If you were to grade yourself in several areas of your life would you get an A+??

Professional skills, how you are doing with your relationships, your finances, your exercise, your personal development, on track with your goals? What grade?

In reality it irks me personally when I don't get that A+. We are truly in competition mainly in life with ourselves in most instances although everyone thinks they are competing with others. Not as often the case as you may think.

For example in taking a real estate exam someone says you need a 70 to pass. I want a 100 and when I get a 97, I want to know which questions I missed.

Excellence in all its forms in life is not hard to achieve if we do our best with what we are gifted with. In all areas of our life will we hit the high mark? Well, not at first. But we can be the BEST in all those different areas if we keep trying. We have to WANT IT!!! BAD. Sick and tired of being sick and tired. Don't confuse excellence with PERFECTION. Strive to be the best but don't become an obsessive person.

People will notice your excellence in whatever areas you achieve it in. Why? Because so many just settle for mediocrity. Or worse, sub-par or laziness in thinking and achievement.

So when you are hitting on all cylinders, what then? Cruise and brag to everyone how great you are? Absolutely not. First off, you will have to stay sharp and practice and continue to learn to stay in top form. But secondly, and more importantly being excellent allows you to be of great service to others. Imparting your knowledge, being strong with an assist to the weaker, a huge smile to the downtrodden, a bit of wise counsel to the forlorn. Always strive to be the very best YOU. It is what the world so very much needs to witness.

It was what you were designed to be.

Chemistry definitely has a role in selecting a real estate agent. It even starts with the presentation to the public from their web site to a profile description of what they say they specialize in. A younger person may want a younger agent. An individual that wants personal attention might completely steer clear of a team or large group type of agent because they feel they are too impersonal. A shy person may run away from a high ego TOP PRODUCER. Someone wanting to buy farm and ranch properties would shun the residential specialist.

Even marketing yourself with years and years in the business may be a turn off to someone who perceives you don't have the marketing prowess to use the latest tools for the greatest effect for Internet exposure in selling your property.

I have asked clients why they "didn't" chose a particularly well qualified Realtor. Well, some said, it looked like all they did was have listings and lost touch with showing homes and working with buyers. On and on it goes. Many agents with longer careers in the business get dulled to fresh eyes looking at what their materials actually say they are targeting, not realizing that if they do work with buyers but their materials don't say that, they are losing business.

So have another person with neutral eyes review your materials from time to time and tell you what THEY think you are trying to attract into your life and business as your "ideal client." People don't have to work with any agent out there. And Realtors should know who their ideal client is. Some like vanilla, some like chocolate ice cream. It is not a right or wrong, but just trying to get a good match out there for everyone with the business.

My good friend, Realtor and Active Rainer Susan Mangigian reminded me the other day about the interchangeable spelling between God and Dog. We need to

Be The Loving Reflective Mirror People Need In Their Lives.

All of us have good in us. Sometimes it takes another with a tremendous amount of unconditional love given to you for you to feel good about yourself again.

Dogs are masters at this. God is too.

But for the rest of us flawed human beings we need to work at this. Just think of an image of a dog and you'll have your loving mirror self down. Touch people this way. You'll change individuals, one person at a time. And you'll make a real difference in the world.

All we need is love!!

I think I am a two stepper thinker finally on this observation.

Sifting Through Infinity Takes Brainpower and Heart.

Think of all these social media connections you may develop for your business or for your personal life. You have 1,000 friends on Facebook, 500 people follow you on Twitter, on LinkedIn you have 200 associates. Your "connections" are certainly making you connected much better than the six degrees of freedom from EVERYONE on the planet. But the tradeoff is

         TIME.

Which relates to the QUALITY of the connection. Thats where your brainpower and heart come in. You can't comment back to everyone or touch them all each day. Prioritize what is important to you with the connection.

And the heart part? Sometimes even a connection that isn't a real top business transaction or close "real" personal friend is crying out for your help, a little attention, a deeper connection, or PERHAPS today is their day for you to be the giver of love to them in your life.

The explosion of information was daunting enough for us all and no end in sight with it. The explosion seemingly toward INFINITY with human connection on the planet (or at least a finite 6 billion) shows no slowing down. Do we need to know all 6 billion? Probably not. But whomever you do connect with on a significant and meanigful level, use that heart A LOT, and make today count for something. Your little voice in another's life has a lot greater impact than sometimes you will ever know or realize.

