Gary Woltal's Blog

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It's Iceberg Season Again

TitanicA real estate client reminded me the other day to remember it was iceberg season. I asked what he meant. He said that this was the time in the North Atlantic when icebergs broke away from the main sheets of ice and floated around the sea. Remember April 14-15, 1912? A certain ship called Titanic had some issues in this area.

I thought what another wonderful sign of Spring for us all. Another time for us to remember to embrace change.

Many think of spring cleaning with their homes this time of year, but I took it one step further. That overactive brain of mine let on the loose again. What about spring cleaning of your life? A checkup from the neck up.

In spring cleaning your life, how about these thoughts?

* Discard what's not working for you

* Get rid of clutter around your home and office to increase energy levels

* Put systems in place, bank on line, do automatic bank drafts, delegate routine stuff to free up your time

* Look at your schedule for an entire week. Are you doing what you want to do? As you live your week, I'm sorry to tell you, is how you live your life. Are you happy with that, and ok with that? Or do you need a few tweaks?

* What tools or education in your life do you need to add to make a better you? It's not that hard, just YOU make better choices.

* Take better care of yourself with eating, rest, and exercise. You are no good to anyone else if you burn out. Make those changes NOW!!

We are all busy but the reminder from nature that it is iceberg season should allow you to pause and get control of that rudder again steering to avoid any icebergs that might sink the good ship "YOU."

Comments

You know Gary, when I read both of our posts, I get the impression that we are both preaching to ourselves more than our audience!  LOL  I love what you write and am in complete agreement with all the points here!  Have a great night my friend!  Steve
Posted by Steve Homer (The HBH Group (Keller Williams affiliate)) about 1 year ago
Thanks AGAIN Gary... just what I wanted tonight--- Another LIST!!! (I guess it's a sign of life--- ie, if I wasn't alive, I'd be list-less  :-)  And, oh--- I think that was the same year of the 1912 Overture?
Posted by Mara Hawks, REALTOR®, Homes for Sale, Auburn, AL Real Estate (First Realty Auburn Alabama) about 1 year ago

Gary,

Always great advice on your blog!!! Thanks,   Fran

Posted by Fran 'The Title Man' Gaspari Title Insurance-PA & NJ (Patriot Land Transfer, Inc.) about 1 year ago
Hi Gary, great post! It being the busy season we all stretch it out too far sometimes.
Posted by Keith Perry - REALTOR® -West Metro Atlanta (Coldwell Banker) about 1 year ago

Hi Gary!  May I also add that spring is a great time to have that annual physical/checkup?  Thanks for the tips!

Tina in Virginia

Posted by Tina Merritt - Virginia Beach Real Estate (Long and Foster Real Estate) about 1 year ago

Steve: I know I need to talk to myself more in the clutter department. Despite my best effort the paper keeps overwhelming me. Weren't we supposed to go paperless some day? I think printing out emails kills more trees than ever :)

Mara: You always make me laugh. Isn't that the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky?? I'm a music buff you know. I know I am list-less all the time at the end of the day. People make fun of me with my to do lists like I can't remember ANYTHING : )

Fran: I keep plugging away at the keyboard.

Keith & Robin: Busy is good, but we have to come up for air every once in awhile.

Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago
Tina: That's right. I'm behind in that area too. I think I'm getting like Mara, enough with the lists.
Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago
Gary:  I always enjoy your posts.  I have found that when my home and office is organized, my mind is then organized. 
Posted by Donna Yates, Georgia Realtor Georgia Real Estate,Blue Ridge Mountains (Coldwell Banker High Country Realty) about 1 year ago
Donna: Thank you for stopping by. I am like you with the clutter. When I knock it down and everything is neat and organized I just feel so much better.
Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago
Gary, I have to print this and read it everyday.  Thanks!  I love your posts.
Posted by Susan Mangigian, West Chester PA Realtor RE/MAX Preferred, ABR (RE/MAX Preferred, West Chester, PA, RS152252A) about 1 year ago
Gary, I happen to have a good week coming up with things I'm going to enjoy.  Funny that I never look ahead to a week, usually just a day or so.  I hope we all have many wonderful weeks coming up!
Posted by Carole Provenzale Owner, Feng Shui Long Island & New York (Feng Shui Long Island & New York City) about 1 year ago
You think just like me my man. We vowed to get rid of the useless stuff in our life this year at the Thurmond home.
Posted by Trey Thurmond, College Station , Texas Homes (Classic Realty Associates) about 1 year ago
Nice reminders Gry. I did a little de-cluttering over the past few days and I must say I feel somewhat cleansed. I still have a long way to go, but at least it was a start. For me to get everything accomplished I might need to retire but here is what I tackeled - cleaned out a closet, donated old clothing, went through bills and paid off a chunk of debt, cleaned out my purse - which by the way, is a biggie for women. I feel so good, maybe a car wash will be next on my list and this weekend it's the garage!     
Posted by Carol Culkin (Houlihan Lawrence Realty) about 1 year ago

Gary, of no use, useless, wasteful. extra, yep. My closet, my car, my desk, my mind, my being. All needs to be cleared of cobwebs. You're a good guy. Later in the rain~Deb

Posted by Lake Livingston Real Estate by Deb Brooks about 1 year ago

Susan: Maybe I can come up with a refrigerator blog magnet for you : ) Thanks for your kind words as always!

