When Disaster Strikes!

When disaster strikes – keep a cool head, ask lots of questions, bring in professionals, and use the ear of good friends. In the past 10 days my home has sustained damage from a record breaking hail storm, a sewer back up and a flash flood rain that left 3” of standing water in my basement and soaked the entire south end of my home in brackish water. Suffice it to say that the feelings I explored in last Weds’ blog came to roost in a big way.



As is true in most events like this, the power is not so much in what has already happened but in what one learns from the experience.

Keep a cool head! Take a deep breath and do your best to assess the situation for what it actually is. Take care to keep the emotional reactions and fears out of the decision process. Take time to learn what is really happening and learn what factors are actually feeding the process. And most important take time to make the money decisions.

Bring in professionals! After 2 days of investigation by men from the City of Lakewood’s Water & Sewer Department, A+ Handyman, and 3 different technicians from $99, Rooter (favorite support resources for my real estate business) we were able to piece together several contributing factors that had converged to leave me quite literally treading as fast as I could to keep my head above water.

Ask lots of questions! There truly are no stupid questions. And keep questioning until what you are hearing and seeing make full and complete sense to you. “Why” & “How” were particularly illuminating during this process. Why is the water coming up here? How is the water supposed to flow? Why do you think this is the answer? How do you know (fill in the blank)? Extensive questioning will:
1) gently guide the professionals to continue thinking until they get to the bottom of the issue,
2) add to your knowledge (granted you may never have wanted to know this stuff),
3) keep you and the professionals on the same side working together to fix the problem preventing the sometimes adversarial role that can arise,
4) empower you to stay engaged in solving the problem and distract your mind from spiraling into freak-out fear.

Use the ear of good friends! Saturday’s flood came on the eve of what was to be a party of 70 or so people celebrating their “Sexy”. My dear friends Nader, Pier, Dave, Laura & Rod, Leslie, Lil, Terry each pitched in to sweep out water, get the word out about canceling the party, listening when my head was not so cool, care for my clients while I dealt with contractors and offer words of comfort & encouragement. Thanks my dear ones. I am lucky to have you in my life.

It is my sincere hope that none of you face the calamities described here. If however, the gods decide differently, I or another talented real estate professional can be an invaluable resource for getting things back on track. So if you have need of a plumber, or are considering a renovation project, or are curious about how to suck a few hundred gallons of water out of your basement shoot me an email at la@thrivingartistalliance.com or give me a call 303-726-1051 – I can help.

A special thanks to Jim Forth at Bancroft Clover - Don’t get me wrong, I’m bummed I have to pay for the dig but your responsiveness was impressive.

Persist without exception

My life is so full of marvelous things that at times I am overwhelmed with gratitude and the joy it brings. But if I am to be honest with myself, I must also admit to experiencing days on which I am equally overwhelmed with stress, worry and even fear stemming from the 3 full-time jobs I am undertaking at the moment: mother to three growing boys, full-time real estate agent and the creation of a new and soon to be national enterprise - Thriving Artist Alliance. On those rare yet emotionally depleting days when I suffer these negative concerns I find comfort and strength in the words of Andy Andrews from his book "The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions to a Successful Life". The story follows protagonist, David Ponder, at what is perhaps the worst moment in his life. He encounters an angel who takes him back in time to visit with a variety of historical figures each of whom has important words of wisdom to share about a decision that was key in his/her life. David learns one important "decision" from each character that once made the decision will be the difference between misery or mastery.

The Buck Stops Here
I accept responsibility for my past. I control my thoughts. I control my emotions.
I am responsible for my success.
The buck stops here.

I Will Seek Wisdom
I will be a servant to others I will listen to the counsel of wise men.
I will choose my friends with care.
I will seek wisdom.

I Am a Person of Action
I am courageous. I am a leader. I seize this moment.
I choose Now.
I am a person of action.

I Have a Decided Heart
I will not wait. I am passionate about my vision for the future.
My course has been charted. My destiny is assured.
I have a decided heart.

Today I Will Choose to be Happy
I will greet each day with laughter. I will smile at every person I meet.
I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.
Today I will choose to be happy.

I Will Greet This Day with a Forgiving Spirit
I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly. I will forgive myself.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.

I Will Persist Without Exception
I will continue despite exhaustion. I will focus on results.
I am a person of great faith.
I will persist without exception.

I have written the Seven Decisions on my bathroom mirror in china marker so that I can read them every morning as I prepare for my day and every night as I prepare for sleep. Considering the difficulties we've faced recently with the dip in our economy, wars waging in several countries, unemployment on the rise . . . the list goes on and on, the ideas expressed in the 7 Decisions have helped me build a life of happiness, a business worth continuing to build and a future that thrills and excites me. I strongly recommend Andy's books. Perhaps there you too can find something of value. Check out Andy's web site: www.andyandrews.com

Carpe diem baby!!!

Richard Florida, in his book, “Rise of the Creative Class” identifies creativity as the distinguishing marker for the next wave of leaders and producers in our society.

Society is changing & the driving force of this change is the rise of human creativity as the key factor in our economy and society. The creative individual is no longer viewed as an iconoclast. I have great news for you. We, as creatively minded people, are the new mainstream. Creativity is becoming highly valued. Systems are evolving to encourage and harness new ideas, new technologies, new industries, new wealth. All other economic things flow from creativity. Creativity is essential to the way we live and work today. Human creativity is multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. It involves distinct kinds of thinking & habits that must be cultivated both in the individual and the surrounding society. Creatively minded people are indeed the chief currency of the emerging economic age. And our economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or new creative content. We engage in complex problem solving. We can never be forced to work but are never truly not at work.

Paul Romer claims the “the most important ideas of all are ‘meta ideas’ – ideas that support the production and transmission of other ideas”. Thriving Artist Alliance is a meta idea! We are committed to supporting the creative.

Einstein said, “Every act of creation is at first an act of destruction.” Thriving Artist Alliance is engaging in what economist Joseph Schumpeter called, “the perennial gale of creative destruction”. What TAA is destroying is the Starving Artist Archetype - an outdated archetype that must be laid to rest. If what Richard Florida is saying in his book is true, then our time, the time for artists and creatives has finally come. Couple this with our current real estate market and you’ve got an unprecedented moment in history that we may truly never see again. Carpe diem baby!!!

Real Estate Code of Ethics

Colorado is unique in so many ways - from the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains to our beer brewing Mayor, John Hickenlooper. One of the most powerful differences is the way we do real estate. Yesterday I had the opportunity to take the National Association of Realtors® Ethics class. Here are a few of the things I learned:
- Our real estate Commission was voted #1 in the country for 9 years running.
- The NAR Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice contains 17 Articles outlining a code of conduct and establishes obligations that maybe higher than those mandated by law. These guidelines are geared to protect the consumer.
- Colorado is 1 of only 23 states in the nation with true Buyer Agency Relationship agreements. When I bought my first home in 1987 I was more than a little surprised to discover that even though I had a Buyer’s Agent, my agent in reality worked for the Seller as a sub-agent.
- Of the 41,000 real estate agents in Colorado only 24,000 subscribe to the NAR Code of Ethics. So the next time you buy, sell or invest in real estate make sure your agent has taken the Realtor® pledge.

I PLEDGE MYSELF
To protect the individual right of real estate ownership and to widen the opportunity to enjoy it;
To be honorable and honest in all dealings;
To seek better to represent my clients by building my knowledge and competence;
To act fairly towards all in the spirit of the 
Golden Rule;
To serve well my community, and through it my country;
To observe the REALTORS® Code of Ethics and conform my conduct to its lofty goals.

Great class Wally. Thanks for being a brilliant teacher!