Archive for the 'The Good Life' Category
Not Another One of Those “I’m Thankful For” Thanksgiving Essays!
November 19th, 2009 Categories: It's My Blog, Real Estate News, The Good Life
Every year when we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner, I begin by asking each person to tell us what they’re thankful for. Having three grown sons and a husband who isn’t exactly the sentimental type, I get the proverbial eyeball roll and we just say our traditional grace.
I’m always thankful for my family, friends, clients, health, etc., so this year I would like to list the things that are considered new age, entrepreneurial, techy and fun. They have truly enhanced my life and I am very grateful that someone was bright enough to invent these wonderful things for me.
- My now-paid-for Acura TL
- XM Radio
- Breathe Right Nose Strips
- My Ipod Nano
- Netflix
- My sauna
- The Food Network
- The Internet
- My Treo w/ekey
- BNI Full Circle Chapter
So there you have it. Ten items are enough. I could live without these things, but I sure would not want to! Happy Thanksgiving!
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How To Be Laid Back - A Twin Cities Realtor’s Quest!
July 6th, 2009 Categories: Outside of the Box, Real Estate News, The Good Life
It’s summer and here, in the Twin Cities, it’s very short. I have decided to pretend that I am on vacation all summer and will sprinkle in my wonderful Realtor job during this time. My clients are extremely important to me, however, I know that they want to be relaxed, too. We have a good time together and it doesn’t seem like work to me! Here is a great article from wikiHow, one of my favorite bookmarked sites. I aim to follow these steps!
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Whether you’re a worrywart, a perfectionist, an overachiever, or a workaholic, you’ve probably envied people who seem to float through life gracefully, never concerned (like you are) about what might happen if they don’t do this or don’t do that. Perhaps they’re not the most motivated or accomplished people you’ve met, but they always seem content. If you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum–always doing, never satisfied–here’s how to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride that is your life.
Steps
- Do one thing at a time. The world’s greatest achievements were made by people who gave the task in front of them their undivided attention. Tackling multiple activities at once might feel efficient, but is it really productive? Is giving each task 30% of your attention for three hours as effective as giving each task 100% of your attention for one hour each? If something doesn’t deserve your undivided attention, maybe it’s not worth doing at all.
- Slow down. Why the rush? If what you’re doing is important enough to warrant your time, you might as well enjoy it. Cleaning the house for an hour with your favourite music playing and your bottom shaking is better than cleaning the house in half that time but in a frantic state of mind. Plus, if you’re having fun with your chores, maybe other people will be tempted to join. Don’t just “get it over with”–find a way to make every activity something that you look forward to doing.
- Stop being a perfectionist. High standards have their place–when performing surgery, for example, or designing a building–but when applied to other areas of your life (your appearance, your home’s appearance, your hobbies, your handwriting, whatever) you’re practically inviting anxiety into your life. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any standards at all; it’s when you start stressing out about the details that you need to ask yourself: “Will doing this right now make me truly happy? Will it make me a better person? Will it make the world a better place?” Usually, the answer is no. Don’t allow perfectionism to become the enemy of your potential.
- Step aside. When you close your eyes and imagine your role in the world, do you see yourself as Atlas, the mythological Titan, holding the weight of the world on your shoulders? Do you feel like you want to relax, but worry that if you do, everything will fall apart? If so, you need to delegate some responsibility. You might think other people won’t do as good a job, but that’s the thing: they’ll never do it just like you do. So give them responsibility, give them advice, and pass the reins. Don’t be surprised if they make mistakes; just be there to support them, and let them fix (and learn from) their mistakes. Not only will this take some weight off of your shoulders, but it can be very fulfilling to watch someone grow and mature as a result of your guidance.
- Remember that it’s not the end of the world. Many people spend their entire lives trying to prevent bad things from happening. But guess what? They happen anyway. And life goes on. That’s not to say you shouldn’t take any kinds of precautions in life, but if the majority of your thoughts are consumed in contingency planning, you’re not enjoying life. You’re preventing it. When you’re feeling threatened by things that haven’t happened yet, remember these words by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you still have survived,
But what torments of grief you endured
From the evil which never arrived. - Focus on what you have, not what you have to do. Sometimes we trick ourselves into thinking I have to straighten this up.. I have to correct him.. I have to stop her..” but truthfully, we don’t have to do anything. You can walk away from any task, at any time. Try replacing every “have to” with a “want to” and see if the statement still holds. Meaning, is it something that you’ll look back on when you’re in your deathbed and be happy you did? Most likely not. So appreciate what you have, while you have it.
- Learn meditation. Some systems may be quite involved, but most are relatively simple, and all of them will help you achieve all of the above.
Tips
- When bad things happen (and they will, no matter what) shrug and smile. Remind yourself that:
- Life goes on.
