Athletes Put Brand Front and Center
BODE MILLER
DANICA PATRICK
Want to see the power of RE/MAX at work? Check out the Feb. 11 edition of the Wall Street Journal where a photo of U.S. skier Bode Miller accompanied a story about tape delays for 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on the front of the Marketplace section. The photo and article are also viewable online.
The Reuters photo was snapped Jan. 25 when Miller competed during the slalom of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Wengen, Switzerland. For the second year in a row, RE/MAX Europe sponsored the event in Wengen and in Kransjka Gora, Slovenia.
From the ski slopes to the race track, RE/MAX is everywhere in the sporting world. IndyCar star Danica Patrick made her stock car racing debut at the ARCA Racing Series season opener at Daytona on Feb. 6. RE/MAX is a co-presenting sponsor of the ARCA Racing series with Menard's. The race drew a record 2.4 million TV viewers largely because of the "Danica Factor."
Coverage of that event featured many images of Patrick in her signature lime-green driving suit, which bore a prominent RE/MAX patch at the time.
ESPN2 used Patrick – still in her RE/MAX suit – to heavily promote its coverage of the Feb. 13 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.
Here's a sampling of media in which Patrick is seen wearing the RE/MAX patch.
ARCA (photo)
ESPN (briefly seen in video; see :12 and 1:36 marks for best shots)
The Orlando Sentinel (photo)
Yahoo! Sports (photo and in video; see 2:47 and 3:23 marks for best shots)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Is practical the enemy?
Is Practical the Enemy?
Overcome fear and land the breakthrough idea!
"If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." --Albert Einstein
One of the greatest challenge you face as you build your real estate business is coming up with new ideas to differentiate yourself and create meaningful relationships with clients. Breakthrough ideas can keep you top-of-mind with clients. How do you reinvent your skills and services in ways that attract new listing agreements? How will you tell a new story to sell an old home?
What holds people back in the pursuit of the new idea is often the habit of thinking too small. We are often our own worst critics, choosing only to work in the narrow space of "what makes sense" and "what is reasonable." This "color in the lines" mentality cuts us off from amazing ideas. We're quick to say, "That's impossible" when an idea seems absurd.
Resist this temptation. Explore the "impossible" ideas. Sure, they may seem impossible at first, but they might just lead you down a path you would have never discovered had you not suspended your inner critic and explored a "crazy" concept.
People are most comfortable shooting down ideas. But remember this: When someone says, "You're dreaming... that's ridiculous," they may be saying: "Your idea scares me-- it scares me because if you pull it off, I'll be forced to learn something new. I'll have to compete with you, and I won't know where to begin."
And if you find yourself saying, "I'd love to try it, but it's just not realistic," it could be that you're afraid of chasing a dream you most desire. After all, chasing a dream means risking a lot.
Beware of practical. Explore the absurd now and again.
Overcome fear and land the breakthrough idea!
"If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." --Albert Einstein
One of the greatest challenge you face as you build your real estate business is coming up with new ideas to differentiate yourself and create meaningful relationships with clients. Breakthrough ideas can keep you top-of-mind with clients. How do you reinvent your skills and services in ways that attract new listing agreements? How will you tell a new story to sell an old home?
What holds people back in the pursuit of the new idea is often the habit of thinking too small. We are often our own worst critics, choosing only to work in the narrow space of "what makes sense" and "what is reasonable." This "color in the lines" mentality cuts us off from amazing ideas. We're quick to say, "That's impossible" when an idea seems absurd.
Resist this temptation. Explore the "impossible" ideas. Sure, they may seem impossible at first, but they might just lead you down a path you would have never discovered had you not suspended your inner critic and explored a "crazy" concept.
People are most comfortable shooting down ideas. But remember this: When someone says, "You're dreaming... that's ridiculous," they may be saying: "Your idea scares me-- it scares me because if you pull it off, I'll be forced to learn something new. I'll have to compete with you, and I won't know where to begin."
And if you find yourself saying, "I'd love to try it, but it's just not realistic," it could be that you're afraid of chasing a dream you most desire. After all, chasing a dream means risking a lot.
Beware of practical. Explore the absurd now and again.
