The Dance between Patience and Mindful Real Estate Sales
In real estate, we are quickly handed the industry rhetoric as to how things are, the proverbial "blueprint for success." Follow this concept, this model, and you will achieve the reward. We quickly hit the ground running because we have the consistent set of waves coming in known as bills, debt, and so on. There is no time for patience or for reflection. Instead, it's I need to go DO something or the industry will leave me in the dust, I will lose to the competition, I won't be able to pay my bills or maintain MY lifestyle. Take a deep breath... the momentum and tension builds and builds until it works against us completely.

Proverbs for the Real Estate Professional
Proverbs are fun. The idea of a proverb is to use an oft-repeated phrase, frequently metaphorical, to provide advice or a life lesson. For example, 'the pen is mightier than the sword' implies that words and ideas are more effective and persuasive than force. Proverbs are used around the world and can have their own culturally specific meanings as well as universal implications. They can be informing, entertaining or even inspirational. Let's take a look at some proverbs from around the world and see what real-estate specific lessons we can learn from them. 1. Fortune favors the bold Meaning: Be courageous. Real Estate Interpretation: Take risks. Pursue your business with courage and passion and don't let fear stand in your way. Challenge yourself and be bold and business will come your way.

3 Mindsets Sabotaging Your Success in Real Estate
Mindset: "The established set of attitudes held by someone." How could a mindset be dangerous; I mean, it's not like it's affecting anything, right? When driving down the highway, I cruise on over to the second to the left lane ready for a long commute to work. I have my music on, and the morning so far is going pretty good. Then, out of nowhere this red SUV cuts in front of me and slams on his brakes! My immediate response is anger. How DARE you cut me off! The nerve of this guy. I proceed to swerve around him angrily, effectively cutting someone else off. My mindset here is that people are intentionally doing things TO me. The only reason the jerk in the big, red, SUV cut me off was just to have his way – because he simply could and looks for opportunities to be rude. I took his actions personally, when in reality, he was just trying to cruise over to my lane, too, and avoid the near crash over to the right of him. We all operate out of mindsets every day. They are shaped by our beliefs, values, and experiences. Those same mindsets then shape our actions and make or break our success in real estate. To change a particular mindset, it takes: Willpower + Knowledge of your current mindset + a healthy mindset you are moving into + a plan of attack = life change. Oh, and a good dose of humility – can't forget that one.

4 Traits of a Top Producer
Some people just walk in the light. I'm sure you know which light I'm talking about – the "everything they do seems to turn out great" light. This is rare – few can claim they all of a sudden just knew how to be successful. Sure, instinct plays a big role here, but for the most part, there are a few ingredients that go into making someone a top producer. Education Don't know the answer? Go and find it. This is where a good dose of humility comes in handy. You do not know everything. Sometimes (er, rather, a lot of times) there are others who have more experience than we do. It's wise to go and ask them for advice. There are several people I go to frequently when I don't know the answer or how to do something. One such friend is Google. He is quite knowledgeable. But seriously, Google it. Rarely do I not find an answer to a question after Googling. There are also a ton of resources out there for pretty much everything you want to do--real estate especially. Take that class, read that book, look up that article – it will all come in handy and will further your success and knowledge base. The internet is a BIG asset here – not only can you take classes online, but you can watch "how-to" videos, download books in an instant (or three if the connection is slow), and keep it stored in one place for later reference. However, all of this knowledge building is not possible without hard work, which leads me into my next point...

Things Always Even Out
Amazing but True... when things aren't going your way do you ever think that "the gods have conspired against me"? Ever wonder when two or three disappointing things happen in a row that "I feel 'snake bit' or maybe I'm just unlucky"? The fact is, in the long haul – things always even out. When you have a streak of misfortune, you can expect an equally exciting streak of good fortune in the very near future. Here is a real life example of things evening out: February 1, 2015 – it's Super Bowl XLIX time! The Seattle Seahawks were defending their title against their archrivals, the New England Patriots. It was a see-saw battle in the first half. Seattle was struggling but got a few breaks and they went into halftime tied with New England. The score was 14-14. In the third quarter the Seahawks got hot, scored 10 points and went ahead 24 – 14. Now everything was going their way. In the fourth quarter Hall of Fame bound quarterback Tom Brady marched his Patriots down the field twice throwing his 3rd and 4th touchdown passes of the game to take the lead 28 – 24. The game appeared over...with only two minutes to go Seattle was up against it. They had to score a touchdown because a field goal wouldn't be enough. With one minute to go, quarterback Russell Wilson was at the end of his rope... he elected to throw a long pass toward the sidelines around the New England 10 yard line. The pass was knocked away by rookie defender Malcolm Butler and then the improbable happened...as the receiver fell down, the ball bounced off his arm, off his leg, and back onto his stomach completing the pass. Receiver Jermaine Kearse caught the pass lying on his back!

