Amy's Blog

Grand Rapids Association of Realtors Survival Summit and the Power of Positive Thinking

Amy Miller - RE/MAX SunQuest 616-262-7707 (RE/MAX SUNQUEST - Downtown) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:28:59 -0600

I must admit i've been been out of the country for 6 weeks. That's right, i left... I went to Guatemala from December 31st to February 10th. Oh, I left for several reasons. First of all, because i figured it might get real ugly between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. Second of all, I wanted to take a Spanish emersion class and give myself enough time to really begin to understand the language. Third of all, it's just too darn cold in Michigan in January to warrant hanging around!

Truthfully, I leave every year in January. As the song says, "It's too damn cold..." For me, it's the best time to get away.

This year I really loved my life in Guatemala. Meeting new friends from around the world every day. Studying spanish. Taking yoga. Climbing volcanoes. Hiking to villages. Going to marketplaces. Reading books. Learning the culture. Turning off technology. Giving myself a well deserved break and the permission to just "life around"... Wow! How energizing! How invigorating! How wonderful!

So, when I arrived back in the country and my feet hit the ground running in the Atlanta airport, I was bombarded by the media for the first time in 6 weeks. I just couldn't believe it. I just could not believe how "negative" the news in this country had become. Wow! Could life in this country have really gotten that bad that quickly? I wondered?

So, then I started to get back into my real estate business and my life in the neighborhoods. I must admit, re-entering can be a real challenging process. I mean, come on, going from waking up with yoga overlooking one of the most breathtaking views of Lake Atitlan and the San Pedro Volano, to solving clients real estate problems, phone calls, emails, meetings, closings. You choose...

Then, I began to notice how angry people have gotten too. And negative! There really has been a mood swing here, folks. And believe me, I was beginning to feel it in my body too. All of the sudden my shoulders were beginning to make the long journey from where they typically live, on my back, to their new home, up around my neck. Ouch! Then, I was beginning to notice and feel something I hadn't felt in weeks. Stress. Yuk! But the strange thing was, it wasn't my stress. I didn't really have any stress yet. I mean I was just on vacation for 6 weeks. So, it must be somebody elses stress. It had to be.

That was it! I called the worlds best Chiropractor and Kinesiologist, Dr George Coroneous. I went in for a 6AM adjustment. When I got there I said, "George, i have been happy as a clam for the last six weeks, probably because I haven't listened to the news. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss." That's when George said the most amazing thing. He said, "Amy, I was watching the History Channel the other night and they were talking about the last Great Depression and how the entire world, except for one country, was affected by the downturn in the US economy. Do you know which country was not affected by the last Great Depression?" Having just been in Guatemala, I said, "Guatemala?" "Nope, he said. It was Italy! Do you know why Italy was not affected by the Great Depression? Because Mussolini would not let the citizens of Italy read the newspapers, read magazines, or listen to the news. So, nobody changed their habits. They kept on growing. They kept on creating. Making wine. Making cars. Making love. They were completely unaffected."

So, turn off the news. Listen to beautiful music. Grow your mind. Take care of your body. Learn and expand while the rest of the world is contracting. But just remember this, if you are not making the news...the news is making you!

Check out this story which was on the TV, on MLive, and featured in the Grand Rapids Press last Saturday. It says it all...

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/02/realtors_get_positive_view_in.html

Press Photo/Jon M. Brouwer

Positive thinking: Jerry Teplitz gives a motivational talk to local real estate agents Friday at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center, including using local real estate agent Amy Miller to show the power of positive thinking.

Grand Rapids Neighborhood Places - A Great Place to Be Somebody! Part 2

Amy Miller - RE/MAX SunQuest 616-262-7707 (RE/MAX SUNQUEST - Downtown) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:33:55 -0500

But when we walk into a place like The Kopper Top located in the Stockbridge Neighborhood, and sit under the unique canopy of lights commemorating whatever holiday is imminent, or enjoy the coldest beer we have ever had in one of the oldest taverns in town at The Pickwick, located in the revitalized East Hills Neighborhood, we are SOMEBODY.

Frequent these places often enough - and who wouldn't? and eventually, we have a favorite table, waitress, and meal. Just like Cheers everybody knows your name.

Now when I go to Jersey Junction, located in East Grand Rapids, indulge in an ice cream and think of all the times I sat there with my Dad who ordered one cone for himself, one for me, and one for my dog—Clooney, I know what it is to be SOMEBODY.

Or when I watch a film in the historic Wealthy Theatre, located in the Wealthy Theatre District, I know that my being there makes a neighborhood stronger, that I am important to the place were I live and work and play.

