It never fails to amaze me when I start working with someone new in an industry that is so much, in my opinion, a personal relationship industry.
Real estate isn't like selling Green Giant Green Beans for 65¢ a can or 70¢ a can.
Real estate agents are asking both buyers and sellers to help them deal with hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes millions, changing hands, a decision that can have an impact for thirty years or more.
Many new agents who come to me tell me that they are not having the success they want, and when I dig a little deeper, I often find that they are doing everything their broker tells them to do. Therein, I think, lies part of the problem.
Certainly brokers want their agents to succeed. No one can argue with that, I hope. But many brokers simply take what their franchise offers, or develop a list of what their most successful agents have done, and then offer it to the newbies. That's a great place for newbies to start, but you still have to make it yours. You have to own it. If you say, "This is how it's done in my office," or "That's how Paul McCartney does it, and he's the most successful agent in our office," then you'll lose them. Why should they not be working with Paul McCartney or anyone else in your office?
Marketing is many thousands of years old, maybe even millions of years old. My wise old grandmother told me that there is no such thing as new marketing, only new ways to do old marketing.
If you see something on ActiveRain that you think can work for you, make it yours! Own it! That means adapting it to fit your company, your city or state, your personality. Failing that means that you would rather fail, and I don't believe that.
Part of Guerrilla Marketing is being you in everything you do.
I went out for a long 14-mile round-trip walk a couple of days ago to see what I could see in the early morning light.
One of the things that I always enjoy looking for is first impressions of businesses that might want me to use their services or buy their products.
I like to take the junk mail that I get each week, note the address, and actually go by to see what kind of business they are running.
Sometimes I'm pleased, and other times I just have to wonder how carefree, carefree might be.
One could make the argument that they are so busy doing auto repairs that they don't have time to do common building maintenance.
On the other hand, though, if one were to make that argument, then the other side might argue that if they are so busy, then they should have enough money to hire someone to do common building maintenance.
Part of Guerrilla Marketing is taking care of the simple things, to make that first impression count.
You think President Obama has problems with these Birthers? Ha! Some people still think that President Washington wasn't the first president of this great nation!
The problem stems from confusion about just exactly when the United States of America was born and when the presidency came about. Many think that it was born on July 4, 1776, but that is only partially true. There was a new nation born on that day, but the United States of America as we know it came about on March 4, 1789, the date that the current United States Constitution became effective after having been ratified by the required three-fourths of the States on June 21, 1788.
The first President of the United States under the current Constitution was George Washington, but what about the years from 1776 to 1789? Ah, that's where John Hanson (1721-1782) comes in, but it does get confusing.
From 1774 to November 1781, there were various Presidents of Congress, that Congress being the First Continental Congress (September 5, 1774 - October 26, 1774), the Second Continental Congress (May 10, 1775 - March 1, 1781), and the Congress of the Confederation (March 1, 1781 - March 4, 1789):
Peyton Randolph, September 5, 1774 - October 22, 1774 (1st)
Henry Middleton, October 22, 1774 - October 26, 1774 (1st)
Peyton Randolph, May 10, 1775 - May 24, 1775 (2nd)
John Hancock, May 24, 1775 - October 29, 1777 (2nd)
Henry Laurens, November 1, 1777 - December 9, 1778 (2nd)
John Jay, December 10, 1778 - September 28, 1779 (2nd)
Samuel Huntington, September 28, 1779 - July 10, 1781 (2nd)
Thomas McKean, July 10, 1781 - November 5, 1781 (2nd)
John Hanson, November 5, 1781 - November 4, 1782 (Confederation)
Elias Boudinot, November 4, 1782 - November 3, 1783 (Confederation)
Thomas Mifflin, November 3, 1783 - June 3, 1784 (Confederation)
Richard Henry Lee, November 30, 1784 - November 4, 1785 (Confederation)
John Hancock, November 23, 1785 - June 5, 1786 (Confederation)
Nathaniel Gorham, June 6, 1786 - November 3, 1786 (Confederation)
Arthur St. Clair, February 2, 1787 - November 4, 1787 (Confederation)
Cyrus Griffin, January 22, 1788 - November 15, 1788 (Confederation)
John Hanson, then, was the first President of Congress to be elected under the terms of the Articles of Confederation, but the Articles of Confederation were then superseded by the United States Constitution in 1789, which created the United States of America as we now know it.
So if someone tells you that there was a President before George Washington, tell that person that there were sixteen Presidents before George Washington.
Arguably one of the most exciting car debuts in history was that of the Ford Mustang.
The Mustang was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964, at the New York World's Fair. As a 1964½ model priced at just $2,368, Ford sold 417,000 Mustangs in the first twelve months of production, although Ford was projecting sales of only 100,000.
