Back deck thoughts…

I haven’t posted a blog post in many months. It’s not that I haven’t been writing. I have. I haven’t wanted to share my thoughts these days…it’s a strange world right now.

As an ol’ white lady that has lived quite a few years, and witnessed plenty of hatred through those years, I sit on my back deck listening to the birds chirping, the slight breeze whistling thru the trees, and think “what a sad world we are living in at the moment”.

I am beyond blessed to sit here with the luxury of a MAC computer, an iPhone, wifi, the stereo playing, the ability to work amongst the comforts of a home, a husband who loves me for me, a daughter and grandchildren, family, good friends, business is good, and so much more. But today, my heart is breaking…and I hear “All we need is Love” in the background…

I was raised in a predominately white, middle class neighborhood with grandparents who lived down the street. My grandfather had served in WWII, was involved with the Red Cross, and Director of the YMCA. My grandmother served Sunday dinners and bible readings in the morning before school. Mom was stay at home, keeping the house and yard pristine. My brothers and I walked to elementary school after breakfast with Mamo and Papo. Life was pretty good in the 1960’s…

I remember my high schools years in the early 1970’s – being locked in at high school because “those” people were moving in, there was here all around, gangs were forming, Black Panthers were raging. Hell’s Angels rode the streets. Riots in Los Angeles. There were gas shortages, the Vietnam war was finally coming to an end, Nixon and Watergate were headlines, hippies were preaching peace and love, and the economy was suffering.

However, there was no Pandemic. We were not loosing 100,000 souls to a virus called Covid-19. No lock down of states. No shutting down of all our local businesses. There wasn’t 40 million people out of work, or riots or the burning of buildings, or a President who tweets trash. We are now in a world turned upside down with this nasty virus. The news is terrible, the social channels are filled with mean people. The hatred these days feels SO much worse with everyone’s ability to spew so easily behind a keyboard….so sad.

As I sit here – I pray that we wake up and see that we ALL realize we are all the same. We are humans. Skin color or ethnicity does not change that we all have feelings, emotions, and families. We all have the desire to live life in a world without the hate. It is hard enough to get up every day and to keep going for so many people in this world. Life is not good for many people right now. I’m sad.

Are you contributing good or are you adding to the hate? Think about it the next time you share something, or type something, or treat someone. We need to be kind to one another. We need to love one another. We need to reach out and help those that are struggling. We need to have hope that the world will become a better place as we move forward day by day.

The Beatles sang in 1967 – All You Need is Love and today we need as much love in the world as each of us can give to one another. Call someone, text someone, drop a note, make sure your friends and family are doing okay. Give more love out to the world, help make it a better place.

…are you a tourist in your own town?

Bentonville Square

I Love NWA and I love playing tourist in my town!

The majority of my real estate customers are relocating to this area from other parts of the country and world, so it is important for me to know what’s going on in this area. Typically I am one of the first people to show them around our area. Yes, they have usually “googled” the area and looked at the maps & schools on the internet, talked with co-workers – but until their feet hit the ground…they have no idea why they are moving to NW Arkansas, other than a new job!

It was beautiful this past week, so I decided to be a tourist in Bentonville AR. I enjoy stopping by the Downtown Square,  as there are many great local food places to sample. One of my favorites is Table Mesa Bistro,  Modern Latin with a Blend is their motto. The service is excellent and the food fabulous. The owners, Carl and Lindie Garrett opened back in 2008 and since opened several other restaurants in the NWA area. The have certainly added to the revitalization of the Downtown area.

For a fabulous ground Angus steak burger, you must visit the The Station Cafe! This is the best burger in NWA! The Station cafe was established in 1977 by Cecil & Betty Turner. Many days, you will find Cecil clearing tables or chatting to the guests.

Over the last year, several more eating places have opened around the Bentonville Square. It’s truly become a cuisine delight in Northwest Arkansas!

Till next time…..

 

 

The “Golden Rule”…

The most familiar version of the Golden Rule says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I think of this saying each time I pass by this old historic building in Downtown Rogers AR and it made me wonder where this old building got its name.

It’s not known exactly when this brick building was erected, the best guess is about 1894. The earliest use of the ground floor was Roger’s last saloon, The Blue Goose Saloon, which was there prior to 1896.

