Good afternoon, I am sitting in Panera(?) with Jeremiah on we are discussing the capabilities of Jott and I’m demonstrating to him how easy it is to put content on your blog. listen
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Good afternoon, I am…
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Hello world, I’m sitting…
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Hello everybody I hope…
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Hello everybody I hope you’re doing well. This is for Morgan’s(?) loan(?) officers that happen to be reading my blog. Next week is a full work week. That means that you should not give up or give in or take it off because 5 days which is a quarter of a month to earn your money. Go forth and conquer. listen
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Zoho, Baby, Zoho.
By Filed Under: Achieving Goals
I’ve been really digging Google Notebook lately. It’s been a handy GTD tool, and the “note this” feature on my right click rocks. I wish there was some way to get it to come up without leaving the keyboard. I have a lot of love for Google, and I truly hope that they buy Zoho soon.
Zoho has made the web the platform in a way that I’ve not yet seen anywhere else. Google spreadsheets is cool because it’s got the link embedded in our gmail. But Zoho feels like running a better, cooler version of MS office on a really bad computer. If they get the speed upgraded, then there will be no reason to use MS office.
I tried to do a resume in google aps not long ago. It was barely functional.
I did a resume in Zoho yesterday.
It rocked. (I’m doing a resume not because I have any desire to change jobs. At all. I think a resume is something you should ALWAYS have just like you should ALWAYS go on 6 job interviews a year).
So I made mine here. It took about 20 minutes, and it was just to learn if Zoho worked or not. And it does, man. I hate bashing the church of Google. Online Docs and Spreadsheets is a REALLY cool idea, but this is just incredible. It works as a printable resume as well–though not QUITE as slick.
Not bad for a 15 minute effort though–and it’s one that I can carry with me.
Anyway Zoho is a leg up and I’m eager to try out the rest of their products.
Scott Adams, Dilbert.
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One of the things that he says is that Blogging is barely worthwhile because people miusnderstand half of what he writes. To me, Dilbert Creator Scott Adams writes with astonishing clarity and poise, but apparently he is misunderstood quite often.
Well, I made a post at Blown, predicting a grim future for people in the wholesale channel. It’s grim, and my post was meant to spark discussion of how loan officers planned to survive.
Instead I got told I was a wannabe. I got told I was a loser. Because I think the market–as an aggregate–was getting worse. I still agree with that–and hiding from facts isn’t going to do anything about it. I didn’t say I was going to accept a lower level of production.
Instead I think that the market will be different, and there will be a different landscape. Nobody wants to consider that possibility.
Hello world. This is…
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Hey, this is a test…
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It’s time for a new theme.
By Filed Under: Achieving Goals
GTD and Google Notebook.
By Filed Under: Achieving Goals
I am a GTD freak. It’s what I do and it’s how I plow through all the stuff that I have to do on a regular basis. I have several collection buckets: my jotter, index cards, and google notebook are the ones I most frequently go to.
Google notebook+ Mozilla Firefox are the most frequently used. i have a default notebook “unprocessed things.” I hit Alt+N to open and close the notebook. Usually my “unprocessed things” pops up. I can right click, and get a “note this” button for any website I’m currently on.
te I’d like to come back to. (See left.)
It pops up into my notebook–no typing or even keying–and I can get back to google notebook anytime and proicess the stuff–anyhing from adding a birthday card to my 43 folders setup to make this work. One of the things that is on my list of things to do is to make this able to be hotkeyed. I am sure that it’s possible.
Then What?
Once a day–twice if I’m ahead of schedule–I go through the notebook and process everything. My website reads are done in a FIFO manner–and I implement any other tiny hacks that I can add, customers to get back to and everything else that needs to be done.
From the Unprocessed things–I move stuff into the appropriate folders: songs to get, websites to read, stuff to buy, todo Chris, todo Mike, etc this is done relatively mechanically, and could be outsourced easily. Once it’s all in the right buckets, my reminders get after me to go to the buckets and read/process what
I’ve got, so I’m guaranteed that I’ll get stuff done the way I want.
Anyway, if you’ve set up some hot key thing for Google Notebook, let me know which service you’re using so I can do it, too!
Best!
The 5 + 5.
By Filed Under: Start Here
The Five People I’m listening To Right Now (and Five honorable mentions).
I’ve always sought mentors–some like Tim Harris–I’ve known in person and interacted with in business. Others I’ve never met–like Ayn Rand (or Jesus Christ–or Ayn Rand and God). But I seek thought leaders because I want to be challenged by the smartest and the brightest and the best. I’ve always done it, to gravitate towards people living in abundance.
David Allen: Author: Getting Things Done.
I dig Stephen Covey. I dig paradigms, and I dig big hairy audacious goals. But the thing is–when do you have time to plow through the stuff you need to do? It’s hard, the path is not well lit, and to survive the information crunch, you gotta do stuff like this. Having this system: Collect, Organize, Process, Do, Review in your life, and having it around allows you to explode in productivity. It allows you to be your authentic self, and get stuff done in a meaningful and nifty way. I can’t recommend anything higher than this book.
Seth Godin: CEO of Squido.