Overcome Self Sabotage
Overcome Self Sabotage
Embrace what you can do right now
"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once." --Calvin Coolidge
Do you know what the root cause of self-sabotage is? A hyperactive obsession with road ahead. Let me explain:
Yes, it's essential that you are able to plan, project outcomes, and forsee obstacles in order to reach your goals. But at times, this ability to see into the future backfires on us. The very thing which enables you to pursue your goals is also the same mechanism which can leave you utterly paralyzed. The difficulty of the path ahead (as we think we see it) can murder our motivation. We become overwhelmed by our (often incorrect!) anticipation of the work. This, in turn, causes us to put off working towards our goals.
In the pursuit of goals, the happiest people are the ones who hike the trail one step at a time. They accept that they can't know the exact conditions of the terrain. They may have heard some crossings are difficult, some bridges may be out. But what do they do? They walk the path available. They follow their compass. When the time comes they have to cut a new trail, they break out the machete and trailblaze as required.
It's more important to have tools at your disposal to handle challenges than it is to have all of the challenges figured out in advance. Don't visualize the hardships! Trust yourself and set out armed with the best tools available at the time.
Overcome self sabotage! Embrace the work in front of you. Improvise when called for. You can't do it all at once, so do what you can right now.
Embrace what you can do right now
"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once." --Calvin Coolidge
Do you know what the root cause of self-sabotage is? A hyperactive obsession with road ahead. Let me explain:
Yes, it's essential that you are able to plan, project outcomes, and forsee obstacles in order to reach your goals. But at times, this ability to see into the future backfires on us. The very thing which enables you to pursue your goals is also the same mechanism which can leave you utterly paralyzed. The difficulty of the path ahead (as we think we see it) can murder our motivation. We become overwhelmed by our (often incorrect!) anticipation of the work. This, in turn, causes us to put off working towards our goals.
In the pursuit of goals, the happiest people are the ones who hike the trail one step at a time. They accept that they can't know the exact conditions of the terrain. They may have heard some crossings are difficult, some bridges may be out. But what do they do? They walk the path available. They follow their compass. When the time comes they have to cut a new trail, they break out the machete and trailblaze as required.
It's more important to have tools at your disposal to handle challenges than it is to have all of the challenges figured out in advance. Don't visualize the hardships! Trust yourself and set out armed with the best tools available at the time.
Overcome self sabotage! Embrace the work in front of you. Improvise when called for. You can't do it all at once, so do what you can right now.
Avoid Texing Accidents with DriveSafe.ly
Avoid Texting Accidents with DriveSafe.ly
Prevent auto accidents with one convenient app
Texting while driving is a recipe for distaster. According to a 2007 study by "Students Against Destructive Decisions," nearly 50% of teens admit to text messaging while driving. We're willing to bet it's probably that high for your average on-the-go real estate pro, too.
If you're guilty of distracted driving, now there's a mobile app that might just save your life. From the website:
DriveSafe.ly is a mobile application that reads text (SMS) messages and emails aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching the mobile phone. DriveSafe.ly is the solution to texting while driving.
According to the company behind DriveSafe.ly, the app's features include:
Reads your text messages and emails out loud in real time
Hands Free - No need to touch the phone while driving
One-touch activation - no complicated setup
Bluetooth and radio transmitter compatible
Reads text message shorthand (lol, brb)
Optional customizable auto-responder
Test drive the DriveSafe.ly app yourself here:
http://www.drivesafe.ly/
Prevent auto accidents with one convenient app
Texting while driving is a recipe for distaster. According to a 2007 study by "Students Against Destructive Decisions," nearly 50% of teens admit to text messaging while driving. We're willing to bet it's probably that high for your average on-the-go real estate pro, too.
If you're guilty of distracted driving, now there's a mobile app that might just save your life. From the website:
DriveSafe.ly is a mobile application that reads text (SMS) messages and emails aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching the mobile phone. DriveSafe.ly is the solution to texting while driving.
According to the company behind DriveSafe.ly, the app's features include:
Reads your text messages and emails out loud in real time
Hands Free - No need to touch the phone while driving
One-touch activation - no complicated setup
Bluetooth and radio transmitter compatible
Reads text message shorthand (lol, brb)
Optional customizable auto-responder
Test drive the DriveSafe.ly app yourself here:
http://www.drivesafe.ly/
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Mindset of a Superstar
The Mindset of a Superstar
Three Steps to Success
Brett Figueroa is a personal success coach who worked under Tony Robbins for 6 years, and is now the owner of Momentum Strategies in Denver, Colorado. Brett says that there are three primary factors that put someone at the top of their game.
