Real Clues

[RealClues] #277: Stress

This week at LuxuryClues.com: The most expensive FSBO ever; "16 Minutes" Interviews "Red Pin" (an in-your-face parody on YouTube.com of the 60 Minutes Interview); pitfalls in custom building; and the search for the perfect big screen television.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. CoachingClues: Strategies to Reduce Your Stress
2. Welcome Notes: Memorial Day: A Time to Remember
3. Reprise: Nine Secrets of Earning a Full Commission
4. Create a Better Life: Save Gas, Save Time, and Save Money with Virtual Caravans
5. Featured Products:
*SNEAK PRVIEW of our new subscription program: Get the Listing Every Time Teleclass
* Our Loss is Your Gain
6. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
7. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter
8. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. CoachingClues: Four Strategies to Reduce Your Stress
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're feeling stressed out by the market and by the constant time crunch we all face, it's time to shift gears and dump the stress that you are experiencing.

1. Eliminate "Time"
Several weeks ago, I noticed how often I was saying that, "I don't have enough time to..." It appeared everywhere in my emails, it turned up constantly in my conversations, and I felt completely stressed out.

When I noticed how often I was commenting about how busy I was and how little time I had, I decided to do an experiment. For two weeks, I did my best to totally eliminate the word "time" from my vocabulary. The results have been nothing less than remarkable. When I kept affirming how little time I had, I was creating a great deal of stress for myself. By eliminating the word "time" and by stopping the references to how much I have to do, my stress level has dropped by almost 90 percent. Even more surprising, I was accomplishing more due to the reduction in the stress that I was experiencing.

2. Be Careful What You Ask For
The first time I heard about "Attraction," was at Coach University in 1996. One of the most important aspects of attraction is to have clarity about what you want to attract. Recently, I was feeling overwhelmed about all the work I had committed to do on top of building a new house and selling our existing home. I kept complaining that I needed a break from the hectic pace. I also didn't want to deal with the upcoming move. The old adage about, "Be careful what you asked for," kicked in when I broke my arm. As my husband drove me home from the emergency room, he said, "I guess you got the break you've been asking for." I had no choice but to slow down and take time off. I also was unable to help with the move.

3. Clearly State What You Want to Accomplish During Each Segment of Your Day
Not long after I broke my arm, several good friends told me I had to read Esther and Jerry Hicks' book, "The Law of Attraction." While some people may find the metaphysical aspects of their book to be controversial, their model provides an interesting approach for reducing your stress.

According to the Hicks, the constant onslaught of new information causes most of us to shut down. We lack focus, which creates a state of confusion. The result is that we spend our lives reacting rather than deliberately creating what happens to us. In fact, multi-tasking is simply a symptom that we are moving through our lives without focus and without deliberate intent.

The solution is to notice the key activities you engage in each day and to deliberately focus on what you want to accomplish during that activity. For example, if you are driving to an appointment, think about arriving safely on time before you put your key in the ignition. Once you reach your destination, focus on what you want to say and how you would like your clients to receive you. Do this throughout your day. The result is that you eliminate much of the background noise that serves only to increase your stress. Narrowing your focus will help you to be more effective. It will also greatly reduce your stress.

4. See What Is Pleasant to You
The Hicks argue that our thoughts are like magnets. If we focus on the bad news that surrounds us, we increase the probability of attracting more bad news. From a psychological perspective, this is simply a matter of what your brain (i.e. the Reticular Activating System) allows into your cortex. For example, if you buy a new car, you will immediately start to notice all the other people who are driving the same model that you are driving. You didn't notice these cars until you made your purchase. The same is true with bad news. When you pay attention to the negative events, you will tend to notice other negative events as well. When you consciously choose to focus on the positive events, you will experience more events that are positive.

The Hicks recommend that you focus on what is pleasing to you. If something makes you feel unhappy, sad, or angry, replace that negative thought with one that is pleasing to you. You can do this by listening to a song that makes you feel good, anticipating something pleasant in the future, or recalling a happy memory. The Hicks also argue that those who speak about prosperity attract prosperity. Those who talk about on illness experience illness. Those who focus on violence attract violence. In each situation we face we have a choice. You can reduce your stress by focusing on what is positive or you can increase your stress by focusing on the negative.