10 Amazing Real Estate Quotes to Inspire You
Competition in the real estate industry is intense. In the midst of marketing, negotiating, and hustling to complete the transaction, it's easy to forget why you got involved in real estate in the first place – for the pure love of the game. After all, real estate is the greatest and most timeless of all assets, a representation of the intrinsic bond between man and the earth beneath his feet. The following 10 real estate quotes are shared here to inspire you today. Share them with your audience by simply mousing over the image and selecting the social network of your choice. Russell Sage (4 August 1816 – 22 July 1906) was a financier, railroad executive and Whig politician from New York, United States.

How to Stay Motivated When Opportunities are Low
Shifts happen. It's the nature of the real estate industry beast to be in the midst of feast or famine at any point in time. While it helps to remember that our crazy business is cyclical, and that what goes down will eventually go back up, sometimes we need more encouragement than that to remain motivated enough to continue putting our feet on the floor every morning. "Regardless of the circumstances, there is always an opportunity," according to sales coach and author John D. Mayfield. To prove this, think about the old saying: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." The housing crash certainly felt like a great big truck full of lemons, didn't it? Yet, look what we did with it: We made yummy lemonade in the form of distressed property transactions. Sure, it was tough on America's homeowners, but motivated real estate agents were able to stay afloat in an industry that seemed to be drowning everyone around them. Although the nation's housing market seems to be about to move off of life support and into the recovery room, if you've been lacking motivation for some time, it may be hard to get going again. Let's take a look at some tips from both motivational gurus and your colleagues.

9 Effective Home Buyer Calls-to-Action
We're looking back on our favorite posts from 2012 this holiday season. Originally published on our Broker channel, this article lists great calls-to-action--an important part of any real estate professional's arsenal. In many articles, we've discussed the importance of an effective call-to-action. Your call-to-action, whether it's on your website or at the end of a listing presentation, is the language you use to entice your audience to take a specific action. It can be spoken or it can be written, and it can appear almost anywhere. We spotted an article from the National Association of REALTORS® that studied consumers motivations when purchasing a home. First, let's take a look at the chart from the NAR article; then, we'll explain what this means for your calls-to-action.

Prepare Now to Sell More Homes in 2013
Michael Lindstrom, nationally recognized business coach, has a client roster that includes industry leaders, public figures, top executives, professional athletes and most recently, the five winning real estate agents of the HomeFinder.com Agent Makeover Sweepstakes. Michael has coached thousands of real estate agents for almost two decades and is an in-demand speaker at many large real estate conferences. HomeFinder.com sought Michael's expertise to coach the five winning agents on how establishing their personal brand will help improve their professional brand. Below, Michael elaborates on the top things agents should focus on for success in to 2013. Ride the Technology Wave. Commit to learning the next wave in technology; embrace technology and make a commitment to it. Learn something new every week. Give Back and Be Selfless. Find ways to give to your clients, community and neighborhood; contribution has a powerful place in business. Create your personal brand by operating from a place of selflessness. When working with clients, colleagues and your community, make it your personal brand to impact, move, inspire, touch or agitate them in some way.

October Blogging Plan
October may mark the start of the final quarter of the year--but there's still time to turn your real estate blog into a robust part of your marketing plan! Use our latest blogging plan to kickstart your writing habits. Looking for more ideas? Check out our previous plans for more inspiration: June Blogging Plan July Blogging Plan August Blogging Plan September Blogging Plan Week 1: Where to See the Best Fall Colors The seasons are changing and so are leaves on trees across the country. Use this blog post to position yourself as a local expert. Let your readers know when the colors in your area will be most vibrant. Then, recommend nearby getaways--or even great "Sunday drive" routes--where the changing leaves can best be seen. Additional or alternative topic: Best Seller Incentives in [Your City's] Market Some sellers can struggle to get offers, despite a well-priced home. Create this post as a list of incentives that owners have successfully used in your area to sell their home. This could include things like interest rate buy-downs, credit at closing, or even lease-to-own options. Be sure to let readers know the benefits and drawbacks of each option.