The Mustang started the "pony car" generation, and the pony car wars morphed into the muscle car wars between Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, Javelin, and Barracuda. With cheap gas, muscle cars continued to grow in size, including the size of the engine, with many cars having cubic-inch displacement engines up in the 400s.
The rarest of all production Mustangs was released on this date in 1970: the Boss 351 Mustang. It made its first showing at the Detroit Auto Show.
What makes the Boss 351 the rarest Mustang ever released was its single production year, 1971, and the fact that only 1,806 units were manufactured. Sadly, only 591 Boss 351 Mustangs are known to exist today.
The Boss 351 featured a powerful 8-cyclinder engine built on Ford's new "Cleveland" block, and had a factory rating of 300 horsepower, although it was known to produce 330 horsepoer and 370 lbs-ft of torque. It came with a 4-speed transmission with Hurst shifter, a 3.91 geared Traction-Lok rear end, "Ram Air" induction hood, power front disc brakes, "competition" suspension, full gauges, HD cooling package, dual mirrors, driving lights, high-back bucket seats, sport rims, and F60 Wide-O-Oval tires.
If you'd like to own a 1971 Boss 351 Mustang, there is a beautiful black and "grabber yellow" one for sale for just $59,900 at carsonline.com:
If you have a 1971 Boss 351 sitting in your garage, don't be selfish. Please take some pictures and share them with our ActiveRain community.
As soon as the United States Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789, Congress proposed twelve amendments which would become known as the Bill of Rights.
Of course, American history afficionados know that the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights, not the first twelve.
So what gives? Ah, I'm glad you asked.
The original 12 Articles were proposed on September 25, 1789, and just six weeks later, on November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights, although it rejected Article II.
It would be another 25 months before Virginia became the eleventh state to ratify the Bill of Rights, thereby putting them into effect.
Article I and II of the proposed amendments were not ratified by three-fourths of the States, so they did not become part of the Bill of Rights.
Article II, however, concerning congressional pay raises, was eventually ratified in 1992 as the 27th Amendment, 202½ years after it was submitted.
Other interesting facts about the Bill of Rights:
Connecticut, Georgia, and Massachusetts did not ratify the Bill of Rights until 1939, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of their original ratification.
George Washington had 14 handwritten copies of the Bill of Rights created, one for Congress and one each for the original 13 States. Georgia, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania copies are missing. New York's was destroyed in a fire, while Pennsylvania's "went missing" in the late 1790s. Georgia's and Maryland's copies are believed to be in the New York Public Library and the National Archives but can't be definitively identified.
North Carolina's copy was stolen by a Union soldier in April 1865 and returned to North Carolina in 2005, 140 years later by the FBI's Special Agent Robert King Wittman. He got his 15 minutes of fame. The copy is valued at $30 million.
Virginia's copy is the one that made the Bill of Rights Tour in 1991 to celebrate the bicentennial.
Originally, the Bill of Rights restrictions applied only to the federal government and not to the several state governments. Interesting. How could that be? Several states had established state churches up until the 1820s, and, beginning beginning in the 1830s, several Southern States banned abolitionist literature. In Barron v. Baltimore, 1933, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights provided "security against the apprehended encroachments of the general government-not against those of local governments." In Gitlow v. New York, 1925, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, could make certain applications of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states: "For present purposes we may and do presume that freedom of speech and of the press - which are protected by the First Amendment from abridgment by Congress - are among the fundamental personal rights and 'liberties' protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the States." The Court also held that, "It does not protect publications prompting the overthrow of government by force." The Supreme Court has cited Gitlow v. New York as precedent for many decisions that made most, but not all, of the provisions of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states under the doctrine of "selective incorporation." Wow! I never knew.
The Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
I've bought and sold many a house in my life, particularly when I was doing a lot of property renovations and flippings.
Whenever I was looking for a Realtor to help me buy or sell, I never chose the #1 Realtor. Didn't matter how much experience s/he had, how many homes s/he had helped people buy or sell, or anything else.
My purpose was to help those who needed help, and most #1 Realtors didn't need my help. However, that doesn't mean that I didn't give them the chance to earn my business. It was how they attempted to earn my business that showed me whether or not they really did need my help.
Whenever I needed a Realtor, I simply asked "Why should I hire you?". If they personally came by my office to tell me why I should hire them, I put them on my short list. If they sent an associate or even a clerk in shorts, tank top, and flip flops (a true story) to give me a printed presentation, they went on my "nope" list.
In other words, if they didn't at least care enough about my business to want to meet me initially and then hand me off to an associate, then I perceived that they didn't need me.
If they didn't need me, then I didn't need them. It was that simple.
