Gary Woltal's Blog

I don't know if growing up as a skinny kid who ended up being tall ( 6 ft 4 in) who maintained his leaness through the years, made me naturally gravitate toward basketball as a fun activity but much of what basketball is all about, applies to a REALTOR or others in the real estate industry.

Keep it simple - basketball can be played with one person or ten. One ball. Don't have convoluted thoughts. Make your client's life easy. Say, "I'll take of that."

Be lean - Watch your costs closely.

Indoor or outdoors - Be on the phone and the computer, but get belly to belly with people "out" in the world as well.

Get skilled - Practice, practice, practice your craft. Three pointers, contracts, foul shots, knowledge of market, passing, prospecting your target clients.

Teamwork - You don't win five on five by yourself. Pass, strategize, know your strengths and capitalize on them.

Defense - prevent bad things from happening by looking ahead, and stopping them.

Competitive - love your sport, love the game and the thrill of victory.

Fun - THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. If you are not having fun, go back and FIND IT!! There is some reason you have selected this endeavor. It shows in all you do. I LOVE BASKETBALL. I LOVE REAL ESTATE. I LOVE PEOPLE. Find what makes you passionate. The motivation ALWAYS comes from within.

Listening to many people complain about their bad habits I also hear people pump up themselves about their good habits.

The bad habits we all know like procrastination, smoking, over eating, drinking too much, not caring for people, working too much, blah, blah, blah.

Good habits are like exercising regularly, eating right, showing up to appointments on time, touching people in special ways or even just staying in touch, being generous, on and on.

Habits are very important in life. They are sequences of choices that we set on auto pilot. They become routine. If we can ditch the bad habits and stick with the good habits or new habits we would be so much better off.

Two quickie rules I have learned along the way to move better in the direction of the good habits:

The Rule of 48:  You MUST decide in 48 hours of the thought of the new habit so it will become REAL. We can think about good things to do all our life. But unless we COMMIT to that new thought within 2 days, it almost always just vaporizes and blows away like the wind.

The Rule of 21: You must "stick" with working the new habit into your life for 21 days. It takes that long to become ingrained in your life. By doing it any less than three weeks you can forget it becoming a habit. Discipline takes three weeks, THEN it is a habit.

And don't be too hard with your habits.

Have fun with them.

You don't have to be a saint. I'm sticking with my sweet tooth and still enjoy snow cones and ice cream in moderation !!!

In assessing someone practicing their craft look around you as well as make note of yourself. For real estate purposes, think Realtor, Stager, Inspector, Loan Originator, Title Officer, or Appraiser for example. What do you see in THEM and YOU?

   DO YOU HAVE TALENT, SKILL, OR MAGIC?

Talent, is the raw form. Yes you are in the right industry. Say like you are good at numbers doing CPA work. Your background is interior design and you are trying Staging. You like people, come from teaching, and this is your first year in Real Estate. But you haven't proven anything to your clients or yourself (YET).

Skill, you are practicing. Some doctors are like this for years. In real estate you have more transactions. You pick up designations. You do not cringe with every question. You love your work. You are competent. You know how to climb up in the attic as an inspector. With Stagers you know where to buy the matching pieces and from which discount stores. As a lender you know you know which brokers to work with.

Then there are the "Magical", people. This is where you want to ultimately be. You are the Master. You may even have pink hair and be thought of as a sorcerer in your office.

Those that are Magic are the professional's professional. Even your peers come to you for answers. You have more referrals than you need. A key term to describe for either YOU or those wanting to hire you are that you are someone who is THRIVING in what they are doing. You are the brain surgeon, the Dr. House, among mere mortal physicians.

There really is no magic in being the Magic one. Yes you do need to go through stages of growth with talent and skill, but your love for what you do, your persistence in doing the hard work and focus and systems and people you have built around you pays off. You are smart, have high integrity, and have great respect for everyone. I'm probably describing you, no??

If not, don't worry, you can get there. Trust me, people will remember you, because you will stand out. Pink haired ones always do!!

