Real estate peeps will definitely enjoy this! Thanks to my Associate Broker Student Jennifer K. for sharing! Feel free to pass it on!
Category Archives: Just for Fun
You can be a star!
Are you a happy alumni of a real estate course?
The Real Estate Learning Group is soliciting feedback about their courses and instructors–ideally from folks who would be willing to participate in a short video testimonial.
Thanks to technology and editing, we can even promise to make you look good and you’ll get final approval of the results.
If you’ve taken a course and loved it (and me!), let’s talk about it! We have several options ranging from recorded video and audio to written testimonials with a photo.
I know you’re busy with real estate transactions, so we’ll even mention your agency if that’s okay. Somebody once said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity!”
If you can spare a few minutes and are interested, just let me know! We’ll make it easy and fun! Questions are welcomed!
“I have to give a huge shout out to our teacher Walter. He thoroughly knows his material and the way he explains things makes is much clearer than reading from a book alone. He went above and beyond to assist in areas I was struggling with and was extremely prompt on answering emails. He also was very encouraging. I am not sure I have had a more sincere, encouraging well informing teacher in my life.”
Happy New…?
My favorite quote from Anne of Green Gables expresses one of Anne’s important discoveries.
“Every day is a new day with no mistakes in it.”
Anne Shirley
If we are kindred spirits, dare we say the same of every year?
“Every year is a new year with no mistakes in it!”
Walter Boomsma
I suspect that some have already added “yet” to my version of the quote. Rationalizing that I’m a realist, I was tempted myself. After all, when we look ahead, we also tend to look backward too. As one year ends and another begins, media outlets will write “the year in review,” and some will sing “Auld Lange Syne,” perhaps without pausing to wonder who or what it means. (It’s Scottish in origin, suggesting “let’s drink to days gone by…,” certainly an appropriate toast for the beginning of a new year. )
Now I don’t mean to mix drinking and driving but I would call your attention to the fact that rearview mirrors are a lot smaller than windshields. That says something about perspective. Where should we focus?
Taken to another extreme, I’d offer another favorite quote–I heard it years ago in a presentation by Joel Weldon, a highly respected motivational speaker best known for his “Success Comes in Cans” presentations.
“Jet pilots don’t use rearview mirrors.”
Joel Weldon
The truth is ultimately somewhere in both the past and the present. The world won’t magically change when the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve. I’ve long ago given up waiting for that magical moment with party hats, noisemakers, champagne, off-key singing, hugging, and kissing.
Thanks to COVID-19, there definitely won’t be much hugging and kissing this year. I understand singing is also not recommended.
The challenge with using a rearview mirror is that it’s easy to fall into a “subtractive” mindset, romanticizing what was and what we miss. Almost without realizing it, we forget about the windshield. If you can stand another quote–this one not so famous–I’ll share the background first. It’s from an old television program. A distraught man was sharing his feelings with his therapist while pacing around the room. He happened to stop in front of the window.
“I just realized what my problem is… I’ve been looking in the mirror when I should have been looking out the window.”
Anonymous Mental Health Patient
So I’m not going to ask you about your resolutions–that’s looking out the windshield. I’m not going to ask you what was the best thing that happened to you–that’s looking in the rearview mirror. I won’t even wish you a happy new year.
I will ask you to do this. Remember that life is not just about where you’ve been or where you’re going. It’s not just about what’s happened to you or what’s going to happen to you. Life is about being and this year, with its uncertainties and unknowns, “being” is what life is about.
Celebrate that!
Sticks and stones
Steve and Savannah are back! After posting and discussing their video performance of “Hope,” we discovered that we share a mutual interest in resilience as a way to reduce bullying. Their song “Sticks and Stones” makes the point that words can hurt more than sticks and stones. Getting people to understand that is a form of resilience!
A couple of resources
I did share this on Mr. Boomsma’s Facebook Page and have had some good feedback… “sheltering in place” (or whatever we call it) is particularly hard on teens. Parents may find this site helpful!
I have always been a fan of the JED Foundation… you’ll find links elsewhere on the site. They’ve recently announced a new project based on the truth that
“Love is louder than the distance between us.”