People know my name. We talk. We laugh. We share. Therefore, I exist – I AM SOMEBODY! And it is in these places that I feel love and joy and alive. And isn't that what life is all about?

to be continued..

Kopper Top Neighborhood Places Art by Jane Vanderlaan mejaneink@comcast.net

My First Blog Post...Grand Rapids Neighborhood Places - A Great Place to Be Somebody!

Amy Miller - RE/MAX SunQuest 616-262-7707 (RE/MAX SUNQUEST - Downtown) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:10 -0500

This is my first blog post and I must admit that I feel a little bit like someone who has been thrown out onto the stage and doesn't know their lines. But I hope that if I tell a good story, perhaps you will come back and visit my blog time and time again.

So let me start by saying that a few years ago I moved into the Grand Rapids Neighborhoods. In fact, I live right by the Wealthy Theatre. Some family members, who shall remain nameless, think that I live in the hood. But what they don't know is that I walk out my door and I know my neighbors. They also don't know that I walk out my door sometimes and I meet new people. This is something I didn't have or experience in my last home and it makes my life interesting. it's like a have a river of life right out my front door every day. And here's the best part of it, I love the Grand Rapids Neighborhoods!

Prior to a river of life flowing by my door, I lived out by the little village located in Alaska, Michigan. Only I had a real river flowing by my door everyday-the Thornapple River. You see, like so many people I know, I had, for the last 10 years or so, I kept buying or building a bigger and bigger home. Life was great.

My last refuge was a beautiful contemporary lodge-style home which I built with my partner. It was a santuary, a retreat. It was away from the hustle and bustle, nestled into the woods, overlooking the Thornapple, on a street where our motto was: Live Free or Die. Who could ask for anything more?

Then, my Mom had a stroke and in an instant my life changed. Soon, most of my time was spent driving back and forth into town to take my Mom to doctors appointments, physical rehab, cardiac rehab, etc. There were surgeries. More rehab. More and more care required. Before I knew it, I felt disconnected from my life and from my home. So, I changed...

My partner and I split. We sold the big home on the river. I took up residency in the neighborhoods and to my delight and surprise, I discovered my life again.

Now, I live 2 minutes from my Mom's house. I am 2 minutes from my downtown RE/MAX SunQuest office. I am 2 minutes from so many activities that I love: Yoga from the Heart, Wealthy Theatre, EGR Library, Grand Rapids Dogpark, Fulton Street Farmer's Market , Marie Catribs, Schnitz Deli, Reed's Lake, and on and on and on.

So, in the next few weeks, I am going to introduce a Series called Grand Rapids Neighborhood Places...A Great Place to Be Somebody.

The Series will feature some neighborhood art, and will feature the work of some local artists. My hope is that this Grand Rapids Neighborhood Places Series will spark some delightful conversations about your favorite neighborhood places. I hope it will inspire you to share your stories of why those places are so special with you. I hope that I will get to know you better and that you will come to consider moving to the neighborhoods if you don't live here already.

Here's a little excerpt.

Grand Rapids Neighborhood Places – A Great Place to Be Somebody!

So what, exactly, makes a place a favorite "neighborhood place", you may wonder?

Well, usually it's a place that holds special memories for us. Maybe the place tugs at our heartstrings because of a shared beverage, or a meal, or an ice cream cone. Or, it has become a cool, interesting place to just hang out. Or the place has been there so long it offers a comforting visual reference in a constantly changing landscape. Or, maybe the place has unique architectural features that speak to our sense of beauty and art. And then there is history - oh, if only these walls could talk!

Favorite neighborhood places can contribute to our sense of security, our stability as a community, and our growth as a cool city. These special places let visitors know what our values are, and perhaps most importantly, give us a deep sense of place on this vast planet.

We believe, however, there is something more fundamentally human at the heart of what makes a favorite neighborhood place. Simply stated, everybody wants to be "somebody”. From the moment we are born, we are coddled, coaxed, and called to answer the question— “who do we want to be when we grow up?” We are raised to BE “somebodies”!

So, if we are anonymous, as we are in a big box store, or the mall, or a franchise. And try as they might to make us feel different—we are merely a number. A nameless face, whose information is captured at the checkout counter. Even when we return time and again, we’re still just a number—a nobody.

But when we walk into a place like The Kopper Top located in the Stockbridge Neighborhood, and sit under the unique canopy of lights commemorating whatever holiday is imminent...to be continued.

Theatre Masks courtesy of Janice Yuvallos Flickr.com

Trees and Moon photo courtesy of Ctd 2005's Photostream Flick.com