Sometime in 1907 for 1908 the building received the name the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule was a chain of stores similar to the old five and dime stores. James Cash Penney opened the first Golden Rule store in Wyoming in 1902 with a partner. When that partnership dissolved in 1907, James Cash Penny bought this store and another and in 1913, Penny changed the name to J.C. Penny’s .

Over the years, this building housed many different stores and homes were added upstairs in what was previous office space.

Today, this building is home to Showcase Trophies and the upstairs remained as living space. Downtown Rogers is becoming a hot spot and many of the old buildings are receiving face lifts. A trip to Downtown Rogers is a must when visiting this area.

#ICSF Ambassador – what it means…

An Inman Connect Ambassador is the “connector” to the people attending the conference; to make everyone feel welcomed. To introduce attendees to the people that they would like to meet. To share via social media technology, all the happenings that are going on with  the events occurring in real-time during the 3 days of Inman Connect.

“When you receive the invitation to be an Ambassador for #ICSF, you are giddy with excitement and anticipation. It is such an honor to be selected from thousands of smart real estate people from around the world! Still not sure how I was selected, however, I will do my best to connect people!”

Do you know about Inman Connect, what it is and why it happens? Inman Connect was started by Brad Inman 20 years ago, and is now the premier real estate technology event for anyone that cares about the real estate industry. It is a conference like no other, thousands of people in the industry gather to share information about what is happening in the world of real estate. It doesn’t matter which brand you are associated with or where you live in the world. It is an amazing opportunity to meet and chat with successful people in the business.

I attended my first Inman Connect in San Fransisco in 2014 at the urging of several people who were Ambassadors that year that I knew from attending company conferences. Like many agents, I had not heard much about Inman Connect. Thanks to friends like Sean Carpenter, Heather Ostrom, Linda Aaron and many others, I attended. I was blown away by the amount of sharing of information, ideas, and successes! All of the Ambassadors made me feel so very welcomed and introduced me to so many people. The conference was an experience like no other! No long boring speeches, it was full of short, quick sessions with loads of information from hundreds of experienced people willing to share their knowledge. Lobby Con and the great parties strengthened relationships and conversations too!

Upon leaving that jam-packed 3 days, my brain was on overdrive! I had met people from all over the world and am blessed to continue many friendships that started with Inman Connect. This will be my 6th Inman Connect. I am very honored to be selected as an Ambassador this year.

Over 2040 licensed real estate agents in the Northwest Board of Realtors and I know of only 2 others in the entire state of Arkansas that have attended an Inman Connect conference. I urge all of my fellow agents to seriously consider attending #ICSF. You will come away with more information that you can digest and friendships that will last a lifetime. If you would like a discount code to attend  #ICSF or any information, feel free to reach out to me.

P.S. San Francisco is beautiful the first week in August, perfect weather and plenty to do while visiting!

 

 

One goal accomplished…

This arrived today. It’s official. One goal in life accomplished!

Linda Hobkirk, Associate Instructor, Arkansas

When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a teacher. I was not able to finish college back in the 70’s, so I never imagined I would see “instructor” beside my name. Today, I am honored to have the official “Associate Instructor” certificate. I now have the privilege of helping real estate agents in Arkansas become better.

I believe that education is very important in this industry.  It’s important that we adapt to technology, the way we use it to teach agents and what we teach. The real life of day to day, from instructors that are in the field every day helping people buy and sell real estate. I believe this will “raise the bar” as they say. They are many people in this industry working to help make real estate professionals better. I am proud to now be apart of the change in educating agents.

Never ever give up, this goal took many, many years and many twist in turns in life to accomplish!

 

 

 

 

 

My first 100 Days…

Today I am celebrating my first 100 days with RE/MAX Real Estate Results.

I look back just a short time ago, when I took the action of changing real estate brokerages after 13 years. Was making the change a little scary at this point in my life? Yes. Was it the fear of uncertainty? Yes. Was it the fear of actually taking action without knowing what would happen? Yes.

Was it worth it? YES!

When you follow the path to your passion, it is truly amazing to see the blessings that come forth. My real estate business continues to thrive, the opportunity to teach is coming together, and each day I can help make a difference in someone’s life.