- Don’t let things make you upset or angry. Remember it’s your choice to get bent out of shape. Learn from the experience. Focus on the big picture.
- You win some, you lose some.
- This too will pass.
- You can’t please everybody.
- We live and learn.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff.
- Remember that sometimes bad things lead to the best things.
- Shift your mindset so that you concentrate on what makes you feel happy, not on what makes you feel safe.
- If it seems like something is bothering you, just convince yourself that you don’t find it annoying at all. Although hard to get into straight away, when you put yourself into this mindset it’s amazing what you can live with.
- Don’t worry if you can’t follow these instructions perfectly at first! It takes time to learn to let go.
Warnings
- Don’t confuse being laid-back with being lazy. The goal is to be happy.
- Showing a laid-back attitude in the workplace can have risks. Many employers may confuse “laid-back” with “lazy” and think one does not take the job seriously. It is important to show that this attitude can actually be very productive, often even more so than others which demand greater stress.
- Many environments prefer a cool, calm demeanor over an extreme results driven approach. Be sure to identify your role and pick your battles very carefully.
Related wikiHows
- How to Be Optimistic
- How to Be Patient
- How to Live a Simple and Peaceful Life
- How to Create a Calmer Household
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Be Laid Back. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
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Short Sales and Cheese Cake
May 19th, 2009 Categories: Cool Guys, My Listings, Real Estate News, The Good Life
Short sales take a long time to happen from the moment a home is listed until the day of closing. There are a myriad of twists and turns that take place and, I for one, do not enjoy working them through. It is, unfortunately, a fact of life these days. For some reason, some buyers’ agents still don’t realize the time it takes for the bank to get its act together. I have written about short sales on this blog before, so I won’t get in to all of the gory details here.
Nope, this post is about my real estate colleague, Bob Bergh. I just want to thank him publicly for taking the helm on a tricky short sale that we just completed. He basically did all of the leg work after we received a purchase agreement on the property. We had at least four purchase agreements that I recall and hundreds of inquiries. Plus many hours, days, weeks and months of wrangling. Whew!
I also wanted to thank him personally so I took him to lunch at the Cheese Cake Factory after the closing. Bob had wild blue berry cheese cake and I had carrot cake cheese cake. Yum!
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Ms. AARP…Yes, I am 55 and I’m Just Now Accepting It.
February 27th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News, Stuff About Me...Why Not, The Good Life, for Heaven's Sake!
It’s been several years since my little Matty Hoho left for Winona State University. He was child number three and my sweet, little angel.
Empty nester girl, here.
So, years passed and Mr. Matty Hoho ended up at the “U” (in this town, for those of you who read my post outside of the freezing, rotten cold state of Minnesota, is considered the University of Minnesota), graduated, took a job at an “Office Space” type of company (Epicore), hated it, and left for South Korea to teach English to a bunch of spoiled, rotten little children.
I thought that I would be so happy when I finally dumped the last kid. All three of them were pretty decent. All three of them were boys. Lucky me, that’s what I say. I still wanted them to be grown and gone. I spent more than half of my life raising them and I was dog gone tired.
Whoa!
I quickly lost my identity. Depression. Fast forward…
I am a Realtor. I also have my broker’s license. I just won the prestigious bronze award that my company, Keller Williams Realty, awards those of us who have worked very hard and achieved success in our business. I am also one of the owners of my Maple Grove franchise and have some brilliant and talented people working in our market center!
I’m liking the 55 thing. I call it the “double nickel”. Why not? If you’re not 55 yet, you will be. If you don’t think you will be, well…that means you will be dead by then.
I just got another AARP solicitation in the mail. I think I should finally open it. It’s time.
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Jake’s City Grille in Plymouth, MN…So, What’s New? Silly Property Repairs, For One Thing!
December 18th, 2008 Categories: Plymouth "News", Real Estate News, Silly Property Repairs, Taste Minnesota, The Good Life
Here we go again. Another chain in Plymouth.
Not a huge chain like Chili’s or Applebee’s but a chain, none the less. I’ve been to Jake’s City Grille in Eden Prairie a few times. Actually, I’ve had a blast every time I went.
The first time I went was with a really cool lady that I was introduced to by my BNI buddy, John Branstad at Leadership By Design. It was a “blind date” and Read the rest of this entry »
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My #1 Reason to be Thankful ~ Secret Weapon Revealed!
November 26th, 2008 Categories: Cool Guys, Keller Williams, Outside of the Box, Real Estate News, The Good Life
There’s plenty to be thankful for at Thanksgiving. I have Keller Williams Realty to thank for helping me power through the rough spots. A Realtor can’t get a better education or a more solid foundation. So, thank you, Keller Williams…especially, my market center at Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest in Maple Grove! We are having a record month and have been continually adding agents to our wonderful market center. Yes, even through all of the doom and gloom…we’re growing!
