thomas craig blog: Closing a Chapter of My Life
- 12/07/16 07:15 AM
Long before I became a real estate agent, I was a partner in a food brokerage company. What is a food broker? It is very much like a real estate broker, only this time you are selling cases of food instead of houses. A food broker represents a manufacturer so that the manufacturer doesn’t have to hire their own sales staff. The broker earns a commission on every case they sell. If you don’t sell anything, then no commission is earned…that’s where the manufacturer saves money versus having a staff they must pay regardless of selling anything. Sounds pretty much the … (6 comments)
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thomas craig blog: A Paradigm Shift
- 09/23/16 04:07 AM
We have all heard of the term “paradigm shift”. It started out as a mathematical term, but over the years it has become a philosophical term as well. I will always remember the first time I heard the term. It was in an advanced learning seminar, and the speaker explained the philosophical definition this way. He said a paradigm shift is when new information is introduced to a situation which causes you to think differently.
The instructor then went on to give the following example...a man gets on a train with 3 young children, and immediately the children begin running up and … (4 comments)
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thomas craig blog: If It Is To Be...
- 09/01/16 02:01 AM
OK, let’s finish the quote together…If it is to be…it is up to me.
The quote is made up of ten two-letter words and is so simple in its grammatical structure, and yet is so powerful and profound in its depth. This quote came to mind yesterday when I came across two things which caught my attention on the Internet.
One of the things which caught my attention was this very powerful story of a Florida State football player named, Travis Rudolph, who was visiting a high school when he spied a young man sitting alone in the cafeteria eating lunch. Travis went … (3 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Wasting Time...
- 08/31/16 05:23 AM
This week I am fulfilling part of my civic duty by showing up at our county courthouse for jury duty. This is my third time being selected in the last 5-6 years. I have yet to be selected to actually serve on a jury. No, I am one the exceedingly unlucky ones who are left to wait and rot in the jury selection room. You sit and pass the time on hard wooden chairs starring at a television screen with the sound turned down while your mind and your butt turn numb. Occasionally, they tell you can leave the room to … (36 comments)
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thomas craig blog: In Honor of Neil Armstrong
- 08/05/16 05:18 AM
Today is Neil Armstong's birthday. He was born on August 5th, 1930. In honor of Armstorng's birthday, I would like to repost an essay I wrote when he died in 2012. If ever there was a time when our country needed a hero...someone to look up to, it is now. I hope you enjoy!
A few days ago, Neil Armstrong, the first man to ever step foot on the moon passed away. I was deeply saddened by his passing. Those of us living in Ohio, boast a certain pride for those in our state who broke the confines of Earth. We are … (4 comments)
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thomas craig blog: What If You Don't Like Either One of Them?
- 08/03/16 10:15 PM
There are two subjects you should never bring up unless you are looking for trouble…yep, politics and religion. I apologize in advance, but I just can’t help myself. I know the country is coming to the realization that either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is going to end up leading us for the next 4 years. How many of you feel like I do, and you don’t want either one of them?
To be intellectually honest with you, I am pretty conservative in my feelings on governance. The less outside interference I have in living my life…the better. I think I can … (9 comments)
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thomas craig blog: In Honor of My Father
- 06/15/16 11:05 PM
My father died when I was 22. My dad died before he ever got a chance to see me amount to anything. He never got to see his grandchildren grow up. I never had the opportunity to ask him advice on buying a home, how to be a good parent. There was a song when I was growing up entitled, “My Dad”, which had a line in it that said, “He wasn’t much in the eyes of the world, but he was the world to me.”
That pretty much summed up my dad, he didn’t leave us much in terms of … (2 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Playing God
- 06/09/16 04:45 AM
Life is really hard. I tell my children all the time that life is God’s teachable moment with us. I am soon to be a 67-year old man, and you would think that by now I would have things sorted out. Perhaps I am a very slow learner, but when I look around…I am surrounded by other slow learners.
Each day presents each of us with thousands upon thousands of choices to make. What to do? What to say? How to say it? When to speak up? When to shut up? When to make a big deal of something, and when to … (2 comments)
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thomas craig blog: I Wish My Words Were Magical
- 05/24/16 06:08 AM
I Wish My Words Were Magical
Don’t you just love all those movies and television shows where one of the main characters is headed down the wrong path and another main character sees what is going on and has a heart-to-heart conversation with that person; and the character headed down the wrong path completely changes his ways. I have to chuckle when I see that sort of thing…as if that happens in real life. I have had so many conversations with my children over the years trying to warn them of the cliff they are fast approaching. You know how many times … (24 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Putting Limits on Love
- 05/16/16 06:47 AM
My wife and I absolutely love this stage of our lives. Ah, the joys of being grandparents! We have a total of six grandkids, but we only have one we get to see on a regular basis. We see our grandson, William, 3-4 times a week. Being a part of his life, and getting an opportunity to watch him grow has been a blessing to my wife and me. Being old tends to give you a greater appreciation of life. As grandparents, we savior every minute we have with William.
William is four years old, and he is trying to grasp the concept of … (0 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Active Rain Helps The Story Continue…
- 05/05/16 11:52 PM
Back in 1983, my wife and I were watching a television news program on Sunday morning, waiting for our two boys to get ready for church. Little did we know that 15 minutes in front of the television would change our lives forever.