 

This time of year as we enter Fall, there are categories of potential home sellers who are already looking ahead to the next peak home selling season starting around March. They are assessing putting their house on the market, but are essentially moseying their way into it. It might be a dated house.They are thinking of doing some home improvements to maintain or enhance their home value in the market. This may be taking down old wall paper or updating kitchens and baths to bring the latest amenities to bear. Repairs may be cleaning rain gutters, and fresh paint and carpet. We can learn the basis for our own self-improvement in life by watching the home improvement process. Think about these tips:

Set The Stage - Get ready to improve your life with goals you set physcially, with relationships, with your business, with more fun and meaningful activities socially and emotionally, and your spiritual development.

Use a Glass Jar - Like Honey Do little items you write on a slip of paper, use slips of paper for ideas for your own improvement. Start that exercise program, read that book, call up that friend, visit someone, take that class. Insert the slips of paper with the ideas into the glass jar, and take one out every now and then.

Discipline - To get somewhere it takes work. You don't run a marathon tomorrow. You train for it. You don't lose 30 pounds in a week. You focus on it. Like a home improvement task some things are projects with steps.

Know the end - Visualize where you will be in one week or a month or three months with your self-improvement. Don't make the time horizon too long or you may think you are never accomplishing ANYTHING.

If home improvements inevitably add to your house value, think how much more valuable self-improvements add to the quality of life. Working in this area, day by day, you will build a better YOU. And that for YOU and the world you come in contact with each day is priceless!! Good luck.

I got to thinking again today. Always dangerous on my part when I should be reading a good book or helping someone else.

So many people work so hard on Internet search optimization and making themselves appear on Google page 1 and so forth.

But what about those one on one times with clients that want to hire you. Why do they want to hire you? What makes you any different than the next Realtor?

Without making it any more complicated than it has to be, clients are just simply trying to put the puzzle pieces together about you.

What I mean by that is they want a winner.

They want someone who is committed to their interests and sticks up for them. Yes we all can tout our experience, and track record but what about your demeanor, your character, your sense of hard work, your reponsiveness? All these are your soft skills that you bring to the table.

Think of yourself as the first place thoroughbred who is coming barreling down the track at Churchill Downs. Who "wouldn't" want to work with you as their buyers agent or listing agent? It's because you have

                     THE CHAMPION WITHIN.

So much of being the best in "anything" in life is your mindset. Do you believe in you? You need to, to project confidence. Fake it to you make it if you have to.

You are Big Brown at the Kentucky derby. You are a winner.

Believe in yourself. Others will follow. You will sometimes amaze yourself when others pick up on your enthusiasm and love for your work.

It is the true mark of a champion.

 

I have always been the curious type. That means if I am with you, you are going to get pummeled with questions. This can be good in Real Estate, because I am going to find out why you really want to sell that house. I will ask you six different ways to find the underlying motivation, or you will find me annoying and shoo me away.

In life have you ever wondered,

WHY CAN'T WE EAT TOOTHPASTE FOR DINNER?

I know, an innane question, but it could be possible.

A hand shooting up by me is a question. But a hand shooting up in a classroom for many is because they THINK they have the answer.

Lest you think I lie around all day thinking up silly questions, I actually ponder where I can find the answers.

Those of you with high school or college age children can relate to that supposedly THEY have ALL the answers. If life were only this simple. Just think we could set up focus groups with college freshmen. Ask them why your listing has not sold in six months. Why do buyers take so long to make a decision? Which loan program best fits your particular client? Which shade of tropical green should the Stager recommend be painted in the Game Room? These kids are SMART.

Just ask them. Afterall, they have all the answers.

If life were only this SIMPLE.

 

 

 

 

The other thing with answers, is we want them NOW. We don't want to wait a lifetime to know the answer to a question. This comes from everything in our life is instant gratification.

A woman might say, "I like this outfit, but I need to find the right shoes to go with it." We can't wait for a week from Tuesday. She has a dinner party to attend tonight. Is it heels, spaghetti strap shoes, flats?

