I am hearing more and more that Real Estate Agents are being viewed as car salesman.  I don't know about you but I haven't invested my time and money in an industry that I love to be viewed to prospective clients as a "car salesman".  I know that the market is tough and we have to work even harder to find buyers and sellers, but I think no matter what we as professionals need to remember it is all about the connection.  We need connect with our clients and remember that we are here to help them first and us second.  Caring about our clients, listening to our clients and understanding our clients is what it is all about.  Real Estate is about the people not the transaction.  I have heard horror stories of agents, lying, cheating, and stealing to get a deal.  Be Creative NOT Competitive is one of my favorite quotes. There is enough business to go around.  As agents/realtors we need to work together to keep our profession one of the best.  Prospective buyers, sellers and investors need to count on us and feel comfortable that we are here to help them.  They need to know that we have their best interests in mind.  We come second.  When we put the $$$$$$$ before our clients we all lose.  I know the market is hard, lets not make it any harder.

Lets make the connections first and the transactions will follow!

Remember, if you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want~ Zig Ziggler 

At some point in time we have all come to that moment in our lives that no matter what we do we find ourselves stuck at a red light.  Understanding how to change that light to green is important not just in business but in life as well.

Here are a few tips that I have adopted to help change the red light a little faster or avoid them all together!

1. Read a book in your field every month. By doing this you will become an expert at it as well as discover new tips, tricks and ideas to help you along the way.

It has been said,

"Invest 30 minutes a day in reading books that will make you stretch. Avoid the easy stuff. You won't grow. 30 minutes a day for six months will make you one of the most knowledgeable people in your office/field. After a year, in your town; two years, the county; five years, in the state; ten years, in the country; 15 years, in the world. All for just half an hour a day!" ~Mark Matteson

2. Listen to motivational CD's in your car. The average American spends over 34 hours a year in traffic.  Spend that time wisely. Invest in yourself! 

3. Write in a journal! "The palest ink is better than the strongest memory" "If it is worth remembering, it's worth writing down."

4. Have goals and write them down.

One famous study from Yale in 1953 said that the 3% of Yale graduates who had written goals had more wealth years later than the other 97% of the class combined. Some say this was an urban ledged...I bet they are the ones that didn't write down their goals. Part of the misery loves company rule I guess.

5.  Have a goal board or vision board.  Seeing your goals daily is a great way to keep you on track and focused on the prize.  We all need a daily dose of why we get up every morning! 

6. FIND YOUR WHY! What is it that keeps you moving forward?  Write it down.....Put it on your goal/vision board.  Think about it before you go to bed and right when you wake up.  It makes for great dreams and allows you to start your day off on the right foot.

7. Have a accountability partner.  Having someone hold you accountable is a powerful tool to have.  If you work alone or with an office full of people, it is easy to get caught up in the negative world that feeds on the bad, ugly and depressing stories that plague us today.  Be it the economy, the crime, the political scandals....we don't have to look far to become sucked in to this depressing world some people like to call life.  Having a positive, powerful, person on your side is a must have in today's society.  Be it a mentor, or colleague or a complete stranger, find someone you can partner up with and talk daily.

Remember to always look up & KEEP MOVING FORWARD!