Posts Tagged ‘Intero Real Estate Services’

Wednesday Wellness: Longer Days

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December 21 was the official Winter Solstice.  What this means is that during a calendar year, the 21st was the “shortest day” in terms of daylight hours of any other day during that year.

June 21 is the day known as the Summer Solstice.  Exactly 6 months later and this day determines the “longest” day of the year (or the day with the most hours of sunlight).

On or around the 27th of December this past month, I made the comment to someone that we are on the upswing to longer days.  He laughed and said that was so far away, how could I call longer days as getting closer when we are only gaining a minute or two each day, if that!

The reality is although you barely notice longer days on a day to day basis, in 5-6 months from now, we will wake up to sunlight and some of us will even go to sleep when the sun is barely setting (in Alaska, this is true for sure). This analogy is similar to our goals!

If we look at the steps we take, day to day, sometimes it seems we are only “inching” forward; gaining only a minute or two each day towards our aspirations and we can get easily frustrated.

However, if we fast forward to 6 months from now and are diligent in the goals we desire, the difference is phenomenal!

Let’s say you want to reduce your waistline; instead of going on a cleanse, detoxing and not eating for 5 days, consider replacing one of your “usual” meals each day with a colorful healthy salad, or replace the 3 pm candy with an apple.

Or, instead of running to the gym after being sedentary for the last 10 months and working out for 90 min 7 days a week until you are so sore and exhausted you wait another 10 months to go back, try adding in a routine of an extra 15 minutes every day…creating more dynamic workouts as the months go by!

As you are creating your goals for 2010, each day might seem like a baby step…but take them because by summer you won’t recognize yourself and you’ll be climbing stairs…literally!


What Is So Special About Leaders?

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What is so special about leaders? Do we ever really stop to ask ourselves this question? There are a million different responses, but consider this one … they bring out the best in us. Leaders recognize what is possible before we do. They recognize the potential in an individual and perhaps more importantly, they know how to bring it to the surface.

Consider, Joe Montana. We all know how his story ends, but do you know how it started? As a freshman at Notre Dame in 1974, Montana was the seventh string quarterback. The following year Dan Devine, the newly hired coach stated to his wife after being impressed by Montana’s performance during training: “I’m gonna start Joe Montana in the final spring game.”  When she replied, “Who’s Joe Montana?” Devine said: “He’s the guy who’s going to feed our family for the next few years.” Today we all recognize what Dan Devine recognized in that spring training game in 1975. It is a difficult task to find six better quarterbacks in the history of football than Joe Montana, much less on one college football team. It took a leader with vision to see that.

Montana did go on to have a very good college career at a highly regarded college program, yet when he entered the NFL draft in 1979 he was once again overlooked. He was selected in the third round by the San Francisco Forty-Niners because Bill Walsh, like Dan Devine before him, recognized the potential that everyone else missed.

Walsh knew that in Montana he had found the perfect understudy to lead his team and execute his plans. As Montana related years later in the foreword to the book, The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership, “He (Walsh) had in his mind this ideal – an image of perfect football – couple with the nuts-and-bolts details of how to accomplish it, which he then taught … the place you dreamed of but didn’t know you could reach? Bill Walsh taught me how to reach it. He taught all of us how to reach it.”

I do not have any doubts that Montana believed he could make it in the NFL, but having a leader like Walsh who believed he could be one of the best ever played a vital role in Montana achieving that status. When others see potential in our abilities and they believe in us, and they reinforce that belief every day through their interactions with us, we are strongly influenced by that support. Our Chairman, Bob Moles played that role for me. If the potential exists within us, it will come out when a leader takes the time to bring us along.


Cool Apps: Stay Connected With LogMeIn

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logmeinWhen you’re working from home, you have access to all of your passwords, your networks…everything is AOK. Hunky dory, even. But sometimes, we’re away from home or the office, for any one of a multitude of reasons, and suddenly, things aren’t so straightforward.

When you’re away from your own computer, you might be faced with some serious firewall challenges or other security issues. Let’s face it: remote access is tricky.

There is an answer.

Let’s talk about LogMeIn. LogMeIn is a 100% free site that provides solutions for remote control, file sharing, systems management, data backup, business collaboration and on-demand customer support of PCs, servers, MACs, smartphones (iPhones, BlackBerrys, Pres, etc.)

With LogMeIn, you can access your personal computer and all of its resources over the web. You can access your desktop from your iPhone, no matter where you are. You can create virtual, peer-to-peer networks. You can control your PC or MAC remotely from any web browser. You can back up your files and important data, so that you are always in control, and so you won’t lose anything, even if something happens to your computer.

Cool, right?

Even cooler is the price. LogMeIn is completely, totally and, in all other ways, free. The only time you have to pay them is when you want to sync files across machines or do remote printing. When compared to other services like this, many of which charge $20 for each computer you use (this can really start to add up after a while), LogMeIn does it for free.

LogMeIn isn’t flashy. It isn’t exciting. What it is, however, is dead useful and practical. It’s a great service to have in your arsenal for those times when the unexpected rears its ugly head. For those times when you’ve left your laptop behind and you suddenly need access to your computer.

Check it out today. You never know when you might need it.


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!