Best business practices

Be Careful What You Read

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The Northern Virginia real estate market remains strong for
both buyers and sellers.  Although
inventory levels have increased slightly over the last few weeks – more houses
are selling as well!  Our absorption rate
remains steady at a 1.8 month supply of houses! 

Be careful what you read. 
In a recent article, it was noted by Fox
Business that new homes sales had dropped to record lows.  In our area, builders are seeing robust sales
and tremendous activity.  We have said it
before and will continue to say that we are in the best real estate market in
the nation – take what you see and what you hear about real estate with a grain
of salt because we are different and good news doesn’t sell!  We put a condo on the market in Manassas on Friday of last week and it was sold by Sunday –
the market is HOT!

For the best in real estate advice and news, please call us
to hear the true information about our market. 
We want our clients to be the most informed and up to date with our
local housing market.  We have the most
current stats, data and information on financing as well as the home buyer tax credit and
how it can affect you so feel free to call today!  We are here to help.  The Results Realty Group – 703-652-5777.

Shopping for a Condo? Ask These 4 Questions before You Buy

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Condominium homes have always been, and will likely
always be, an efficient and economical route to becoming a first-time
homeowner. They can offer the comfort, prestige, and even luxury appointments
that apartment living may lack, often at a cost that is not much different than
rent. With the current first-time home buyer tax credit and the deadline for
the move-up tax credit fast approaching, I advise you move fast on any condo
purchase you may be considering.


With my experience as Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, I am well
aware that not all condominiums are the same, however, so make sure you ask the
following four questions before you buy:

What will you own?
Read the bylaws and be sure you understand what you will be responsible for and
what belongs to the condo association. Will you own the boat dock at the back
of your unit? Can you elect to build a spa on your patio? Generally, unit owners
own and are responsible for the interior of their condos, while costs for
outside maintenance including common areas and sewer lines are the
association’s responsibility.

Who lives there?
Are the majority of residents owners or renters? Owners generally take more
interest in proper maintenance and are more willing than renters to serve on
the association board and enforce complex rules and regulations–including the
regular collection of homeowner dues.

How effective is
the homeowner’s association? Do they have legal counsel,
reasonable funds and a capable, caring volunteer board? One way to judge is to
check with residents about restrictions, oversight and timeliness of repairs
and upgrades. Another is to take a hard look at the grounds and be wary of
signs of neglect.

What about special
assessments? The association should have the power to special
assess for needed, one-time large expenditures. Otherwise, things that need to
be done may never get done at all, leaving the complex vulnerable to disrepair
and lowered property values.


Don’t miss this great opportunity to become a homeowner or to downsize by
buying a condo (remember, the move-up tax credit does not require you to move
to a larger or more expensive home).

Notes from Scott’s Desk

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There are houses selling…2 contracts per listing of late – and
in different price points, $250,000 and $850,000.  The contracts came in close to list price even
though they were in competition.

Some agents like Equator, the new Bank of America short sale
portal – because of their quick responses and live chat, but some still have
repeated problems with acceptance of forms in particular formats.  Once in the final stage of approval, it takes
about 6 weeks to close, and they take precautions to stave off foreclosure.

Ask for 90 day short sale contingency approval – don’t pull
contract in final stages of negotiation, swap out contracts with same terms to
keep the ball rolling – you don’t want to have to go back to the beginning.

Short sale listings are finding agents – agents aren’t
pursuing them as much, they are just coming in.

Go back to database – reach out and talk to your people to
grow your business.  We are in a
relationship business – build those relationships deeper and your success will
follow. 

What will happen at the end of April when the tax credit is
gone?  No, what will happen at the end of
March when the Fed stops buying MBS?  The
market will slow…buyers will be back on the fence…financing is tough enough –
hopefully the restrictions on obtaining financing won’t get any worse…rates
will increase – buyers will drop out of market – will prices drop?  Message to send out: look at the positive
side of things…rates are great, inventory is available, prices remain low, we
know what loan programs are available…we need to list out true picture of the
market, it’s our job.

How do properties not listed as short sales end up in hands
of investors prior to courthouse steps?  Are
these investors negotiating directly with the seller or going to the trustee at
the steps or are they going directly to the bank?  This is a question our group would like to
know the answer too.