I have been playing with this approach for the last couple of weeks and my aggravation level has increased dramatically, especially when I'm driving. If you want to reduce your stress, this can be a great place to start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. Welcome Notes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to our new subscribers this week. Each week RealClues provides you with great strategies to improve both your business and your life. If you find this issue of RealClues helpful, take a moment to hit the "forward" button and send it to another friend in the business.

I've spent the last two days reviewing the rough cuts of the video from our Really Awesome Women in Real Estate Conference. We'll have these available for sale shortly and they are truly remarkable. Everyone who attended agreed that the conference was nothing less than magical. In fact, a number of us met at NAR a week ago and virtually everyone who attended said it was a life changing experience. The one thing that virtually all of our participants at the Really Awesome Women Conference shared was their commitment to giving back to their community.

Memorial Day is a time for us to recall both current and past generations who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we share. It's an excellent time to give back to others, whether it's those whose families are serving in the military, a lonely senior, or children who are in foster care. Even if you can only spend an hour of your time, it is certainly well worth it.

Two years ago, I suggested that an excellent way to say thank you to a family whose son or daughter is serving in the military, was to link them up on a conference call. For $30.00 you can provide them with a one-hour teleconference line that can accommodate up to 30 people through our sister company www.TeleconferenceLine.com. Visit that website for details. This is also a great resource for conducting first time buyer seminars or other types of conference calls.

Have a great week!

Warmly, Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC
www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.RossdalePress.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com, and www.TeleconferenceLine.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. Reprise: Nine Secrets of Earning a Full Commission
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top performers usually earn full commissions. What makes them different from agents who cannot persuade sellers to list at full commission? This article unlocks nine secrets to earning the full commissions that you deserve.

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art20050523.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. Create a Better Life: Save Gas, Save Time,
and Save Money with Virtual Caravans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This article first ran in 2004 when the gas prices spiked up to almost $3.00 a gallon. These days, those numbers are looking a lot better than the $4.00 people are paying in places like California. If you want to cut back on the time you spend previewing your office listings, this article has a great strategy to help you not only be more efficient, but to save you money on gas as well.

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art20040119.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Featured Products
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SNEAK PREVIEW of our NEW subscription program:
Sign up today for our sneak preview "Get the Listing Every Time." You can listen to this at any time by first clicking on the link, filling out the simple form, and open the link. This one hour class will show you how to get more listings at the right price. What are you waiting for--there's no obligation. Check it out for yourself and watch for details about our new membership program coming in June!

http://www.profcs.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=35347&ProductID=3508879

*Our Loss Is Your Gain
While we're eagerly awaiting the move into our new place, we're cramped because were in temporary quarters. We have about 20 manuals from our Market and Prospect for Real Estate Like Crazy program. (The CDs have sold out and we're updating the content.) The manuals are packed with great information and ninety-five percent of the content is still on target. What's not up-to-date are the technology recommendations. The original program retailed for $299.00. To clear these out, we're making a special offer of $20.00 (plus S & H) for the manual only. To order, click here:

http://www.profcs.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=35347&ProductID=3574111

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking for a well-trained coach who knows the real estate business? Our coaching team can help you increase your production and make your dreams come true! Send an e-mail to Shane@RealEstateCoach.com and we'll help find the right coach for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Give Us Your Feedback On This Newsletter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We want your feedback-to share your thoughts and suggestions, please e-mail us at Shane@RealEstateCoach.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Visit our Web site, http://www.RealEstateCoach.com to subscribe/unsubscribe to RealClues.

Copyright (c) 1996-2007, RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute RealClues as long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the contributors to this newsletter is attached.

Contributors to this newsletter:
Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC, Owners, www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com; www.RossdalePress.com; and www.TeleconferenceLine.com
Shane Bowlin, REC General Manager

GIVE A GIFT TO A FRIEND!

Please forward RealClues to your friends and colleagues, since your recommendation is how we grow. Anyone can subscribe to RealClues by visiting http://www.RealEstateCoach.com and signing up! To cancel, visit the Web site and simply cancel your subscription.