Thrive!

The ads on television for Kaiser Hospital are brilliant. They are selling a health care system that may be in the eyes of many, an assembly line approach to health care. In the eyes of those who have a wider perspective on what is available for the broader population in the U.S. for birth to death health care that is affordable, Kaiser is the best system going, and is a true Health Management Organization. The ads show us a future in which we take responsibility for our own health by eating healthfully, exercising and getting plenty of rest - the Ads go on to say, "we are for broccoli, meditation, hiking in the hills - we are Kaiser" "Thrive!"

What a concept, thriving in a difficult environment where stress can be a killer and the very things we are sold as food can contribute to heart disease and diabetes. It is possible to Thrive. It takes our participation in our own well being, common sense, and reading the whole label on food packages. Stress is the silent secret agent that contributes to degenerative disease, and stress is impossible to avoid, but essential to get out of our bodies as soon as we can. To use a drainage metaphor: If you have a basement that is "below grade" (below the ground), you cannot avoid a water intrusion during heavy winter rains, but getting the water out of the basement and away from the foundation as soon as possible is the secret to long life of the structure. How to do it? Our own participation (as homeowners), common sense, and reading the whole label (translates into getting regular professional inspections). So now, I transition to my belief that Thriving in a difficult environment is so very important and possible for Real Estate Brokers and Agents and I have some ideas on how this happens and what the pitfalls are.

Our participation: This part can be combined with Common Sense, because we are Humans. We are humans, and we do business with humans. We have the hardest humanly possible but hardest time thinking CounterIntuitively. Do you know that the Warren Buffett book, "The Warren Buffett Way" sold tens of millions of copies. Assume that ten percent of those who bought it actually read it. The premise of the book is Buffett's method of buying stocks that can be labeled Value Stocks because they have good underlying financial fundamentals, but are out of favor with investors. Buffett investigates the company, and if he finds it to be solid in its financials and the leadership is also solid, Buffett buys the stock, but he is really buying ownership in the company in his mind. Buffett's method, as we all know, is so successful that his holding company stock sells for more than $80,000 a share. Buffett thinks counterintuitively. We must be humans who help other humans think counterintuitively. How can we do it? By practicing counterintuitive thinking ourselves. Let's practice it now...

How many of us have had the recent experience of doing an Open House and having buyer prospects that we meet say "we are going to wait, because the prices will come down later in the year". Our instinct is to counter their assertion with one of a number of counters like, "yes, but the interest rates might be higher" or "prices won't come down enough if at all". If you have ever done T'ai Chi, you know that if momentum is strong, a direct counter to it will not succeed as well as following the momentum and adding a nuanced, directional assist. What I mean is, if I were that buyer and you said either of the two counter comments above to me, I would close down. If, however, you said, "that may be true, and if you were my (choose one: sister, brother, best friend, son, daughter), I would suggest getting a strategy now, so that as the market informs us of its direction, we can be ready to move quickly." The strategy can include identifying properties now on the market that may be priced ambitiously, identifying neighborhoods you would like to live in but may not see any available homes you can afford now, learning how to identify a house with good bones now, so that when you see one in the future, you will know it is worth tracking. Counterintuitive, but comes out of what I would want. You can ask yourself, do I want someone to convince me to make a move now that just does not feel right? Or can I find someone who will teach me how to strategize and be ready to move when the right house comes along. We are not selling encyclopedias folks (wow, did I ever date myself with that remark). Stay tuned for more and please give me your opinions.