Sunday, August 17, 2008

Motivation the Entire Year

Staying Motivated
By Dirk Zeller July 29, 2008
One question I get asked constantly from Agents is, “How do I stay motivated?” They further state, “If only I was more motivated, I could do more.” For any producer in life, there is a constant exposure to de-motivating situations, people, and pressures. The more we do, the more potential exposure we have to the de-motivating factors of life.
To really understand the ebbs and flows of our personal motivation, we have to understand what we are seeking. What are the things we are striving for to create satisfaction in our lives? To really stay motivated we have to clearly know what drives us or what motivates us. Most people have a key driver that causes them to act. There are only a handful of key drivers for human beings. Each of us will use one of these key drivers to increase our effectiveness in life. Knowing which one is primary for you allows you to use it to your advantage.
There are people who are motivated through comfort and fulfillment. They are focused on completion of the job. They feel that a particular order or system must be applied to reach the completion or fulfillment of the task, goal, or system. These people desire a high level of comfort. It doesn’t mean they need the best car, house, or clothes. It addresses the need for security. Achieving a level of security or comfort is essential to this person. This individual will work long and hard to feel secure and comfortable.
Each individual who fits into this category has his or her own individual definition of comfort and security. It could be $100,000 in cash. It could be $1,000,000 in net worth. It could be a certain number of listings or sales made. Each definition is unique to the individual. If you are motivated by comfort, one of the ways to stay motivated is to define what comfort is for you. Determine the criteria for comfort, so you can see your progressive realization of that goal of security. Too often, people move the goal line for their goals. It’s like playing a football game on a changing field. We make the field 120 yards longer after we get within thirty yards of the goal. That can cause us to be de-motivated because we are still too far off!
Another significant motivator or driver is competition and triumph. There are some of us who thrive on competition. We love to compete at anything we engage in. We must put ourselves in that competition regularly to feel alive. I understand this style well because it’s the motivating factor for me. I love to compete and win. If the competition ceases for this individual, they find another avenue for their competitive nature to be exhibited. In the business world, there is competition. In real estate sales, being a full commission game, we are in constant competition. We are in competition with other Agents and other buyers regularly. When we are on a listing presentation, and the seller is interviewing other Agents, this is competition in its purest form. You either feel the triumph of victory or the agony of defeat. You either have an opportunity to receive compensation for your efforts, or you are out of the game with zero compensation. For many Agents, putting themselves in competitive situations regularly allows them to stay motivated toward their overall success.
In the end, for us to stay in a motivated state for longer periods of time, we must clearly know what motivates us. What are the hot buttons that move us quickly through a lack of motivation? The real difference between Champion Performers and the rest of the field is the span of time they allow de-motivation to take hold. Champion Performers get back on track to success more quickly than low performers. They spend less time in the unmotivated state. The problems they face don’t take them out of the game for a week, or even a day. It might bother them for an hour or less.
Make it a priority to clearly define what motivates you, so you can achieve Champion Performance. Write them down and review them whenever you feel unmotivated and need help getting back on the track to success quickly or when you come across the de-motivating factors of life. This will allow you to stay motivated and on top of your game.

Put Fear in the Right Place

Putting Fear in it's Place
By Jack Canfield July 29, 2008
As you move forward on your journey from where you are to where you want to be, you are going to have to confront some of your fears. Fear is a just a natural part of living.
Whenever you start a new project, take on a new venture, or put yourself out there, there’s usually some fear involved. Unfortunately, most people let fear stop them from taking the necessary steps to achieve their dreams.
Confronting your fears is a very necessary step in achieving success.
There is simply no other way.
Fear can be a helpful emotion, as it tells you when you need to be extra careful, keenly aware, and cautious. Fear is not an emotion that is telling you to stop. In fact, it’s telling you just the opposite!
Acknowledging your feelings of fear helps you know when you are stepping out of your comfort zone. It points your awareness to areas where you could improve and grow.
Successful people also feel fear. Yet they don’t let it get in the way of anything they want to do-or have to do. They understand that fear is something to be acknowledged, experienced, and taken along for the ride. They have learned, as author Susan Jeffers suggests in her must-read book, to “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway®.”
(Susan has been a friend of mine for twenty years now, and her work, which is very powerful and transformational, has helped millions of people overcome their fears and move forward to create success in their lives. I highly recommend her as a resource: www.SusanJeffers.com)
You see, fear is more of a signal that we should stay alert and cautious. We can feel fear, but we can still move forward anyway.
Think of fear as a 2-year-old- child who doesn’t want to go grocery shopping with you. Because you must buy groceries, you’ll just have to take the two year old with you. Fear is no different. In other words, acknowledge that fear exists but don’t let it keep you from doing important tasks.
Also realize that so many of our fears are self-created. We might frighten ourselves by fantasizing negative outcomes to any activity we might peruse or experience. Luckily, because we are the ones doing the fantasizing, we are also the ones who can stop the fear and bring ourselves into a state of clarity and peace by facing the actual facts, rather than giving in to our imaginations.
If a fear is too great for you to overcome, try breaking it down into smaller challenges.
Try starting out doing the parts of the project that don’t scare you so much. You need to give a speech in front of a large group? Try giving your speech in front of a small group of people who care for you. Work your way up until you are able to feel the fear but still move forward. As you do you will build your confidence and eventually you won’t feel fear surrounding those issues because you’ll have done them enough to count it as a skill.
As you move toward your goal, don’t attach yourself so much to the outcomes.
Keep moving toward your dream doing everything you can to create what you want, then let it go and see what shows up. Sometimes the universe will have a better idea in mind for you and present a better opportunity when you were expecting something completely different. Don’t let fear keep you from moving forward. Even if the horrible outcome that you imagined happens, the universe will always provide for you another way to succeed. So be on the look out!
Trust that no matter what occurs, you are smart enough and strong enough to keep looking for, and attracting, opportunities.
If you are willing to try new experiences in spite of your fears, then more new experiences will present themselves for you to try. And the more you try, the more you are likely to succeed!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Americans Stun Arrogant Rivals