Appraisers are asking to have snow removed from the roofs of
properties…appraisals are coming in low…fewer sales make appraisals a problem
this time of year…appraisers aren’t going into the house in some cases…on FHA
loans, the lender has the option of using the first appraisal or ordering a
second one, if you are caught in a low appraisal situation with FHA loans on
your listings, switch lenders…

Housing starts rise in January 2.8% – RISMEDIA, February 22,
2010—Nationwide housing production hit its strongest pace in the last six
months this January, posting a 2.8% gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate
of 591,000 units, according to figures recently released by the U.S. Commerce
Department.

According to the latest indexes (Zillow and the Feds “flow
of funds report) negative owner equity has dropped as prices have begun to
increase and between the 1st and 3rd quarters last year,
home equity rose by $1 trillion as a combination of increased home values and
principal pay down.  Although this news
was good for a lot of the country, the sand states (FL, AZ, NM & CA)
continue to be viewed as a high risk factor.

Josh Burruss of Potomac Mortgage Group mentioned the
upcoming FHA financing changes and dates to keep in mind to create buyer
urgency.

The following are some images from our monthly Real Estate Exchange in Gainesville. 

IMG_7864

IMG_7866 

IMG_7869     IMG_7872 

IMG_7877     IMG_7878

 

Do you have an On Purpose Attitude?

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One of the keys to success is to act…On Purpose.  Each of your activities must be intentional and must begin with the end in mind.  If there is no purpose to the activity, don’t do it!  Let’s analyze the On Purpose Attitude.

 

O – Outgoing, you must have a personality that is outgoing to achieve success.  You need to get out from behind your desk, out of your home office and get in front of people.  Be engaging and attract people through your personality and success will follow.

 

N – Nurturing, you must nuture the relationships you build through your outgoing personality.  Learn about those you meet, learn about their business, and help them grow their business and you will naturally have success follow you!

 

P – Proactive, be proactive in your daily activities.  Success won’t come to you – you have to go out and get it!  Areas of proactivity must include prospecting, learning, research and networking.

 

U – Urgency, develop a sense of urgency in your activities, as well.  John Wooden said, “be quick, but don’t be in a hurry”.  Have a sense of urgency to get things done.  Don’t procrastinate.  Develop to do lists, prioritize, and move on to the next activity.

 

R – Results, be effective and get results that build one step at a time to a successful life and career.  Determine what your results need to be to get the success you want and set a plan to accomplish what you need.

 

P – Planning, this is a critical step.  You need to plan your day, week, month and year to give yourself a road map to your success.  Review your plan and make appropriate adjustments as necessary.

 

O – Organized, you must be organized in all areas of your life to get the results you need.  Have an organized filing system, organized office, organized files, organized presentations, and you will reflect the professionalism that gets you to your desired level of success.

 

S – Systems, you must incorporate systems you need to follow to get the results you need.  Critical pieces of this puzzle include lead generation systems, follow up systems, processing systems, and other systems you need for your success.

 

E – Excellence, you must strive for excellence in all that you do.  The areas to consider are excellent customer satisfaction, excellent presentations, excellent communication, excellent work ethic, and excellent daily activities.

 

If you act On Purpose in all that you do, you will achieve success!  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

 

Now, go sell something!

Why Northern VA is the Place to Be in Real Estate

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Northern
Virginia is fortunate to have the fundamentals to be one of the top real estate
markets in the country.  Residential real
estate prices in the area had declined considerably in many areas over the past
few years but have likely bottomed in 2009. 
The demand for real estate in Northern Virginia continues to be on the
rise because of the strong job markets of Washington, D.C. and the surrounding
areas.  Many new corporate headquarters such
as the offices of Northrop Grumman, SAID, Volkswagen, Hilton and Merck have
recently moved to Northern Virginia bringing thousands of families to the
suburbs.  Contributing to the demand for
residential real estate in Northern Virginia are the many students and faculty
of several Colleges and Universities in the area, including; George Mason
University, Marymount University, Northern Virginia Community College and the
graduate and part-time student satellite campuses of Virginia Tech and the
University of Virginia.

Now
is a favorable time to invest in real estate in Northern Virginia.  Property values are affordable relative to
recent years and are expected to rise over the next several years as jobs
continue to be created here locally. 
Additionally, mortgage interest rates are near all time lows which
enable investors to capture higher returns on their investments.  Inventory numbers are down as more homes are
selling than are going on the market. 
The inventory levels are down this week 54% from the same week last year
and are down 70% from two years ago.  New
construction home builders are also reporting increased activity and sales in
recent months.  There is currently only a
2.5 month supply of homes in all of Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince
William County, Arlington County, Fauquier County, Alexandria City, Fairfax
City, Falls Church City, Manassas City and Manassas Park.  For rental properties in these areas, there
is only a 2.1 month supply which adds to the housing demand.

