Posts Tagged ‘Intero Real Estate Services’

Monday Mojo: My Big Audacious New Year’s Resolution…Easy Does It!!!!

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Today marks the first full week of a New Year and a New Decade. It is an opportunity for a fresh start on whatever it is that we have wanted to accomplish with our health, faith, family, business, and finances. We just need to remember it is the beginning and not the end, so we need to pace ourselves. Don’t let what happened to your last year’s resolutions happen to this year’s resolutions. Be realistic and don’t burn out.

We all have these big audacious things we want to accomplish in life, but remember, if it is really worth doing, it is probably not going to get done in a day, in a week, or in a month.  If it could be done quickly, we probably would have already done it. For the most part, most New Year’s resolutions are life changes we need to make – not day changes, week changes, month changes, or year changes. We need to look at our life or our resolution like running a marathon. We cannot wake up one day after not running our entire life (or for years) and expect that we are going to knock out running 26 ½ miles.  But, if we start small, perhaps with something as easy as a 1 mile walk and build on it, anyone can do it. It is about committing ourselves to something we know we can maintain and building upward – not choosing something that is going to bury us.  It is also important that we have “mini goals” so we are experiencing success/winning along the way to that big audacious goal.

Using the metaphor of running a marathon – start with lightly jogging or walking one mile everyday and over a month or so, build that to lightly jogging 3 miles a day. Then over the next month build it to lightly jogging 3 to 5 miles, then 7 miles, then 10 miles, then…before you know it, if you are consistent, you will be ready to run that 26 ½ mile marathon. You will be accomplishing whatever your Big Audacious Goal is. The coolest thing is once you have that under your belt, can you can begin to imagine what next year’s resolution is going to look like – talk about big and audacious.

Easy does it…

Let’s make 2010 our best year yet!


Cool Apps: Get it TGETHR!

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tgethr_logoWe’ve said it before. Countless times. Online collaboration is great. But sometimes, it’s just harder than nailing Jell-O to a tree. With people spread all over hither and yon, it’s increasingly complex to keep track of things, to collaborate, to simply get things done.

Ever on the lookout for online collaboration tools, we’ve seen some that are pretty neat, but they all require every person on a project to log into a new site and register in order to take advantage. We’re always on the hunt for something simple.

We think we may have found it with TGETHR.

What makes TGETHR different? For starters, it doesn’t make the people on your team take time to learn something new. It functions just like an email distribution group. All anyone needs is a TGETHR email address (though there is a web app available), and all of your communication gets distributed to everyone on the team. Automatically.

One of the things that’s interesting about TGETHR is that it is, sort of, anti high-tech. There are few, if any, bells and whistles. It’s exceedingly straightforward. TGETHR archives anything and everything that gets sent, including attachments, and makes that information searchable at any time. You get an automatic record every bit of communication. A searchable record of all of your projects. Cool, huh?

TGETHR is secure. All of your transmissions are encryptable, so that no one can hack into your projects or other sensitive information. Further, there’s no extra charge for this extra security (unlike with some other programs); encryption is standard with every account.

One of our favorite features of TGETHR is that it works with other web-based services, such as Unfuddle or DropBox, which you may already be using.

TGETHR isn’t fancy. It’s a simple tool that solves a complex problem. It’s straightforward, no-nonsense … it’s simply elegant. Get it TGETHR!


Thursday’s Thoughts on Leadership: High Expectations Lead to High Performance

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Leaders know high expectations lead to high performance. Leaders know that the more people believe in themselves, and their leaders believe in them, the more they will accomplish – at all levels. To ensure that people achieve their best, leaders have to take steps to bring forth the best from others. The first step is setting an expectation of high standards, which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Successful leaders have high expectations, both of themselves and of their charges. It is amazing to see how people react when high expectations are placed on them. If we expect them to succeed, they probably will.

Bob Moles, who has always played a large role in my professional development and success, has always driven me by expecting my absolute best. He expected me to succeed. Where his expectations aligned with my determination and my performance, success followed. Those expectations became my own standard of success and thus they became my own expectations.

I used that as a foundation to set high expectations for everyone at Intero based on the expectations I have of myself. Leaders have to show the way. They cannot point in a direction and ask you to go, they have to take the first steps and ask you to follow. A leaders’ expectations are credible only if they are a reflection of their own record of achievement and dedication, and daily demonstrations of what and how things need to be done.

Leaders recognize the impact of self-fulfilling prophecies. Leaders treat people in a way that bolsters their self confidence, making it possible to achieve more than they may have initially believed possible of themselves.  The German writer Goethe, once penned the line, “Treat a man as he is, he will remain so. Treat a man the way he can be and ought to be, and he will become as he can be and should be.” Success starts with leaders with the vision to set high expectations, it is reached by individuals with the drive to prepare and work hard enough to reach them.