Relay Stunner Keeps Phelps' Dream Alive

BEIJING (Aug. 10) - With history about to slip away and Michael Phelps cheering him on, Jason Lezak pulled up next to the lane rope and set out after hulking Alain Bernard, like a NASCAR driver drafting down the backstretch at Daytona.
Only 25 meters to go, half the length of the pool. Every stroke brought Lezak a little closer, a little closer, a little closer, his body seemingly carried along by the Frenchman's massive wake. The two lunged for the wall together. When the result flashed on the board, Phelps was still on course for his record eight gold medals.

By a fingertip.
Lezak, the oldest man on the U.S. swimming team, pulled off one of the great comebacks in Olympic history Monday morning, hitting the wall just ahead of Bernard in the 400 freestyle relay, a race so fast it actually erased two world records.
Few sporting events live up to the hype - this one exceeded it. The 32-year-old Lezak was nearly a body length behind Bernard as they made the final turn, but the American hugged the lane rope and stunningly overtook him on the very last stroke.
Wow!
"This has been happening my whole career," Lezak said. "People have gotten on my lane line and sucked off of me, so I figured this is the one opportunity in my whole career to do that."
Watching on deck, Phelps let out a resounding "Yeaaaaaah!" and thrust both arms toward the roof of the Water Cube. His quest to break Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals had survived what will likely be its toughest test - and almost certainly its most thrilling.
The Americans shattered the world record set by their "B" team the previous evening in the preliminaries, touching with a time of 3 minute, 8.24 seconds - nearly 4 full seconds below the 15-hour-old mark of 3:12.23.

"Unbelievable," said Phelps, who swam the leadoff leg and then became the team's biggest cheerleader. "Jason finished that race better than we could even ask for. I was fired up. Going into that last 50, I was like, `Aw, this is going to be a close race.' Jason's last 10 or 15 meters were incredible."
The Americans won the relay at seven straight Olympics, but watched the Australians and South Africans take gold at the last two games.
"You could tell I was pretty excited," Phelps said. "I lost my voice and I was definitely pretty emotional out there."
Bernard was the world record holder in the 100, but he surrendered that mark as well. Australia's Eamon Sullivan broke the individual record by swimming the leadoff leg in 47.24 - ahead of Bernard's mark of 47.50.
The French star was extremely confident about his team's chances heading into the big showdown. "The Americans? We're going to smash them," Bernard said. "That's what we came here for.
"If the relay goes according to plans, than we'll be on a roll."
Only Bernard didn't count on Lezak and the Americans spoiling those plans.
Oh, by the way, Phelps set an American record leading off, 47.51. But it was Lezak's anchor that everyone will remember. He got down and back in a staggering 46.06, the fastest relay leg in history though it doesn't count as an official record.
"A fingertip did the victory," said Amaury Leveaux, one of the French swimmers. "It is nothing."
Lezak looked at the scoreboard, then leaped out of the water with an emphatic fist pump.
"I knew I was going to have to swim out of my mind," Lezak said. "Still right now, I'm in disbelief."
Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones also did their parts on the middle legs of the relay, overcoming the enormous pressure of making sure they didn't mess up Phelps' attempt to take down the Holy Grail of Olympic records. Jones was the only holdover from the team that swam in the prelims.
Lezak should get a share of that $1 million bonus that Phelps has been promised if he goes on to beat Spitz's mark.
"I never lost hope," said Lezak, who trains alone but has been a longtime stalwart on the relay team. "I don't know how I was able to take it back that fast, because I've never been able to come anywhere near that for the last 50."