Carole: It's great you don't live too far into the future. You know you are my hero with understanding energy in things. I really have to work on my clutter as others have committed here to do as well.

Trey: I still have boxes unopened from when we moved into this house. Amazing! Too much useless stuff we all have.

Carol: You have been hard at work, I really admire that. Wow, a woman cleaning out a purse. Men never can figure what all you guys keep in there. I was the worst at cleaning out a garage. In the last house of ours I sold it took me two and a half months. Make that is the husband's job since he's usually the one that made it a mess.

Deb: I can relate to cobwebs. It's what happens to my brain if I do too much work for the day.

Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago
Gary, you give some great suggestions.  It is so easy to find ourselves adrift without even thinking about it. 
Posted by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty) about 1 year ago
Marchel: We can drift so easily when we let go of the rudder or someone else's hand is on it.
Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago

Gay, It is a common believe that in the Spring, when all the energy shifts around in the bubeling dance, we all feel an up lifting mood... It is the call for renewal and beginning of new,fresh life...

That calls for practical measures and you just outlined them for us to remember. Thank you!

Posted by Arina S. Hanciulescu about 1 year ago
HAHA - Today is clean the in-home office day!  And the car!  I have got to get better about organizing and "cleaning" as I go!  Thanks, Gary - you gave me that little extra umph I needed today to get those things done!
Posted by Leesa L. Finley, REALTOR®/RE Strategist Wake Forest NC Real Estate and Area Info (CIRCA PROPERTIES - Your Wake Forest/North Raleigh Specialist) about 1 year ago

ah yes, Gary. 1812. Too many a titanic has sunk against the iceberg of my brain--- including the Overture of 1812!

Posted by Mara Hawks, REALTOR®, Homes for Sale, Auburn, AL Real Estate (First Realty Auburn Alabama) about 1 year ago
Gary, I'm going to have to subscribe to you.  I love lists!!  I need all the encouragement I could use to keep on keeping organized.  (That means I'm not by nature.) Thanks!
Posted by Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago

Arina: You are so right. Nature has its cycles and the budding of the trees, the icebergs floating around, remind us that we can have renewal in our lives too.

Leesa: I have found it isn't so much about intention, but more about making the decision to do something and allocating the time. Sounds like you're covered. Good for you.

Mara: I knew you knew the right date : ) My brain crashes into icebergs all the time. ; )

Karen: I am the same way. With lists I keep crossing stuff off and feel like I'm making progress.

Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago
Gary - excellent post about "spring cleaning". I really like the advice about discarding the things that are not working for you, and getting systems in place to automate it. However, I am also a list maker, and that helps me accomplish tasks every day. I agree completely about organizing your immediate environment, and I think I should take care of that today!!
Posted by Sharon Paxson Newport Beach Real Estate (Prudential California Realty, DRE License 01501912) about 1 year ago
A lot of people reserve New Years for self evaluation and resolutions, but you make a good point. Spring is a wonderful time of renewal.
Posted by Rosario Lewis, GRI ~ DDR Realty, Orange County, NY (DDR Realty) about 1 year ago
It is so easy to burn out especially in real estate, thanks for reminders Gary!
Posted by Colorado Springs Realty Patricia Beck (Re/Max Real Estate Group, GRI) about 1 year ago

Sharon: Getting rid of what's not working I think just makes one's life instantly improve. I am a big list maker too. I think I have brain rot and can't remember anything : )

Rosario: Spring is the next New Year I guess.

Patricia: Thou shalt not burn out. This is the long lived Realtor commandment. Remember on stressful days, try to have a little fun.

Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago

The Goodwill truck is coming to my house on Monday to haul away "stuff" and my always ongoing project is decluttering my mind and streamlining my life.  Time is our most valuable asset!  Great suggestions Gary.

Posted by Norma Toering Rolling Hills & Palos Verdes Property (REMAX Palos Verdes Realty Lic# 01147470) about 1 year ago
Norma: You know I've always had this off the wall thought that we should move out of our house every five years or so just to knock down all the stuff we accumulate. Sreamlining your life makes you flow through it a whole lot easier too.
Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago
Hmmm I missed where you were going with that one!  lol I guess its from reading one of your blogs to the next.........i thought you were going to say FSBO's were like icebergs.......haha!
Posted by Liz Moras ~Chilliwack Realtor, Chilliwack,Hope,Langley,Abbotsford (Harrison Hot Springs, Cultus Lake) about 1 year ago
Liz: FSBOs like icebergs? Like they are always trying to sink us? :)
Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty) about 1 year ago

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