I think it's still that simple, perhaps even more so as companies continue to send customer relations jobs overseas or replace them with these circular phone systems.
We use technology as a fishing reel, casting that line and hook out there in the wild hoping that a prospect will bite, but you still have to reel them in, and you can best do that if you're willing to talk with your prospects, to meet them in person, to use your associates and clerks as support, not as the point of first contact.
It doesn't matter the industry, marketing research continues to show that people like doing business with other people, not with robots, automatons, or circular phone systems that sound like recorded voices. So why do big businesses continue to do the opposite?
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate ... we can not consecrate ... we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
What you just read is the complete text of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered on November 19, 1863, and although he thought that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here," the Gettysburg Address is not only remembered, but it is, at 272 words, one of the most memorable and quoted speeches in American history.
Delivered at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln eloquently reminded the war-weary nation why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War.
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought four months earlier, was the single bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with more than 45,000 men killed, injured, captured, or missing. It was the turning point of the war as General Robert E. Lee's defeat and retreat from Gettysburg marked the last Confederate invasion of Northern territory and the beginning of the Southern army's ultimate decline.
Reaction to Lincoln's three-minute speech was initially mixed, although divided strictly along party lines. Sound familiar? Nothing's changed in 146 years. ☺☺☻☻☺☺
Although Lincoln considered it a "little speech," it is now considered by most historians to be the most eloquent articulation of the democratic vision ever written.
I memorized those 272 words back in the Fall of 1973 in order to get extra credit for my freshman American history class at Texas A&M University.
Because we like you on this day in 1928, Mickey Mouse was born on the ship, Steamboat Willie, or at least, that's the official version from The Walt Disney Company.
True Mouseketeers know that the first animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse was Mickey Mouse in Plane Crazy, a silent film released on May 15, 1928.
Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon with sound. Now why that makes a difference in the age of Mickey Mouse, well, only Walt Disney would know, and he died in 1966.
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Other interesting facts about Mickey Mouse:
Mickey's voice was none other than that of Walt Disney himself.
Disney had a soundtrack added to Mickey Mouse in Plane Crazy in December 1928, and when he copyrighted the soundtracked cartoon in 1930, he shortened the name to Plane Crazy.
In Plane Crazy, Mickey Mouse used force to try to get Minnie Mouse to kiss him. Seems times haven't changed, have they.
Felix the Cat also makes an appearance in Plane Crazy.
Steamboat Willie is actually the third Mickey Mouse cartoon made. The Gallopin' Gaucho was the second cartoon made, but it was released after Steamboat Willie.
Steamboat Willie premiered at New York's 79th Street Theatre, playing ahead of Gang War, a long-forgotten film.
Steamboat Willie has had its copyright repeatedly extended by acts of Congress. Recent evidence, though, suggests that it might be in the public domain due to technicalities in the original copyright notice.
It is preserved in the National Film Registry, maintained by the Library of Congress.
Voted #13 of the 50 greatest cartoons of all time in 1994.
Over the years, several scenes were removed from Steamboat Willie, although restored in recent years in the interest of historical accuracy. Such scenes include Mickey pulling a cat's tail and then swinging the cat by the tail above his head, picking up a nursing sow and "playing" her babies like an acccordion, and using a goose as bagpipes.
My wise old grandmother had a house full of plants, all of them quite common among houseplants, but all of them beautiful because she lovingly took care of them.
One of the plants that I liked the most was her Umbrella Tree (Schefflera arboricola). I knew it simply as a schefflera, but here in San Diego they call them Umbrella Trees.
I was so proud when I finally got one of my own for my dorm room at Texas A&M University, and I had it from 1973 until 1993 when I moved to San Diego. It had grown to about six feet tall in twenty years, which made me even prouder since I do believe I had the tallest one in College Station and Houston.
Alas, I come to San Diego, and they grow as outdoor plants, get about 30 feet tall, and they bloom! The leaves do look like umbrellas, and I've always liked the symmetry that they offer. Here is a schefflera leaf stalk, looking quite pretty:
Who would you think of if I mentioned a black iris, Oriental poppies, a ram's head, the Lawrence tree, ladder to the moon, a cow's skull, and calico roses, all in the same breath?
This is a series of ActiveRain History Station programs using United States postage stamps as our history book.
For other programs in this series on the ActiveRain History Station, simply click here.
How about Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (1887-1986)?
Georgia O'Keeffe, recognized as one of the greatest American artists of the twentieth century, was born on this day in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
O'Keefe is best known for her paintings of animal bones, flowers, landscapes, rocks, and shells, often combining them in unusual ways to create abstracts and representations.
She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1900s, had her first art exhibition in 1916 at Gallery 291, owned by famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz, whom she married in 1924.