I read Seth’s Blog but what really got me going was the book he wrote called “The Dip.” What a kick ass book. As far as thinking goes–the line: being the best in the world is seriously underrated…what else can stand up to that? I don’t disagree. Honing your skills RELENTLESSLY has more rewards than being a passive milquetoast.
Julia Cameron: Author, the Artists Way. Morning pages. I’ll write a post about them, but the real deal is this: you’ll flow from yourself if you do them. Acnkowledge your demons, and let it be. Flow, being free and unblocked and authentic is what this is all about, and not having fear. The morning pages are something that tames me 1/2 hour or less each day, and I have gotten so much out of it, that I can’t go back. If you ever want to be a better thinker, this daily mental enema is the way to do it.
Scott Ginsberg: 20-something guy that wants you to be “THE” not “A”
I stumbled upon Scott’s site via a link. I haven’t read it all, but much of it. And the thing is, it’s remarkable. I’ve been one of the random few that has set goals and not roped ‘em in. I’ve given up because of a LOT of reasons, most not valid. Then I see this kid. He’s got the trappings of a 20 something. He’s not perfect, he’s not precice, and he’s a little grotesque.
But he’s out there, balls to the wall, pressing to make himself better, smarter, more capable, and more accomplished. He has confidence and humility and he’s precocious and infectious. Does he get stuf wrong sometimes? Absolutely. He only went to Miami of Ohio, so we can’t expect much. But is he right far more often? Hell yeah.
Tim Ferris: Author, thinker, genius and free spirit.
Not convinced? Click the below link, read it and be done. Tim’s not going to allow incremental thought change when radical thought change is better.
Honorable mention: Jeffrey Gitomer (the person that got me into this), Edward DeBono, Ayn Rand, Gary Keller, Michael Gerber
World Class.
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Originally Published at http://tendayteam.com
I don’t get it.
In my business–you do the same three things over and over again. With only a couple of exceptions, I’d guess that EVERY Business does the same 3-10 things over and over again.
So why do people act like it’s the first time, every time–with everything they do?
Taking an application is the most important part of what a loan officer does. Period. Asking the questions that reveal the truth about the individual’s situation, and getting the docs that confirm the loan application. Still, loan officers get to the application process and stammer and stutter, and don’t ask questions in the right order, and are confused about it all.
Why can this be?
There are 8-10 things that are iterated that are predictable, and that are the cornerstones–fundamentals–of our businesses. Let’s identify them, break them down, figure out what the best practice is and execute.
WE get the same questions every day.
We have the same problems.
Why not have the BEST and most PREPARED answers to the problems that we know we’re going to face?
8 Things You Can Do To Prevent Career Obsolecence In Real Estate
By Filed Under: Start Here
It’s Getting Worse. It’s All a Matter of Degree.
Every time my attention is called to a post like this, I get a confused. Realtors are sitting together in some sort of lunatic echo chamber reassuring people that things aren’t as bad. They point to innacuracies in the media, however small, and say “Gotcha, the sky is not falling.”
Meanwhile, we see a trade association that is doing everything it can to make sure it’s members don’t know the truth, don’t have to react to the truth, and are obsolete. If renting is cheaper than owning, why own an asset that’s currently depreciating? Do they think we’re six? And then Realtors cling to antique information without being ready to face reality.
OK, OK What Can a Realtor or Mortgage Guy Do?
Well, there will be people that want hearth and home and want to pay for it. That’s a reasonable choice. The best neighborhoods are more available to renters than owners, and even if there is a loss of equity, quality of life may be better than in a rental. That is what we’re selling right now. We’re in the “appreciation” mode, and that’s not where we should be. People are natural consumers.
Acknowledge the problems with the market–and it’s true that people aren’t buying at the peak prices we saw in 2005, the prices will continue to go down, and the advantages the trade associations have enjoyed will be shrunk. That doesn’t mean people with a give/serve first mentality can’ win.
- Average fee will go down: So focus your operation on low cost, and try to get more deals. This might mean that you get rid of some services, but the key to focus on is efficiency. Can you make a living if your average fee is down to 35%.
- Your business requires units more than anything. Focus on as many units as possible. If you did 40-80 units last year, assume you have to double it.
- Don’t be attached to one deal. A lot of Realtors and Brokers would have one giant deal a quarter, or three a quarter. Don’t ever be in posiion if of having one deal make your quarter. 20-25 deals/quarter not 5-8.
- Over document: for a number of reasons, if you can become unconsciously competent at documenting things–at sharing information, and at having procedures, your business will have much less resistance. You will have to have systems in place.
- Focus on less work, more service. If you have a workflow that makes sense, is uniform, that you can get good at, the client benefits from increased information. The way that we communicate is important. Focus on emails in the morning to enhance efficiency.
- Have lots and lots of leads all the time. Don’t settle for the leads that will make you have a good month. Have 10-15-20 viable, closable leads.
- Don’t take the holidays off. Traditionally, Real Estate Agents wandered off from October 20th for the end fo the year. LOTS of business can get done in December, in January, all throughout the year.
- The bonus: ALWAYS ALWAYS BE LEARNING if it’s learning WordPress, or whatever keep learning, on purpose. 20% of your professional time is spent learning, 20% pursuing your muse, and 20% improving your processes, and 40% doing your job. Keep learning, consider education, part of your job description.
