Thank You!

Thank you!
 
Karen and Steve’s (Leverton) wedding was beautiful and the day was a special one.   So, thanks for your prayers, patience, and support.  We’ve learned that weddings are not exactly as easy as they used to be --- but still lots of fun!

The honeymooner’s are off to a private cabin and will be home sometime next weekend, so we’re back to a normal pace of life, if you could believe Ken and I have a normal pace.

Over the past month I have been asked by several people for the famous “Hubbard Cookie Recipe” so here you go:

Wet:  1 cup butter (yes butter)

1 cup sugar
2 eggs (well beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla (yes real vanilla)

Dry:  1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt
3 ½ cups flour (no not self rising, or bread flour, just that good ole’ cheap flour)

To put this all together is really pretty simple.  Ask Karen, and she’ll say, “It’s very important to allow the butter to come to room temperature, and then cream the other ingredients together.”  Ask me; dump it all into the Kitchen Aide. 

Then simply add the dry ingredients, start with the baking powder, salt, and half the flour.  Then add the rest of the flour.  (Karen’s version:  slowly add dry ingredients, Mom, just dump it!)

I will tell you the trick however is kneading flour into the dough, after you’ve got everything is mixed.  (As a child Karen and her brothers used this as their “Play Dough”, and baked it in an “Easy Bake Oven”.  Kids love this cookie.

The cookies do need to be rolled to ¼” thickness and baked at 325 for 10-13 minutes, depending on the oven and thickness of the cookie.  The cookie should be firm to touch, but not brown.

Eat them hot out of the oven, Ken’s favorite, frost with Butter Cream Frosting (my favorite), or use Royal Icing (Karen’s preferred)

Now to the rest of the story, this cookie’s name:  “Texas Tea Cakes” it’s been in the Campbell family since Aunt Ollie gave it to my Mom (8 generations to me) and has been cooked on an open fire in a Dutch Oven and most recently in a Convection Oven.

Enjoy, and thanks again for all the love you have shared with us.

We are all COACHES

Year’s ago I read a business development book entitled “Everyone’s a Coach” written by Ken Blanchard and Don Shula. 

Ken Blanchard is probably best remembered for the all-time bestseller, “The One Minute Manager”, and Don Shula as the football coach who led both the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Colts to Super Bowl appearances. 

Both men explain what it is to be a COACH, no matter if you’re in football or business. 

I have read hundreds of books on leadership and coaching, since 1995. However, the acronym, COACH which I first heard in this book is still one of my favorites. 

So here you go, remember we’re all COACHES:

Conviction-driven

Do you know what you believe in?

Learn to build on your CORE values

Stand for something

Overlearning

Will you practice until you and/or your team have it down?

Develop systems

Implement plans

Audible-ready

Are you adaptable?

When something does not work will you change.

Do you ask yourself the  tough “What if...” questions

Consistency

How’s your performance?

Can people count on your for praise

And accountability

Honesty-based

Do people know where they stand with you?

Are you clear and straightforward

How’s your business ethics

Keeping all this in mind Great American Title, Inc., partnered with Joey Fenwick, a certified COACH w/Action Coach Business Coaching, to enable you to COACH.  First yourself, then develop a powerful team and build a stronger systems to reach your business plan for 2014 and beyond.

Check out the video:

 

Reserve your spot by simply emailing nzorn@azgat.com and remember, “Everybody’s A Coach”.

Becoming a High Paid Realtor

Check out the new class we have coming up next week:

http://youtu.be/mIifHf_AV9k 

Jan 23rd RE University class with GAT

 

Great American Title Agency, Inc

 

Constant and Never Ending Improvement (CANI)

Recently, I wrote about how small positive habits =  major impact over a longer period of time. No sooner was the blog posted, and someone asked me, “But how do I grow habits?

Ok, that question made me stop and think---“What do I do?”

I simply “CANI”.  That is I consider events I want to improve with the idea of Constant And Never ending Improvement. 

This is how I grow my faith, have stronger family relationships, better health, more secure finances, and closer friends.  Really when I think about it there are lots of different arenas, however “how to” is the same in each of the different areas.   

I learned about “CANI” years ago from a personal coach I really respect.

Oh, by the way, this is a habit, so I really did have to stop and think about what I do. And yes, it’s a system, which should not surprise those of you who know me well.

