Rid Yourself of Stress-Generating Time Management Issues
Let’s face it, no one seems to have enough time. When we feel time pressure, we experience increased stress. Increased stress leads to illness. If you want to get rid of the stress associated with feeling like you don’t have enough time, here’s how to do it.
Each time you catch yourself saying, “I don’t have enough time to,” say this instead: “I have enough time to accomplish all that I want to do.”
When you say this, close your eyes and see yourself falling asleep at the end of the day having accomplished everything you needed to do that day. Try this for the next week—you will be amazed at the results.
Three Real Estate Takeaways from Trump’s First Week in Office
There has never been a week in the history of the United States like the one we have just experienced under the new Trump administration. Amidst the 200 Executive Orders, all the cabinet confirmation hearings, plus the continuing onslaught of Trump breaking news, there are four big items that can impact the real estate industry
- Trump wants to lower mortgage interest rates
The president doesn’t have direct control of mortgage rates, but Trump is already leaning on the Fed to lower rates. For people who have lost their homes in the two hurricanes and the wildfires, this will be critical for helping them to shave building costs. It can also help to improve affordability across the board.
- Fanny and Freddie will not be privatized, at least for now
Trump doesn’t want to disrupt the mortgage market, and privatizing Fanny and Freddie would be a tremendous disruptor. Even though there have been articles about this, it hasn’t been mentioned anywhere as a priority in the Trump agenda.
- Will tariffs replace the U.S. income tax?
If this happens, it may be the most important achievement of the Trump administration. According to Google,“The federal tax code is incredibly complex—so complex that it covers 6,871 pages. If you add in the U.S. tax regulations, which are the U.S. Treasury’s official interpretation of the tax code, to that, you’d be up to 75,000 pages.”
Not having to pay income tax sounds like a pipedream but would certainly be a major change a lot of people would embrace.
Who knows what will happen in week 2, but it’s guaranteed to be fast and furious.
Two Tried and True Fundamentals for Real Estate Success
As Donald Trump is inaugurated today, our country will be headed in an entirely different direction from the last four years. Today’s CoachingClues provides insights about what is ahead for the real estate industry. Regardless of what is happening politically, the core fundamentals in real estate remain constant.
Here are two tried and true fundamentals to anchor you back to the basics of real estate success.
1. You’re not selling real estate — you’re selling the dream of homeownership 
When you work with first-time buyers, they are seeking to fulfill their version of the American dream. As you work with them, use the word dream often. Help them create their vision of a bright future. Also use the word dream in your marketing wherever possible.
2. Fix-it is your friend
When something goes wrong in a transaction and you’re facing an angry client, defuse the situation by saying, “It was never my intention to make you angry — what can I do to fix it?” Notice that there is no apology, only an attempt to address the issue and move on.
The Palisades Fire—the Nightmare is Just Beginning
The Palisades fire has hit me hard emotionally. I’m a Southern California native. I spent 20 years in the Brentwood Office at Jon Douglas Company. Pacific Palisades and Brentwood probably represented about 60 percent of our transactions in our office. I attended UCLA as well as living in six different homes within the areas currently in or near the path of the fires.
The apocalyptic photos and videos coming out of L.A. can’t begin to capture the horror of not only seeing your house go up in flames, but a huge part of your community—the businesses, the restaurants, the schools—all the elements that were part of what you considered to be home gone.
There’s a high probability that a huge proportion of those coastal communities will never be rebuilt, not only because of the cost, but there’s no way the roads and infrastructure can support that level of construction.
While you may think this doesn’t impact you, we just received our insurance bill for our home here in Austin—it doubled and will probably go up next year This is tied partially to the Florida hurricanes and the resulting devastation, especially in Asheville, North Carolina.
Sadly, insurance price increases are only the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming. The domino effect may bankrupt major insurance carriers and may result in California going into bankruptcy. If you can’t get insurance, you can’t get a loan to buy a house.
My heart breaks for all those who have been impacted by these unimaginable events. Today’s CoachingClues outlines what you can do to be prepared—please take the steps needed to protect your property, yourself, and those you love now by being prepared.
Start 2025 with a Clean Slate
Have you ever set a goal and not completed it? If so, are you still hanging on to that goal or have you let it go? If you would like to achieve what is really important to you as well as creating more space and time in your life, now is an ideal time to begin anew by letting go of the goals you haven’t achieved.
For example, you may have a goal to weigh 10-20 pounds less than you have for the last five years. The energy you spend feeling guilty about the foods you eat, discussing how you need to go on a diet, and condemning yourself for not taking action, could be diverted into achieving other important goals.
Because “nature abhors a vacuum,” letting go of unachieved goals allows new energy and new opportunities to come into your life. It also makes it easier to take action because the energy wasted on these old goals is now free to be used elsewhere. Consequently, having clarity about what really matters is critical.
Once you have cleaned your slate of the old goals you need to release, take a few moments to identify the three or four most important aspects of your life.
In other words, what really gives your life meaning? What is it that you can’t stand to live without? The answers to these questions represent your core needs and values. Thus, when you write your goals for the upcoming year, do so with the idea of bringing your goals into alignment with your core needs and values.
Remember, while there are many possible ways to “clean the slate,” how you do it is less important than taking steps to do it. Be creative and focus on activities that feel right for you.
Wishing you the best of everything in 2025 including your most productive year ever—we’re here to help!