Other interesting facts about Georgia O'Keeffe:
Her parents were Wisconsin dairy farmers.
Her maternal grandfather, George Totto, was a Hungarian Count who came to America in 1848 and Georgia Totto was his namesake.
She is descended on her mother's side from Edward Fuller, a passenger on the Mayflower and a signer of the Mayflower Compact.
One of seven children.
She found inspiration in the rural Southwest, particularly New Mexico, where she moved in 1946, although she had spent a great portion of each year there during the preceding ten years.
When Alfred Stieglitz exhibited ten of her paintings at his Gallery 291, he did so unbeknownst to Georgia. After confronting him, she decided to let them remain on display.
Stieglitz and O'Keeffe maintained an affair for about six years before Stieglitz divorced his wife and married Georgia.
In 1928, six of her calla lily paintings sold for $25,000, the highest price ever paid for a group of paintings.
In 1946, the Museum of Modern Art, in Manhattan, held a retrospective on Georgia O'Keeffe, the first ever for a woman artist.
President Gerald Ford awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
Upon her death, her will was contested by the O'Keeffe family because many codicils had left everything to Juan Hamilton, whom she had originally hired to do odd jobs around her home. Hamilton eventually became her closest friend, confidante, and business manager. The settlement became a famous court case involing estate planning.
The Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Museum in Abiquiu, New Mexico, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.
Other well known works of hers that you've probably seen: Cow's Skull With Calico Roses; Petunia No. 2; The Lawrence Tree; Summer Days; Above the Clouds I; and Black Cross, New Mexico.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
It never fails to amaze me when I start working with someone new in an industry that is so much, in my opinion, a personal relationship industry.
Real estate agents are asking both buyers and sellers to help them deal with hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes millions, changing hands, a decision that can have an impact for thirty years or more.
Certainly brokers want their agents to succeed. No one can argue with that, I hope. But many brokers simply take what their franchise offers, or develop a list of what their most successful agents have done, and then offer it to the newbies. That's a great place for newbies to start, but you still have to make it yours. You have to own it. If you say, "This is how it's done in my office," or "That's how Paul McCartney does it, and he's the most successful agent in our office," then you'll lose them. Why should they not be working with Paul McCartney or anyone else in your office?
I went out for a long 14-mile round-trip walk a couple of days ago to see what I could see in the early morning light.
You think President Obama has problems with these Birthers? Ha! Some people still think that President Washington wasn't the first president of this great nation!
Peyton Randolph, September 5, 1774 - October 22, 1774 (1st)
John Hancock, November 23, 1785 - June 5, 1786 (Confederation)
Arguably one of the most exciting car debuts in history was that of the Ford Mustang.
The Mustang started the "pony car" generation, and the pony car wars morphed into the muscle car wars between Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, Javelin, and Barracuda. With cheap gas, muscle cars continued to grow in size, including the size of the engine, with many cars having cubic-inch displacement engines up in the 400s.
As soon as the United States Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789, Congress proposed twelve amendments which would become known as the Bill of Rights.
Of course, American history afficionados know that the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights, not the first twelve.
Article I and II of the proposed amendments were not ratified by three-fourths of the States, so they did not become part of the Bill of Rights.
Connecticut, Georgia, and Massachusetts did not ratify the Bill of Rights until 1939, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of their original ratification.
Virginia's copy is the one that made the Bill of Rights Tour in 1991 to celebrate the bicentennial.
Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights provided "security against the apprehended encroachments of the general government-not against those of local governments." In Gitlow v. New York, 1925, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, could make certain applications of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states: "For present purposes we may and do presume that freedom of speech and of the press - which are protected by the First Amendment from abridgment by Congress - are among the fundamental personal rights and 'liberties' protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the States." The Court also held that, "It does not protect publications prompting the overthrow of government by force." The Supreme Court has cited Gitlow v. New York as precedent for many decisions that made most, 
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
This post was inspired by Gary Woltal's post, "
My purpose was to help those who needed help, and most #1 Realtors didn't need my help. However, that doesn't mean that I didn't give them the chance to earn my business. It was how they attempted to earn my business that showed me whether or not they really did need my help.
If they didn't need me, then I didn't need them. It was that simple.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Delivered at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln eloquently reminded the war-weary nation why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War.
M - I - C
My wise old grandmother had a house full of plants, all of them quite common among houseplants, but all of them beautiful because she lovingly took care of them.
Who would you think of if I mentioned a black iris, Oriental poppies, a ram's head, the Lawrence tree, ladder to the moon, a cow's skull, and calico roses, all in the same breath?
Other interesting facts about Georgia O'Keeffe:
Stieglitz and O'Keeffe maintained an affair for about six years before Stieglitz divorced his wife and married Georgia.
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