RISMedia, June 10, 2011—Despite the ups and downs of the housing market, home owners and non-owners alike consider owning a home essential to the American Dream.

Kathey Busse

Kathy Leimkuhler – Realtor and Luxury Specialist

Mike Kelly

We had our Thanksgiving lunch today, which was such a huge success. Our office administrator, Aggi, who is the darling of our office cooked the most fabulous huge meal anyone could have ever dreamed of. Right before the party she told me her daughter-in-law had a close call in surgery last night and they are doing another surgery again today at 4pm. She just rang me from the hospital and the surgery did not go well. She will be in the hospital for another week at least.  Life is funny that way, healthy one day, then the next not so much. Perhaps we lose sight of how thankful we need to be every day of our health and of the ones we love.

At our lunch today, I had several agents who had recently experienced a loss of a loved one. Most cases of someone too young to go. In addition, the mother of our office, Kathey Busse, who worked her tail off for today’s event had one hour of sleep last night because her healthy gorgeous fire fighter son had a stomach infection which had him in the ER all night. He’s fine today and was released early this morning, but I couldn’t believe Kathey was there and in the moment exhausted as she was.  They all had smiles on their face at the party, and were so happy to be with everyone and even worked hard to help out even though so much was going on with them. Point is no one knew the tragedy they were hiding behind their smiles. If their strength and gentleness isn’t inspiration, then I don’t know what is. This just shows how mind set and being around people who truly care about you can get you through anything.

I wonder if any of us really stop and take notice of those around us and ask enough caring questions to how they are doing. I mean, really, how are they doing? I teach all this social media networking and I’ll kill you with technology in what has to be done, but are we losing sight of what and who really matters to us? That brings me back to this morning when I arrived at my office. I wasn’t out of my car when my best agent who is one of my closest friends stopped me and said I have to tell you something. God knows if you are a manager, that’s never good! Well, she told me she was upset and had been feeling lost in her business lately. The 12 or so short sale deals she closed this year had just beaten her down. She is the best short sale agent I have ever seen, but let’s face it the banks aren’t exactly a peach to work with. We went inside and put a 45 day plan together that will take her business to the next level. Not getting away from short sales as this is just such a huge strength of hers, but certainly increasing her equity sales. The Ah Ha moment she had was to stop being a secret agent and follow the direction of the “new” territory management that is achieving proven results. Very interesting on all we have to do is change our mind set, communicate with your partner and all the sudden you are the one experiencing the success YOU deserve. She left today feeling much more inspired and with direction. I know she will hit it out of the park! She just needed the break down in order to break through her own mind set!

So, with all the intense energy today I just now ended my night with one of the long time top agents in Beverly Hills calling me and thanking me for changing his business this year. He rang me last year at this time and I had coached and brainstormed with him for about 3 hours. I had opened his eyes to stop working without a clear cut goal in his business and to change some business matters that were bringing him down. When you aren’t working from a plan you cannot achieve the results you desire. This leaves you feeling overwhelmed and very uneasy. He now has closed 29 transactions and has made over a $1 million dollars for 2010. He said he could not have done this without me and the guideance and opportunities I brought to him this year. I look at some of the agents I come across who are nowhere near this agents expertise and it’s always interesting to see how they don’t follow the guideance and always say they are too busy working on deals right now to do what I suggest. I hear those words and immediately know this is a losing battle to an agent who will never achieve their desired results. They will be the under 10 transaction annually agent. I have yet to coach a top producer who ever said that or disregarded the guideance and plan we worked on together. Top agents habits are so different than the rest that’s for sure. Their mind set is totally different. They know how to eat humble pie and listen, then implement the message without question. They just do it!

I’m often asked why am I so positive and full of energy. Well, life can suck. People die, you get audited, you get divorced, fired, let down, disappointed and the list goes on and on. However, when you really take a look at those around you and see how they have strength and love in their heart and want to give back to others and come from a place of abundance then maybe it aint so bad. I stay closest to those around me in business that can contribute to my success just as I contribute to theirs. Come from a place of abundance rather than scarcity. I believe you get back what you give. I am thankful to be in business with my friends and people I respect and admire. I know they give me more every day than I could ever hope for. I hope everyone never underestimates their environment, and really gives thanks to all the special friends, family and colleagues they have around them. If you aren’t feeling supported, loved or appreciated, then it is up to you to make the change and find it because it is out there. Seek until you conquer this fullfilment because God knows it’s worth it. Be open to all possibilites, and you just might be amazed of the life you can live by design. I hope you end tomorrow with asking someone close to you how they are “really” doing. Be present. Be in the moment with them. What can you offer back to help their mind set? Better yet, how’s your mind set and what is it doing to you in your business right now? What needs to change to get the results you need and who is supporting you to do this? Get out there and take a walk on the beach, hike a mountain or hit the gym. Do something to get your energy level up so you are able to have a positive mindset and contribute back to someone today in one way or another. Funny how training ourselves to even just smile will make for a different outcome today.

Jean Navarro talks about Jen’s coaching on using Broker’s Helper.

Joyce Nethery talking about her experinces with her Real Estate Career.

As I was running I see this man and his 8yr old son (or about that age) as we were turning a hard corner he yells out to his son, “That’s not pain you’re feeling, it’s the weakness releasing from your body!” OK how cool was that! So, now as I continue to run the mountains and beach I keep saying that over and over in my head! Love that!