Don’t let the fear of pursuing your dreams and passions stop you. Sometimes change is needing to keep the flame going. Move forward through life doing what you love, have the passion, take the action that inspires you and the magic will happen!

Here’s to the next 100 days of helping people in real estate and life…

 

Recharge the “soul” batteries…

It’s important to recharge the batteries of our souls. So often when big changes occur in our lives, our batteries are drained of “soul fuel”.

As a REALTOR®, our batteries can be drained very quickly. The minutes, hours or days are never the same. Our lives revolve around making sure that we are doing the very best for our customers. That all goes smoothly in the buying or selling of their home. It can be quite stressful.

#ICNY2015

As the first month of 2016 comes to an end – I am off to recharge my “soul” batteries at the 20th Anniversary of Inman Connect , a conference like no other! The best of the best in real estate and technology. A gathering of very smart people that want to make this industry better. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones that are taking the real estate industry to the next level.

This year is even more exciting as Kim Minor, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Real Estate Results will be going with me. This is her first Inman Connect and I am so excited to have someone to share this exhilarating time. Conferences can ignite the “soul” batteries and get motivation going in a whole new direction!

I looking forward to coming back recharged and ready to take my business to the next level.

Now off to commence getting packed for New York City…oh why do I always overpack….

 

Happy New Year – a 366 day Year!

Tonight millions of people all over the world will be toasting in a new year as the clock strikes Midnight.

A new beginning, a time to reflect, a time to dream, a time to remember, a time to be thankful, and a time to dream of making the world a better place…

I raise my glass of bubbly and say a cheer to 2016 –  a Leap Year! Yes, the gift of an “extra” day – 366 days! This only occurs every 4 years.

This gift of ONE more day  will allow “extra” hours to help someone, to put a smile on someone’s face, to give your time to a cause, to make a difference in someone’s life, to give a hug, to mentor, to share time with those you love, to do that one thing “extra”that could make a difference in the world.

What will you do with an extra day in 2016?

Wishing everyone a very happy and safe New Year’s celebration! May the next 366 days bring you love, joy, health and happiness.

 

 

“Where Everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came”…

23 more sleeps as “they” say until my experience begins as an Ambassador for Inman Connect San Francisco 2015. Excited, nervous, anxious, humbled and honored are some of the feelings I’ve been experiencing since I was asked to be an Inman Connect Ambassador. One of 40 people who will do the very best to “connect people” and keep everyone informed of what’s happening in the real world of real estate and technology.

I attended my first Inman Connect last summer, #ICSF2014.  I was excited to  attend as I knew many of the 2014 Ambassadors from my years being with Coldwell Banker. The moment I walked in, it was like a scene from “Cheers”! “Where Everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” Okay, so I had a big badge hanging on me with my name, that did make it easier to “connect” with people from all over the world. I made friends at the sessions, made more new friends in the lobby (hint: a great place to meet up with wonderful peeps!), took Uber rides down Lombard Street together, had many lunches with wonderful people, and a very special group tour of the Anchor Brewery – so many great memories of the wonderful times with fabulous people. It was an amazing week to learn and make new friends!

If you have never attended Inman Connect, get your ticket now! Use my special Ambassador code to get a discount! 

Oh, and Vendor Ally is really cool too with all the new ‘things’ happening in the tech world and real estate.

If you are a first time attendee or hesitant about meeting someone – Come find me! My goal is to make you feel like “Everybody Knows Your Name” and to “Connect” you with amazing people who will become your friends through this journey called life.

See you in San Fransisco in 23 more sleeps….#ICSF2015.

“Where Everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came”…

Old Barns…

Old Barns intrigue me. This particular one rests in a small valley in north Bentonville, Arkansas. I came across it taking a short cut road as I was heading to a listing prospect a few days ago.

I stopped briefly on the two lane country road to snap a picture out the car window. I noticed later that I had captured the swaying fence that ran along the perimeter.

Do you ever wonder about the history behind the rusty tin roof and weathered wood? We can only imagine the stories within.

The setting was gorgeous and had me wondering all day the stories behind this Old Barn…