July News In March 2010
Apr 1st, 2010 by July Ono
I was reminded of my power virtues being faith, flow, fun and love. A lot of times I would like immediate results and move forward with my plan. Then I am reminded to have faith and be part of the flow. Being in flow is not about feeling like I am one with the universe at the end of a project. Being in flow is about enjoying the journey, the process, and allowing it to happen the way it unfolds. So why not have fun in the process? I take life too seriously sometimes which is why I have Steve around and when the fun goes, the meaning goes and when the meaning goes the emotion goes and when the emotion goes, life becomes a chore. Having a mission, vision, purpose and goals are all very well and good and a key ingredient is fun to spice it all up. I am still learning to incorporate fun more purposefully into my life. As with all learnings, Tony Robbins says this: Change is automatic. Progress is intentional.
HST IS A SETBACK FOR INVESTORS
The BC Real Estate Convention recently invited me to write an article for their Annual April Convention showcase guide. They wanted a counterpoint to Minister Colin Hansen’s pro-government position. Basically real estate investors are not permitted to have Input Tax Credits or GST refunds. Other businesses are allowed to claim ITC’s and we are excluded. When the new Harmonized Sales Tax comes into effect on July 1st, the bottom line will be a 35% profit loss to our current tax system. For a sneak peak of my article, go to my Blog.
AN OLYMPIC VIEW
Since I don’t subscribe to cable or listen to the radio, watching the Olympics meant going to a pub or imposing on somebody with cable tv. As it turned out, Steve whisked me away for a week in Florida to help me unwind from an intense schedule of work. I watched with bated breath and clenched fists as the Canadian men’s hockey team scored the overtime goal sending a clear message to the U.S. and the world that we own hockey. We’re standing in front of the Epcot dome in Orlando.
12 LEVERAGED DAYS OFF
Steve and I enjoyed twelve days away from Thunder Bay to take care of business in Vancouver. We left October 1 7th and returned March 17th, five months to create a property management system, hire and train a team to implement those systems. The business is running itself now without our day-to-day supervision. This is how you want to design a business so that it operates with you. During our visit, we had scheduled 6 dinner meetings, 1 breakfast meeting and a luncheon. In between, we relished my mom’s much missed gastronomical delights. It’s so great having a mom in the house. She loves cooking and we love eating.
YACHTING CRAB FEST
One of our investors recently upgraded to a 65 foot Tollycraft and gracious invited us out for an afternoon launch. We thought the excursion would be for a couple hours. Instead, we docked at a marina in False Creek and fired up the grill. We were treated to a crab feast as passersby hailed us for a claw. As we passed by the Olympic Torch, I snapped this beautiful harbour view of the flame. Vancouver is a remarkably gorgeous city with its myriad reflections of glass in dazzling pink, aqua green, cool blue and incognito black. It is simply breathtaking.
KAYDENCE’ FIRST 1-2-3-4-5 STEPS
Okay, I am a proud grandmother. One of the benefits of living and working in Thunder Bay has been watching my granddaughter grow up. She took her first five un-assisted steps early this month. It was just 9-1/2 months ago that I could hold this baby in one hand. Babies love modeling and mimicking grown ups. Children are affected by what they see, hear and feel. Specific Incidents have long term high impact whether positive or negative. It is important to reinforce positive encouragement.
PRO-ACTIVE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT – PART 5
Documentation. One of the first systems to implement is a log book to record every inbound and outbound call. I use a hard bound book with lined paper and create columns for the date, time, phone number, notes where the name of the party and a summary of the conversation is written down. A big check mark is placed in the left column when that item has been followed up. Unchecked messages have not been followed up. A mentor from long ago once told me, it is better to have a short pencil than a long memory.
The greatest single source of wealth is between your ears. Brian Tracy.
July Ono
