Wow.  It feels good to be back in blogging action!  It's been a long and short road to my leaving the real estate industry to join State Farm.  I'm opening my office in nine days, to be exact.

I know, I should be thinking about Christmas gifts, mistletoe and all the other stuff that comes along with this season, but I'm just not in the mood, given the enormous responsibility that I have right now.  Sometimes I think we can get so overwhelmed by tomorrow that we don't take time to relax in today.  So, today, I'm going to be thankful and mindful of today - just today.

I'm thankful for what Christmas represents to all of us here on earth - peace, love, joy, and a reminder that we're not alone.

I'm thankful that I've been afforded the opportunity to live in this great country called the USA.

I'm thankful for children who run to me when I come home every evening.

I'm thankful for folks who allow me the privilege of calling them friends.

Merry Christmas - I truly wish everyone peace, love, and joy.

Today was the first time in over four weeks that I logged on to Active Rain.  I stopped participating on Active Rain because it was becoming monotonous for me - and it was taking far too much time away from result producing activities.

 As real estate agents, I think we're fooling ourselves if we think we can spend an inordinate amount of time on the web and expect our sales to improve.  So what did I learn after a month of not being on Active Rain?

1. Business takes place on the street, not at home or your office.

2. The real estate business is about B2B (belly to belly).  You must get out and talk to people everyday.  You may make hundreds of friends online, but offline is where you will grow your business.

3. The internet is not the ultimate place to find buyers.

4. There are many businesses that can be built online - real estate is not one of them.

I'm reading a really interesting book by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Ph.D., entitled "Now, Discover Your Strengths."

Have you ever been asked about your strengths and your weaknesses?  I've heard a lot of people advise you to work on your weakness upon discovering them.  The authors have done much research on this subject and advise to focus on your strengths, while recognizing your weaknesses and how you can compensate for those weaknesses by enhancing your strengths.

One of the benefits of buying the book is that it directs you to a strength profile that helps you discover your strengths.  Boy, talk about insightful.

I'll talk about what I discovered about my strengths in another blog.  Go get this book!

The local news recently reported that Alabama is no longer in the top ten party schools, according to the Princeton Review.  Ah, that's too bad.

It appears that the UA students may have settled down a bit - Princeton Review ranks University of Alabama at #19 out of 20 schools.  Of course, being the competitive college that UA is, I'm sure the student body will get together and try to figure out how to raise their ranking.  I'm sure this will make the parents jump for joy.

I can hear the phone conversations now..."ah, Mom, I really need to change schools, we're down to #19 on the top party school list..."

Okay, so I didn't mean ALIEN as in U.F.O. alien.  I am referring to blogging in other territories, or "worlds" that you aren't comfortable in, or you simply are new to. 

I've been so focused on blogging on Active Rain that I haven't really taken the time to read other blogger stuff outside of the real estate area.

What sparked my curiosity with "outside" bloggers was the fact that I've been invited to San Francisco to spend some time with the author of "The Four Hour Work Week," whose book hit the New York Times bestseller list because of blogging.  Yep, you heard me correct.  He is not only a blogger, but he hangs out with other bloggers outside his "world," and blogging helped him nail the bestseller list with his FIRST book!

In fact, I'll be playing tennis with a well known blogger who blogs about technology.  I'm really getting excited about the possibilities that blogging has to offer.

Take some time and travel to other worlds.  You just might find some "alien" friends, and in turn, expand your real estate business. 

I recently made a 2 1/2 hour trip to see the guys over at SimplySold(r) in Douglasville, Georgia.  They have a really neat business model for the real estate brokerage business, and it appears that they are growing and expanding at an admirable rate, given the current real estate environment.

I met with Craig McClelland and Scott Dasher, both owners of the franchise company.  I was impressed by their energy and enthusiasm for what they are doing.  Their "little" office in Douglasville, Georgia has over eighty agents, and apparently they are generating a lot of business.

I had read about this company several years ago, and then I contacted a fellow Active Rain member, Damion Flynn in Gulfport, MS.  Damion was kind enough to refer my name to SimplySold's VP, Craig McClelland.  Craig's a bulldog and invited me to come over and "throw around some possibilities."