The news program dealt with the growing number of children made orphans in El Salvador as that country’s civil war continued on between the “have’s” and the “have not’s”. Having spent several unsuccessful years trying to adopt in this country, and being turned away since we already had two biological children; we both turned to each other and … (34 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Measuring Progress
- 04/26/16 05:33 AM
As agents, I am sure many of you have shown homes where somewhere in the house; there is a door casing marked with lines, dates, and name’s measuring the growth of the children living there. I have even had sellers want to take the board with them when they moved…considering this growth chart more important their most treasured possessions… their flat screen televisions.
Seeing this growth chart always brings a smile to my face as I recall my own children backing up to the door casing in our home and stretching themselves out in order to have their height measured. As a … (18 comments)
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thomas craig blog: "Piece By Piece" by Kelly Clarkson: A Message For Fathers
- 04/15/16 04:11 AM
Piece By Piece
The headline for this post comes from a song written and sung by Kelly Clarkson. I first heard the song, Piece By Piece, just a few weeks ago on American Idol. The song is an autobiographical look back on her childhood and the abandonment by her father when Kelly was 6-years old. The song juxtaposes her father’s actions against her own husband’s promise to always be there for her and their children. The night she performed Piece By Piece, Kelly could barely manage to get through the hauntingly painful lyrics. Those of us listening, including one of the judges … (0 comments)
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thomas craig blog: The World Is Updating Today…
- 02/09/16 11:54 PM
The World Is Updating Today…
In addition to being a real estate agent, I am part owner of a food brokerage company in Cleveland. For those of you wondering what a food broker might be, it is a lot like a real estate broker. Instead of selling houses, manufacturers pay you a percentage to sell their goods rather than have their own sales staff. Our company started in 1907, and I have been here for 37 years.
I got the bright idea to get into real estate when I relocated our office 12 years ago. I fell in love with the real estate … (4 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Contentment: One of the Added Benefits of Old Age
- 01/26/16 01:55 AM
At the beginning of each new year, I like to review the previous year and put some plans in place for the coming year. I like to evaluate those things that I thought were successful and those things where I fell short. I even send out emails to some of the top agents in my community and ask them what things they did to enhance their business. You would be surprised the valuable information you can obtain if you simply ask.
I also go over all the postings I wrote on Active Rain. My posts are more of a self-reflective nature. I … (2 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Dr. Martin Luther King...I Have a Dream
- 01/17/16 10:56 PM
Back in 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed into law a bill declaring today as a national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King. Perhaps it would be appropriate to take a minute to celebrate the life of Dr. King. Sadly, many of the things plaguing our country then, continue to plague us today. We would do well to reflect upon Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech; which urged us all to think beyond the color of one’s skin.
Dr. King…I Have a Dream
Dr. King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of 250,000, and a television audience numbering … (4 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Making the Most of Every Day
- 12/03/15 11:20 PM
Making the Most of Every Day
The massacre out in California the other day was another reminder of how fragile life is. I am 66-years old, and I am reminded everyday as my back and legs creak trying to get out of bed in the morning that each day is a blessing…a gift. My dad used to tell people when they would ask him how he was doing, that he was doing great…that he was on the right side of the grass. I used to cringe every time he said it, until one day when when he wasn't on the right side … (2 comments)
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thomas craig blog: Well...It Has Happened Again
- 10/02/15 12:08 AM
Sadly, I wrote the following post only in July...and here it is just a few months later and it has happened again. Another senseless massacre at the hands of another deranged individual. I was encouraged this morning when I heard that Fox (well at least this morning) had decided not to reveal the killer's identify since it reported that this monster was in it for the publicity.
When I first write this post back in July, I had recommended that we never give these sick bastards the attention they are after. Some commented back that my idea was unworkable. I countered back that most media outlets … (4 comments)
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thomas craig blog: When Did So Many of Us Stop Really Seeing Each Other?
- 09/30/15 10:41 PM
When Did So Many of Us Stop Really Seeing Each Other?
I sometimes find myself scratching what little hair I have left when I listen to the news anymore. I am fascinated by the heavens, and I watch and read anything I can get my hands on about outer space. We are at point in our history where we are rapidly expanding our knowledge of the worlds beyond ours. We just found that there is water on Mars, and we are now seeing close up photos of Pluto…just ponder for a moment on this one achievement by mankind. We launched a probe to … (0 comments)
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thomas craig blog: The Measure of a Man
- 09/24/15 01:06 AM
Yogi Berra, the great New York Yankees catcher and long-time Yankee manager, passed away the other day at the ripe old age of 90. The Internet and the media has been flooded with Yogi Berra stories…as well there should be! Yogi was a terrific baseball player.
Baseball is a game of statistics. Everything on-field exploit is measured and recorded and one player’s stats are compared against another player’s stats in determining who the better player was, or is. Yogi had few who were his equal. He appeared in 18 All-Star games. He played in 14 World Series…and he won 10 of them.
In … (1 comments)
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Long before I became a real estate agent, I was a partner in a food brokerage company. What is a food broker? It is very much like a real estate broker, only this time you are selling cases of food instead of houses. A food broker represents a manufacturer so that the manufacturer doesn’t have to hire their own sales staff. The broker earns a commission on every case they sell. If you don’t sell anything, then no commission is earned…that’s where the manufacturer saves money versus having a staff they must pay regardless of selling anything. Sounds pretty much the … (6 comments)
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