blog posts

10 best blog posts ~ Volume 1 10 best blog posts ~ Volume 1 10 best blog posts ~ Volume 1 10 best blog posts ~ Volume 1

Courtesy of Sugar Pine Realty (Sonora, California)

10 best

(Volume 1)

10 Best Blog Posts (Vol 1)

10 Best Blog Posts

(Volume 1)

by the Sugar Pine Realty blogger (@blogboy2)

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10 Best Blog Posts (Vol 1)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ten Commandments of Blogging I Have a Confession to Make... 21 Joy Enhancers (holiday season) You Matter Defining Moments SWAT Operation (and the stupid I did) The Story of the Old Mule Things That Make Me Mad Won't Get Fooled Again The Power of Appreciation 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

10 Best Blog Posts (Vol 1)

Ten Commandments of Blogging

On the mountain long ago Moses received God's law. I haven't been up to a mountain or anything, but I thought I'd use this pattern to make some points about blogging (and micro-blogging, too, if you're in to social media like Twitter). So here you go with the Ten Commandments of blogging... 1. Thou shalt offer fresh and personal content and perspective with thy blog that you and only you can produce. 2. Thou shalt carve with lexis that common folk can twig (translation: You will write using words that real people can understand). 3. Thou shalt not tear someone else down with thy blog. If you have an issue with that person, go to them to work it out. 4. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor with thy blog. 5. Thou shalt not pluck quotes from thy neighbor's blog without giving him credit. 6. Thou shalt not steal content from thy neighbor's blog and portray it as thine own. 7. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's blog, but will be happy with thine own. 8. Thou shalt not spend more time blogging, reading blogs and/or commenting on blogs (let alone with any other type of social media) than with thy wife, kids and pet. 9. Thou shalt take time for rest and relaxation from blogging at consistent intervals. Go outside and smell the roses. 10. Thou shalt not make an idol out of blogging. Thy life consists of much more than that.

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I Have a Confession to Make...

I have a confession to make. My friend had a heart attack the other night. And please read to the end of this post before you get mad or yell at me (or quit subscribing to this blog), but I put off taking him to the hospital until today (2 days later). Ouch. I know, I know. I should have taken him immediately. I know, I know. It was really selfish of me to think of my convenience only and not of his situation (dire as it was). But I needed to get a good night's sleep after all. I had to go to work the next day (after the heart attack). And the doctor wouldn't be available for 36 hours any way. (I called.) What was I to do? And so my friend had to wait. He had to! And there draped with a towel over him. (No kidding. I put one on. Now there's a picture.) And it really doesn't matter if he lives or dies. (You're about ready to throw stones at me?) Really it doesn't. (Pretty please just give me a few more lines before you judge me, "Guilty.") You see, because it's not what you think. Cuz my friend that had the heart attack the other night? He's (it's) my laptop computer. And the reason why I've been so nonchalant about getting him to the (tech) hospital? I have Carbonite online backup. All my data is safe. Yes! (fist thrust in the air) (So when was the last time you backed up your stuff at least to the "cloud"?)

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21 Joy Enhancers (holiday season post)

It's a fact. The holiday season comes. And while many are gleeful and glad, still others are grouchy and glum. It's not that these don't want to be happy. It's not they don't want to have fun (and frolic). It's just that money's tight (for some) or they've lost their job (for others) or, you see, that loved one passed away earlier this year (for still others) and to be cheerful and bright right now? Well, it's just not gonna happen, quite frankly. And it could be just about anything that's got any one of us in a "Bah, humbug" mood. (Can you relate?) I want to try to help "restore the joy" (should you find yourself in need of help). That's what this post is all about. I've lumped together (below) what I call "JOY enhancers" using the acronym "J-O-Y." I mean, you just can't do this sort of stuff in the list and still be in despair. It's just not possible (at least in my mind). And so in the interests of restoring/enhancing "JOY", here we go with... 21 "Joy" Enhancers (When You Need To Get Your Joy Back): 1. J-UMP, skip and hop like you used to do as a kid. 2. J-OIN with others to sing Christmas carols. 3. J-OG ~ or whatever exercise suits you (gets the blood flowing). 4. J-OURNAL a list of happy moments in your life. 5. J-OKE around with a good friend. 6. J-ETISEN the hurts of the past, forgiving those who hurt you. 7. J-OURNEY to a celebration of Christmas at a church in your area. 8. O-PEN the curtains of your home to let the sun shine in. 9. O-FFER to help with the needs of another. 10. O-MIT negative thinking from your mind. 11. O-RCHESTRATE a dinner and invite your neighbors. 12. O-PINE (to yourself) about all the things you're thankful for. 13. O-CCUPY a lower place (by choice) in a situation and give someone else the higher place.

