danny thornton: Introducing R & D Management - 01/19/09 04:00 AM
Before I get into this post, let me just clarify that this blog is not the announcement that this post preempted. That is a bird of a different feather and will actually be divulged February 1st instead of the end of this month. Now that I have that little bit out of the way, let me get into this particular post.
I have had some people ask me lately if I was leaving the mortgage industry. The answer to that is "NO". I am merely taking a step back and Rich is running The Thornton Team @ Home America Mortgage. As … (8 comments)

danny thornton: Fear - Power Quotes Series - 11/09/08 11:44 PM
Yesterday, I wrote a post on PREP about the fear factor that is going on in the USA today. If you did not get a chance to read the article, I hope that you can swing by and check it out. I have to say that it is truly something that has a stronghold on our nation.
With that being said, we have 3 choices when it comes to fear. The first is for us to allow it to consume us and run our lives. The second is for us to ignore it all together, which is not a smart move … (9 comments)

danny thornton: Faith - Power Quotes Series - 11/03/08 08:49 AM
So many times when the word faith is mentioned, most people assume that it has to be attached to religion. The problem with that if FAITH is so much more than that. For some, it refers to their religion. However, faith is what we put into the company that we work for, in the clients that we work with, in the underwrites that we work with, in all things that flow in our job. Our faith is that all things will work out smoothly.
Faith does not stop there. We put faith into our families as well. We put faith in … (3 comments)

danny thornton: Failure - Power Quotes Series - 10/27/08 05:54 AM
Years ago, one of the first things that I learned in life is that failure comes with the territory and if you are not will to face it head one and accept that it happens, then you will never be successful. I can remember that Tomas Edison talked about the failures that he had prior to creating the light bulb. He had said that the failures were viewed as getting him one step closer to creating the light bulb.
Ultimately you have 2 ways to look at failure. Accept that you failed and do nothing about it. Or accept that you … (4 comments)

danny thornton: Effort - Power Quotes Series - 10/23/08 02:59 AM
This particular post was suppose to be published yesterday. However, exhaustion set in and I took an early nap. That is what happens when you get old. So, a day late and a dollar short is better than not at all I think. It is all in the effort.
Effort is something that we all have a tendency to give. With that being said, there are some people that just go through the motions and never put forth the effort. I asked a fellow loan officer what they were doing to make money today. I was shocked when he said that … (8 comments)

danny thornton: Increase the Value of your Home: Part 4 - 10/21/08 06:41 AM
Prelude:
If you have not followed this series from the beginning, I Highly recommend that you go back and read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. All three of these have dealt with the land itself. Today's will also deal with the outdoors. We will be discussing the exterior of the home and what can be done to increase the value. This particular series is set to be  20 to 30 parts long and will cover the exterior and interior of the home and also the yard. The thing to remember here is that adding value by some of these … (2 comments)

danny thornton: Ethics - Power Quotes Series - 10/20/08 12:08 PM
The biggest issue with the mortgage and Real Estate issue over the years typically stems from ethics. When it comes down to it, we as professionals have the ability to control our industry just by practicing Ethics. Typically dollar signs get in the way and then we lose sight of what is important; being ethical.
Dictionary.com decribes ethics as:
Ann Landers said it best with the qoute of "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
This speaks a ton to our industry. People that seem to not go the extra … (8 comments)

danny thornton: Discipline - Power Quote Series - 10/15/08 05:18 AM
Discipline is something that a lot of people lack. There are many different reasons that people lack the discipline that is needed to be successful. The first thing that is need to overcome this obsticale is to first admit that you lack discipline.
From an early age, sports taught me the discipine that I needed in order to succeed. With that being said, it was my desire to learn how to become disciplined that made me who I am. You can have a coach that teaches this all day long, but until you start practiving it, you will never grasp the … (3 comments)

danny thornton: Increase the Value of your Home: Part 3 - 10/14/08 08:10 AM
Prelude:
If you have not followed this series from the beginning, I Highly recommend that you go back and read Part 1 and Part 2. This particular series is set to be  20 to 30 parts long and will cover the exterior and interior of the home and also the yard. In today's article, we will be discussing the use of "yard art" and how it can add value to a property. The thing to remember here is that adding value by some of these methods is a more long term project as opposed to a quick fix.
Yard Art:
Back … (8 comments)

danny thornton: Courage - Power Quote Series - 10/13/08 08:05 AM
One of the things that it takes to face today's market is courage. Many people lack this very trait when it comes down to it. When I hear people talking about it, I am taken back to the Wizard of Oz story and what the Lion learned about himself.
Courage is inside of us all and it is just something that has to be developed. I hope that you can find something in the qoutes below that will provide inspiration to you.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the … (9 comments)