Who’s Training Who? What My Dog Is Teaching Me About Engagement
Guest Contributor Michael Becker of Mountain of Agents says: My wife and I recently adopted an adorable, 12-week-old King Charles Cavalier. This new and exciting endeavor prompted us to conduct countless hours of research and preparation so that when we welcomed him into our lives, he would listen to everything we said and integrate seamlessly into our schedule. You can stop laughing now. We were immediately caught off guard by the amount of work we needed to do to cultivate our new furry audience. It was apparent that the instant gratification we so eagerly desired didn't yet exist in its purest form; it needed to be harvested through patience, engagement, loyalty and trust. Sitting on the couch at 3am – with a chew toy in one hand and Indy resting comfortably in the other – it occurred to me the odd similarities that exist between training a new dog and training your target audience. In fact, the skills you need to hone and the elements you need to succeed are identical: PatienceThe single most difficult skill to master, especially when training a puppy (or appealing to your target audience). Getting frustrated or ultimately conceding is not an option. Instead, take a step back and consider new approaches to help give you a different perspective. There's no excuse anymore for saying you don't know how to do something. Google what you're looking for and spend some time reading tips and tricks from people who've already been in your shoes and succeeded where others floundered.

Marketing Strategies: Stop Being So Hard on Yourself
This article, written by Dr. Maya Bailey, appeared originally on RISMedia.com. When I coach real estate agents, I often hear the misconception that they need to be hard on themselves in order to succeed. When I ask about the origin of this belief, I often receive stories of being conditioned by well-meaning teachers and parents in a controlling and rigid way. Since we learn to treat ourselves the way we were treated, my clients are just carrying on the legacy because they don’t know how else to motivate themselves. Unfortunately, their strategy actually works against them. Studies have shown that when we are hard on ourselves, and beat ourselves up, we actually lower our energy. This leads to decreased motivation and eventually burnout. So what is the answer? If you’re not going to be hard on yourself, then how do you motivate yourself to succeed? Fortunately, there is a positive solution. Research indicates that if we choose a positive and encouraging way to get ourselves focused and on track; that this can be a very efficient motivation technique. So here are some tips on how to change your motivational strategy:

Memorial Day: Thankful for Freedom
Whether or not you agree with war, or have supported any American military engagements, perhaps we can all agree that for the men and women at arms who marched into danger believing they were protecting the innocent and fighting for your freedom and mine, today is a good day to honor their bravery. If you are reading this and fought for America, fathered or mothered a child who died for America, know you are not alone in remembering the true meaning of this day. We are thankful for the freedoms we daily have grown accustomed to, knowing full well how many people around the world suffer injustice far more than we. Thank you.

Rid Your Vocabulary of the Word Impossible
After watching the Inside Job, a documentary detailing the who and why behind the 2008 economic collapse that so grossly affected the real estate industry, I felt a surge of doubt about overcoming the economic downturn and returning to the America of old. Certainly at the moment, there has be a lot of pessimism circulating the industry as agents look at the bleakness of the current market. Corny as some videos can be, every now and then it can be a good idea to sit back and remember that before greatness often came doubt. Nay-sayers voiced their opinions before inventions came to completion. Today, as you go into your work week, take a few minutes to think through some of the most famous innovations and feats in our modern world, and remember that those inventors also had people saying their was no market, no one would buy, or they couldn't do it. Go into this week, empowered that today is your day to pave the way to success. No matter the odds, it's important to remember not to be daunted by the word "impossible."

Changing Perspective: A Life Altering Moment
Imagine this... You are driving down the freeway at ten o'clock at night. Up ahead you see the flashing lights of multiple emergency vehicles and traffic slows. "Great, an accident. All I want to do is get home..." you may be thinking. As you approach the scene, you see a flipped over and mangled car. A car of the exact make, model and unusual color of what your 19 year old son drives. By the time you can cross two lanes of traffic and pull over, you are well past the accident scene. So you slam the car into reverse and drive faster in reverse than you've ever driven before. You get out of the car and run toward the accident. The entire time, all sorts of thoughts are exploding in your brain. You're praying like you never have before. As you get closer to the scene and see that, yes, it looks exactly like your son's car, you practically lose your mind.