In
a recent Forbes article it was also noted that the premium for rent versus
mortgage payments helps determine when an area is determined to be a good
buying opportunity – well here is an excerpt from this article: 

For
people who want to own a home, the premium to buy—the spread between what
they’d spend to rent and what they’d pay for a mortgage—is much lower than the
15-year average in many cities.

To determine what
cities are smart buys, Forbes magazine computed the premium and also identified
locales where economists predict home prices will go up the most over the next
five years.

Here are the top
10 cities the magazine chose as the best places to buy right now.

  1. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.
  2. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord,
    N.C.-S.C.
  3. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet,
    Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
  4. Cincinnati-Middletown,
    Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
  5. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo
  6. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington,
    Minn.-Wis.
  7. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington,
    Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
  8. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton,
    Ore.-Wash.
  9. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont,
    Calif.
  10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
    D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.

 

As
a “Top Ten City”, we are even more encouraged to recommend buying in Northern
Virginia.

Two
particularly “hot” areas of expected property value increase over the next few
years are the neighborhoods of Herndon which are located within a two mile
radius of the future Herndon-Monroe stop on the Silver Line of the Metro and
the neighborhoods of Dumfries which are in close proximity to Fort
Belvoir.  The current Silver Line project
was secured by federal funding in December 2008 and will be completed in two
phases between 2013 and 2016.  With easy
access to public transportation, there will be more demand for housing in
Herndon.  In 2005, the Defense Department
announced that it would be shifting 18,000 jobs to Fort Belvoir.  This increase in jobs will cause more of a
demand for rental properties which, in turn, will keep inventory rates down, force
rental prices up and property values to rise.

We
believe that investors with a long term outlook on real estate will be well
served by investing today in Northern Virginia. 
If you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to call …

Don’t Stress It!

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As Realtors we often don't take enough time for
ourselves – letting our business take over.  The article below has some
great tips from agents and brokers, including myself, who have developed
systems that carve out space for everything they must do along with those
things they want to do.  

Who Ya’ Gonna Call? Stress Busters!
Overcoming Stress by Staying Organized and Fit

By Michele Lerner

Time is money, particularly for independent contractors such
as Realtors®. Unlike salaried workers, agents won’t continue to earn money when
they take a day off.
Under those circumstances, Realtors® may be tempted to work as many hours as
they can until they collapse from the lack of sleep and pressure. Yet some
agents do manage to stay on top of their careers while maintaining a satisfying
personal life. How do they do it?
Spending a day at the spa or a week at the beach may seem like the ideal way to
de-stress, but many busy Realtors® find taking that much time for themselves
impossible. Some agents and brokers have developed systems that carve out space
for everything they must do along with those things they want to do.

Organization and
Scheduling: The One-Two Punch For Fighting Stress
“There’s no one way to do business, and many agents have different systems that
help them, but I believe the best way to handle it is to be extremely organized
in your business and in your personal life,” says Maureen O’Hara, managing
broker of a Long & Foster Real Estate office in Reston. “I know that agents
have to be even more flexible than brokers, but they need to make a daily,
monthly and yearly plan, even if they have to change it later.”
O’Hara concedes that every day has to have an allowance for the unexpected, but
believes that certain things should remain consistent.  She stresses the
importance of having something related to business development on a Realtor’s®
daily to-do list, such as working on lead generation by getting in touch with
past clients and potential new ones.

“The real estate business is stressful when you are not in control of your time
or your clients,” says O’Hara. 


Staying organized and keeping a daily schedule with something planned for each
day to generate business can help agents feel less stressed.

“Anyone who tells you that you can balance your life is crazy,” says Derek
Blain, a Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty in McLean. “All you can do is
counter balance it.”

Blain uses time blocking and scheduling to handle stress. “I schedule lead
generation time and time for administrative tasks and vacations, too,” says
Blain. “I also schedule time for exercise.”

Scott MacDonald, a broker and owner of two Re/Max Gateway offices, including
one in Chantilly, says that setting goals should be the first step toward
handling stress.

