It seems that you and I have been the victims of some misinformation, and since I helped spread it, I should help clarify it.  The problem is that I don’t know exactly what the truth is, and since I disseminated untruth before, I am hesitant to make broad statements.  However, I have been asked by those who apparently do know the rules to try and get people to stop calling them in a panic.  If you are a bit confused by now, welcome to the group. 

I am talking about that most exciting of topics: on-site sewage systems, also spoken of by the layman as septic systems, drainfields, leach fields, septic tanks and probably a few terms I have never heard.  New regulations governing these perhaps boring but very necessary items were proposed at the state level last spring.  They were not actually adopted at that time, and had they been adopted they would still have been subject to review and implementation by the various county health departments, so they would not have just been unceremoniously dumped on us who depend on these very necessary items.  However, if you keep as close track of current septic regulations as do I, you might have felt like they were an overnight event when you tried to do something that was no longer allowed.

But to clarify, there is no rule that says you must always have at least ½ acre to install an on-site sewage system and there are no plans to condemn homes whose systems fail and are on less than ½ acre.  With that said, I applaud those of you who took the time to check out the story with those in authority who know what the rules are.  It shows that you were trying to do what we are always told to do as citizens, which is to keep ourselves informed.  If only truth were not so elusive.

We don’t have all the answers, but we hear enough of the questions to direct you to the people who do.  If you have a real estate related issue, call us.  If we can’t help, we probably know who can.�

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
- Bill Gates

A few weeks ago, a long time client of ours did us a huge favor – he got angry and told us about it!�
We get a lot of thanks and compliments from both our clients and our colleagues, and we love hearing that they are happy.  We spend a great deal of time educating ourselves on all the technical aspects of the real estate industry as well as looking for new and better ways we can serve our clients and get the job done.  Just in the past year we have changed database software programs and installed a dedicated server for our office network to make us more efficient in what we do.  We have added the moving truck for the free use of our clients.  We have modified our action plans to cover more of the details that must be done for each transaction so that they can’t fall through the cracks.  We have added an FTP site to make it easier for clients to get photos and documents over the Internet.  We have developed a newspaper to keep our clients informed about what is happening in the market.

We thought we were doing great, but our long time client felt that we were taking him for granted and not responding quickly enough to his basic needs like getting a sign up, keeping flyers in the box and posting a pending sign.  And you know what?  He was right.  In trying to improve and give more, we were losing touch with the basics.

So he did us a huge favor – he let us know.  We have put a spotlight back on the basics, and the other improvements we have made will help us keep it there.  So if you have real estate needs from basics to high tech, give us a call – thanks to criticism, we’re better than ever.

“Circumstances are the rulers of the weak;
they are but the instruments of the wise.”
- Samuel Lover

Success and failure - people love taking credit for their achievements, but often blame outside factors when they fail or fall short. We have the power to accomplish our objectives, but when we fail to use that power to our advantage, we tend to fall back on excuses. The trick is to stop making excuses and accept full responsibility for all of our actions and reactions.

Instead of wondering why something happened to you, start wondering how you could have reacted differently. Your response to any given incident defines your power (or lack of it) to produce the results you seek. Consider the following formula presented in Jack Canfield’s new book, “The Success Principles”:

E + R = O

where E is the Event, R is your Response to the Event, and O is the Outcome. Thus, every single Outcome you experience is the direct result of how you Respond to a given Event. The Event is an unchangeable constant, but your Response is the variable that changes the Outcome.

Our choice of two options determines our level of happiness and success. Either A. Blame the Event for lack of the desired Outcome, or B. Change our Response until we achieve the desired Outcome. In today’s quote, option A is for the “weak” and option B is for the “wise.”

An old Swedish proverb says, “The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.” Don’t look to outside people or circumstances when planning to achieve your goals. When you realize - and start acting like - you are 100% responsible, it’s amazing how much power you feel. Many of the greatest achievers in history faced seemingly insurmountable outside forces, but obviously it was not those forces that were the deciding factor - it was how they faced those challenges. You too can stop making excuses and take control of your reactions and results - and you can start now.
�
Thanks to “Ghost Writers” for this story.

“Cheshire-Puss,” Alice began… “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where - ” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
” - so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
- From Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

If you have ever wondered why you are feeling some dissatisfaction in your life, perhaps you should re-read the quotation above.  My observation has been that the happiest people I know are those whose “work”, whether it be volunteering, raising a family or holding a job, is helping them to achieve what they most want in life. 

The first step in all of that is making the decision about what one wants.  Second is developing a plan to achieve that goal and third is to put together a system to implement the plan.  It takes all three…or you are wandering like Alice.

If your goal is to buy or sell real estate, we have the plan and the system to help you achieve it.  We call ourselves “Lifestyle Specialists” because the real estate you live or invest in is a key part of your lifestyle.  Call us – we can help you make sure it is taking you where you want to be.

