My Highest and Best

I'm in the process of studying and completing some continuing education hours, required by Florida for me to renew my broker's license. I woke up this morning with some thoughts in mind and the phrase 'highest and best' in my mind.
As a real estate agent, I make it my business to know when new properties enter the market for sale. Especially vacant land. I have some developers that are currently seaching for projects. So if some vacant land becomes available, I make it my job to find out everything I can about that land. I may go to the zoning department and find out what the land is zoned for, what is not only possible but what they feel is a good use for that land. I can then present this research to my clients. This process is called finding the 'highest and best' use for the vacant land.

My thoughts concerning that phrase today really has nothing to do with vacant land, developers, or even real estate, but rather more about life and how I spend the days of my life. Business has been steadily increasing, and I find our days increasingly filled with long lists of "to-do's" or what I would rather call "ta-da's". But if you've been in business for very long, you have already discovered the tremendous difference between being busy, and being productive.

Maybe a better way to go about my day and put first things first, is to look at my agenda with the phrase 'highest and best' in my mind. What am I going to do today that is going to be the highest and best use of my time and energy? Then maybe I should organize my list in that fashion. Being a real estate agent, it's very easy to get caught up in mindless and unproductive activity.

Has your office become more of a social club instead of a work environment? Are there too many luncheons, social gatherings, or classes on your schedule? Do you set specific hours of the day to call past clients, send cards, or blog? Or has your daily life become one of going, going, going...and never accomplishing much? Do you find yourself exhausted day after day, but your business has not increased?

As I am thinking about writing this blog, I started thinking of more ways I can use 'highest and best' to make my life better and have more meaning. What about applying this to other areas of my life? Spending time with loved ones, for example. It's not about the quantity of time that you spend with your family, but the quality of time. Are the 3-4 hours of your evening filled with 'highest and best' memories, or do you spend them scattered about doing different things, or watching mindless hours of television?

I'm making it a priority to make some changes in my own schedule, business, and personal life. I've spent some time re-evaluating my days and waking hours and noting several changes that need to be made. I'm going to look over the past few weeks, and the upcoming weeks, and decide what is the 'highest and best' use of my time and energy. I'm going to decide what activities are going to help me earn the most money for my efforts, and what will feed my soul and help others. And I'm not going to be afraid to make some serious changes. I am challenging myself to make my life better.

Take the challenge with me!

What's Happening on 30A?

Are statistics exciting or what? To some, me included, it is like watching grass grow,

unless it happens to be about a subject dear to my heart or perhaps my wallet. Recently there has been a lot of buzz in the area about how the market is going up and the doom and gloom is over. With that in mind I decided it was time to just take a look at the facts and see where things stand. The area that I am concentrating on is the roughly 18 miles of the Hwy. 30A corridor. I am comparing the first 2 quarters of 2012 to the same period in 2011 (January 1 to June 30th). These numbers were generated from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors and do not include properties that were handled outside of that format.

These are simply the facts and I will let you draw your own conclusions, but I do have a couple of observations. It is apparent that sales activity is up as far as single family homes and residential land is concerned. Prices are also up in those 2 categories with 5.6% in price per square foot for homes and 10% for residential land. Time will tell if these increases are sustainable. Condominiums are a different matter, while sales have gone down the prices have gone up 7.3%. It's possible sales have been affected by the financial market. Condominium mortgages continue to be problematic. Well, the grass has grown a little since you've been contemplating this information. I hope you find it useful and welcome any suggestions you may have for additional research on this topic that affects all of our wallets.

*Statistics were compiled by Hugh Smith of Beachy Beach Real Estate, using data provided by the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors.

Congrats on a Great Closing!

Congratulations to Cathy & Jeff....

Another great closing here in paradise. I'd have to say of all the closings I've had in my 15 year career, these folks were some of the nicest and most accommodating to the ups and downs of getting a deal done.

I don't know who was happier today when I handed them the keys to their very own beach home getaway. I just wanted to jump up and down with excitement for them, knowing how excited they were to be able to pack the car and head to the beach for the weekend to their own home. As I mentioned in my last post, this is what life is all about. Taking time to enjoy your life and relax sometimes in between our busy schedules is necessary for our physical and mental health.

If you have been thinking about a beach home getaway of your very own...give me a call. You'll be glad you did!

Slow Down Nellie!

For some reason my desperate need for a day off and beachtime has caused me to think about life and question the meaning of recent events. Or maybe because it's Spring Break here in Paradise. The traffic is heavy and everyone is in a hurry. In a hurry...to have fun?