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14. O-RDAIN in your heart that you're gonna make this the best Christmas ever. 15. Y-EARN for the good ol' days (but make today a good ol' day!). 16. Y-IELD to seeing the good in others. (It's really there if you look close enough.) 17. Y-ANK out (in a gentle way) old pictures of family and friends to look at. 18. Y-ACK on the phone with a sibling that you haven't talked to (yacked with) in a long time. 19. Y-AWN because you stayed up late watching "It's A Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart. 20. Y-ELL, Hallelujah! (Rejoicing has a way of bringing back the joy.) 21. "Y-OU'RE a mean one, Mr Grinch" ~ If he can get better so can you. Believe it.

You Matter
(If all you read and let sink in is the title, then this post has done it's job.) You have something to offer. (Yeah, I'm talking to you.) You have ideas. You have insights. You have a point of view. You have a background that lends perspective (that no one else has). You have experience that can be brought to the table (valuable experience). You are intelligent. (You have a brain.) You have a sense of humor. (Dry or all wet?) You aren't perfect. (No one is.) You stumble sometimes. (Everybody does.) But you get back up, right? (Get up.) Don't minimize yourself. Don't sit on the sidelines. Don't throw in the towel. Don't compare yourself. Don't let anyone walk all over you. Don't let anyone dismiss you. What do they know anyway? (Now go read the title again.)

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Defining Moments
Do you know what a "defining moment" is? Sure you do. According to Webster's, it's both "an occurrence that typifies or determines all related events that follow" and "a point at which the essential nature or character of a person, group, etc., is revealed or identified." Of course, there are many examples of defining moments in the last few decades alone. When Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in three plate appearances (each on the first pitch) in the World Series, that was a defining moment. When Ronald Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" and two years later the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, that was a defining moment. When Samwise Gamgee reached out with his hand to grasp Frodo's as he was dangling there above Mount Doom's river of fire, that was a defining moment. (I know it was just a movie, but I really liked that part.) So what about your own life? Have you had any defining moments? Sure you have. They may not be the size of the ones already mentioned, but they're defining moments nonetheless. Rather than reflect upon defining moments of the past (not that I don't think you should) what I really wanted to do is suggest that you may have some defining moments still yet ahead. It might be in your career. It might be in your family. It might be on the community stage. None of us can really know. But what we can know is the way we respond to the realtime, day to day, mundane and boring moments of life will be the same way we respond to our "defining moment" when it arrives. So swing for the fence NOW, tear down the wall NOW, reach out your hand NOW. It just might be that your "defining moment" happens sooner than you think.

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SWAT Operation (and the stupid thing I did)

It was my day off. That's when it happened. My kids said, "Dad, there's a whole bunch of police cars in our front yard." I said, "What?" Sure enough, there was a SWAT team right outside our window in the street ~ about 8 or more of them all in formation, all ducked behind a shield. They were headed to the house two doors down. That's when the second thing happened. Boooooooooom! An explosion. It shook our house. Initially, we thought they'd shot the dog. (There was a pretty fierce pit bull in the home they were entering.) We found out later that it was "only" a grenade to disarm those inside. I told my kids, "Get away from the window. Do you think this is a game?" That's when I went outside to take pictures. (Yep. I did.) I would come in soon (my heart racing) especially after I saw three of the SWAT officers entering the backyard and heard another explosion. It really was dangerous. My kids would gather around me later and say, "Dad, you told us to get away from the window, then YOU WENT OUTSIDE!" And I guess the moral of this story is: Sometimes we tell others to be careful and then we go right out and do something stupid / put ourselves in the line of fire. Maybe it's time we (I) took our (my) own advice? (The story ended with 6 arrests and 25 lbs. of marijuana seized. Read more about it: HERE.)

