Gary Woltal's Blog

Our financial markets continue to get pummeled of late. I hate to keep sounding pollyannaish but life is more than about money. Sure money is important for stability in our lives. But so are people. I just see the world so different than most. Some starving kid in Africa who might have a smile on his face today has no care in the world or even knows what the Dow Jones Industrial Average is. So just pause for a little while with housing woes, with financial market troubles, etc.

Think about people. Those in your family. Those around you. Those in the world. If you are looking for happiness. Look into the eyes of other people. There is plenty of happiness to go around if we will just share of ourselves. Share what little or what abundant happiness YOU have with others. It goes a long way into making the world a better place.

In the news media related to housing and the financial markets some have told me to NOT watch the evening news. Usually I'm too busy with MANY other things to watch much TV but I sampled it for the first ten minutes the other night and concluded

       WE DON'T NEED NO MORE STINKIN' PROBLEMS !!!

If you recall the Etch a Sketch from many years ago, problems may be thought of as horizontal and vertical lines all over the screen. This toy from 1960 was the first laptop if you will. So simple. But for my highly intellectual little kid self, I could NEVER get those curved lines to come out right like the pictures on the box. Something was rigged. So our problems that come in waves seemingly every day now need one thing the Etch a Sketch was famous for. When it got to be a big MESS you shook it side to side. And guess what? A clean slate.

What our leaders need to do nationally and we need to do within our families is go back with a fresh approach to problems we can control and address.

If budgets need to be looked at do that. If second or new jobs need to be looked at do that.

Above all, problems CAN and WILL be solved. We just don't need any more of them now, thank you very much. One problem I solved with not having a bad attitude is using that OFF switch on the TV.

We're off to see the Wizard...

Telescopes and Microscopes and Focus, Oh My...

In the deluge of never ending bad news in the business marketplace, how is a buyer or a seller, a Realtor or a Stager, a Loan Officer or Title Company Officer, supposed to make heads or tails of business OR life for that matter?

As they say in the game of football when your team has started off the season 0-6 and you still have dreams for the Super Bowl, the brilliant coach will come out with something like, "We've got to get back to the fundamentals. We've got to get back to the basics."

Most often when we get off course, and feel adrift, we lose sight of the very tools we've had all along with us. Namely a telescope and a microscope. OK, so you weren't too much into that Astronomy or Biology thing in high school or college. But roll with me on this one. Your telescope represents knowing your big picture. Your vision. Your grand plan. It is your wide focus, your canvas.

With the "big picture" in mind, first off does that big picture fit today's circumstances? If not zero in on another galaxy.

The microscope is for refining the focus in the details area. Looking at the hind legs on a flea. What are your priorities? What three things must you do today? Eliminate distractions to concentrate. Say yes and no decisively. See incrementally, like building blocks how you step by step head toward the goal of your big picture.

You've had your telescope and microscope with you all the time. Maybe the lenses needed cleaning. Maybe they were up on the shelf. Dust them off and practice your focusing skills.

Get back to using these tools of focus and be the mad scientist the world has been waiting to see. In this economy it probably doesn't hurt to be a mad scientist and try things others don't expect. Above all have confidence that you will find clarity. Do not lose heart ever. Remember you are the best YOU the world will ever know. Show them that person.

The world has been tough lately in business and on Wall Street and in government. You could search for answers or try to optimize your website but

You Make Your Way Through Life not with Google but with Goggles.

It takes courage. Michael Phelps, eight time Olympic gold medal winner dove into the water on one of his races. His goggles slipped off his eyes. He couldn't see where he was going to turn. This is about courage when things go bad.

This was the Olympics for God sakes. Michael knew EXACTLY how many strokes were for each lap at his highly conditioned pace. He took the splash of the water in stride. He did not panic. The hell with Google. It is all about the goggles. First acknowledge that it is crappy, life is unfair. Second, suck it up and start swimming like hell. You trained for this your whole life. And no slipped goggles are going to stop your quest to finish strong. You are a champion. Laugh in the face of annoyance. Be strong.

So next time life throws a sideways splash in your direction, first off LAUGH, second off remember this funny photo, and third and most importantly get busy and know you will get through this with your plan. You can do it. You only have a few laps to go and you'll STILL get your gold. Despite whatever life throws at you.

With the recent days of turmoil in the financial markets, viewing the levels of greed on Wall Street, and trying to figure out what this all means to our fragile economy and the housing market, it is easy to get disillusioned by the actions of others. Many are not leaders. Many do not set good examples. Many have selfish tendencies.

But the inherent nature of man is to be good. We do need to find leaders not managers that lead us in positive directions, caring for others, and the welfare of society. The examples seen of late do not show our best side.

Individually, I've always believed we ALL have so much further to go to hit our full potential.

                          WE ALL NEED TO UNLEASH THE INNER GREATNESS WITHIN US.

Look around to nature to take a cue. From tiny seed do glorious flowers bloom. From changing seasons, even when dying, rich colors emerge. The cold winds of winter with its barreness yield to the greenery emerging in the warm breezes of spring. Summer's warmth brings out the laughing and playing of little children playing in the ocean, lakes, or pools. Nature is FULL of glory.

