Mortgage Thoughts With a Twist

I give myself permission:

To not feel guilty if I rest. To take a day to myself every once in a while. To buy the expensive shoes.To try new things. To take the chance. To fall in love. To be scared every once in a while. To be vulnerable.To let him have the lead.To give freely. To dream big dreams and have big thoughts.To say NO often. To not work after 6. To pray. To think too much. To not buy arbitrary Christmas gifts out of obligation that get regifted anyway. To not answer the phone sometimes. To play hooky. To go hiking so that I can enjoy nature and sunshine. To workout at 5:30AM. To go on adventure vacations.To be grateful, always.To hang around strong women who inspire me.To love deeply and truly and unconditionally.To not let my past dictate my future.To walk around the house naked sometimes.To care too much about people.To drink the good wine that I love.To hang with the girls.To have a spa day.To stick up for others and even myself.To negate anyone from my life that loves d…

Is it more about how you get there? Or is it more important just to get there? My quandary for you to think about today.

I used to think it was the latter and I have been guilty of saying, “If only I could XX, then I will be happy or good.” I used to think that if I was a certain weight, looked a certain way, lived in a certain home or made this much money...accomplished this goal, THEN I would be happy. I was laser focused on the end destination so much that my tunnel vision made me miss out on something that was so much more important: The journey.

When I first started hiking, I just wanted to reach the top of whatever mountain. I was so focused on that, I totally missed all of the cool stuff I could have seen along the way. Bummer. I missed out. I know this now. I will never forget a defining moment while on a hike in Peru. My end destination was Machu Picchu. This time though, I decided to really take time to look at and enjoy everything I saw while on the 45 mile hike to get ther…

It’s the day after Christmas and I am heading back to work today. Hugo just left for a one-day trip and I have just finished my coffee and my morning readings. I’ve talked to God a little about yesterday and prayed for those I love. Typical morning, in a way.

I have been thinking this morning about Christmas. All of the build-up, present-buying, self-induced stress crazy-time that we put upon ourselves is over in an instant...but the only part that really mattered yesterday was the time spent with those that I love. The smiles. The stories and the laughter.

It made me grateful for my relationship with God and how Jesus's birth was the ultimate gift. The only true gift that didn’t cost us a darn thing. But...its immeasurably priceless. (If I can be so bold to put those 2 words together!)

It made me think about how grateful I am for the life that I have and that my wish that I pray most often is for me to be a light in this world.

Sometimes I wonder how I got here...to this life tha…

I get asked this so many times, I thought that I would write about it. How did I get into the mortgage business and how does someone get into it now?

My answer, oddly enough, is much like everyone else that I know in mortgage...”By mistake.”

When I was growing up, not once have I heard anyone say, “I want to be a mortgage banker when I grow up!” I am also pretty darn sure that kids nowadays still don’t say it.

They should though...cause it is a great field to be in. You get to help people, you have somewhat of a flexible schedule, and you can make great money. We are counselors, we get to help people every day with one of the largest purchases of their lives. We get to see people’s dreams come true. We see tears (sometimes our own LOL) and happiness. Stress followed by joy. The drawback? Most of us are on straight commission...which can be scary to some folks...but not me. Having been on straight commission my entire adult life, I would never take a salary of any kind ever.

Right now,…

Good morning! It is 5am and I am sitting on my chair in front of the fire and Christmas tree at home. It is silent here and I can just hear the usual house sounds...other than that, it’s just me and the doggies up (although they are asleep next to me once again) and snuggled together. I have just done my readings and have sat here in thought and prayer. I love my mornings.

I was thinking about Christmas this year for me and how different it was compared to other years. This year was the year of charity for me. Instead of running around buying gifts for everyone I know, just for the sake of buying a gift, I didn’t do that. This year, I “adopted” a bunch of angel tree kids and helped grant their gift wishes. Gave heavily to World Vision (my favorite charity) and bought some cows and goats and part of a well for people I don’t know in a country far away. Other than that, I bought only a few gifts. It felt good.

