People watching is not only fun, it can be very educational as well!  Because of my speaking/training business, I have the wonderful opportunity to travel to many different places, and observe people of every age from various backgrounds and cultures.  I watch and learn new things, gain new perspectives and oftentimes, I gain a deeper appreciation because of a new understanding. 

I enjoy these experiences and have found that I can learn a lot of new things right here in the good, old U.S.A.  It is of great interest to me to observe how something as simple as living in a certain area code of the U.S. effects communications with people from certain other area codes in the country. 

This morning, while enjoying the rare pleasure of actually sitting
to drink a cup of coffee and watching Good Morning America, I happened
to catch an interview with Stephen Dubner, one of the authors of the
well-known book, "Freakonomics". In the interview, he offered the
"Freakonomics" perspective on real estate, which I found to be very
interesting and thought provoking. In my opinion, there was some advice

In today's changing world of real estate, with a shifting market and a record number of real estate licensees, how do you compete"?? More than that, how do you compete and win?

I believe the answer lies in the ability to have "the edge" over others in the marketplace."? So, how do you go about getting, having, and maintaining "the edge""?? It takes knowledge, skill, and the willingness to do those extra things that make the difference.

In this series, we will discuss how-tos for getting the edge in several aspects of the real estate practitioner's business."? First, let's consider an opportunity for getting "the edge" when it comes to acquiring property listings.

How do you keep up with all that paperwork"?? Do you find yourself carrying files back and forth from the office to the car to your house"?? And, how do you keep up with all the"?records and"?documentation needed to cover your assets"?? Oh, the challenging world of real estate!"?

When I began my real estate career approximately 18 years ago, I happened to be one of the lucky new agents who had an excellent in-office trainer/coach."? She focused on topics as we came to them in our real-world practice such as agency, disclosure, representation requirements, contracts, negotiation, integrity, professionalism, and ethics.

I was taught that when a listing agent receives an offer, the terms and conditions of the offer are kept confidential."? Those terms and conditions are not divulged to other agents within the office, other agents outside of the office, to other buyers - the terms and conditions are not divulged to anyone other than the owner of the property, the person the listing agent represents."? If a listing agent "shops the offer", it is considered unethical behavior."? Do you agree?

And, who hasn't been the victim of an unethical listing agent who has shared the details of the offer, perhaps"?with the listing agent's own buyer, or to another agent with interested buyers within the listing agent's office"?? Despicable behavior!"? Right"?? Isn't this the way you were trained"?? As a general rule, I believe this is the thinking, the belief system, of the majority of agents practicing today.

Recently I received an e-mail that included suggestions for living life (author unknown)."? The e-mail made me think about attitudes and people skills"?that increase productivity."? I have come up with a beginning list of ten things."? I invite you to reply to this blog and add your suggestions"?to this list."?

Powerful Success Habits!'Read on to discover habits you can"?develop and incorporate in your life to make a difference in your level of success."?

There are many other powerful habits that can be developed to help us achieve success as we have defined it. These success habits apply, and are basically the same, whether we are talking about personal success or success in leadership. Attitude, people, relationships, action, success ' they are all intertwined. Let's examine a few additional success habits:

I believe that discouragement is one of the devil's greatest tools. Think about that. What happens when you are discouraged? You give up! You say, "Oh, what's the use..." Your thinking becomes negative and unproductive. You no longer believe in yourself. Your "stinking thinking" limits your ability. Discouragement builds and paralyzes from the brain to every part of you.

Success Habit #2: Fight Discouragement!

Milton Berle said, "I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might-have-been has never been, but a has-been was once an are."

What a profound statement that embodies attitude, choice, and a journey towards success. The old clich"? "attitude is everything" is true with regard to our choices and our success.

So, what is the meaning of "success' Is it happiness? Prosperity? Balance in life? Overcoming Obstacles? What makes a successful person? What is it that they do that translates their efforts into "success'

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to be able to juggle all of the responsibilities, the challenges, the problems, the demands of the various areas of life and make it seem easy?"? Have you ever wondered about people who seem to come out on top no matter what happens to them?"? Do you wonder how some people are so successful at juggling life without dropping their sanity?"? How are they successful?"? Why are they successful?"? I believe the answer to those questions lies in two places---attitude and planning."?

How valuable is your time? Do you know? You need an objective measure of value to be able to make several determinations. Finding out approximately how much your time costs, helps you determine if you are spending your time profitably. There are a number of ways to calculate the value of your time. Let's take a look at just one of the ways to figure this amount.

Do you ever get frustrated or stressed out because you can't seem to get things done--at least, not ALL the things that you wanted to?"? Do you have too many responsibilities?"? Too many demands?"? Do you run late because you try to squeeze too much into too little time?"? Are you always in a hurry?"? Do you often feel behind in your work?"? Are you too busy to do some of the things that you want to do and need to do--such as exercise, read, spend more time with family and friends, or do benevolent work?"?

"?Have you ever noticed that some people seem to be able to juggle all of the demands of the various areas of life and make it seem easy?"? Have you looked at these people who seem to be able to do it all and wondered, "How do they do it'"? Is it because they have more time?"? Or, is it because they are better managers of time?

We are constantly striving to reach that next level in our business success."? Many times we are like the hamster on the wheel, running and running, yet remaining in the same place."? We mistakenly equate "activity" with "growth"."? In our search for buyers and sellers of real estate property, oftentimes our marketing consists of mailing postcards to a "farm" area, or placing ads in newspapers and in home magazines."? Then, we wait for the phone to ring so that we can hopefully capture the interest of a meaningful prospect for a future transaction."? We spend much energy, effort, and money trying to generate leads from the unknown consumer."? Yet, statistics have proven that it is much easier to generate leads from within our sphere of influence."?

Consider the following statistics from the 2005 National Association of Realtors Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers"?regarding how buyers found (chose) their real estate agent."?

Most real estate professionals struggle with balancing work with personal life."? It is oftentimes difficult to find that middle ground that"? nourishes both areas."? It is important to note that finding balance in life involves...