Both of us being "typical entrepreneurs" and probably a little "A.D.D.," we didn't shut up for several hours.  The ideas were rampant and all over the board, so to speak.

I left my visit with a renewed enthusiasm for creative opportunities in the real estate business.  I'm certain that these guys will be successful, and I wish them the best.

The mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walt Maddox said that voluntary water conservation efforts are working to sustain the city of Tuscaloosa's water reserves, but an equipment failure or major fire could force the city into mandatory water conservation efforts.

So far the water levels are showing some gain.  Recently the reserves had been tapped by as much as 25%.  The mayor still says that Tuscaloosa's water system isn't past the crisis stage yet, but if the present trend continues, he doesn't think that we'll have to have stronger conservation efforts.

The Alabama Forestry Commission just issued a no-burn order for 59 counties throughout Alabama, including all counties in West Alabama.  Under this order, it is against the law for campfires, fires to burn trash and debris, or any fires for that matter.  Severe drought conditions are causing far too many problems on our water supply to have to deal with putting out fires.

Mostly known for its many college football championships, the University of Alabama is a champion in other areas too - like academics.

In a recent U.S. News & World Report, The University of Alabama ranked 91 out of 258 public and private colleges across the U.S.  The University of Alabama is not only a great college, but it's located in a fantastic city, Tuscaloosa.

I've met a lot of people who moved here from other parts of the country, and I've never heard any of them say that they wished they could go back to where they came from.  Usually, most people who move to Tuscaloosa want to stay here.

Congratulations to the University of Alabama!

The year was 1973.  It was a warm summer day when we got the call from Uncle Ed and Aunt Marty.  Elvis was coming to Houston and Uncle Ed had tickets for us all.  It was like Christmas all over again.  I could hardly breath upon hearing the news from Mom and Dad that we were going to see Elvis.  Mom had barely gotten the words out before I was running outside to go tell my friends.  I was five years old.

I don't really remember how young I was when I first started listening to Elvis Presley records, yes I said records.  Mom said from the time I was old enough to talk, I would sing myself to sleep every night.  I remember getting the old white, plastic, portable record player for Christmas the year before - and more Elvis Albums.  I think I had all of the Elvis records made at the time.

The day finally came for the concert.  Uncle Ed had just bought a new camera to capture this great event on film.  It must be a gift from God, I thought.  Now I will be able to prove to my unbelieving neighborhood friends that I had actually seen Elvis in the flesh.

The concert was incredible.  Uncle Ed had also brought his binoculars, and my mom tells me that as I would look through the binoculars I would gleefully scream, "He looked at me, Momma, Elvis looked at me."

Several days went by and I would check the mailbox everyday awaiting the arrival of my proof to my friends.  Then the phone call came.  It was Aunt Marty.  She had bad news for us.  Uncle Ed had forgotten to take the lens cap off of his brand new, expensive camera. 

That was over thirty four years ago, and I'm still as dissapointed now as I was then.

So long, Elvis.  I still miss you.

I went home for lunch yesterday and my wife had the satellite eighties music station playing on the stereo system.  The song that was playing was "Stay the Night."  This song hit the charts around 1987 and Benjamin Orr, former singer with the Cars, had this on his album.  I hadn't heard this song in years!!!

Suddenly, I had a flashback.  Nostalgia at its finest.  I realized that the eighties, at least for me, were absolutely fantastic.  It was a time of learning about life, and doing circles around the town while listening to "She's Got to Be Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Browne, and "No Parking on The Dance Floor" by Midnight Star.

It was "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," and drinking beer underage (not that I'm promoting that).  Skipping school on Fridays.  Cold football nights and warm blankets, and the girl letting you know that she wouldn't want to be anywhere else but with you.

I remembered the music that was playing on the radio as Leslie (maybe her real name, maybe not) picked me up in her mother's Buick Park Avenue.  She knew a really nice place to "watch the stars."  She was a senior.  I was a freshman.  Life was good.

I have this dream about re-creating the eighties.  One big party.  People from all over the country meeting to have the biggest eighties party since the eighties.  Maybe the guys and girls won't look the same, but I guarantee you that we'll all feel like we used to back then - if only for a fleeting moment.

Bring back the 80's!