“You have to know what you need to do to attain your goals daily, weekly,
monthly and yearly, and then you need to manage your time to get yourself
there,” says MacDonald. “I schedule my work time very tightly by meeting with
agents in the morning one-on-one, then doing other brokerage work from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m., then working with clients in the afternoons and evenings.”

MacDonald also closes his door at the office when he isn’t meeting with staff
or clients so that he can focus without distractions.

Controlling your Clients and your Communication
MacDonald uses a BlackBerry for emails and sets priorities for the urgency of
every message so that he can set aside time to deal with each one.

 “I recommend that everyone remove the ‘sent from my BlackBerry’ signature
line from their emails, because once you have that, everyone expects you to
answer every email immediately from your BlackBerry.”

 MacDonald also pays about $30 per month for a service that automatically
turns every voice mail into an email.
 “Instead of listening to my voice mails, which can take a lot of time, I
can read them quickly and then forward them to someone else to answer if that
makes more sense,” says MacDonald. “The great thing about this system is that
you can keep your own number, unlike [other systems], which [require] an 866
number.”

O’Hara suggests that agents take control of their clients and their
communication.

“Recently I left someone a message whose voice mail said they return calls
daily between 3 and 5 p.m.,” says O’Hara. “That’s a great idea, because then
you don’t get caught up in this cycle of constant calls.”


She suggests that agents attempt to have their clients work with them on their
preferred schedule whenever possible, which allows the agents to have some
control over their time.

MacDonald coaches two basketball teams for his children in addition to
maintaining a complex work schedule, so he schedules his practices and games as
appointments.

“When I am working with clients and they ask to meet during a practice time, I
just tell them I have other appointments, and we schedule our appointment for
another time,” says MacDonald. “Actually, when you are working with clients I’m
not sure it’s so great to say you are wide open. People don’t want to work with
someone who doesn’t have any business.”

Agents can easily lose control of their time by being constantly available for
phone calls or other communication with clients.

“I prioritize my emails and my voice mails, because some are urgent and some
are not,” says Blain. “Anything that can wait, I will leave for the morning,
which is a great time to catch up on less urgent emails.”

 

Outsourcing and the
Team Approach
“I share an assistant with other agents so that I can pay her on an hourly
basis,” says Blain. “I also outsource as much as I can, such as direct mail and
brochures, which can be streamlined through my office.”


Hiring part-time help as often as possible to help with routine administrative
items and things such as direct mailing works for Mike Malferrari, a Realtor®
with Avery Hess Realtors® in Springfield, who does not have a full-time
assistant. 

MacDonald works with a real estate team and a team of managers for his offices.
“I really believe that you should ‘do what you do best and then delegate the
rest’,” says MacDonald. “I’ve been very careful to hire people who work well
together, and this has increased our volume of business tremendously.”

 MacDonald maintains that good time management begins with being able to
communicate well with everyone. All of his meetings have an agenda that is sent
to participants ahead of time, so that each meeting can be as short as 15
minutes if possible.

Diane Edwards, a Realtor® with Century 21 New Millennium in McLean, says she
relies on back-up support from her office, especially for brochures.

“One thing that helps me with stress is the ability to work from multiple
locations,” says Edwards. “I have a completely outfitted home office so that I
can relax physically while still getting work done. If I need help, I can get
online support from my regular office.”

Reaching out to your Broker and Colleagues
While some agents think handling the roiling real estate market of the past
few years may require professional mental health counseling, others rely on
their office mates for “talk therapy.”

“I work with all my agents to identify the problems that are causing stress and
possible solutions to the problems,” says Jo Anne Johnson, managing broker at
Westgate Realty Group in Falls Church. “For instance, recently an agent was
facing an extremely frustrating situation with a client, and we eventually
realized that they just could not get along. I took over the final steps of the
transaction instead of the agent, including the walk through and the
settlement. Agents need to see that one solution for stressful problems can be
turning to their broker.”

Johnson says that she tries to be available at every possible moment for her
agents, no matter the time of day.


“If someone calls and they are in the middle of a settlement or have another
urgent problem, I need to be there for them no matter what I am doing,” says
Johnson.

Johnson fosters camaraderie among the agents in her office with guest speakers
and frequent meetings. They know they can trust her and each other to help them
with difficult issues.

Edwards agrees. “We work hard to share our frustrations and problems because we
can help each other with solutions or just by listening,” she says. “We also
have an extremely supportive manager. No problem is too big or too small to
discuss with our manager.”