Here’s how it goes: 

Maybe my “CANI” is a result of a client/customer interaction, a training session with my work out coach, a staff meeting, a class we hosted or even a discussion with my husband, Ken.  A chance to “CANI” happens for me all the time.

When the occasion is over, I ask myself, “Ok, how did it go? What two things did I do well?” and then I ask myself “what two things do I need to improve on?”

The critical juncture for me is posing the questions.  Actually asking myself, “What went well?”, and “What can I improve on?”  Believe me if you are alive, you did incredibly well on something and there is also room for improvement.

Maybe you had great eye contact; your timing was right on.  You had perfect pitch or tone in your voice.  You were “spot on”. Perhaps it was the how you started the encounter, or when you ended, it could have been just the jest of what you talked about.  You were mind-blowing somewhere, find it!

And yes,  we all need to improve.  Could you have been more patient, kind, considerate, direct or even better prepared?  Did you listen?  Do you understand where they are coming from? Again, believe me, there is always room for improvement.

 
So, there’s “CANI”.  Next time you have an opportunity, try it!  And, let me know how it helps with changing those habits.

Get into the Habit

2013 is behind us, and many of us are simply like that old Tennessee Ernie Ford song, “Sixteen Tons and what’ll you get another day older and deeper in debt”.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIfu2A0ezq0

If that’s where you feel you’re at then I am going to ask you to consider a habit change.

“Just do it! First you make your habits, and then your habits make you!”
― Lucas Remmerswaal, The A-Z of 13 Habits: Inspired by Warren Buffett

Habits do not change instantly; they change over a long period of time. 

Eleven years ago I was asked to experiment with by simply walking, once a week.  I was desperately overweight, and my doctor said if I did not change I was not going to be around long.  I had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and I was borderline diabetic.  As a Grandmother of 4 very precious grandchildren, I wanted to live to see them graduate from high school, go to college, get married and even have children of their own. 

It took years, however I’ve dropped 150 lbs and no longer have those health issues.

Then, just as I was getting into a reasonable health routine, my personal business coach challenged me to simply “pre-plan” my day,” just 5 minutes.  That’s all just 5 minutes.”

Well, again it took years (and continues to evolve) however her quest has become a habit.  I hate it when something slops over into “my hour”, a time set aside to plan, meditate, and focus.  Over these same years I also developed a “Life Statement”.

This living document reminds me how I have prioritized life.  It explains my personal belief system, my family vision, my priorities, how I want to deal with my health, my finances, where my friends fit into my life and how I want to serve others.  Someday my grandchildren will be able to say, “Yes that’s my Grandma”.

So, where do I focus in 2014?

After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to dedicate this year to helping others grow.  Although I am not sure exactly how it will play out, it is a desire of my heart, and that will be honored.

So, as you plan your 2014 year, I’d ask you think about my life lesson:  “Just do it! First you make your habits, and then your habits make you!” ― Lucas Remmerswaal, The A-Z of 13 Habits: Inspired by Warren Buffett

And oh by the way, if I can help you, just let me know!

"Really" (Carolyn-ism)

I have a Carolyn-ism, “REALLY!” 

I cannot say where this one originated, I simply say “REALLY” a lot.  I looked the word up.  Guess what, “REALLY” (Carolyn-ism) really means, “actually, truly, genuinely, categorically, or in reality”. 

No big surprise there.

The staff is fond of this Carolyn-ism.  However, about 3 weeks ago, “REALLY” (Carolyn-ism) began to take on new meaning.  It was a Sunday morning and Senior Pastor Cal Jernigan, Central Christian Church, introduced an idea “gratitude begins when entitlement ends”. 

I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, “Gratitude begins when entitlement ends.”  It’s been like a broken record, playing over and over in my head, reminding me just how self-consumed I am.  There are many times I say, “Carolyn, its ok! Go ahead you “REALLY” (Carolyn-ism) deserve it.”

New clothes, a raise, time off,  better home, a bigger family vacation, just $20, being skinny, a spot at the front of the checkout line, to see my children more often, spend extra time with my grandchildren, that new car, a candy bar, or simply an ice cream cone.  After all, I work “REALLY” (Carolyn-ism) hard - I’m entitled.