Wednesday Wellness: Trying Something New

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Often in my Wednesday Wellness articles I write about what I see and observe during the week.  I am inspired, almost daily, by someone or something within the routine of what I do.  This past week I’ve noticed a rising number of people who, when they are approaching a workout regiment, are nervous, scared and intimidated.

I realize starting anything new can be daunting, but what I find fascinating is that out of the 8 or so new clients I’ve recently met, they are all very unsure of their potential.  In fact, they set themselves up to fail or to allow themselves to fail.  They are comparing themselves to others and feeling as though they are the only ones who feel they can’t do it.

The irony here is that all 8 feel as though they are the only ones who can’t, but in reality they all CAN, just in their own way.  Who is to say one of us is better than the other at anything?  We all (me too) get so caught up in comparing ourselves to others that we hone in our insecurities and shortcomings.

Since I have the unique pleasure of meeting so many people and being a sounding board for this diversity, I can say with all confidence that we are our own worst critic.

My message here is simple: let go of what you think you cannot do, what you might feel afraid of or what you think someone will judge you as. Take a leap of faith as though no one is noticing your shortcomings and DO IT!  I bet if you pause for a moment, you know someone who is always up for anything and that person is the light that brightens every room!  THAT is what I am truly inspired by…the people who are willing try something new; no matter how they do it!


Intero Cool Apps: SavorChat

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savorchatIt sounds crazy. More than ever before, we are equipped with incredible tools that help spread information and facilitate relationships. Even so, finding a way to assemble all of the people in your network on one network can be a daunting task, to say the least. Like I said: crazy.

Partner A uses one service, Partner B another. The logistics can often be maddening. What we need is something to fortify our social arsenal. Something that would just make things simpler.

Enter SavorChat.

A free, gloriously easy-to-use tool, SavorChat allows you to create chat rooms — as many as you’d like — that are either public or private, to which you can invite anyone. Users can log into the site using either Facebook Connect or oAuth (Twitter’s authentication application). No one needs to create a new account, and everyone is together, chatting and getting about the business of getting business done.

A terrific feature of SavorChat is its privacy settings. In its “stealth mode” you can hide the room from your Facebook and Twitter feeds, in addition to keeping the chat hidden from search engines. Chat rooms can be opened for limited periods of time, or kept open indefinitely. They can be turned on and off as needed, or password protected if you like.

If you need to assemble a group of people for a discussion or last-minute meeting, SavorChat could be just the thing you’re looking for. Easy. Fast. Smart.


Thursday’s Thoughts On Leadership: Leaders aren’t born, they are made

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In last week’s message, I introduced the idea that Intero is a company of leaders. I asked each of you to strive to recognize yourself as a leader. I’m sure some of you responded by thinking, “But, I’m not a leader. I don’t have anyone following me. I don’t manage a company, or an office or even a team. I’m not the leader, it’s just me.” Many of us think this because we are often told, or come to believe that people are born leaders. This may be true in rare instances, but true leadership is not bestowed, it is earned. From whatever position you start from, you can become a leader.

Thomas Watson, the president of IBM from 1914 to 1956 once said, “Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.” This is your challenge for as John C. Maxwell, the renowned leadership expert said, “ninety-nine percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of an organization.”

In everything you do, start with the principal that you alone are responsible for leading the way to a successful 2010. You may in fact be the only one following but that doesn’t diminish your role as a leader, it amplifies it. You set the tone for your own success. You create your business plan and you follow it. You create your goals and you meet them. You create a vision for your success and you alone decide if you attain it. There is no more vital leadership position, even when you turn your head YOU are the only one following.

At Intero, you are surrounded by excellent leaders from which to draw on for experience, motivation and training, but you alone lead your personal success. And in doing so you join the ranks of leaders at Intero.


Enter the New Year With a Light Heart & Body

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Over the last several weeks I took a challenge with a close friend which grew to involve close to 20 more friends. The challenge was to not have added sugar (sweets/ sugary foods) until the Sunday past Thanksgiving day. Since then, this challenge has now stretched to January 1, 2010 (not for all 20, but for many).

The first week wasn’t easy (I love my little chocolate treat daily) but because I had those close to me also committed to the challenge, the team work and accountability made it so much easier. Who wants to nibble at a piece of cookie when you know there are 20 others who are nibbling on a carrot stick because you talked them in to it?!!

The idea behind this was to begin (or now to “end”) the holiday season with strength and ending the year as healthy as possible; a metaphor of sorts towards how I want to enter into 2010. Although the holidays are fun, exciting, loving and special, the word “stress” and “indulgence” are at the forefront of the month of December. Carving out how to take care of yourself so you feel strong and healthy is vital towards enjoying the real tradition of the season. Not just running from obligation to obligation.

Think about it; if you can go through this next month staying (or becoming) healthier, you’ll have stepped in to a New Year feeling stronger than past years! You will be 10 steps ahead of where you were last year and you’ll have an amazing sense of accomplishment in respecting your body and your inner strength.

