We're reminded and coached throughout our lives of the importance of setting goals in order to succeed.  I saw this comment by Yogi Berra and thought it pretty well sums up the entire goal setting theory.  :-)

"If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else"

So, the point is that it is important to think about what you want out of life and then break that down into small, achievable goals that will help you get there.  Of course, we all have to keep in mind that these goals have to be flexible and we must continually monitor and revise them when necessary.

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For all of you who may (probably) use more than one computer, I highly recommend Firefox as a browser.  Supposedly it's more secure than Internet Explorer, but even more importantly, it allows you to use many free add-ons which can enhance your browsing experience.

One of my favorite add-ons is Foxmarks.  It is free and very easy to install and use.  What it does is allow you to seamlessly sync your bookmarks between multiple computers and even multiple browsers (Available for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari).  I think it may be OS independent and I am sure it works on Macs and PCs.

Free - Easy - Useful - It just works.  Try it out.

http://www.foxmarks.com/

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You may have heard that rates might go down to 4.0%. This may happen for some homeowners via the ARRA; but since no one knows what's going on, yet, I'm going out on a limb to tell you why I don't believe we will see 4% rates:
 
1. A total of $900 billion ($72 billion for economic aid) is going to be infused into our economy per the ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act). More money, less fear, more confidence = Rates go up.
 
We are truly in a pattern of low rates/historical rates, however you want to define it. I call it "the sweet spot".
 
If you have the opportunity to lower your rate by a point, increase cash flow/save money per month, lower your time in your mortgage, buy a home a rates below 5.5%, this is the sweet spot. Spread the word - now is the time. I gingerly say to my clients who are floating rates, "don't be greedy". I think it's a fair statement given the statistical data. Enjoy the opportunity, hop off the fence, and know that you've made a great decision regarding your financial future!

This informatin has been provided by Megan McDonald from Excel Home Lending.

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I came upon a group of sayings attributed to the great baseball player, Yogi Berra, and even though I've heard almost all of them before, I still smile and even LOL sometimes when I read through them.  So, hopefully I can put a smile on your faces, too, by sharing just a few of his unique uses of our language.  Enjoy!

"Never answer an anonymous letter"

"Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel!"

"Ninety percent of this game is half mental."   (I think this really applies to the real estate business :-)

At a dinner in an Italian restaurant, he was asked how many slices should be cut in his pizza, and he replied "You better make it four, I don't think I could eat eight".

A while back, we had to “put down” an old and treasured friend and companion, our dog, Casey.  He was just over fourteen years old, which is very old for a German Shepherd, and really having a bad time with his hind legs.  They hardly worked anymore.  So, we had the vet come to our house and euthanize our buddy in what we hoped was the comforting presence of our (and his) home.
I think every pet-lover would agree that pets thoroughly enrich our lives.  They provide companionship, undying loyalty, unquestioning trust, and purpose - someone for us to take care of, for they do completely rely on us for all of their needs:  food, shelter, and love.  What some of you may not have figured out yet is that you may only have one truly great dog in your entire life.

In my lifetime, I’ve had about a dozen or so dogs and there have been few periods in my life (and they were always short ones) that I did not have a dog in the house.  But with all of those different dogs who have shared my life, I have to admit that there was only one who was without question a great dog - and that was Casey.

When he was still healthy, he was a magnificent looking German Shepherd - ninety-five pounds big, and black and tan beautiful.  Of course he was smart and he proved it many times during those fourteen years.  But even more than all of that he was trustworthy and loyal.  Not once in his life did he hurt another animal or a person except in dire self-defense when attacked by another dog.  He always acted like he was the sole protector of our entire family and took that responsibility very seriously - just ask the UPS guy who brought packages to our house for several years!  Casey would usually meet him at the front door standing on his hind legs and barking for all he was worth, letting him know in no uncertain terms that he would have to go through him to get to us!  Also, he was sensitive.  He knew for sure when we were mad at him, but he also could sense when we were hurting, physically or emotionally.  He would ease up to you, put a paw on your knee and just look at you with those big brown eyes, wanting to know that everything would be okay - or maybe trying to reassure us that everything would be alright.

This time, it was our turn to try and comfort him.  Goodbye my friend - we’ll miss you.

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I keep hearing on the news that this winter is trending toward being the driest winter on record in Denver.  What that means to those of us who live here, and especially in outlying areas, is that we are all going to have to contribute to increasing fire safety awareness and doing our part to prevent these devastating wildfires.   Colorado State University publishes a publication on the internet titled, "Forest Home Fire Safety".  If you follow that link, you can find some excellent information about:

This is a photo of the terrible "Heyman fire" which burned thousands of acres of forest and destroyed many homes not far from Denver in 2002.  I took this picture while flying at around 35,000 feet and you can tell that this plume of smoke must go above 40,000 feet and is miles across - as big as many thunderstorms.

It's been a wonderful winter - dry and warmer than average, but now we all have to pay the price of increased vigilance to try and prevent another "Heyman".

 

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A few years ago, right after takeoff from San Francisco, I looked out the cockpit window and saw this pretty sight of the fog rolling in over San Fran.  This was probably taken from an altitue of just three or four thousand feet as we were climbing out on the departure.

It reminds me of that quote:  "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."  (Supposedly said by Mark Twain, but I've heard there is some dispute about this.)  I know that I have certainly spent a few chilly days in July, there.  :-)

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Just three short days until the Vernal (spring) Equinox.  Of course, here in Colorado, that does NOT mean the end of winter since April is one of the snowier months, here.  We've even had snow during the first week in June!

This is also one of my favorite times of year (the autumn is the other - something about change) - the grass turns green, buds are appearing on trees, and flowers will soon be in bloom - - - sort of a renewal or new beginning that takes place each year.

We have the typical rituals of spring cleaning to deal with and, of course, the lawn mower will need servicing, but more importantly, I like to use this time of year to review my business model, see what's working and what needs tweaking, and try to stimulate the growth of my client relationships.

One of my new "tricks" to help that growth is rain - ActiveRain, that is.  I'm very new here but working hard at getting the news and information out to our consumers that this is a terrific time to be a buyer of real estate, in most places in this country.  And you are all helping with the amazing posts that show up every day, sharing news, tips, techniques, and "attitude" that can help propel us all to new heights in the coming months.

 

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I think we all blog for mostly the same reasons:

                        OR

Regardless of the reasons, we all could probably use some help.  Do you ever have "writers block" - you want to post but just can't think of anything useful or interesting to write about?  You'd like to increase your readership but, like me, you may not be technically/internet savvy enough to figure out how to do that?  Do you want to make money with your blog but you're not sure of the best way to monetize your blog.

I've found a blog that might have many of the answers you're looking for - ProBlogger.net .  Take a look through the archives there and you can probably find all of the answers you're looking for.

Good luck!

 

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