Are You on the Path of Living Extraordinarily?
The challenge in today's complex world, is it's so easy to get caught in the process of achieving so much, that it's sometimes easy to lose focus of what you really want. We believe to attain an extraordinary life—a life on your terms, one filled with unbridled joy, ultimate success and lasting fulfillment—it's imperative you make progress in the areas of life that are most important to you. Anthony Robbins has devoted his life to sharing a unique system for anyone who wants to take their life to the next level. Continue reading to hear a clip of his motivational message...

5 Tips to Motivate You This Week!
Have you ever enjoyed an experience like this: You meet with someone and two hours fly by and you can’t believe the meeting is over! You still have so much to learn from them that you just don’t want it to end! What if every meeting or presentation you were a part of ended like that? Would your second connection with these people be easier or harder to schedule? Easier is the answer of course! So the question is: After working with you, do prospects leave so energized, so pumped up, so laden with valuable information, tips, strategies, resources and inspiration that they can hardly wait to meet with you again?  If your goal is not to surprise, delight, engage, energize and really connect with people you are doing business with, you might want to fine-tune your strategy.

Greatness Takes Conditioning
It is easy sometimes to hear "inspirational" stories of remarkable billiionaire individuals who left a significant mark on our world and think it's just because they had... More money More opportunities Better genes Luck, etc. Justin Cohen is a motivational speaker and creates creative videos that tell what he calls Big Little Stories, also the namesake of his website. In this video he reminds us that there is really only one thing that allows the seed of greatness to grow rampant in some and remain dormant in others.

Inspiring Your Team to Excellence
Peter Grazier says: Motivation. We hear the term often. Generally we associate the word with human behavior, meaning, a state of mind that moves us to action. And even though few of us have had formal training in it, it's one of those characteristics of life that seems to fit the old adage, "I know it when I see it." For most of my years working in the field of workplace collaboration, this word has held a place of stature and importance, because it has been, perhaps, the most significant outcome of worker involvement. As the collaboration trend, and more specifically, the use of employee teams continues to grow, one question that is taking on greater importance is how to keep the team motivated over the long haul. What are the ingredients or characteristics of teams that seem to sustain high levels of motivation?

The Truth About What Drives Us
When it comes to motivating a workforce, or yourself, if you are a self-employed real estate agent, it is interesting to note that sometimes monetary rewards stiffle productivity.  Don't believe me? Well, I wouldn't have either, but in a lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, you will see how PInk illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace—and it's not money! There are three things:   Autonomy Mastery Challenge

Find the Path to Success in These 8 Steps
Have you ever been startled to sitting up when you've read an article? That happened last night to me while reading "In Praise Of The Purple Cow" by Seth Godin printed in the January Fast Company magazine. I almost spit out my coffee in uncontained excitement as comprehension finally crashed over me as I read, "Today, the one sure way to fail is to be boring! Your one chance for success is to be remarkable." To be remarkable...that's the brass ring we leap for as it swings just outside our grasp. That's where the problem lies. How do we know when we're being remarkable? A whole slew of questions rebound in my mind: What if we are too self-absorbed or busy to recognize brilliance in a simple process-altering idea? What if our brains constantly generate new revelations, but it seems like everyday common stuff to us? How do we know we haven't had a remarkable idea, and then blew it off because we were bored by it?

Life Will be Mundane Without this Key Ingredient
We all get those email forwards that are supposed to inspire us.  Some of us believe email forwards are annoying and delete it without thinking twice.  Others continue the pattern and send it on to all of their friends.  No matter which side you are on, sometimes one or two slip through the cracks and stand out to you.  This one did for me. An exercise in perspective is always refreshing.  The email I received simply added tag lines to several images. Here are the images without the headlines.  What do you think?

Need a Little Inspiration? There's a Quote for That!
Happy Monday! The holidays are almost here, and it can be a classic time to sit back and spend less time in productive focus, and more time in conversation and (holi)day-dreaming. It's mid-December, which is the calendar's fourth quarter.  It's time to step it up and sprint that final 100 meters. Take a few minutes to watch this video.  No matter who you are and where you are in your life, there will be a quote here for you.  Let's take Monday's by storm and focus in on having a productive day at work!