Your challenge doesn’t have to be no “sweets” (course, you know you have a strong group rooting for you if you DO choose that)! It can be anything which in past years has caused you to feel worse when the New Year turns the corner.

If you decide to try this, announce it and know others believe in you and will help you when you struggle! These commitments don’t have to be forever. But testing your willpower will help you give love back to your body and your spirit so you can focus on the other matters of the season which help you enter the New Year with a light heart – and body!


Monday Morning Mojo: Be One of the Few to Have the Best Things in Life

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I want this…

I want that…

I want to look like…

I want my relationship with _____ to be…

I want my bank account to be…

I want my job to…

I want my health to be…

I want my weight to be…

I want my life to be…

I don’t care where we are in life, in business, in health, in faith, in relationships, in our bank account. I think we are always looking for ways to make it better – right?  As we head into the holiday’s and start thinking about how next year is going to be different, and how we are going to get more of what we want, here is what we all need to remember.  The best things in life are hard to get and require a lot of discipline and accountability to get them otherwise everyone would have them.

Earlier this week I was talking with a buddy of mine who had just gotten back from the doctor and was a bit rattled with how high his blood pressure and cholesterol was.  He is about to turn 55 and his father had passed away at the young age of 56 from a heart attack. Here is what I shared with him - this applies to anything in life, not just your health.

“Big Man – 12 months from now, let’s see you at 175 lbs., with a 170 cholesterol, and your blood pressure at 110/75 – on no medication and no booze. You will be inspiring your children, inspiring your family, inspiring your friends, and inspiring the world! Remember the best things in life are hard to get otherwise everyone would have them – be one of the few that does. Work hard on this and you will find a peace and success you never thought was possible.

Trust me – I know firsthand. Remember when I weighed 210 with my cholesterol level at 310, 180/110 blood pressure – I was stressed-out, frustrated, and unhappy.  I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THAT! Unfortunately most people live their whole life like that and never experience the freedom and relief.  Don’t be one of them, be one of the few. JUST DO IT!”


What would you do for one million dollars?

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If you were paid $1 million to put on 100 pounds, would you do it?

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been curious about this question and have asked about a dozen people of all walks of fitness and health what their answer would be. 

What I have found interesting, is those who are fit, and/or who have fought hard to get in shape immediately said no to this question – without a moment of hesitation. 

Those who weren’t in shape and hadn’t made their fitness a priority – but of course wished they were in better shape – said yes. Without delay each person continued to say how they would spend part of the money hiring the right people to help them lose the weight. Although, they don’t do it now.

I found it fascinating that the decision was so split down the middle.

Those who said no realized the value of balance and health and what this dangerous act would do to their bodies. It’s not simply a matter of putting on weight then losing weight. It’s a matter of what happens to the inside of our bodies when we stress it out. There is a potential to develop diabetes, high cholesterol, oxidation and a plethora of other ailments. 

It also deteriorates our momentum, our self-love and our mental attitude. 

One of my trainers expressed that he works with so many people, day-in and day-out, who treasure their fitness gains. Each get exhilarated when they’re able to bench mark what they have accomplished – he couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to reverse this momentum.

I’m sharing with you, the day before Thanksgiving, the day before one of the biggest eating days of the year – to consider how important your health is to you, and what you are willing to do in order to keep your body and mind young and in amazing shape. 

Enjoy the Spirit of the Day!


Intero Cool Apps: Check Into Highrise!

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HighrisePracticing real estate, especially if you’re just starting out, can be an expensive venture. Even if you’ve been in the game for some time, economic pressures are forcing almost everyone to make cutbacks and try to save money wherever possible. When you’re trying to invest and build your business, however, making those cutbacks, while saving you money in the short term, can often hurt in the long term.

Fortunately, cutting costs doesn’t always mean sacrificing quality, because there is Highrise.

Brought to us by the same innovators who have given us top notch products like Basecamp, Backpack and Campfire, Highrise is a web-based tool that can help take your business to the next level … inexpensively.

The perfect balance between your address book and full-fledged CRM software, Highrise strives to simplify customer & client management. With Highrise, your team can share information on your contacts, leads and clients without missing a beat. Review a colleague’s notes before contacting your a new client; make sure you’re up to speed. Make sure you’re following up with those who need your attention. Set reminders to take care of small or large tasks later on. Monitor ALL of your communications with any given client or vendor. Do it simply.

With Highrise, you won’t fumble with questions when your clients call. You’ll know who spoke with them last, you’ll know what was said. You’ll have all of the information right in front of you because Highrise is web-based and goes where you go. It brings all of the small details together in one place, so that you can make sense of everything.

Highrise isn’t just easy, it’s inexpensive. There’s a free trial period, and monthly subscriptions cost as little as $24 per month, which makes it easy for independent agents and small teams to manage their businesses every bit as easily as larger firms.

In real estate, as in any business, good business means being prepared. It means staying in touch.

Check into Highrise today. You’ll love the view.