Nothing comes easy in life. That’s for sure. You want to by physically fit. It’s work. You want to be a successful agent? It’s work. Our work as real estate agents MUST and IS ONLY Lead Generation. Period. We are in the people business and relationship business. I love hearing agents trying to buy leads or look for an easy way out and just door drop 5x’s a week. Aint gonna happen. If you don’t establish personal relationships, then you don’t have anything. Point being is committing to being on the phones or in person with your clients at least 2 hours a day is work. It’s hard to commit to the answer to your success which is being in the office by 8:30am to prep and be ready to lead generate from at least 9am until 11am. If it were easy, then we would all be Millionaire Real Estate agents.

Wanna make a change? Need different results either physically or financially, then commit to your #1 thing in your life that will make that change. We have written down our July promises to ourselves. It’s one thing we must do in order to make that change, but you have to commit to it and JUST DO IT! Like Tom Ferry says don’t attend an event and get that AH HA moment, then go home and never implement that AH HA moment commitment. Don’t stay in medocrity. Make a commitment today, and JUST DO IT! I love who I am in business with, because they hold me accountable to my lead generation and vise versa. Man, this industry is a heck of a lot more fun when you in business with like minded people who truly care about each other’s success. Thank God for my NON DIVA culture in our office, and everyone ROCKS for making our commitment fun together! Here’s to another great week in The First Team Anaheim Hills office!

Gerald Wolff, the bankruptcy attorney, was beyond amazing! This is one attorney that honestly KNOWS what he is talking about. He understands it, and he will not just take any client. That is a sign of true professionalism. Meaning, if it isn’t right for the client, then no deal. Move on. Gerald was a wealth of knowledge, and I feel so lucky my agents utilize him for their clients. It gives me peace of mind that we are truly doing the right thing, and actually getting the right information to our community. There are so many government programs and issues with the banks that simply do NOT work. It is not to the benefit of the homeowner.

Times have changed. I am an airforce brat, and my dad is a product of the Great Depression. I have been raised you can’t afford it with cash, then you don’t buy it. By no means, do you ever walk away from a debt, and God forbid ever losing your home. Well, guess what, stated income had not been introduced and fraudulant loans being brokered off. Bottom line is it is no longer a moral issue, but rather a business decision. Because of that this is why homeowners MUST know their rights and what they should do today. Look at how many people are going through divorces, robbing Peter to pay Paul, and dying under their mortgage which is hundreds of thousands of dollars they will never recoup. Dare we even say anything about retirement? Big businesses and developers have no emotion when they walk away from a business deal that has no ROI. Look at the developer in New York that just walked away from the $5.4 BILLION dollar housing deal.

The point of yesterday was eye opening to hear the RIGHT information, and put it into perspective that everyone is, or knows someone that is, going through debt. People feel lost, or worse, they are just completely unaware of all of their legal rights or best financial advise that they could take advantage of. Having Stella from Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Orange County was critical in this educational process! There are HUD services that can go through your paperwork and speak to your bank to see if they will release the deficiency judgement or are you so buried you have no choice but to just walk away. Can you take advantage of makinghomeaffordable.gov programs? So many questions and programs that need to be addressed when trying to make th best business decision they possibly can.

My best friend in Texas is a single mom with 2 beautiful children, and she has had her house on the market for 2 years! The agents in Texas no nothing like we do on short sales. I can’t even believe how many homeowners across the country are in the same horrific position NOT knowing their rights and what they can actually do to save their credit and get out of the strangeling financial burdens they are carrying. Come on, how great of a mom/dad/spouse can one possibly be when you go to bed ever night dying under a financial throat hold? Thinking there is no end to a place you don’t want to be! Very sad and is happening every day. My brother went through the same thing in Florida. When I speak to agents and homeowners nationwide they just don’t even know or are aware of all of their options they can take advantage of. I know www.nw.org is out there, too, but there just aren’t enough of these governement entities offered with consulting and free classes like we have here in Orange County.

I am just so glad here in Orange County we have aligned ourselves with the best professionals and HUD services one could ever even hope to have so that we, as professionals, are equipped to truly get out there and help homeowners or even first time homebuyers. Financial education and awareness is everything right now. Peace of mind to getting your money into motion and feeling reassured we are doing the right thing for our particular circumstance is just vital to all of us.

I honestly thank our caring & loving real estate agents at First Team Anaheim Hills for always wanting to know more, better themselves so they can better their clients and staying 110% focused on what matters right now in this ever shifting market: Jackie May, Paul Armas, Kathy Leimkhler, Joyce Nethery, Ken Singh, Art & Jean Navarro, Sonia Tulsiani, Sally Parikh, Mike & Kathey Busse, Oscar Jimenez, Jay Cook, Emily Juarez, Corrine Porter, Larry & Helen Sangorgio, Jerry Addison, Rama Sharma, Ernie Espinosa and Nina Emelianoff. You guys are a true inspiration, and I know I can go to bed at night knowing we are doing our part to help our community. I can’t wait to start doing this every quarter as we have planned. Our next workshop will be even more exciting I just know it!

Thanks again, and I am lucky to know Gerald, Stella, Heather and Amelia Castro from Wachovia and Laura Cowie from our Hallmark Escrow. You guys all rock and thanks for sharing yesterday!