with a garden hose, standing precariously on their roof, flames in the background, shooting water at who knows what?  I'm sure one thought crossing their mind is, "I can do it, I can save this home..... fire fighters do it every day".  Little do they know that the little green water hose in their hand spitting out 3-4 gallons per minute of water will evaporate in seconds prior to reaching that wall of flame approaching their not so solid perch on the roof of their home.  God bless them because they really are trying to save their home or help their neighbor.  God save them because it isn't going to happen.  They just don't have the training, skill set or resources to handle a job routinely dispatched in short order by a trained team of fire personnel.

Those people are your equivalent FSBOs in the firefighting field.  A firefighter makes it look easy because he or she does it as a matter of course on a daily basis.  They have the fire truck that will produce the up to 2000 gallons per minute of water flow if necessary, the safety awareness to not stand on a roof that may collapse because of fire beneath it and gear to protect them from inhaling noxious fumes and heated air that will kill them or cripple them for life.

The comparison drawn by Chris is excellent.  The FSBO, unlike the firefighter, is not prepared to handle the sale of their home.  They lack the training, the skills and the necessary resources to do the job properly.  God bless them because they are really trying to do a great job in selling their home.  God save them because they have a higher probability of doing something that may produce long term negative results affecting them or the buyer.

I guess most of us know by now that nothing in life that's worth anything comes easy.  As a matter of fact, most of us have found that most everything worth while comes with a little bit of pain. 

Have you had this experience?   You're at work, walking down the hallway on the way to your office minding your business, when you suddenly hear what you think is your name.  You turn around and notice a group of people by the water fountain talking with animated facial expressions, gesturing with a great deal of fan fare and pointing sort of in your direction.   You make a slight shift in direction toward the group of fellow team members standing by the water fountain.  When you get within ear shot suddenly the lively conversation goes absolutely dead.  Everyone leaves the scene except for one team member.  You stop, lean over and are about to take a drink of water when you hear, "Ken, do you mind if I give you some feedback"?   

OK, before you respond to your well intentioned team mate, let's examine the immediate reaction.  Physically the eyes start twitching, perspiration starts running down your face, your legs are unsteady, and you start shaking and feel a little paranoid. Then you think, is this a bad thing or a good thing?  Am I going to be nailed to some semi-stationary vertical wooden structure or is this guy really going to provide me with some useful information?

Well, I happen to think this is a good thing.  He wouldn't have asked your permission if his intention was to cause you harm.  Secondly, feedback can be and usually is very useful to improving performance.  Done properly, it can be the most valuable piece of information you can receive.   We are often put on the defensive when our performance is assessed and our superior or some similar entity provides us with feedback.  This somewhat traditional corporate world behavior has caused us to flinch when someone is in fact well intentioned and really wants to help us improve.  So I say, go for it.  Listen intently to the feedback and look for those jewels within the communications that can help you improve and become a better you. 

Then thank this wonderful guy for caring about you enough to provide you feedback.  More than likely it was just as hard for him to give it as it was for you to receive it.

How do we start the day?  We get up in the morning, perform the essential physical and mental tasks and create the ground work for taking on the world.  For some of us this activity can take longer than for others.   The ritual starts with a shower and all those other things and then in to the office, wherever that might be.  Sounds simple until a few hurdles present themselves in the process.   I call her GADGET.  No, not those toys or playthings we buy to entertain ourselves or something to amuse us because it's different, but GADGET.

I thought when the kids left the house I was over waiting in line for the shower, the wash basin, the bathroom and the seat at the breakfast table.  The Gadget stopped that feeling all together when she arrived on scene 11 years ago.   I get up in the morning, ready to face the day, walk over to the shower and guess whose sitting in the doorway blocking the way and refusing to move.  Yup, Gadget.  The look I get is " I'm ready for my shower and I want it a little warmer and a little less intense this morning".  Yes, she's a cat and she takes a morning shower.  Once finished, she shakes like a dog to get the water off and heads for the kitchen for breakfast where she usually finds me with my first cup of coffee.  It takes 10 seconds of chatter from her before I can't stand it any longer and have to get her squared away with breakfast.  I head to the office with my second cup of coffee, check my email, sign on to AR and create my "Daily Intentions".  Then back to the bathroom to make those finishing touches on my face, teeth and other things.  Gadget is back again occupying the wash basin. 

That's how I start my day.  Gadget........ I wouldn't have a world without her.  I don't think I have a choice.