Here’s a great story about baseball – and perspective: 

A little girl was overheard talking to herself as she marched through the backyard, wearing her baseball cap and toting a ball and bat. “I’m the greatest hitter in the world,” she announced. Then she tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed.

“Strike one!” she yelled. Undaunted, she picked up the ball and said again, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!” She tossed the ball into the air. When it came down she swung again and missed. “Strike two!” she cried.

The girl then paused a moment to examine her bat and ball carefully, and then rubbed her hands together. She straightened her cap and said once more, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!” Again she tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it. She missed. “Strike three!”

“Wow!” She exclaimed. “I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!”

Either way – she’s right.

Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing?

Do You Make Your Own Luck?

Most successful people know you can’t rely on luck and achieve results that are both predictable and reliable. It may be possible to have an occasional victory, but most successful endeavors require more than luck and superstition.

But what role does luck play?

A 2010 study published in the journal Psychological Science found that superstitions are typically seen as inconsequential creations of irrational minds. Nevertheless, many people do things like search for four-leaf clovers, hang horseshoes or avoid walking under ladders.

Present research reveals performance benefits of superstitions are realized from underlying psychological mechanisms.

Experiments show it is not a magical power that improves results, but good old-fashioned beliefs and behavior that combine to create changes in perceived self-efficacy, confidence, and increased task persistence. So, the next time you are looking for a little extra help, remember to believe in yourself and keep going! 

What Goes Up Might Come Down

For the past several months, you have probably been hearing about historic home price increases, the unprecedented small number of homes for sale coupled with a high demand for homes, and extraordinarily low interest rates. Each of these occurrences alone is remarkable, but together they contributed to the highest increase in home values since we started tracking such figures.

I expect the springtime will continue to offer opportunities for quick, competitive home sales, but financial experts do not expect home prices to remain on last year’s steep course.

Home prices are impacted by many factors like inflation, interest rates, and easy access to money for home loans. Each of these is projected to take a turn this year. This means we may see it take longer to sell a home than it has these past two years.

This is not bad news for home sellers, but it could signal opportunities for home buyers who wanted to buy last year and found themselves locked out of the market. When you notice a friend, family member or neighbor who is interested in buying or selling a home quickly, please reach out to me so I can help them time their decision with precision.

On Valentine’s Day, love is all around and for one day people are encouraged to express love with flowers, chocolate and cards of all shapes and colors.

The best part is… you can be super cheesy, enthusiastic, or deeply sentimental. Valentine’s Day is your excuse to let your feelings fly.

But how well do you know the feelings and preferences of the people you care about most?

We have all heard of the golden rule, which says, “give love the way you want to receive love.” There is also a platinum rule, which says, “give love the way they want to receive love.”

Some people like to hear the words, “I love you,” some people prefer a hug, while others are happiest with gestures of love. There are 1000 ways to say, “I love you!” without even using words.

Valentine’s Day is not just about how you show love, but with whom you show love. Look around and notice who else needs some love today – hint, it doesn’t have to be a romantic partner.

Maybe it could be one of the greatest sources of unconditional love and attention – pets! Is there an animal shelter nearby that needs a dog walker or cat cuddler? Or perhaps taking the day to pursue your own hobbies and interests as the greatest expression of self-love.

Giving love isn’t something that should be limited to one day in the middle of winter. Valentine’s Day shows us that we have the capacity to share the love for more than one day.

Happy Valentine‘s Day!

Did you know the ancient Vikings measured age in how many winters someone lived through? I just love that idea, like we aren’t merely surviving the winter months with extra-thick socks while clutching a warm mug, but we are living through them and truly taking in all they have to offer and thriving in response.

I think we can all agree that 2021 was challenging and we are all likely to anticipate 2022 with a sense that there is a fresh start on the horizon. However, if we channel our inner Viking (skipping the horned hats), we are obligated to bring vivid life into this typically bleak month, rather than seeing it as something to survive until warmer times. There is living to be done in January, my friend!

Those ancient Vikings were masters of the sea and had an innate understanding of navigation by natural elements. Like many ancient cultures, they noted landmarks for reference points and used the stars to navigate their way while out at sea, however they also kept track of their route through storytelling. Reciting the route they took in a poetic tale was not only entertaining, but it was also a way to hand down trade routes through generations.

I’m sharing this with you because I think there is value in giving voice to the course you plan to take as you begin the journey through 2022, whether you plan to redo your kitchen or embark on an adventure later this year.