Did you ever take a moment and wonder why life is so busy? Why is everyone in such a hurry, as if life as we know it will end if we don't accomplish some task by a certain deadline? Who is making the rules? Why do we allow ourselves to over-commit to others and not over-commit to ourselves?

There have been times in my life when I was forced to stop. Illness is something we don't want to deal with. We are too busy to be sick. But when we push ourselves to the point of utter exhaustion our bodies can become the obstacle that stops us from moving forward. Patience has never been an endearing quality of mine, but there have been times in my life when I had absolutely no choice in the matter. I was forced to stop, like it or not, and wait for healing. At the time, I thought life would end. I would never make it through. But looking back on it now, it really wasn't that long. It was 'doable'. I learned from it.

Sometimes things happen in our lives that make us change the way we think about what's important. People who have near death experiences relate that suddenly their perceptions change and life slows down just a bit. Spending more time with family and friends and enjoying life becomes a little more important than getting that next big deal.

If I live to be 100, I don't think I will regret not making one more phone call or one more appointment for my job or other commitments that is outside of taking care of myself and my family. It's important to remember that life is not a guarantee. It's here now, but in a moment it can be gone. There are no promises of tomorrow. Let's live in the moment!

I'm about to close a deal on a fantastic beach home for some special people from Georgia. They are so excited that in a very short time they will have a little beach home of their very own to come to anytime they choose. This is a great example of people who realize that taking a little time off for 'me' time is very important. It's the way things should be. It makes us better people, better friends, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. After all, if we don't slow down and take care of ourselves, how can we help anyone else?

We've got some great deals on beach getaways. If you've been considering it, don't wait! Properties are going fast and prices are on the rise. The bottom has come and gone in Panama City Beach. 

Take a little time off and come feel the sand between your toes. We'll be waiting for you!

Inspiring Others

A friend of mine is going through a rough time. He lost his job, his unemployment ran out and now he is losing his home. He calls me often for 'pep talks' and to help him figure out what to do. Today, it was a different conversation and I thought I would share it, with hopes that it may help someone else in a similar situation.

Years ago, I would always call my family or close friends when I was going through a crises. I would explain all my problems and cry on their shoulders. But I learned that doing that really doesn't help or solve anything. It's not that people don't care about you or love you. But everyone else has their own issues in life to deal with. And at best, they usually can only offer you opinions. Then you will find that if you don't follow their suggestions, they become irritated with you and wonder why you even asked them to listen in the first place. Dennis Waitley says " Never tell other people your problems, because 80% of them don't care, and the other 20% are glad you have them".

What I have found is that the answers we need are usually inside ourselves. We either don't want to listen to our inner self,  or we are looking for an 'easy out' and there usually is no such thing. One of the reasons we cannot decide what to do is that we are not listening. We fill up our ears with music, television, and other noise every minute we are awake and then we wonder why God doesn't answer us.
There's a verse in the Bible that says, "Be Still, and know that I am God.".  I've discovered that it's only in the quiet times that we can 'hear' God, and 'hear' the inner voice of our souls for the answers and ideas to solve our problems.

Last year when I was going through some very major changes in my life, I spent many hours sitting alone on the beach being quiet. No phone, no music, and no company. It still amazes me how I literally saw God speak to me through the smallest of things. It's where I got my best ideas, my focus, and healing for my heart and my spirit. This is where God showed me that He was with me, and guiding me. And He did it in the most insignificant way that I am sure no one else on the beach saw it but me. That's what made it so special.

My 'pep talk' today for my friend was for him to go and find a quiet, peaceful place with a pad and pen. To pray and meditate and let the answers come. Make a list of things to do and ideas that come to mind. Then take action, even a small step forward will provide a sense of accomplishment that the train is now moving in the right direction.

Everyone has people in their life that cares about them. But when it's all said and done no one is going to take care of you, but you.  If you don't take charge of your life, no one else will. If you don't create your own plan and take action on it, no one else will do it for you. 'Put yourself first' is a phrase that really doesn't mix with well with 'think about others', and 'it's not all about YOU'. However, if you don't take care of yourself first, you have nothing to offer anyone else.

 

After my morning pep talk with my friend, I put on my short pants & flip flops. I grabbed my camera and headed off for a brisk walk on the beach in the sunshine. I too, have a busy day and a full schedule. But I figure, if I can't take 30 minutes from this day and have personal time to meditate and listen....then I am just too busy.

~~ENJOY your day!