danny thornton: Increase the Value of your Home: Part 2 - 10/09/08 05:47 AM
Prelude:
There are many ways to increase the value of a home. Some of these ideas are simple basic things that one can do and some are a little more complex. All of them are fesible and will work to improve the value not only for today but for the long run. Ultimately, when you are in a down market, one of the first things that a homeowner looks for is the way to increase the value of thier property. In this series, we will cover several ideas that will help you. We will do this covering one item at a … (6 comments)

danny thornton: Change - Power Quote Series - 10/08/08 03:41 AM
Loan programs change, housing market changes, your customer change their mind, your bosses change their mind, you change your mind, and the vicious cycle continues. You stand in line at the fast food restaurant and by the time you reach the counter, you have changed your mind 5 times. You go to the grocery store and you change your mind 100 times while in the store.
Change is a subject that most people do not like to talk about. Regardless whether you want to discuss it or not, change is inevitable. No matter how much you want to avoid change, it … (5 comments)

danny thornton: Increase the Value of your Home: Part 1 - 10/07/08 07:55 AM
There are many ways to increase the value of a home. Some of these ideas are simple basic things that one can do and some are a little more complex. All of them are fesible and will work to improve the value not only for today but for the long run. Ultimately, when you are in a down market, one of the first things that a homeowner looks for is the way to increase the value of thier property. In this series, we will cover several ideas that will help you. We will do this covering one item at a time.
… (2 comments)

danny thornton: Beauty - Power Quotes Series - 10/06/08 03:37 PM
How many times have you heard the cliche "Beauty is only skin deep"? Actually I have heard it so many times that it makes me sick. To me, the best one that describes beauty is the fact that it is in the eyes of the beholder.
You see, the first one just makes it seem that you are shallow if you are beautiful. That is so far from the truth. Beauty and brains have nothing to do with each other. And though I have met my share of the dumb and beautiful, I have also met the dumb and unattractive. Which … (4 comments)

danny thornton: Attitude - Power Quotes Series - 10/01/08 04:50 AM
To many times in life we meet people with some of the worst attitudes around. The thing is, we usually do not stop to check our own attitude. This is what typically gets people angry and you know what anger can do.
So many times I hear people say "lose the attitude" or I don't need any attitude from you" or "I can't deal with the attitude". I have been quilty of these same phrases myslef. The problem with them is that they are a generalized statement. Attitude is not an individual thing that one can just lose. The reason it … (9 comments)

danny thornton: Anger - Power Quotes Series - 09/30/08 07:10 AM
One of the hardest emotions for a person to control is anger. So many times I have seen it bring a successful person to their ultimate demise. And way too many times have I seen people have to attend anger management classes because of it.
To better get a grip on stress, one only needs to practice self control. This can be done in many ways, but the most successful way is knowing when to walk away from something that can become volatile.
Bruce Banner would always tell people that they did not want to make him angry. Then he would … (4 comments)

danny thornton: Adversity - Power Quotes Series - 09/24/08 03:47 AM
Adversity is something that we all face daily. Some of us face it hourly. And even some face it every second of their existance. It is not what adversities that are faced that define the person but how that person handles those adversities. Dictionary.com gives the following meaning to adversity:
As the 2 meaning is written, it comes to mind that I have never met a person that has not faced adversity in life. However, I have met many a person that has overcome adversity and become successful. And as time goes along, I will meet many more. The biggest adversity … (7 comments)

danny thornton: Action - Power Qoutes Series - 09/22/08 06:30 AM

Through life I have seen people that live for action and then I have seen people that action passes them by. What do I mean by this? It is simple, really. You have heard the expression of grabbing the bull by the horns. Well, that describes the people that live for action. They are the take charge type. As for the other group, they are the ones that wait for it to happen to them as opposed to making it happen.
I like to think that in my world I am in the first group. I have always been that … (6 comments)

danny thornton: Sweets for the Tummy - 09/17/08 05:46 AM
A couple of days ago, I decided to share a recipe with everyone on cooking. It is funny because Rich also put out a post today on stewing tomatoes. In the case of my recipe, I was using mine for immediate use and he is stewing them for storage.
Well, today, I thought that I would tempt your tummy with another recipe. This time we are tempting the sweet tooth in you. Today I will give you my recipe for home made brownies. Enjoy.
Ingridents: 2 cups of white sugar
2 eggs (grade A Larger or xtra large)
2 cups of … (15 comments)

danny thornton: Wisdom - Power Quotes Series - 09/15/08 08:59 AM
Sam Levenson once said "It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." No one ever spoke a truer statement about Wisdom. I am sure that Yogi Berra could have came up with a good one too.
What I typically find with people is the lack of wisdom. Oscar Wilde once said that he was not young enough to know it all. What I find appealing to that statement is the fact that people do not know the difference between being smart and being wise or having wisdom.
I once met a … (11 comments)