While the Americans whooped it up on deck, Bernard clung to the wall, his head down. The swimmer who had talked confidently of beating the Americans - "smashing" them, some media reported - was the last one to leave the pool.
"Alain is wounded. When you are the last swimmer in a relay and that you have the opportunity to bring a title of this importance to your country, you don't get out of this unhurt," said Claude Fauquet, France's team director. "But I don't think that Alain lost the race. It's Lezak who won it." The French were second in 3:08.32 - eight one-hundredths of a second behind. Australia took the bronze in 3:09.91. In fact, the top five all went below the record set Sunday.
"I felt I was in the lead," Bernard said. "I knew I had to accelerate, but it got harder."
The Americans also were on the losing end of a last-lap comeback.
Katie Hoff was again denied a gold medal when Rebecca Adlington of Britain rallied over the final 50 meters to overtake the 19-year-old, who had settled for a bronze the previous day in the 400 individual medley.
Adlington won in 4:03.22, while Hoff took the silver in 4:03.29. Adlington's teammate Joanne Jackson earned the bronze in 4:03.52. Defending champion Laure Manaudou finished last in the eight-woman final."I saw Katie and thought, 'Let's just try to catch her,"' Adlington said. "That's what I did." Hoff still has three more individual events, plus a relay.
"I was a little disappointed I was so close," she said. "But I got a bronze yesterday and a silver this morning. If I keep climbing at this pace, I'll be happy."
President Bush was back at the Water Cube for the second day in a row, with wife Laura on one side, daughter Barbara on the other. Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife were sitting in front of them, and Bill Gates was right behind.
Clearly, the swimming record book will need some heavy revisions by the time the Beijing Olympics are over. Two more world marks fell Monday morning when Kosuke Kitajima of Japan finished off American Brendan Hansen's hopes of an individual medal, winning the 100 breaststroke in 58.91. Kitajima pounded the water defiantly and let out a scream after breaking Hansen's 2-year-old record of 59.13. Hansen was left without a medal, fading to fourth behind silver medalist Alexander Dale Oen of Norway and Hugues Duboscq of France, who took bronze.
Kirsty Coventry didn't even bother waiting until a final to set a record in the 100 backstroke. The Zimbabwean won her semifinal heat in 58.77, taking down Natalie Coughlin's mark of 58.97 set at the U.S. trials last month. They'll go head to head in Tuesday morning's final. Coughlin won her heat in 59.43 with a nice, comfortable swim.
Seven world records have been set through the first 2 1/2 days at the Water Cube.
Phelps had another race to care of, moving on to the final of the 200 free with the fourth-fastest time of the semis. Trying to save as much energy as possible for the leadoff leg of the relay, the American touched in 1:46.28 to finish behind teammate Peter Vanderkaay (1:45.76) and South Korea's Park Tae-hwan (1:45.99). Jean Basson of South Africa also went faster in the other heat, winning in 1:46.13. While Hansen still has a swim left in the medley relay, he'll go down as one of the major disappointments of the American team. A one-time world record holder in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, he didn't even qualify for the Olympics in the longer race.
Putting all his hopes of beating Kitajima in the 100, he wasn't close to the Japanese star, finishing 0.66 seconds behind. "I've just had a really off year, on a really important year," Hansen said. "I just feel like that's not the last you're going to see of me. I'm going to bring it back and I won't be done until I at least have a legitimate shot at those world records again." Hansen swam over to Kitajima's lane to congratulate the winner. "That's a hell of a swim, and he is a true champion," he said. Coventry put down quite a challenge to Coughlin. Then again, Coughlin has been known to rise to the challenge - when Hayley McGregory broke her world record in the prelims at the U.S. trials, Coughlin came back in the very next heat to take it back. Now, Coventry has it, and Coughlin can't be too happy about that. "It's going to be a tight final," Coventry said. "Natalie's just so good at racing and planning out her races, so I just expect nothing but fast, fast swimming tomorrow morning." Coughlin will be side-by-side with Coventry in the final.
"It went very well," she said. "It's exactly where I wanted to be going into the finals. I'm happy with that. I just need to recover and focus on my final." Libby Trickett of Australia just missed another world record in the women's 100 butterfly, winning gold with a time of 56.73. American Christine Magnuson claimed the silver (57.10) and another Aussie, Jess Schipper, took the bronze (57.25).
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
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2008-08-10 21:54:19

Friday, August 1, 2008

No Time for Vacation


Khem Persaud Awarded Agent of the Month for July 2008

Khem Persaud has no time for rest in the summer heat. The top agent in a company on the way up, Khem has posted a wonderful month helping buyers and sellers. Khem was busy this month selling 3 homes and listing 3 more for sale. Khem has been the most consistent agent at CENTURY 21 JRS Realty in 2008, and has no problem going the extra mile for his company and clients. Making c/o repairs or climbing in attics, it does not matter, Khem is going to get the job done for his clients. CENTURY 21 JRS Realty could not be more proud of Khem and is honored to have him as a member of their company. Khem helps make the company and everyone around him better with his work ethic and knowledge of the business. "I hope Khem understands how important he is to our company, agents like him make all the long hours owners and leaders put in worth it." -JR Sangiuliano "I could not be more appreciative to Khem for all his hard work, he deserves all of his success, this is not accident, he earns it everyday."-JR Sangiuliano