Weekly Newsletter for May 1, 2009

QUOTE: “When what had been your ceiling now becomes your floor, your emotional self will need time to catch up with your physical reality.” Jerry Thomas

LATEST NUGGET FOR THE NOGGIN: The Art of Writing Note Cards, by yours truly. www.NuggetsForTheNoggin.com

ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN (but not to exclude men): Great web site with video interviews with people like Debra Shelton, Leigh Taylor Young, Forbes Riley, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kathryn Tull, Morgan Fairchild, Lindsay Wagner and others. These are great interviews: www.braveheartwomen.com.

EBOOKS; I have uploaded two EBooks written by Roger Butcher, noted real estate trainer. You can access them by going to www.slidellcalendar.com and then to the Document Section and then to EBooks. One is 21 Strategies for a Buyer’s Market which we have; and the second, Short Sales. Enjoy and learn.

VETERAN VIDEO TRIBUTE, thanks to Stacey Chehardy; http://video.google.Com:80/videoplay?docid=-2487638612433437293&q=Vetera

CRYSTAL MINES: Thanks to Dale Sibley for passing this truly remarkable powerpoint presentation on the crystal mines in Mexico.
http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=db5ed59e2e&view=att&th=120ef661cc5ab48b&attid=0.1&disp=attd&zw

BOOK REVIEW: This may be the best book I have read, probably because I can relate to the message. Cheryl Richardson’s “The Unmistakable Touch of Grace.” I cannot recommend this book enough. It is a book about coincidences in one’s life and how they are typically not coincidences at all but doorways to things that we bring into our lives by thinking or focusing our attention on them. There are great testimonials to the power of the Law of Attraction contained in the book. Cheryl Richardson is also the trainer on the DVD I have shown at several classes entitled Stand Up For Your Life.

36,500 PROMISES. If you knew that if you spent just one minute (60 seconds) A DAY, that those 60 seconds could make a difference in your life, your/our Market Center and even in our world, would you do it? Just one minute a day times 100 agents makes 36,500 promises. Here is the concept provided by my favorite mentor Joe Tye. It is the Self-Empowerment Pledge. Each day, recite each promise like you mean it four times a day. It will take you 15 seconds a promise (times four). The Self-Empowerment Pledge is featured in Joe Tye’s latest book, The Florence Prescription. The book is about how Florence Nightingale redefined the nursing profession and literally designed the first modern day hospital and how the principles she believed in can change our thinking today. It is a compelling read. To learn more go to: http://www.pledgepower.com/
At this site you can also listen to Joe talk about each pledge of the Self-Empowerment Pledge.

THE SELF-EMPOWERMENT PLEDGE

MONDAY’S PROMISE – RESPONSIBILITY

I will take complete responsibility for my health, my happiness, my success, and my life, and I will NOT blame others for my problems or predicaments.

TUESDAY’S PROMISE – ACCOUNTABILITY

I will NOT allow low self-esteem, self-limiting beliefs, or the negativity of others to prevent me from achieving my authentic goals and from becoming the person I am meant to be.

WEDNESDAY’S PROMISE – DETERMINATION

I WILL do the things I’m afraid to do, but which I know should be done. Sometimes this will mean asking for help to do that which I cannot do by myself.

THURSDAY’S PROMISE – CONTRIBUTION

I WILL earn the help I need in advance by helping other people now, and repay the help I receive by serving others later.

FRIDAY’S PROMISE - RESILIENCE

I WILL face rejection and failure with courage, awareness, and perseverance, making these experiences the platform fore future acceptance and success.

SATURDAY’S PROMISE – PERSPECTIVE

Though I might not understand why adversity happens, by my conscious choice I WILL find strength, compassion, and grace through my trials.

SUNDAY’S PROMISE – FAITH

My faith and my gratitude for all that I have been blessed with WILL shine through in my attitudes and in my actions.

SOMETHING ELSE TO THINK ABOUT FROM “The Florence Prescription” The first line in the book The Tale of Two Cities reads, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” I took a couple of liberties with what Joe Tye writes in the book regarding that opening line and I have emboldened the words I have changed or added:

“Well, that line defines the state of our economy/business in every age. In my time, in your time, and in any future time. It was, is, and will be the best of times; it was, is, and will be the worst of times. What any of us call our own era depends upon what we choose to see – the best of times or the worst of times. And what we choose to see today – and how leaders choose to frame reality when speaking with their people (family, co-workers, customers) – will profoundly shape the future they create. You know it as the Pygmalion effect, or the placebo effect. The law of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Perspective shapes reality.”

Gary Keller said, “The economy is what it is, not good or bad, just is.” What we tell others and more importantly what we tell our selves means a great deal in what we bring upon ourselves. (I know that some of you say you never talk to yourself but for those who just said that, who are you talking to, hummm?) Words mean things! Like the song lyric suggests, “You’ve got to accentuate the positive eliminate the negative and latch on to the affirmative. Don’t mess with Mr. In-between!”

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE GOLF COURSE, this one taken from Dr. Joseph Parent’s Zen Golf. Saturday I had my best round of golf since I had shoulder surgery, I was very pleased. Shot a 78 that could just as easily been a 74. So on Sunday I thought, “Great, more of the same!” On the first hole I hit two great shots and then 3 putted the very first green to bogey the hole. I then failed to remember a valuable golf and life lesson from Zen Golf and then I managed to ruin the rest of my round because I could not get the 3-putt off my mind and carried that thought around with me for 18 holes. I thought my Sunday’s mental golf lesson was worth repeating.

WHY ARE YOU STILL CARRYING HER?

Once there were two monks walking along a path through the woods. When they came upon a stream, they encountered a young woman dressed in fine silks unable to get across without ruining her clothes. One of the monks offered to carry her on his back. She climbed on and they all crossed the stream and on the other side he set her down. She thanked him and the two monks continued on their way.

The monastery to which these two monks belonged had a rule prohibiting them from touching women. The other monk was horrified that his brother had broken this rule and was agonizing about it as they walked. He thought, “How could he violate his vows like this? Will he confess? Should I tell the Abbot? Will they throw him out? Will I get in trouble too? Why did he put me in this situation?” And he got more and more upset. Finally after they had gone about a mile, he stopped abruptly and shouted, “How could you do that?” “Do what?” asked the first monk. “How could you touch that woman?” “Oh her! I set her down when we got across the stream. Why my brother are you still carrying her on your back?” This points out that when something upsetting happens (3-putting) we tend to ruminate about it. (For you-know-who, ruminate means we keep thinking and worrying about it) We can stew about things for a long, long time. Being preoccupied with the past (3-putting; losing a listing or sale) makes it impossible to do our best (1 or 2 putting; making a sale or listing a property) in the present.