The greatness buried within each of us is like a little spark to start a fire. The flame just needs to fanned into a passion in our lives. We need to move on to achieving more than before. This fanning comes from the encouragement of each other. Some days you are down. Some days it is my turn to be uplifted. We all need to continuously be talking and hugging each other.

We can be anything and everything we want to be. That spark starts within. It starts with just one thought. Work along your journey to continually grow your inner flame to release that inner greatness upon the world. Do not let the doom and gloom and negativity about you sway you off your track. Find out what works for you and surround yourself with others that are positive. In this kind of environment your inner greatness, like that spring flower, will bloom and show all that color you have to give to the world.

I don't know how many times in recent days with the bank and lending institution bailout or rescue plan, whatever you wanted to call it, how often the masses in the public said whatever we do, we can't reward the "fat cats" or give them huge executive parting gifts in terms of bonuses for ruining companies and lives.

While that may be entirely true the vindictiveness of the thought reminded me that there are many people out there who are so money bound they just turn plain "mean" over time. We don't need more fat cats or mean people for sure. What we need are Karate Bears.

           KARATE BEARS KILL WITH KINDNESS.

In the martial art of Karate, there is much discipline and control of what you are trying to do. Think of inside your karate outfit is a loveable bear. Within resides the "power of nice." People who are trying to take care of you. Have your best interest at heart. Are "methodically" working, say in the loan profession or real estate, to "get you the best deal." They are loveable to you. You actually trust them because they have worked for it and earned it.

More kindness is needed. Less "fat cat." If you run into one of these Karate Bears at the end of the transaction they will probably hug you. Never underestimate the power of love, a touch or kindness. May you be a caring Karate Bear to someone else.

I have always had the strength of seeing the big picture in things and also just love visual images to illustrate a point.

Many buying homes and cars nowadays are facing the credit tightness which until we work our way through the impasse will be a difficulty. But do you remember those symbols in the newspaper on the front page for the weather? Or the annoying guy on the nightly news before you go to bed with the TV weather report with the five or 14 day weather outlook? Sunny days, rainy days, cloudy or mostly cloudy days.

The point is on the tough days, just know you are going to have days like that. Some days, if we could <Smile> we ought to just not get out of bed and pull the covers over our head. Hey but that's life. Before you know it, it will be sunny again, or cloudy, or thunderstorms, or snowing. It is the very fabric of what makes life both volatile and interesting.

            DO NOT FEAR LIFE'S WEATHER REPORTS.

It is just the weather. Pack an umbrella and a raincoat, but plan for a picnic!! : )

Do you know this woman? She has been missing from our lives for two months now.

Good Morning Active Rain

Veterans on Active Rain KNOW Arina Hanciulescu out of Las Vegas. After a brief respite away from the Rain she is BACK!! For newbies, I encourage you to read her current blog and IMMEDIATELY subscribe to her posts. If you want to read smart material from real estate to technology to family ties to opinions about the world stay in touch with this kind woman. She will tip toe back into the rain, but please make her welcome by reading and commenting on her CONSISTENTLY.

I have known her for quite some time. Take my recommendation on this one. You will find NO ONE in the Rain with as much love in her heart as ARINA !!!

I wrote a post a long time ago that the sky was not falling with the problems in the housing market. In the feeble attempts to iron out the current "bailout" bill for banks and lending institutions I think I need to go back to my well grounded self and serve up the reminder that

THE SUN ALWAYS RISES.

Think that you are hiking early in the morning near this lake by these mountains. The brilliance of the sunrise makes the still lake reflect the peaks into the water.

Do not let the talking heads of the day add to your anxiety. Note nature. It does not worry. Worry does not add a single hour or single day more to your life. Take yourself to a place of calm. Everything will work out just fine. Even using words like "crisis" are bad leadership words. It gets to be a snowball effect with then next people using works like "panic." You only can control what is in your control. Whatever man does or does not do, the world will still be here. Change is inevitable, both good and bad in life.

But, THE SUN ALWAYS RISES, issuing in a new day. Full of possibilities for you. Full of new dreams to be made. Do not fret. Life is more than just money. Much, much more.

With my reverse wired brain leave it up to me to see a completely different lesson in the Federal bailout of banks and lending institutions.

 Life Is ALL About Second Chances.

While the example in this case is not of the most noble, think about our whole spectrum of life. Who would not like a second chance to get it right financially in business, with averting a life threatening illness, to patch up a relationship or begin anew with a new one? I think we all in life, like those fresh and clean sheets of paper to start marking down on them the new story. Toss the old story out the window.

We seem to have this infinite capacity to mess up. We can only draw hope from being given second chances. Even the God of the universe is an entire story of second chances. Think of the Jonah and the whale story. Now THERE was a reluctant servant that got a second chance to do his mission right. I never could figure out why the whale didn't just digest him, end of story.

You've got to look at adoptions of children and pets as equally great second chance stories.

So take heart with the craziness going around you some days in the world, and perhaps even in your own life. Maybe second chances are what life is all about. Today's disaster is setting the stage for something better. It's only a matter of time till you find out. Always keep hope alive. And I'll take that little doggie in the window, thank you very much!!

                   May You Always Receive A Second Chance