You know you must be getting closer to geezerhood rather than further away from it when you want to sit on the porch and say, "Sonny boy, back in my day!" Two latest Christmas gifts for this year are life size insects and a hamster character (a Zhu Zhu toy) that can run around in a little car. What happened to live bugs and real hamsters? Aren't they cheaper too?

Hamsters Shouldn't Require Batteries!

I think this is the current generation that everything has to be electronic.

I remember with my pet guinea pigs. I started with two and then somehow magically one day I had sixteen in the fish tank I was raising them in. Something about knowing the difference between male and female would have helped. Maybe I didn't properly read the bar code underneath them that provided me this information or something. Oh well, I won't be a stick in the mud on these new electronic gizmos. What will they think  of next? Electronic butterflies that bang into the walls of your house? Maybe they will be controlled by a remote as you sink into your Lazy Boy Recliner.

What did we ever do before electricity? Don't get me started about my Dad talking about the ice box and the horse drawn wagon coming down the street with the blocks of ice. For real. It was less than eighty years ago!! One can only wonder what the marvels of technology will bring to us next. Of course, cleanup after the new Zhu Zhu version is probably better. Just the fun probably runs out when the batteries go dead after a day!!

I've noticed with some Realtors it is really hard to pin them down exactly when do they call it a day for work, or when do they start, or do they take off one day on the weekend or such. It must really be hard on their clients or new consumers trying to reach them. With today's voice mail, email, and texting one would think this shouldn't be a problem at all with clear communication. So,

Just What's Up With Agent's Hours Of Operation?

It seems if you take a Wednesday off completely or don't work Sundays or stop listening to your cell phone messages past 7 p.m. or whatever an agent's rules for themselves are, they could clearly communicate that to those who contact them, at least after their first inward contact. If you call Saturday at 6 p.m. agent to agent, or consumer to agent, you probably don't expect to have to wait till Monday to get a response (unless they know that is standard for you). We are not mind readers here people.

A tip agent to agent or also from the consumer side is to leave a voice mail AND an email together with the same message. Oftentimes with the Smartphones nowadays you may get a faster reply with the email (or text).

Then the dirty little secret. Some agents NEVER check their voice mails. Gag. And people say they are making a living from this profession.

And then of course you can set yourself apart and say you don't have to worry about any of this "responsiveness" talk cause you label yourself as a 24/7 Realtor.

Good luck with that with your business AND YOUR LIFE!!!

Overwork has this strange tendency to cause burnout, confusion, and above all

    MISTAKES!!!

A refreshed person, is an optimally performing person. Bottom line, effectively communicate to all your "hours of operation"

If you look at satisfied homebuyers, whether they be first time homebuyers, move up, move down or just run of the mill dream home buyers you will no doubt discover that

Home Buying Is In the Declaration of Independence.

You remember. Founding fathers. July 4, 1776 and all. Pledging their sacred honor.

It is in the second paragraph if you grab a copy. Last four words.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That is the real reason people buy their home!!!

Can't you just see it in their faces??

A new fall TV show's name sparked a thought. If we are cognizant of our behavior over time we reflect back on it, and "diagnose" what we are doing wrong. Some work hard at this. But still we can fall into a trap of "fringe" living. That is "almost" getting to where we want to go. There is

One Thing Needed To Stop Fringe Living.

It is COMMITMENT. Why do we not quite lose the weight desired? Why do we not advance in a career to a level we want? Why are we still struggling with a relationship?

There just has to be a burning desire in there somewhere to get what you want. Otherwise you are stuck on the "fringe." Never getting to the promised land. Figure out what you want out of life. Limit it to a handful of things not a huge broad spectrum. Then "commit." People may call you crazy with you having such a burning passion to hell or high water you are going to get there. Laser focus. Visualize. Get up early. Whatever it takes. You WANT that prize. Otherwise you will be relegated to that proverbial living lives of desperate quiet desparation Thoreau quote.

Much has been written on the extension of the first time homebuyer tax credit and the credit for existing homeowners. A few frequently asked questions with answers to go along with all of that:

Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?

Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.

Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20.  If President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for the new $6500 tax credit?

Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment (when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.

Question: I am a first time homebuyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered, however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?

Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill.

The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase,

which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement,

you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you're within the phase-out

range).

Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I have found a home with a non-negotiable price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any of the $6500 tax credit?

Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount

above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an

absolute ceiling.

Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the other eligibility tests?

Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you

will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000

and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in

the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and

occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The

keyword here is "consecutive." As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he

did since 3 years doesn't impact eligibility.

Question: I am an eligible first-time homebuyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the extension date affect me?

Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as

if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30

(or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit.