Let me state this clearly: If you never ask for something, I can guarantee you that 100% of the time you will not get. Every single time you do not ask, the answer will be a "No"? How could it be anything else if there was never the opportunity for it to be a "Yes"? Whether it is asking for a sale, asking a business partner for funding, asking someone to mentor you or any other question of proposition, there is only one possible answer if the question is never asked.
Many times we are afraid to ask for something because we are afraid of the answer. We are afraid they are going to say no. But let's think of this from a different perspective. What if they do say yes? If you never ask, you have zero chance of getting a yes from someone. Simply asking raises your chances of success infinitely. You may still only have a very slight chance at getting a yes, but at least there is a chance. Don't hesitate wondering if someone is going to give you a no as an answer. If they do, who cares? It was already a no before you asked, and all you did was confirm it. If you never asked, you would never have known for sure. But who knows? They could say yes, and it could end up being the best question you've ever asked.
You also have something to work with when you get a no, versus having nothing at all to go on when you don't know what the first response is going to be. A no does not necessarily mean no forever. It could mean no for right now, it could mean they need more information or it could mean they don't understand. Whatever the reasoning, at least you have something to work with and you can start dealing with the objections. Without the knowledge of their original yes or no answer, you have nothing to go on.
So make sure that whatever endeavors you are in, ask the questions you are currently hesitating to ask. Ask for more than you think you can get. Ask for the sale when you think there is no chance they will go for it. One thing is for sure, they will definitely not go for it if it was never proposed to them.
Setting Your 2011 Goals
It's approaching that time of year again...already. It seems as though 2010 has just begun and already we are staring at 2011 being right around the corner. Now is the time to sit down and reflect on your 2010. How has the past year been for you? What goals did you reach? What goals did you not reach? Why? Spend some time analyzing the year, so you can use that knowledge when planning your 2011.
Before the end of the year, lay out your goals for next year. What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to change? Do you want to make more money? Do you want to get in shape? List the things that you want to achieve.
Here are some tips for setting your 2011 goals:
1) Don't make goals that you think you should make. Make goals you actually want to accomplish. This is part of the reason so many people fail at their goals so quickly. Their "new years resolutions" are what they think they should do, not what they actually want.
2) Go beyond skin deep. Don't just list what you want. Make sure you understand and list why you want it, and it has to be about more than just "surface" issues. For example, increasing your income is a great goal, but what is your overall objective in doing so? Is it being able to give more? To spend more time with your family? You must identify your "why"'s to keep you going when times get though.
3) Post your goals where you can see them. If they are not in front of you consistently, they are not nearly as likely to be reached.
4) Focus. Don't try to reach every goal in one year. Pick a couple you need to work on or that are foundational for your other goals and focus on those first. Use them as building blocks for your future goals.
5) Share your goals. Don't keep them a secret. Let those around you know what you plan to accomplish. Have someone hold you accountable. Even just telling people your goals increases your chance of success, as you now have other people besides yourself that know if you have or have not done what you said you would.
6) Have a plan. Goals without a plan are just a hope and a wish. You must have a plan of attack to be able to reach them. Without one it will take much longer, if you reach them at all.
I encourage you to actually that some time to put some thought into what you want your 2011 to be like. Put it on paper, use these tips, and make 2011 your best year yet!
Before the end of the year, lay out your goals for next year. What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to change? Do you want to make more money? Do you want to get in shape? List the things that you want to achieve.
Here are some tips for setting your 2011 goals:
1) Don't make goals that you think you should make. Make goals you actually want to accomplish. This is part of the reason so many people fail at their goals so quickly. Their "new years resolutions" are what they think they should do, not what they actually want.
2) Go beyond skin deep. Don't just list what you want. Make sure you understand and list why you want it, and it has to be about more than just "surface" issues. For example, increasing your income is a great goal, but what is your overall objective in doing so? Is it being able to give more? To spend more time with your family? You must identify your "why"'s to keep you going when times get though.
3) Post your goals where you can see them. If they are not in front of you consistently, they are not nearly as likely to be reached.
4) Focus. Don't try to reach every goal in one year. Pick a couple you need to work on or that are foundational for your other goals and focus on those first. Use them as building blocks for your future goals.
5) Share your goals. Don't keep them a secret. Let those around you know what you plan to accomplish. Have someone hold you accountable. Even just telling people your goals increases your chance of success, as you now have other people besides yourself that know if you have or have not done what you said you would.
6) Have a plan. Goals without a plan are just a hope and a wish. You must have a plan of attack to be able to reach them. Without one it will take much longer, if you reach them at all.
I encourage you to actually that some time to put some thought into what you want your 2011 to be like. Put it on paper, use these tips, and make 2011 your best year yet!
Having More Follows Becoming More
The late Jim Rohn put it best when he said that in order to have more, you must first become more. Take a look at your goals, what you would like to accomplish, and ask yourself truthfully if you are the kind of person that can get there. What I mean by that is, have you committed to growing into the person you need to be to accomplish those goals? Have you spent the time studying, the hours preparing and planning and have you invested in obtaining the knowledge that is required to get to where you would like to be?
Too often we make goals of accomplishing great things, but we look only at the goal itself and not and who we need to be to accomplish it. Let's use the example of the goal of becoming a millionaire. What are you doing to become a millionaire? I don't just mean having the money. What are you doing to become that type of person? Being a millionaire is not just having a certain amount of money. It is about a mindset, about a work ethic, and about being a certain type of person. Most people that are not millionaires think that it's just about the money, that it's just about having the zero's in the bank account. This brings me to another great quote that Jim Rohn was told by his mentor Mr. Shoaff. He told him, "Set a goal to become a millionaire for what it makes of you to achieve it."
The point of course is that you first must become that which you are trying to achieve. If you want to be a millionaire, you must start thinking and acting like a millionaire. If you want to be a business owner, you need to do the same. You must change your mindset and your actions to be those that match up with where you want to be. This process must start first, before you achieve your goals. It does not happen the other way around. If you think that you will achieve your goals and then magically you will be that person, you are badly mistaken, and you will most likely run into many troubles and possibly never reach them. You must first become; only then will you have.
Too often we make goals of accomplishing great things, but we look only at the goal itself and not and who we need to be to accomplish it. Let's use the example of the goal of becoming a millionaire. What are you doing to become a millionaire? I don't just mean having the money. What are you doing to become that type of person? Being a millionaire is not just having a certain amount of money. It is about a mindset, about a work ethic, and about being a certain type of person. Most people that are not millionaires think that it's just about the money, that it's just about having the zero's in the bank account. This brings me to another great quote that Jim Rohn was told by his mentor Mr. Shoaff. He told him, "Set a goal to become a millionaire for what it makes of you to achieve it."
The point of course is that you first must become that which you are trying to achieve. If you want to be a millionaire, you must start thinking and acting like a millionaire. If you want to be a business owner, you need to do the same. You must change your mindset and your actions to be those that match up with where you want to be. This process must start first, before you achieve your goals. It does not happen the other way around. If you think that you will achieve your goals and then magically you will be that person, you are badly mistaken, and you will most likely run into many troubles and possibly never reach them. You must first become; only then will you have.
Real Estate Investing - Foreclosures
As I've said before, NOW is the time to be investing in real estate. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity we have before us. Here is the latest foreclosure report from RealtyTrac. Take a look for yourself.
11/2010 PRESS RELEASE
IRVINE, Calif. - Nov. 2010 - RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for October 2010, which shows foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 332,172 properties in October, a 4 percent decrease from the previous month and almost exactly the same total reported in October 2009. One in every 389 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.
"October marks the 20th consecutive month where over 300,000 U.S. homeowners received a foreclosure notice," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac. "The numbers probably would have been higher except for the fallout from the recent 'robo-signing' controversy - which is the most likely reason for the 9 percent monthly drop in REOs we saw from September to October and which may result in further decreases in November."
Foreclosure Activity by Type
A total of 100,575 U.S. properties received default notices (NOD, LIS) in October, a 2 percent decrease from the previous month and a 19 percent decrease from October 2009 - the ninth straight month where default notices have decreased on a year-over-year basis.
Default notices were still up on a monthly basis in several states: Florida LIS were up 2 percent from the previous month; Ohio LIS were up 10 percent; and Illinois LIS were up 24 percent. Meanwhile, NODs decreased on a monthly basis in California (down 9 percent from the previous month), Nevada (down 17 percent), and Michigan (down 18 percent).
Foreclosure auctions (NTS, NFS) were scheduled for the first time on a total of 138,361 U.S. properties in October, a 3 percent decrease from the previous month but still a 6 percent increase from October 2009. Scheduled auctions decreased month-over-month in 26 states and the District of Columbia, while 16 states posted year-over-year decreases in scheduled auctions.
Lenders foreclosed on 93,236 U.S. properties in October, down 9 percent from the record high in the previous month but still up 21 percent from October 2009. Bank repossessions (REOs) decreased month-over month in 33 states and the District of Columbia, while 14 states posted year-over-year decreases in REOs. Including October, lenders have foreclosed on an average of more than 91,000 properties each month this year.
Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates
Nevada continued to document the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in October, with one in every 79 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month - nearly five times the national average. A total of 14,205 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, a decrease of 13 percent from the previous month but an increase of nearly 3 percent from October 2009 - the first year-over-year increase in Nevada foreclosure activity since September 2009.
Florida foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis for the second straight month following five straight months of annual decreases, helping the state to maintain the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate for the third month in a row. One in every 155 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month, 2.5 times the national average.
One in every 165 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing in October, the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate for the third month in a row. A total of 16,538 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, a decrease of 3 percent from the previous month but an increase of nearly 24 percent from October 2009 - the second straight month where the state's foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis following seven straight months of annual decreases in foreclosure activity.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in October were California, Michigan, Utah, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois and Colorado.
Five states account for more than 50 percent of national total
California alone accounted for 20 percent of the national total in October, with 66,475 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month - a nearly 12 percent decrease from the previous month and a decrease of 22 percent from October 2009.
A total of 56,858 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing in October, the nation's second highest state total and accounting for 17 percent of the national total.
With 19,288 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in October, Michigan posted the nation's third highest state foreclosure activity total and accounted for nearly 6 percent of the national total. Michigan foreclosure activity decreased nearly 12 percent from the previous month but was still up 17 percent from October 2009.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 16,969 Illinois properties and 16,538 Arizona properties in October, with each state accounting for roughly 5 percent of the national total.
Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation's 10 highest in October were Georgia (14,850), Nevada (14,205), Ohio (13,233), Texas (13,008), and Washington (6,346).
Top 10 metro foreclosure rates in Nevada, California and Florida
Foreclosure activity in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., increased less than 1 percent from October 2009 and the metro area continued to post the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more - one in every 70 housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month. Reno-Sparks, Nev., also documented a foreclosure rate in the top 10, at No. 9 with one in every 122 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in October.
With one in every 96 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in October, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., posted the nation's second highest metro foreclosure rate for the month. Other Florida metro areas with foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 7 and Orlando-Kissimmee at No. 10.
Modesto, Calif., posted the nation's third highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 102 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in October. Other California metro areas with foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 4, Stockton at No. 5, Merced at No. 6, and Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 8.
All top 10 metro areas posted month-over-month decreases in foreclosure activity, and seven of the top 10 posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity.
Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month - broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the month may have been recorded in previous months. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac's report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default - Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction - Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). The report does not count a property again if it receives the same type of foreclosure filing multiple times within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located.
U.S. Foreclosure Market Data for Top 10 States - October 2010
If you have not started to get in the game yet, start NOW. Here are some tools that can help:
RealtyTrac-Search our list of nationwide foreclosure listings.
Education-Try this education program for starters.
Learn, learn, learn and get out in the world of investing before this time passes! There will always be opportunity, but don't let this amazing time pass without getting involved. I will be posting more tips, strategies and resources very soon to help you grow in your education and give you the tools you need to succeed.
11/2010 PRESS RELEASE
IRVINE, Calif. - Nov. 2010 - RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for October 2010, which shows foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 332,172 properties in October, a 4 percent decrease from the previous month and almost exactly the same total reported in October 2009. One in every 389 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.
"October marks the 20th consecutive month where over 300,000 U.S. homeowners received a foreclosure notice," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac. "The numbers probably would have been higher except for the fallout from the recent 'robo-signing' controversy - which is the most likely reason for the 9 percent monthly drop in REOs we saw from September to October and which may result in further decreases in November."
Foreclosure Activity by Type
A total of 100,575 U.S. properties received default notices (NOD, LIS) in October, a 2 percent decrease from the previous month and a 19 percent decrease from October 2009 - the ninth straight month where default notices have decreased on a year-over-year basis.
Default notices were still up on a monthly basis in several states: Florida LIS were up 2 percent from the previous month; Ohio LIS were up 10 percent; and Illinois LIS were up 24 percent. Meanwhile, NODs decreased on a monthly basis in California (down 9 percent from the previous month), Nevada (down 17 percent), and Michigan (down 18 percent).
Foreclosure auctions (NTS, NFS) were scheduled for the first time on a total of 138,361 U.S. properties in October, a 3 percent decrease from the previous month but still a 6 percent increase from October 2009. Scheduled auctions decreased month-over-month in 26 states and the District of Columbia, while 16 states posted year-over-year decreases in scheduled auctions.
Lenders foreclosed on 93,236 U.S. properties in October, down 9 percent from the record high in the previous month but still up 21 percent from October 2009. Bank repossessions (REOs) decreased month-over month in 33 states and the District of Columbia, while 14 states posted year-over-year decreases in REOs. Including October, lenders have foreclosed on an average of more than 91,000 properties each month this year.
Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates
Nevada continued to document the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in October, with one in every 79 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month - nearly five times the national average. A total of 14,205 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, a decrease of 13 percent from the previous month but an increase of nearly 3 percent from October 2009 - the first year-over-year increase in Nevada foreclosure activity since September 2009.
Florida foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis for the second straight month following five straight months of annual decreases, helping the state to maintain the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate for the third month in a row. One in every 155 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month, 2.5 times the national average.
One in every 165 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing in October, the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate for the third month in a row. A total of 16,538 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, a decrease of 3 percent from the previous month but an increase of nearly 24 percent from October 2009 - the second straight month where the state's foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis following seven straight months of annual decreases in foreclosure activity.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in October were California, Michigan, Utah, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois and Colorado.
Five states account for more than 50 percent of national total
California alone accounted for 20 percent of the national total in October, with 66,475 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month - a nearly 12 percent decrease from the previous month and a decrease of 22 percent from October 2009.
A total of 56,858 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing in October, the nation's second highest state total and accounting for 17 percent of the national total.
With 19,288 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in October, Michigan posted the nation's third highest state foreclosure activity total and accounted for nearly 6 percent of the national total. Michigan foreclosure activity decreased nearly 12 percent from the previous month but was still up 17 percent from October 2009.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 16,969 Illinois properties and 16,538 Arizona properties in October, with each state accounting for roughly 5 percent of the national total.
Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation's 10 highest in October were Georgia (14,850), Nevada (14,205), Ohio (13,233), Texas (13,008), and Washington (6,346).
Top 10 metro foreclosure rates in Nevada, California and Florida
Foreclosure activity in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., increased less than 1 percent from October 2009 and the metro area continued to post the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more - one in every 70 housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month. Reno-Sparks, Nev., also documented a foreclosure rate in the top 10, at No. 9 with one in every 122 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in October.
With one in every 96 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in October, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., posted the nation's second highest metro foreclosure rate for the month. Other Florida metro areas with foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 7 and Orlando-Kissimmee at No. 10.
Modesto, Calif., posted the nation's third highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 102 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in October. Other California metro areas with foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 4, Stockton at No. 5, Merced at No. 6, and Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 8.
All top 10 metro areas posted month-over-month decreases in foreclosure activity, and seven of the top 10 posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity.
Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month - broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the month may have been recorded in previous months. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac's report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default - Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction - Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). The report does not count a property again if it receives the same type of foreclosure filing multiple times within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located.
U.S. Foreclosure Market Data for Top 10 States - October 2010
If you have not started to get in the game yet, start NOW. Here are some tools that can help:
RealtyTrac-Search our list of nationwide foreclosure listings.
Education-Try this education program for starters.
Learn, learn, learn and get out in the world of investing before this time passes! There will always be opportunity, but don't let this amazing time pass without getting involved. I will be posting more tips, strategies and resources very soon to help you grow in your education and give you the tools you need to succeed.
Tomorrow Will Never Come
How many of us are guilty of saying to ourselves something along the lines of "I'll do it tomorrow" or "I'll start that new discipline next week, when I've had the weekend to recover"? I'd venture to say we've all had those kinds of thoughts at some point. I know I have. Here's the problem...tomorrow never comes.
You may have valid reasons for waiting to start something. Maybe you are very tired from the day, so instead of getting up an hour early to work on that side project like you plan on doing, you say to yourself that you will get the extra sleep today and then tomorrow you will start on the project. But guess what? Chances are that tomorrow you are going to be just as tired and are going to come up with the same excuse. Whatever your reasoning or excuse is for not starting today, likely it will show up again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. You can't wait for perfect circumstances to begin, and you can't ever think that you will start tomorrow. You have to start TODAY.
How long can this really go on for though? It's just one day, right? Well, since we're approaching the end of 2010, go back and look at your goals you wrote down at the beginning of the year. Are there any projects that you meant to start that you didn't? I can almost guarantee there is something you intended to do that you never did. If you don't start right away, today, then you are risking this result every time.
Not only does "tomorrow" never come, but when you put things off you also run into other issues that are going to hurt you. One of these is the "law of diminising intent". In the example above regarding your 2010 goals, I bet you really felt like you could and wanted to do those projects. But as the year went on and you never started on it, you probably didn't think about it as much, and you probably eventually got busy with other things and didn't even remember that you wanted to do it in the first place. The law of diminishing intent says that no matter how excited and prepared you are to move forward on a project, the longer you put it off, the less excited and the less likely you are to move forward on it. So when you put something important to you off, not only are you delaying the rewards you could be reaping from completing it, but you are risking never completing it at all!
So what projects are you puting off until tomorrow? What should you be doing today that you have been making excuses for not starting? Stop making excuses, stop waiting until tomorrow, and start taking action TODAY. Remember, tomorrow never comes, so stop waiting for it!
You may have valid reasons for waiting to start something. Maybe you are very tired from the day, so instead of getting up an hour early to work on that side project like you plan on doing, you say to yourself that you will get the extra sleep today and then tomorrow you will start on the project. But guess what? Chances are that tomorrow you are going to be just as tired and are going to come up with the same excuse. Whatever your reasoning or excuse is for not starting today, likely it will show up again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. You can't wait for perfect circumstances to begin, and you can't ever think that you will start tomorrow. You have to start TODAY.
How long can this really go on for though? It's just one day, right? Well, since we're approaching the end of 2010, go back and look at your goals you wrote down at the beginning of the year. Are there any projects that you meant to start that you didn't? I can almost guarantee there is something you intended to do that you never did. If you don't start right away, today, then you are risking this result every time.
Not only does "tomorrow" never come, but when you put things off you also run into other issues that are going to hurt you. One of these is the "law of diminising intent". In the example above regarding your 2010 goals, I bet you really felt like you could and wanted to do those projects. But as the year went on and you never started on it, you probably didn't think about it as much, and you probably eventually got busy with other things and didn't even remember that you wanted to do it in the first place. The law of diminishing intent says that no matter how excited and prepared you are to move forward on a project, the longer you put it off, the less excited and the less likely you are to move forward on it. So when you put something important to you off, not only are you delaying the rewards you could be reaping from completing it, but you are risking never completing it at all!
So what projects are you puting off until tomorrow? What should you be doing today that you have been making excuses for not starting? Stop making excuses, stop waiting until tomorrow, and start taking action TODAY. Remember, tomorrow never comes, so stop waiting for it!
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