 

From an Internet empowered consumer perspective, hey, if you don't have the answer, ask it to the Internet. You laugh, but there are search engines like Ask Jeeves, Google Answers, and as a registered user, Yahoo Answers.

With Yahoo Answers they offer to take your question and give you a single answer, multiple answers, and also a best answer.

Isn't that interesting? That is probably how life goes with answers too. Sometimes there are more than one answer and often a best or optimum answer.

BUT, like the classroom full of college freshmen, are you going to take that answer off the Internet? Sometimes for spelling or Wikipedia general knowledge information, the Internet zeroes in on your answer in a flash. With the deeper probing questions you may have, the Internet may be the LAST place you want to go with your search.

 

 

Do you ever feel like CHEATING to get your answer? This is like in those word puzzle or crossword books where you go to page 78 where all the answers are to get a boost in solving a puzzle.

Other than true cheating like a college exam, cheating in life gets you ahead to your answers faster. Find out what works for others. No sense in reinventing the wheel and banging your head against the wall when the answers are right there.

Go to seminars. Talk to others. Talk to successful business people who are your peers. Network with the high flyers and guess what? You will become an eagle in no time flat yourself.

 

 

 

Sometimes the answers you seek in life are not easy ones. Think about relationships. Love is there. Love is not there. Love is growing. Love is declining.

No piece of cake in figuring the answers to the whys and how comes of relationships. Self-help books, counseling sessions, talking with others all add to getting closer to the answers you seek.

Think of your spiritual development. That would definitely be considered a journey to get all the answers you desire there. You are venturing into the murkiness with the search for answers now. Maybe in this area you will never have all the answers to your satisfaction but that is ok too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And don't forget all the latest tools at your disposal for getting answers. A lost relative? Blog your social network to try and find them.

Looking for a new job? Blast a question out to your Professional Network.

Romance? The Internet may find you a lover or a stalker, but you can roll the dice on that one.

MySpace may find others with similar hobbies in your area like photography or travel.

Lost? Call up GPS on that device or on your SmartPhone.

I sometimes wish the all knowing Wizard of Oz, or Shell Answer Man chip was embedded in that tiny cell phone you carry around everywhere with you.

At least for all the black and white answers. Well, many PDAs definitely have numerical calculators and calendars built into them today. There's some answers for you. Who paid for lunch last Tuesday? If you wrote about it as a Note, you have your answer.

 

 

 

 

Finally, although I have discussed black and white answers, multiple answers, optimum answers, and answers in the grey areas, think of your most meaningful answers you need to get. Life answers.

Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? What is important to me? When am I the most happy?

Pay attention to the PEOPLE, EVENTS, PLACES, and FEELINGS you get in life for these answers.

This will come from hard times, miscarriages, pain and suffering, tragedies, learning to survive, being touched deeply by another's good actions or kindness, smiles, laughter, crying, a Downs syndrome child, a brush with breast cancer, someone who says they love you and proves it by their actions, climbing the mountain of business success or falling to the low of health problems yet making your way through the darkness.

The VERY RICH emotional experiences you go through in life teach us much. They provide us with best growth and learning.

I wish you well on your voyage of discovery and finding ALL your answers in life.

Numbers have always fascinated me and I have been one of those people who have always been good with numbers and math.

From the early days of even plain arithmetic, the adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing of numbers it all seemed so orderly to me.

I encountered the short lived "New Math" concepts at one time where from what I could tell they were making the simple four types of calculations more complicated with symbols like circles and triangles.

"New Math", like "New Coke" was too way out there for most people and the basics returned. But there is a new math that still can be observed.

    The New Math where 1 + 1 = 3

This new math refers to synergy. The sum is greater than the individual parts. I see this in real estate with partners completing a transaction or project all the time.

You will also see it in life with other teams you are associated with. It is beautiful how everyone contributes to the whole. And in the end it is far better than what one person alone could do. Many heads are smarter than one often.

Recognize your key talents and those you choose for your team and make the end result a masterpiece. We all deserve to create works of art in the world.