I think that I have finally reached a point in my life where I am “over it” w…

Well hello there! As I sit here with my coffee and my doggies next to me, Christmas tree blinking next to the fire, I cannot help but smile and thank God for my life I have.

A few days ago, Hugo told me a story about an encounter that he had with an old friend who asked him how he was...and his reply was, “I am good. Really, really good.” Hugo then proceeded to explain that although that is just a generic response that most of us give when someone asks us how we are, but most of us don’t actually mean it. He did this time. We talked about where we both were in life...with how we feel about ourselves, our lives etc. and we agreed that both of us actually are really really good!

So this got me thinking... what makes someone’s life really good?

Is it success? Money? Work? Fame?

No.

I think it is relationships...and let me tell you why.

We are all born with the need for connection. It is inherent. We crave it and we must have it, or everything else in our lives will suffer as a result. Wh…

I used to have Fox News on my television 24/7 for many many years. I also used to be pissed off all of the time. Other stations would make me even more angry.

So much bloviating about crap that just really didn’t matter. Yes, I just used a Bill O’Reilly word. It is true though. Mainstream media celebrates idiots and give a grandstand to those that should not have one. Same junk over and over...regardless of the station that I turned too.

It scares me when I think about the amount of people who believe everything they hear on television. It is staggering. They don’t realize that most everything is tainted depending on the channel that you decide to turn to, one way or the other. Sadly, most media - I believe - is the agitator for a great divide in our country by perpetuating their own individual bias on their stations over and over and over and over again, getting more people believing what they are “reporting.” Mostly, it is all bullshit. Biased bullshit.

It also greatly alarms me tha…

Saying, “NO” is empowering and it is a skill that I have really honed in on this year with some great results.

“No” sets boundaries. It allows me to finally enjoy so many more things because I am not running around doing 54,000 things I DON’T want to do...all because I said, “no.”

So many of us- especially women- feel guilty when we get asked to do something (help with something...go to an event...take on an extra project etc.) so we just automatically say, “yes” when asked, knowing full well that we don’t have the freakin’ time to do it. We are so damn tired and so "scheduled up” because of this. We end up regretting saying “yes” more times than not and then we don’t enjoy doing what we committed to and end up doing it with resentment and disdain.

I am here to tell you that everyone needs to learn the art of saying, “NO”. It is way easier than you think.

When someone asks you to do something, don’t answer right away. Let them know that you will look at your schedule. Take time t…

Yesterday, I quietly celebrated a victory that we had, which was closing more loans in one year than anyone has ever done in this 7th largest city in the USA. I know the year isn’t over yet...but as of last month, we still beat the old record.

We did it mostly with just myself and 2 assistants, adding an account manager (Ryan) just a few months ago. Others who have done this type of volume have teams of 15-20 or they take credit for the production of others as their own...but we still beat them. It was kind of a silent, sweet victory...mainly because it just shows what a small but mighty team can accomplish when you all have the same mindset.

What is the key to our success?

We love people. We care. We are organized. We give God the glory and keep Him at the center of all that we do. We don’t do it for the money. We work our asses off.

It is quite simple, actually.

So, thank you, Lord for the blessings that you have given us. We will continue to do Your work through us. We will continu…

Every day, for the most part, I have to be on my “A-Game” when it comes to how I look. Power suit. Put together.

I get to go to galas and events where I am dressed in beautiful clothes and my make-up and hair are done just right.

You would think that these times would be the times that I feel the best about myself...when I look the most beautiful.

But it is not.

There is a difference, for a woman, between looking beautiful and feeling beautiful.

When a woman looks beautiful- in her mind- it is only the outward appearance. The superficial. The, “Yeah, I look great in this amazing dress” or whatever she is wearing. Good hair day. No pimples. Whatever it takes. On the inside though, there’s a whole different story. She could have her shit together, or she might be a mess. You won’t know that part just by looking at her.

Oh...but then there is when a woman feels beautiful. This is powerful. A whole new ballgame. This starts on the inside. It is the place where she feels the most comfortab…