1. Tell yourself a positive story. Life is a story. The story we tell ourselves and the role we play in that story determines the quality and direction of our life. The best real estate professionals are able to overcome adversity by telling themselves a more positive story than the rest. Instead of a drama or a horror movie, they define their life as an inspirational tale. Instead of being the victim, they see themselves as a fighter and overcomer. You may not be able to control market conditions, but you can influence the outcome of your story.
2. Model yourself after success. Are there real estate practitioners succeeding today? Of course there are. Seek out those people in your market and ask to meet with them. Learn from their advice and model their attitudes and actions. If they can succeed, so can you.
3. Focus on the important stuff. Tune out the negative voices and start making positive choices. What are you doing on a daily basis to grow yourself, your team, and your business? Don’t focus on the negative things other salespeople and the media are saying. Instead, focus on marketing your business, taking care of clients, and building loyal relationships. Every morning ask yourself this question: “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?” Then take action on those items.
4. Replace “have to” with “get to.” This simple word swap can change your mind-set and your approach to work and life. It turns a complaining voice to an appreciative voice, and acknowledges that life is a gift—not an obligation. So often we grudgingly say things like “I have to go to this meeting,” “I have to meet with this client,” or “I have to sell houses in this market.” In reality, it’s not about what we have to do. It’s about what we get to do. Research shows that when we practice gratitude, we get a measurable boost in happiness that energizes us and enhances our health. It’s also physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time.
5. Refuse to participate in the recession. Professionals who’ve thrived during past recessions continued to go about business as usual regardless of market conditions. They worked hard and focused on taking actions to grow their business. As others are paralyzed by fear, take the opportunity to charge forward.
6. Boost your marketing and advertising. It may seem counterintuitive to spend more money on advertising and marketing right now. But with so many of your competitors cutting back in these areas, this is a great opportunity to build your brand and gain market share. People are still buying and selling, and they will buy from those whom they trust and see in the marketplace.
7. Create a positive vision. Instead of being disappointed about where you are, make the decision to be optimistic about where you are going. Create a positive vision for your future and the future of your team. Vision helps you see the road ahead and it gives you something meaningful and valuable to strive towards.
8. Invite others on your bus. Invite colleagues and customers to board your bus for a positive ride. Send them an e-bus ticket at www.TheEnergyBus.com. Share your vision with team members and ask them to join you in making this vision a reality. Be a positive influence.
9. No more complaining. Abide by the “no complaining” rule. When you realize you’re about to complain, replace your thoughts and words with positive actions. Let your complaints help you identify what you don’t want so that you can focus on what you do want. The key is to turn complaints into solutions.

Source: Jon Gordon is a speaker, consultant, and author of The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy (Wiley, 2007), and The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work (Wiley, 2008). Gordon’s next book, Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else, is scheduled to be released next month.

I have to admit… I can sometimes join the crowd of pessimistic naysayers that revel in how bad the economy is today and how hopeless it looks for the future. Unfortunately, that attitude causes us to completely overlook the blooming buds of optimism that appear during the Spring of Recession.

Here’s just a few of them from the past week (click on any for the full article)!

• March Was U.S. Stocks’ Best Monthly Gain Since 1991
• U.S. Feb. Pending Home Sales Up 2.1%
• Consumers slightly more confident
• U.S. home sales climb at fastest pace in 10 months
• Certain areas of economy swelling with jobs

Like Kasey Casem said; “keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars” (no idea why that popped in my head).

A “slightly modified” version of a Scott Adams classic….

As we have predicted for months, there’s a new array of mobile applications streaming into the marketplace and many can be modified for real estate buyers.

Looks like Apple will have an advantage! (and I use a Blackberry Bold).

The iPhone now accounts for 50 percent of mobile Web traffic from smartphones in the U.S., according to an AdMob Mobile Metrics report released this morning. Over the past six months, the iPhone has taken share from Blackberry and Windows Mobile. In August 2008, the iPhone made up only 10 percent of mobile Web traffic from smartphones. During the same time, Blackberry’s share has gone from 32 percent to 21 percent (with the Curve and the Pearl coming in stronger than the Storm), while Windows Mobile has taken an even bigger hit, declining from 30 percent to 13 percent. Palm is also down to 7 percent from 19 percent six months ago. <from www.techcrunch.com>

Every month I update our Venture Capital partners with a “pulse” of what we hear happening in the real estate development community. I thought it would be fun to post these findings on the Blog for discussion. Nothing scientific  – just honest feedback from a smart group of insiders.

• Increasing anxiety about prolonged economic turmoil (domestic and global)
• With staff reductions, new spending hard to justify
• Increased pursuit of any and all types of “efficiencies”
• Financing hurdles for those that do want to buy
• Growing operational limitations imposed by lenders and owner/investors
• Near abandonment of print advertising, collateral and media
• Chapter 7 vs. chapter 11
• Interested prospects want completed communities (no renderings)
• Recognizing need for exceptional service and experience for every single on-site prospect
• Retail buyers are looking for foreclosures, short sales or a “steal”
• Leadership is learning to sell because all sales people have quit or been fired
• Watching for signs of positive consumer confidence
• Progressively more dependent on web-based databases and lead generating tools
• Interested prospects have low levels of interest in home sites
• Research is leading to a fractional explosion over the next 5 years
• Flush developers and lenders (and there are many) have the opportunity/opportunities of a lifetime
• Best location, best product and best price still wins!

Special thanks to these folks for their contribution this month: Linton West, Jason Weaver, Harry Redfearn, Terry Tolbert, Ranie Good, Chris Hill, Jami Mullikin, Terry Weaver, Gary Harmon, Judith She’, David Pisano, Mike Notartomaso, Burt Baine, Johnny Ussery