But here’s my secret weapon that I rarely talk about. It’s probably not a secret to some. I don’t speak about my husband, Tony Hoholik, very often. He most likely wouldn’t want me to. I’m actually not real big on talking about myself and my personal life. But after reflecting on this past year and all of its events, one thing stands out for me.
My husband.
He is not a warm, fuzzy kind of guy. He doesn’t Read the rest of this entry »
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And Now, A Brief Intermission From All This Stuff…Thomas Shakin’ It Before School!
November 12th, 2008 Categories: Cool Guys, Outside of the Box, Real Estate News, The Good Life
Here’s Thomas Shakin’ It Before School…
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What We Found In (Of All Places) Downtown Minneapolis
October 19th, 2008 Categories: Cool Girls, Real Estate News, Taste Minnesota, The Good Life
I took a much needed day off of my real estate gig last Sunday. My buddy, Angel, and I spent the day together. We went to the Vikings game to see Detroit. Angel and I had a fun brunch at Ike’s and then made our way down 6th Street to the stadium.
There, in the window of the One Financial Plaza, was an unlikely visitor. It was a cute little bat! You can see Angel’s reflection in the window.
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Reason #2 Why Plymouth, MN is Rated for Best Places to Live in the U.S.
October 3rd, 2008 Categories: Cool Guys, Plymouth "News", Real Estate News, The Good Life
We are lucky to have Discover Strength, a personal fitness facility, located right here in Plymouth, MN! As I have stated in my previous post about my personal training at Discover Strength, it helps me in my personal life, but it totally helps me keep my stamina and good nature in my real estate life here in the Twin Cities.My personal trainer at Discover Strength, Luke Carlson, has some great words of advice for those of you who are running the Twin Cities Marathon this weekend.
“Good luck to those of you running the marathon this weekend (or Chicago/Whistlestop next weekend). If you are not running and plan on watching the marathon, the DS staff will be watching just before mile 24 at Summit and Lexington - stop by and join us for eating, drinking, and cheering on runners! Watching a marathon is truly an incredible experience!”
Here are some more words of wisdom for you runners:
Tough Thinking for this Weekend’s Marathon and 10-Mile Runners
(adapted from Dr. Jim Loehr’s book “The New Toughness Training for Sports”)
One of the greatest secrets of peak performance in sport: sustaining a here-and-now mental focus during competition makes the natural expression of your talent and training easier. During battle, thinking about the future lets fear beat you; thinking about the past lets anger and frustration beat you. Aim to maintain a moment-by moment focus during the race.
When old man fear has you by the throat, look him straight in the eye, smile inside, and with all the conviction and passion you can pull from deep within your soul, think – or better yet, say out loud: “I LOVE IT!” “Tough Thinking” is based on your ability to use words and images to control your Ideal Performance State. This means disciplined thinking and visualization during competition. Tough thinking will keep you from panicking when things get crazy and prevent you form surrendering when the battle appears lost. Here are some examples of tough thinking. It is a great idea to pick 2 or 3 “go-to” phrases or words that you can continually repeat to yourself during the race. Pick a few words or phrases and repeat them to yourself throughout the entire race.
“I’M TOUGH ENOUGH”
“I’VE PUT IN THE TRAINING”
“LOOKING GOOD, FEELING GOOD”
“I FEEL STRONG”
“ONE MILE AT A TIME”
“I LOVE HILLS”
“BRING ON THE PAIN”
Or my personal favorite: “JARED MONDRY’S GOING DOWN!
When your back is squarely against the wall, think:
“THIS IS REALLY TOUGH – BUT I’M A WHOLE LOT TOUGHER”
When facing the hill on Summit Ave, say to yourself:
“BRING IT ON! BRING IT ON!”
When you feel tired, burned out, negative, and weak, think:
“TODAY WILL BE A GREAT CHALLENGE FOR ME. I’VE GOT TO BE SUPER-TOUGH TODAY TO MAKE IT. I’M GOING TO HANG IN THERE NO MATTER WHAT! NO EXCUSES!”
When things get painful and you feel like abandoning ship, think:
“I NEVER SURRENDER! NOT ME. NOT EVER! I WILL FIGHT UNTIL IT’S OVER. AND IT AIN’T OVER TILL IT’S OVER!”
Love the process, the fight, the marshaling of your resources, the pushing, the falling back, the breakthroughs, the struggles. Loving to win is easy. Loving the process moves you to a whole new level of competitive skill. Love the battle!
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Maple Grove Days Are Here Again!
July 7th, 2008 Categories: Maple Grove Stuff, Real Estate News, The Good Life
Yay! It’s Maple Grove Days again! Check out the link for your event map and schedule. See you there!
http://www.maplegrovedays.com/
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