A group of research scientists studying images from Google Earth and looking at broad herds of cows across the earth have concluded that predominantly cows align themselves in a field in a north-south direction. Cows are social animals and sit down before a rain and huddle in a circle during a blizzard. But on sunny days when they are carefree they align facing either north or south.

WHY ARE THESE MAGNETIC COWS IMPORTANT TO YOUR LIFE?

Because it is a life lesson that sometimes we really don't know in our business or personal lives the why or how of something. The old expression that covers this is "it is what it is."

Folks, there's something called "reality" which too many in business or personal relationships just like to run away from constantly.

Think of real estate. The same size home that sold for $50,000 more last year doesn't fetch that price anymore. A home may just have a poor location or no one likes the floorplan. It may be a cycle of the market where EVERYTHING is down. The neighborhood just "in reality"may be deteriorating. It may be a strong seller or buyers market. Another reality.

How's this for reality in our personal life? Some people will lie to you. People are who they are and you can't change them. Some business partners or acquaintances just are not competent or reliable. Some processes set in place by someone else are broken and you can't fix them.

So remember the cows who just do their own thing for who knows why or who cares. It is just reality. The sooner you stop torturing yourself trying to change the way things are that are not going to change, the better.

Living in reality allows you to grow and change the one thing that you can make the best improvement on. And that is WONDERFUL YOU!!!

With many people you will encounter in real estate business transactions and also in your personal life, sometimes I wonder if they don't know that they are not playing their music.

I think all of us have something very unique to offer to others and the world. Think of it like your sheet music with your very unique song.

It seems to be more spontaneous that it comes out of us when we are very young but gets dulled as we get older.

Can you imagine that? Getting dulled to yourself? Who ought to know you better than you? Well many forget who they really are, their interests, dreams and desires.

I do think this being de-sensitized to ourselves comes from the distraction of busyness. Now more than ever we can drown our own world with the noise from the outside.

 

 

 

 

Look at children for example and laughter. It naturally happens. They laugh so much more than adults. Maybe it is the lack of responsibility but I think it is a mindset of being free to be who they are in their core as well.

 

 

 

I've always been a fan of the three phrases on the left to live the good life.

It really isn't that hard to connect with others and in particular your self.

Practice especially the laughing and loving and the living well will come to you. Afterall, living well is what you were born to do. It is YOUR SONG!!

KFC had this recent story about doing security improvements at their headquarters in Louisville, KY. They had to temporarily remove the yellowed piece of paper in a double locked filing cabinet that had the hand signed in pencil by Harland Sanders the secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken. You know the 11 herbs and spices. The filing cabinet was inside a vault with only two people having access to it. The "exact" mix of the herbs along with samples was contained in the cabinet. Believe it or not, an armored car with security guards was going to whisk the formula temporarily away to an undisclosed location.

                                                                                AP Photo / Bruce Shreiner

Is all this really necessary? Don't you think in life secret recipes are passe'? With KFC it is a huge part of their branding. Think at McDonald's. Yes, this ace Realtor used to wear a paper hat in a past life and remembers the Big Mac "secret sauce." What about Coca Cola? Don't think a winning formula is important? Talk to the guy who bombed out with the "New Coke" years ago. Short lived as a bomb of a product, the company soon returned to "Classic Coke."

As professional Realtors, Stagers, Inspectors, Loan Officers and others serving the public, we all can get good training, and practice our craft. But what is your "Secret Recipe?"

Local Professionals Develop their Secret Recipe.

I say, local, because what makes you different with your level of service is in competition with others "locally." Whether you are the short sale specialist, neighborhood expert, Inspector to call on in a zip code, FHA new home buyer loan guy or gal to go to, Feng Shui guru of Long Island, Stager extraordinarire of Danville, California, Farm and Ranch in Texas, second homes in British Columbia or Myrtle Beach, or luxury home lister in the Chicago burbs, figure out why you are so good.

A social network "across the country" allows you to steal (borrow) ideas from others that are not in your marketplace. Don't be a secret agent as they say, but do find what works for you, your secret recipe. And no loose lips in this area. It is what will put you on top for what you do best!!