However, “Gratitude begins when entitlement ends” just keeps on playing.  Then the whole concept came together this past Sunday when, Perry Emerick, Mesa CCC Campus pastor, quoted the Message Bible:  “ If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.  (Philippians 2:1-4)

 There has been a lot of loss recently.  There are the 19 families from Yarnell, who lost family members, the people who lost homes and the businesses that were destroyed.  Passengers on a plane simply landing in San Francisco crashed, 2 people died and 6 are still in critical condition.  Then there are innocent people in Egypt (even the people who are fighting for what they believe) are dying.  Every day there are children and adults enslaved all over the world. We’ve seen bridges collapse; hurricanes destroy communities, tornadoes in the Midwest.

Here in Mesa, Arizona a part of the United States of America I have so much to be grateful for.  I have a family, a safe home, a comfortable neighborhood, and free a nation.  This morning I was even reminded it is “REALLY” (Carolyn-ism) nice to take a clean shower with fresh water before I began my day. 

So, “REALLY” (Carolyn-ism) for me means, “Hey, Carolyn, get over yourself!”

Jump in the Pool ... Another Caroly-isn

“Jump in the Pool” Another Carolyn-ism

        After last week’s Carolyn-ism “learning opportunity”, Jane Campbell, a seasoned escrow officer of 9 years, came to me and said, “Carolyn, please tell the story behind “jump in the pool.” (Carolyn-ism)  So here goes:

We call Jane, Chief Campbell, because she was in the Navy.  Jane’s first day in escrow was May 31, 2004. She had no escrow experience, but a great desire to learn and an extremely “black & white” way of approaching life. To this day Jane is one of our most “black and white” team member.   It is either right or wrong; there is no “maybe” in Jane’s world. We all love that about her.

Humor me just a moment, some of us are not familiar with military training. 

In the military when going through basic training you must pass a series of proficiency tests. One of those proficiency tests, in the Navy is for swimming.  At the end of your Navy swim week, your wonderful drill instructor looks at you and says, “Jump in the pool.” (a Carolyn-ism)  You are then expected to jump into a 30’ deep, 50 meter long pool, and tread water for 5 minutes - swim unassisted, without touching the bottom, to the other end of the pool and get out.  Fail and you repeat your swim week until you are able to pass or you’re rotated out (which means you are kicked out of the Navy).  In other words, you’ll never be a sailor until you “jump in the pool.” (Carolyn-ism)

By 2006, Jane was progressing well in her escrow career.  She was an accomplished opening technician, had gained the knowledge needed to produce the final closing documents for the consumer, answer a horde of questions all at the same time, release files for recording and even issue final checks.  Jane understood escrow.

However, Jane would not sign clients.  She said, “I can’t do it”.  My response was always, “Yes, you can.”  However, no matter how often I asked, or the diverse approaches I exhausted, Jane simply would not sign with clients.  I knew the office and Jane’s career were both handicapped until Jane changed her mind.

Then along came Ken.  For you see my husband Ken was also in the Navy, and he had some insider information.  He knew about the Navy swim test.   Ken said, “Carolyn, go in tomorrow and tell Jane, Ken says, ‘jump in the pool’.” (Carolyn-ism) 

I said, “What?”  Again, he simply said, “Tell Jane, jump in the pool.” (Carolyn-ism) Then he explained and I got it.  Jane had a fear, the fear of failure.  I think we have all been there.   Think about it, in your mind you are thinking, “What if I say the wrong thing?  What if they ask me a question I can’t answer?   What if they don’t like me?”  The list goes on and on.  However, the problem is fear often controls our actions.  We simply cannot move. 

Fear rules you.    I love what Dale Carnegie has said about fear, “You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.” 

I love that, “fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.”  If Mr. Carnegie was correct then we can overthrow fear.  We can prepare in advance.  When faced with fear, ask these questions:

 “What is the fear?“

“What do I control?”

“What is the cause?

“Am I able to change?”

“If I change how will change affect me, my family, my work, my neighborhood, my world?”

“If I don’t change what will not changing cost me?”

So the next day armed with Ken’s phrase I walked into the office, looked at Jane and said “Jane, Ken says, ‘Jump in the pool’.” (Carolyn-ism)  Jane laughed. However she did “jump in the pool” (Carolyn-ism) and signed her first client. As a result our office has been greatly rewarded by her work over the past 9 years.