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The Story of the Old Mule

The next time you feel down, like everything's against you and not even a prayer will save you, remember the story of the Old Mule. He tripped one day and fell into a well. He brayed and brayed and brayed for help, but to no avail. His owner (the farmer) couldn't help him. The townsfolk couldn't help him. It was hopeless. So they decided to bury the mule in the well. They gathered and began to throw dirt on top of the mule. With dirt now hitting his head the mule thought: "I know. I'll just shake off the dirt and step up." And so he did. The dirt would hit. He'd shake it off and step up. The dirt would hit again. He'd shake it off and step up again. He fought through panic. He shook it off and stepped up. He fought through hopelessness. He shook it off and stepped up. He fought through his life hanging by a thread. He shook it off and stepped up. And he got out of that well. (Do you see that?) The mule got out. And you'll get out of your challenging circumstance the same way. (Thanks to storiesfortrainers.com for this story.)

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Things That Make Me Mad

You've been mad before. Sure you have. Are you mad now? (I hope not at me.) It's interesting the whole subject of being mad or going from not being mad to being mad and what causes "madness" (not insanity) to overtake us. When I stub my toe, I get mad. I say, "Who left that stupid book on the floor?" When the guy driving in front of me is going too slow, I get mad. I say, "Doesn't he know the speed limit?" When my favorite baseball player drops the ball, I get mad. I say, "Fire the manager." :P And then there are other things that make me mad. When people lie. When people take advantage. When people don't follow through like they promised. When people ridicule. When people judge without all the information. Come to think of it, there are just a whole lot of things that make (and can make) me mad. (It's making me mad just thinking about it.) And I guess the point is that I need to be mad at the right things and forgive, forgive, forgive. I'm cooling off already.

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Won't Get Fooled Again

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Have you ever been duped? I bought a used car and ~ no lie ~ at the very point I left the parking lot it started spitting and sputtering and coughing and belching. (So why didn't it do that during the test drive? Funny how that works.) So "how do we protect ourselves from being hoodwinked again when it's happened to us in the past?" is really where I'm going with this. Whether it's a used car salesman, politician or somebody else, if we "won't get fooled again," we're going to have to say "no" to how we got fooled before. The following is a list of themes common to folks who have the proverbial "wool pulled over their eyes." See if you agree with (and then be careful to avoid)... 7 ways people get fooled: 1. They become "star struck." 2. They have their mind set and no one can change it. 3. They overlook/dismiss the danger signs. 4. They have a personal need that must/will be met. 5. They turn a deaf ear to counsel. 6. They drink the "kool aid." 7. They live a lie already. (Destructive habit pattern)

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The Power of Appreciation

The dictionary defines "appreciation" in a couple of ways. (To see Webster's definition: click here.) Of course, in the real estate business, "appreciation" has to do with a home or property gaining in value over a period of time. But that's not the kind of appreciation this post is about. Instead, it's the appreciation that human beings can offer one another that I want to talk about. And this type of appreciation can and does at times go beyond words and can be conveyed without the use of words at all. But it's verbal appreciation (aside from this) that carries a whole lot of power (in my mind). When was the last time you heard somebody say, "I appreciate you," "I appreciate your work ethic," "I appreciate having you around," "I appreciate your friendship"? How did it make you feel? If it was somebody in your life that's earned the right to be heard, I'll bet you felt like a million dollars. I'll bet you were pumped up. Right? It's the power of appreciation. It reinforces value in and adds value to those around you (your family, your neighbors, your team at work, even a complete stranger?!, etc.). Who can you add value to today? Who can you "appreciate"?

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