For most of you who've been with Bellator a while, you know the importance of starting each day with a positive mindset. It is necessary for a productive workday in our field and just good practice to help you have a more joyful life. Everything starts from this mindset, so I figured the beginning of the year was a good time to re-focus on this vital aspect of YOUR business.

We all know the value of staying in flow with our SOI, and THE most important flow activities are face-to-face meetings and personal phone calls. In order to make these interactions as productive (and fun) as possible, a positive mindset is crucial. And as you know, talking to or even being around someone who is always "doom and gloom", complaining and looking for things in life to be offended by, is not enjoyable. That mindset repels most people, not attracts. Some of us are more naturally positive than others, and that's okay. But, whether you are a naturally positive person or not, these activities can help you get there.

An Attitude of Gratitude
This gratitude mindset is so important that we typically start each meeting with speaking our gratitudes to the group. It's a proven fact that gratitude and positive thought travel on the same neuropathways and fear, anger and negative thoughts. So, actively engage daily (and throughout the day) on things for which you are grateful. It will displace those negative thoughts that creep in from time to time. So many things: Your health, your family, your warm/dry home, and the fact that you have indoor plumbing! Half of the world (Billions of people) do not have these luxuries and most of us take them for granted. We live like kings in this country just by the grace of God having been born here. Be grateful for those who sacrificed so much to allow us the freedoms, opportunity and safety that we enjoy. 

I suggest thinking of a gratitude before your feet hit the floor in the morning. I have a journal in my office that I write at least one gratitude down before I read any emails and start my workday. In addition, I have two positive readings that hit my email each morning that I read, then I start working. To me, acknowledging gratitude and/or thanking God for his blessings is key to a joyful life.

Give People Grace
We've all had folks that aggravate or anger us. That will continue to happen, but the key is to cut off the negative feeling as quickly as you can. From a nasty agent or client, to the guy who cut you off or gave you the finger in traffic, etc. - we don't know what is going on in the lives of others. They could have just gotten a horrible diagnosis for their child just now, who knows. Give them a break for your sake and think of a gratitude to replace the anger. Your positive attitude not only helps you, but it helps all that you come into contact with, in a positive way. Remember, we can't control how people act or what they say, but we have full control to the way we react to it. Don't give away one of your precious days of joy to anyone!

An Attitude of Abundance
Many agents (and people in general) have an attitude of scarcity. While it true that there are far more than enough licensee's out there, very few are professionals or successful. The fact is that there are plenty of transactions to go around for all of us who work full time and consistently work our business plans to the point that they are our daily habits. Don't envy another agent who seems to be doing better than you. Maybe take a look at what they're doing and learn from it! Envy is a negative and our goal is to be positive. To attract people and not to repel them.  

Not included above but also important: Exercise more, watch the news less. :-)

As I've gotten older, I understand that the average American lifespan of 27,375 days is much shorter than I thought it was 20 or 30 years ago. Each day is precious my friends and none of us are guaranteed a tomorrow. Regardless of whether you're working or retired, I encourage each of you to make the best of each day. We all fail at times and it's natural to have bad days, but consciously making an effort using these tools to limit those days (or even minutes) makes everything better.

2024 is going to be an amazing year for real estate in Baldwin & Mobile Counties. We have pent up demand from buyers and sellers, interest rates are improving, there will be fewer agents and it seems everyone wants to move to our area. I look forward to the new year and I'm excited about it's potential, personally and professionally. I hope you are, too.