The Ultimate Goal.
Remember the movie City Slickers? What is your "one thing?" The one thing you want to truly make your life feel complete. "Too many people", Brett says, "go through life with a notion of what they want, without ever figuring out exactly what they want." Do you want to retire in a beachfront estate? Create a happy family? End world hunger?
The Strategy.
Once people know what they want, they need to map out how to get there. How will they position themselves to where they can reach their goal? If you don't yet have your map, look to others who have achieved what you want. Offer to buy them lunch so you can pick their brains. Create a map rather than just wandering around, hoping to stumble onto your dreams one day.
The Timeline.
When will you achieve your goal? What do you need to get there? When must you reach specific sub-goals in order to reach your final goal? Brett points out that if a person sets aside just one hour a day for their personal goal, they will have spent nine 40-hour weeks working on it by the end of the year!
If you don't already have these three components defined in your life, I recommend taking some time to do so when you're away from work. Check out some self-help books from the library, or buy a highly-rated one at Amazon.com. Get inspired, get ready, then get to work!
Three Steps to Success
Brett Figueroa is a personal success coach who worked under Tony Robbins for 6 years, and is now the owner of Momentum Strategies in Denver, Colorado. Brett says that there are three primary factors that put someone at the top of their game.
The Ultimate Goal.
Remember the movie City Slickers? What is your "one thing?" The one thing you want to truly make your life feel complete. "Too many people", Brett says, "go through life with a notion of what they want, without ever figuring out exactly what they want." Do you want to retire in a beachfront estate? Create a happy family? End world hunger?
The Strategy.
Once people know what they want, they need to map out how to get there. How will they position themselves to where they can reach their goal? If you don't yet have your map, look to others who have achieved what you want. Offer to buy them lunch so you can pick their brains. Create a map rather than just wandering around, hoping to stumble onto your dreams one day.
The Timeline.
When will you achieve your goal? What do you need to get there? When must you reach specific sub-goals in order to reach your final goal? Brett points out that if a person sets aside just one hour a day for their personal goal, they will have spent nine 40-hour weeks working on it by the end of the year!
If you don't already have these three components defined in your life, I recommend taking some time to do so when you're away from work. Check out some self-help books from the library, or buy a highly-rated one at Amazon.com. Get inspired, get ready, then get to work!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It's short sale time.....cont'd
Focused on the Future.........
Although he's successful at short sales, RE/MAX's Burrell concedes that more needs to be done to make the process work better: "One, we have to be able to have th offers qualified upfront. That way you get realistic offers and get the process going. Two, we need to break up the offers. The banks are swamped. Though they are trying to keep up, they need to outsource much of the work. Three, we need additional companies with trained people, perhaps former bank staff along with new people who can handle the huge demand that will be out there. Four, we need to implement innovative technology for speed and efficiency right now. That is critical. These things have to happen for the system to become streamlined and faster. This must happen for the system to become streamlined and faster. This must be the wave of the future for short sales."
Brinkley believes that the only significant push-back will probably come from the smaller junior lien investors. "However, the pressure on this type of investor--from the public and government sectors--to comply with HAFA protocols will be significant, " he added.
McCabe agrees with Brinkley that while HAFA is likely to be adopted successfully within the industry, the issue of the role junior lien holders needs to be addressed. "The second major hurdle, " said McCabe, "is the adoption by a mortgage insurance company to approve the short sale without a promissory note. If the borrower has the capacity to pay on an unsecured note, an mortgage insurane company will likely require such." Such issures, as McCabe and Brinkley noted, are likely to pop up increasingly in the next year as short sales continue to become accepted by the industry and are the reason the discusssion over short-sales best practives cannot end with HAFA.
But as the Fed continues to dangle more regulatory carrots to make the process more transparent and eefficient, short sales will continue to gain momentum. Satterwhite added, "Short sales will continue to gain acceptance and interest as the government initiatives continue to provide incentives, along with vastly improved technology to make the process faster and better. When we do this, we make short sales more attractive to all parties as a preferable alternative to foreclosure, so the short sale can bring us part of th eway to a housing recovery."