That quote comes from the Arnie movie True Lies. Love that movie! It also applies to our team here. I was diggin through our archives and found this article that Fawn wrote last summer during the Olympics. Even though Kesha has moved on and I am now here, the principle stil applies. We are there for each other as a team meaning our clients never miss out. Someone is always there to make sure that it gets done!

Watching the ongoing Olympics in Athens, the athletes compete, the way they work together and the team spirit that they express, I couldn’t help but think how that related to our real estate team and they way that we work together. 

When a team member on a basketball team is out, the other team members pull together and pick up the responsibilities of the members of the team that could not be with them.  They do not stop playing the game, they do not complain about the extra work, they band together support each other and move on, just as The Johnson Team does when a member is out.

As I am writing Rich and Lylene, two of our most crucial team members are traveling through South East Asia, on a trip of a lifetime through China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.  Something which was made possible through our team approach.  Unlike an agent who works alone, Rich and Lylene are able to leave on trips and not have to worry about who will take care of their business or how the office will run.  They are members of a team, a team who they are confident in and who they know will handle their clients with the same care and respect and they would. 

While they have been on vacation, the team has banded together, Mike & Graham have filled in on listings and showings, Fawn has handled closing issues and Kesha has been sure that everything is in the right place at the right time.  Our Buyer and Sellers were left with the piece of mind that no matter where one member of the team may be at a certain time, there are always five other member of the team working and ready to help them with their needs. 

Who would you want working for you, one player or the whole team?

A few years ago we went on a “recreational outing.”  It was hot and dirty.  There were no restaurants, theatres, television sets or showers.  There was no electricity, running water or telephone service.  The food was minimal and marginal.  Within those constraints we had complete freedom of choice in what we did.  Time didn’t matter because we didn’t have to be anywhere or do anything.  Everything was reduced to basics. It was an incredible experience; we had a wonderful time. I remember that we came back “recreated”.

Our journey started in Denver where we met up with our oldest son. We flew with him to Moab, Utah.  After a day spent 4-wheeling across mesas and down into canyons we were dropped on the banks of the Green River with 2 canoes, 15 gallons of water and the gear we brought with us.  What followed were 5 days of paddling, hiking, talking, sleeping and exploring some magnificent country and interesting ruins.  I left the river feeling strong, cleansed and better able to deal with the issues of my daily life.  It gave me a perspective check that I needed (and that first shower felt absolutely wonderful)!

I remind myself of that trip because I am trying to remember that perspective and step back to those basics when events seem overwhelming, as they sometimes do in a real estate transaction as well as in life.  For us at The Johnson Team, the basis of everything we do is taking care of our people and the bottom line question is always, “What’s good for our client?”�

From the book “Wellsprings of Wisdom” comes this story:

A sturdy but diffident young man asked a farmer for a job as a farm hand.  “What can you do?” inquired the farmer.  “I can do whatever needs to be done, and I can sleep when the wind blows,” replied the applicant.  Although mystified by the phrase “sleep when the wind blows,” the farmer did not press the question but hired the young man.

Some nights later a violent storm awoke the farmer.  He got up and tried unsuccessfully to arouse the farm hand, then with considerable annoyance went out himself to see if all was well.  He found the barn locked, the chicken coop properly closed up, a wagonload of hay covered with a tarpaulin which was securely battened down, and all else in a condition of safety from the elements.  Then the farmer realized what his new farm hand meant when he said, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”

Think how often the storms of life give us a wakeup call.  How many times have those storms caught us with our guard down and our barn unlocked.  The hired hand knew that simple precautions practiced on a daily basis could render impotent the howling winds of uncertainty in life.

Stephen Covey, in his “Seven Habits”, talks about being proactive - heading off problems before they arise.  While the hired hand never read the book, he understood the practice of closing up the chicken coop every evening.   So, how are YOU sleeping when the wind blows? �

This is a story by Patricia Fripp that I came across recently.  With all the news, comment and court cases dealing with ethical issues I thought it was very timely.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City.  My friend and proud father Bobby Lewis was taking his two little boys to play miniature golf.  He walked up to the fellow at the ticket counter and said, “How much is it to get in?”
The young man replied, “$3.00 for you and $3.00 for any kid who is older than six.  We let them in free if they are six or younger.  How old are they?”  Bobby replied, “The lawyer’s three and the doctor is seven so I guess I owe you $6.00.”
The man at the ticket counter said, “Hey, Mister, did you just win the lottery or something?  You could have saved yourself three bucks.  You could have told me that the older one was six; I wouldn’t have known the difference.”  Bobby replied, “Yes, that may be true, but the kids would have known the difference.”

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.” 

In challenging times it is more important than ever to set a good example for everyone with whom you work and live.  At The Johnson Team there is only one way to do things – the right way.  If you need help with real estate issues, call us.  We think you will be glad you did.