O’Hara says work can actually be a great stress-reliever for people with
problems in their personal lives.


“If you can get involved in what you are doing you can sometimes leave the
other stress in your life at the front door of the office,” says O’Hara.

A
Sound Mind and a Healthy Body
“Working out is very important,” says
Blain. “Your body is a multi-million-dollar-producing machine, so you have to
work at keeping it in the best possible shape.”

Malferrari runs three to four times every week, usually in the morning. “I find
that while I am exercising I am free to think away from the phone calls and
emails that normally interrupt my time,” says Malferrari. “I like to do it in
the morning because it helps me plan my day.”

Morning exercise seems to work best for many agents as a way to find time for
themselves physically and mentally.


O’Hara says, “I get up early and I am exercising by 6 a.m. at least five times
per week. While I am exercising, my brain gets in gear, too, and by the time I
am dressing for work I am working on my mental list of things to do.”

The Upside of Down Time
When it’s time to take a true vacation
rather than an hour or a day off, many agents opt to schedule a trip between
late October and early January to take advantage of real estate’s traditional
slow period. 

“Luckily my child isn’t in school yet, so we are able to take vacations at
non-traditional times,” says Malferrari. “We plan our vacations around the
quiet times in the market.”

Refreshed by time away from home, agents can begin the New Year with enthusiasm
and plenty of plans for a productive year. Whether it’s relaxing at the beach,
unwinding on the treadmill, or commiserating with colleagues, busy agents
should take advantage of opportunities to minimize stress. These personal
investments ultimately will yield positive business results.

Article can be found here: 
http://nvar.com/PublicationsbrnbspampMedianbsp/UPDATEMagazine/2010UpdateIssues/JanuaryFebruary2010Issue/ArticleStressBusters/tabid/583/Default.aspx

The Market Is What the Market Is…

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Platinum
Group and Haymarket Real Estate Exchange in January

AMSHI
is charging $5,000 to buyers and $5,000 to sellers to negotiate short sales…short
sales are getting tougher – for example, Bank of America is taking forever and
in many cases sends you back to square one. 
Banks are setting unrealistic expectations for closing dates with
approvals on their short sales.  Banks
aren’t up to speed on lending rules and regulations when giving the approvals.  Employees at these banks are not educated –
fresh from college, calls are often outsourced, and they have not been trained
properly.  Bank of America is now using
Equator; therefore, there is no one person to speak with which makes the
process even more frustrating.

Foreclosures
are coming – it’s ground hog day – we keep hearing the same thing over and
over.  One agent has 6 in the pipe line;
another has 5 in the pipeline and 6 under contract and is getting about 1 every
2 to 3 weeks.  We are below the national
average as far as default rates and our inventory level is 33% distressed. 

We
discussed “shadow” inventory that we just don’t see, but the media continues to
talk about.  If banks are going release
foreclosures into the market, it will be a slow and steady release and not a
“dump” on the market scenario. 
Foreclosure filings were down 26% in Prince William County in 2009 –
stay tuned!

It’s
tough to find properties under $400,000.

We
are waiting on the FHA mortgagee letter to be released to hear about new
guidelines – increase in down payment with credit scores under 580, increase in
upfront mortgage insurance, reduced seller concessions, and the waving of the
seasoning requirements for flips – we shall see…

VA’s
max loan is now $758,000.

Inventory
levels are slowly increasing which give the appearance of things being slow,
but it really isn’t – especially in the lower price ranges.

Need
to build urgency in buyers – prices are affordable, interest rates remain
attractive, home buyer tax credit is still in place, and loan programs are in
place today that may not be available in the future.

A Real Threat?

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The
question surrounding our market lately is shadow inventory and how will it
affect us.  Well in my opinion, it is a
very good question as it is a question I have been asking myself and our agents
for several months.  Over the past 18-24 months we have heard about
foreclosure being released into the market – it hasn’t happened as of
yet.  The latest indication from asset managers is that properties will be
released in the 2nd quarter of this year.  We shall see if it
occurs.

 

The
question I ask is for agents to look around their neighborhood for vacant
properties not currently listed for sale, and ask their neighbors and friends
if they see many unlisted vacant houses.  The answer I typically get is
no, there aren’t that many. 

 

We
ask how many of your friends or neighbors outside of real estate are unemployed
locally.  The answer, not many.  We ask our agents if requests for
BPO’s (broker price opinions) are on the rise, steady or going down – here you
get a very mixed bag but mostly we hear they are going up, but only
slightly. 