To be sure, a healthy housing industry buttressed by successful short sales won't just benefit beleagured borrowers, frazzled lenders, and stressed servicers--it will help the entire country, which has been hammered by the financial ripple effect of foreclosures. And it's the indusstry itself that's poised to bring it back from teh brink, emphasizes Bureel. "It's patriotic, " he said. "Our industry helped cause this problem; we need to be the ones to fix it. Not just for recovery of the housing industry, but to save America."
Although he's successful at short sales, RE/MAX's Burrell concedes that more needs to be done to make the process work better: "One, we have to be able to have th offers qualified upfront. That way you get realistic offers and get the process going. Two, we need to break up the offers. The banks are swamped. Though they are trying to keep up, they need to outsource much of the work. Three, we need additional companies with trained people, perhaps former bank staff along with new people who can handle the huge demand that will be out there. Four, we need to implement innovative technology for speed and efficiency right now. That is critical. These things have to happen for the system to become streamlined and faster. This must happen for the system to become streamlined and faster. This must be the wave of the future for short sales."
Brinkley believes that the only significant push-back will probably come from the smaller junior lien investors. "However, the pressure on this type of investor--from the public and government sectors--to comply with HAFA protocols will be significant, " he added.
McCabe agrees with Brinkley that while HAFA is likely to be adopted successfully within the industry, the issue of the role junior lien holders needs to be addressed. "The second major hurdle, " said McCabe, "is the adoption by a mortgage insurance company to approve the short sale without a promissory note. If the borrower has the capacity to pay on an unsecured note, an mortgage insurane company will likely require such." Such issures, as McCabe and Brinkley noted, are likely to pop up increasingly in the next year as short sales continue to become accepted by the industry and are the reason the discusssion over short-sales best practives cannot end with HAFA.
But as the Fed continues to dangle more regulatory carrots to make the process more transparent and eefficient, short sales will continue to gain momentum. Satterwhite added, "Short sales will continue to gain acceptance and interest as the government initiatives continue to provide incentives, along with vastly improved technology to make the process faster and better. When we do this, we make short sales more attractive to all parties as a preferable alternative to foreclosure, so the short sale can bring us part of th eway to a housing recovery."
To be sure, a healthy housing industry buttressed by successful short sales won't just benefit beleagured borrowers, frazzled lenders, and stressed servicers--it will help the entire country, which has been hammered by the financial ripple effect of foreclosures. And it's the indusstry itself that's poised to bring it back from teh brink, emphasizes Bureel. "It's patriotic, " he said. "Our industry helped cause this problem; we need to be the ones to fix it. Not just for recovery of the housing industry, but to save America."
It's Short Sale Time......cont'd
For-Sale to Sold
Though some agents still face problems with the short sale process, many are successfully overcoming them. One of the biggest glitches is time, Burrell says. "Sometimes this is what can make or break the short sale. Imagine if you were buying a car and you had to wait four months to hear if your offer was accepted. Ridiculous, right? That's what can happen in a short sale."
Burrell says the solution lies in staying on top of the sale, continually working with all parties to keep the process moving, Shauna Werts, head of TriStone Realty Group in Anaheim, California, concurs. "You have to stay a step ahead in the process at all time, " she said, including ensuring payments are made and paperwork is completed and filed on time. OVerlooking any of these key elements can cause deals to completely unravel, she added. Still, despite these challenges, both Burrell and Werts expect short sales will continue to grow and --as Werts emphasized--agents who learn the ins and outs of this sometimes laborious specialty are frequently well-rewarded with hard-earned success.
Though some agents still face problems with the short sale process, many are successfully overcoming them. One of the biggest glitches is time, Burrell says. "Sometimes this is what can make or break the short sale. Imagine if you were buying a car and you had to wait four months to hear if your offer was accepted. Ridiculous, right? That's what can happen in a short sale."
Burrell says the solution lies in staying on top of the sale, continually working with all parties to keep the process moving, Shauna Werts, head of TriStone Realty Group in Anaheim, California, concurs. "You have to stay a step ahead in the process at all time, " she said, including ensuring payments are made and paperwork is completed and filed on time. OVerlooking any of these key elements can cause deals to completely unravel, she added. Still, despite these challenges, both Burrell and Werts expect short sales will continue to grow and --as Werts emphasized--agents who learn the ins and outs of this sometimes laborious specialty are frequently well-rewarded with hard-earned success.
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