2008 has been a real roller coaster year so far.  I started off with a great hopes and ambitions, pumped up from the positive and encourage messages of David Liniger (RE/MAX Co-Founder and Chairman) as well as the take charge mentality instilled by the Brian Buffini program.  I guess I was being a little too cocky because Fate stepped in with a one-two punch and knocked me flat on my rear.  And just in case I didn't get the message, Fate switched over to WWF mode and hit me upside the head with a folding chair. 

When the mortgage crisis/housing market "crash" first started becoming a daily headliner in the news, I couldn't help but wonder how some people could let things get so far.  Now I know.  It doesn't take much sometimes to get that snowball rolling. 

I admit there were many times when I felt like throwing in the towel, especially when I saw or read another "expert" blaming real estate agents for the current situation.  One day I found myself looking at the Help Wanted ads and said "What are you doing?  You already have a job."

I realized that I had to recapture that exuberant, ready to face any challenge attitude I had started the year with.  And I found it again while reviewing some notes I had written about Allison Levine, a motivational speaker who was the team captain for the First American Women's Everest Expedition.  Allison achieved her dream of climbing Mount Everest despite 2 heart surgeries, a serious medical condition, self doubt and traversing a war zone.  Her points are simple but no less true for their simplicity.

• Set goals and break them down into manageable pieces. 
• It's okay to be afraid, but don't be complacent. 
• Just because you don't appear to be moving forward doesn't mean you're not making progress. 
• Sometimes the only way to get there is to take it slowly, one painful step at a time. 
• Know when to walk away.

Well I know it's not time to walk away but rather to get back on that horse and back into the race.

(Disclaimer:  This is my first post to ActiveRain.  Your feedback is greatly appreciated.  If this post is in any way inappropriate, please let me know.)