 

We
run MRIS numbers Friday mornings in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William,
Arlington, Fauquier, Alexandria City, Fairfax City, Falls Church City, Manassas
City and Manassas Park for resales only in the categories of actives, under
contract, settled the last 30 days, vacant, and rentals to help us determine
trends in the market.  As of this past Friday, there were 4,727 active
resales in these areas.  335 were listed as foreclosures, 931 were listed
as short sales and 41 were listed as undisclosed (which are more than likely
short sales) which represents 28% of the inventory.  These numbers are
below 2008 numbers when we experienced our foreclosure boom.  And, our
inventory numbers are down 54% from the same week last year and are down 70%
from 2 years ago.  Plus, we only have a 2.5 month supply of homes.

 

So
where will the shadow inventory come from is the question and I believe it is
foreclosures and unapproved short sales.  What dictates
foreclosures?  Unemployment is one of the biggest factors.  The job
loss to foreclosure ratio is 6 – 1.  I understand that unemployment in
Northern Virginia is around 4.2% which is very low.  Job relocation and
subsequent inability to sell.  Well national unemployment is over 10% and
companies are relocating here so we are seeing fewer relocations out of the
area.  Divorce is another factor – it is my understanding that they are
down because people are under water with values and can’t afford to finalize
divorces.  So it seems unlikely we will see a huge influx on inventory
from these areas but we do have two real threats in our future – Prime loan ARM
readjustments and the eventual unapproved short sales inventory being reentered
into inventory.  The only issue is we are unsure of the true number we
have here in our area and if it will have any significant impact.

 

We
will have “shadow” inventory but I don’t believe it to be a real threat to our
market as our inventory level is low and we should be able to absorb it with
the pent up demand we are experiencing with the home buyer tax credit expansion
and extension coupled with low rates and reduced valuations of properties.  Get it? 
Got it?  Good!

 

Now,
go sell something!

Time Flies…

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Time flies – it’s an amazing phenomenon.  As many of you are contemplating your plan
for the New Year and what success is going to look like for you in it – think
about this – 5% of the year is already gone. 
Have you attained 5% of your yearly goals?  Are you working a specific plan or are you
muddling through each day “hoping” things will come together for you this
year?  Each day that goes by without
direction is a lost day in your life and before you know it, another valuable
year is gone. 

It is time to begin to live a purpose driven life with you
as the pilot – not a passenger.  Start to
map out your daily activities, find an accountability partner to hold you and
them to a higher standard, write down the objectives you want to attain, and
set your course for success.  One of the
best ways to attain a goal that is a SMARTY (Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Realistic, Timeframe oriented and Yours) is to break it down into smaller,
measurable and manageable pieces to help you achieve them.  In order to help you better achieve your
goals is to write them out on paper. 
This critical step cannot be overlooked!

As we all know, time is precious and once it is gone, you
can’t get it back.  So get busy getting
busy and map out your pathway to success. 
We are here to help.  Get it?  Got it? 
Good!

Now, go sell something!

D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E

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Recently we discussed change and in my opinion, one of the key ingredients to true change is discipline. Discipline is defined as conscious control over lifestyle – mental self-control used in directing or changing behavior, learning something, or training for something.  Here is a breakdown of discipline to help you continue down the path or perhaps blaze a new trail to incorporate this quality characteristic into your daily habits.

Desire – you must want what you have written or listed as your goal or objective.

Initiate – you must initate the proper behaviors or changes into your life.

Sacrifices – you must realize there are sacrifices necessary to implement in your life to achieve success.

Commit – you must commit to the changes you desire and stick with them to get the results you want.

Intentional – your actions must be intentional towards your new behavior and away from the old in order for true change to occur in your life.

Passion – you must have passion to achieve what lifestyle change you are implementing into your routine.

Learn – you must learn to accept the challenges you will face and fight through the “pain” of old habits.

Inspire – reward your new behavior to inspire yourself to stay on course and in the process, perhaps you will inspire others to do the same!

Numbers – it starts with small incremental changes, one by one that will add up to huge results.  As the saying goes, you eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Excellence – is what you will achieve if you stick with your plan of action through discipline.

In order to effectively implement change in your life, you must embrace discipline.  By writing your goals down, it will help you have focus, desire and the will to achieve, which will result in discipline becoming easier for you.  Remember, it all starts within you.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!