One of the best parts about being an investor for so many years is the circle of influence I’ve built up throughout my career. I’ve come to know some pretty incredible human beings, with passions as big as the night sky and an overflowing ocean of wisdom.
And with a circle of friends and business associates whose resumes can compete with some of the greatest minds and influences of our time, Ruth Pugh holds a special place all her own. Ruth and her team at Century 21 rank among the top real estate offices in the entire country. In 2005, Ruth Pugh’s Century 21 Award team lead the nation in both number of units sold and overall dollar volume. They sold over 1,600 homes that year and did a whopping 539.5 million in sales volume. Each year since that top-honor, her team has gone on to achieve amazing results. It was no accident that I hand-picked Ruth and her team to be our premier listing office for our San Diego foreclosure acquisitions. When you want the best results, you create the best team.
If you ask Ruth to what does she contribute her success? She’ll gladly tell you that it is one thing- positive thinking!
With Ruth, positive thinking is mandatory. Beyond that it is also contagious. You can’t help but be pumped up and optimistic when you are around Ruth. In her office, she shouts positive affirmations at her agents. And, each day she starts off with her 10-10 visualization list. She says making this list everyday changed her life! She begins each day with writing down 10 things she is thankful for and 10 things she wants to attract into her life. She follows this up with writing down her intent for the day. She says that the process of writing these things down, putting herself in a place of gratitude and focusing on the “potential” of the day helps her to realize her intents, day after day. Whatever she commits to- comes true!
So I was a little caught off-guard when I recently received her Monday Morning Mojo email that she sends out to her friends, colleagues and clients every week. Normally the subject and tone of the email begins on a positive note. But the subject line of this email read “What Are You Going To Get Rid of in Your Life?”. I was intrigued, as I always am by Ruth’s insights and so I read on. By the time I was done, I thought to myself- only someone as efficacious and determined as Ruth could put a positive spin on purging things in our life that simply don’t contribute to our overall success, prosperity and happiness.
Her insight helped me to realize that sometimes it’s not enough to focus on what you DO want, but you must also be willing to do the harder task of purging those things in your life that trip you up on your way to achieving your goals. Sometimes, you need to muster up the “urge to purge”.
Here is her Ruth Pugh’s Monday Morning Mojo email for March 8th, shared with all of you with her permission. Enjoy!
What are you going to get rid of in your life?
What are you going to stop doing in your job?
What are you going to give up?
Yes…you heard me right, what are you going to give up?
What bad habit, crap in your office, clutter at home, food in your cabinet, or unproductive thing in your schedule are you going to either get rid of or stop doing? Because before you can start doing something good, something right, something that is going to get you what you want, you need to start by giving something up. Not only will it clear room for what you need to do to CRUSH IT, but usually the thing you need to give up is in conflict with your goal.
For example – you want to lose weight, but the cabinets are filled with cookies, Cheetos, crackers and other garbage. You need to get rid of the crap and fill the cabinet with healthy food so you can begin to achieve your desired weight.
You want to get organized and under control with your home life or at work, but when you walk in your house or office it looks like a bomb just went off. Grab a roll of garbage bags and if you don’t absolutely need it either throw it away, sell it on Craigslist, or donate it.
You want to finally start saving some money for the future, but you can’t seem to save a dime because you have NO extra money. But somehow you can find the money to hit Starbucks once or twice a day. Start with brewing your own cup of coffee instead. It will save you $25 – $50 a week or $1,250 – $2,500 a year depending on how frequently you go. Oh, and don’t forget the taxes you pay on each cup of coffee. So if you combine the cost of the coffee and taxes on each cup, that may be as much as $2,000 -$5,000 a year you could invest in your 401K or IRA instead, tax free! Invest $5,000 a year into your retirement account and if it earns a 10% return, that’s close to $300,000 in 20 years.
You want to get to the gym to get fit and healthy and feel good, but you are spending all of your time on Facebook playing Mafia Wars and Farmville games. Stop the Facebook game addiction and hit the gym instead!
Enough said. To get more of what you want, give it up. Get rid of it. Stop doing it.
~Ruth Pugh
Century 21 Award
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