"I am hurt, but I am not slain; I'll lay me down and bleed a while, And then I'll rise and fight again."   The first time I ever heard this quote was when Richard Nixon quoted it in his audio book, "In The Arena".  I thought to myself how true this quote was, not just for Richard Nixon in his darkest days after choosing to resign.  I can't pretend to imagine how he felt, one minute being one most powerful men in the world, to having to resign the highest office of our land in disgrace.  If you recall, we didn't hear to much from Richard Nixon for a few years but it wasn't long before he had rehabilitated himself and became a very sought after elder statesman.  Every President since 1974 had the opportunity and availability of Mr. Nixon's council and knowledge in foreign affairs.  No matter what you thought of Richard Nixon's politics, his actions after his resignation proved that any of us can overcome adversity in our lives.

The reason for the first paragraph was not to talk so much about Richard Nixon, but rather to tie the phrase "I am hurt, but I am not slain; I'll lay me down and bleed a while, And then I'll rise and fight again." it in to the current market that we as Realtors are faced with.   They say that you can't appreciate the view from the mountain top until you've walked out of the lowest valley.  I've been selling Real Estate for 5 years now and this market that we currently find ourselves in is by far the lowest valley I've been in.  One thing I do know is that I WILL climb back to the mountain top and enjoy the views once again.  I don't think it matters whether you're selling Real Estate in Big Bear Lake CA or Daytona Beach, Florida, the market is what it is.  I know that there are a lot of Realtors who haven't seen a pay check for quite some time now.  That has got to suck but the question is this.  What are you going to do about it?  Are you going to let the market overwhelm you?  Are you going to give up, throw your hands up in the air and walk away after an escrow that you worked so hard on falls through?  

Or, are you going to figure out how to succeed and thrive in this market.  What changes in your marketing strategies are you going to do in order to help you in this market? What's it going to take for you to thrive in this market?  You notice that I didn't ask, "What are you going to do in order to get by."  It's my belief that we should always be shooting for the stars.  No matter what we do, it should always be done with our best effort, expecting rewarding results. 

I'm one of those guys who gets stuck in his ways and change doesn't always come easy.  Switching from a web site thought process to blogging was one of those ideas that took me time to commit too. As I look back, I'm very pleased that I made the mental commitment to Blog. That being said, there are things that I'm now doing that I've never done before.  Are they working?  It's a little early to say but I believe that they are.  Active Rain has been a big plus and it's a great thing when you get a call and they mentioned that they read your blog on Active Rain.

I believe that it's ok to lay down and bleed, but after a moment or two, it's time to get back up and fight on!