If It Makes You Happy

What makes you happy and gives you peace? Interesting, engaging work? A parade of new clients? Several months backlog? Money in the bank? (Maybe not a lot, but enough). Decide. And then do everything in your power to make the most important thing happen. Being self-employed is tough. You deserve it.

By |2018-07-23T10:28:34-04:00July 23rd, 2018|Uncategorized|Comments Off on If It Makes You Happy

A Recommendation

Set you DVR and record the 2003 Daredevil move starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. It is an overlooked and often maligned film but is one my favorites: the Daredevil character is compelling and the cast includes some great actors: Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano, Colin Farrell and (the sadly missed) Michael Clark Duncan. Check it [...]

By |2017-09-06T10:30:35-04:00September 6th, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off on A Recommendation

Now We Are the Bad Guys

Spending the annual long weekend on the cruise ship on land called Woodloch Pines. In our first years here, the kids, all 11 of them, were little. As a team we didn't stand a chance against the families with older kids. They were too fast and they were better at trivia than our brigade of [...]

By |2017-07-24T12:22:07-04:00July 24th, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Now We Are the Bad Guys

The Value of Imagination

"I walk around my house sometimes. It's a really nice house, I like it a lot. And I think to myself, 'My imagination created all of this'". - Quentin Tarantino

By |2015-12-16T12:10:16-05:00December 16th, 2015|Uncategorized|Comments Off on The Value of Imagination

Gratitude

Gratitude makes everything better because gratitude, without fail, serves to improve our attitude. And isn't our attitude what really matters? How many apparently unhappy people do you see driving very expensive cars? Or complaining that their soup is too cold? Or too hot? How many times do we grumble about our lot in life just [...]

By |2013-11-25T14:32:45-05:00November 25th, 2013|History, Personal Development, Success, Uncategorized|1 Comment

The (Echo Boomer) Kids are Alright

In my recent post, Kid Power!, I wrote about the Echo Boomers, the children of the Baby Boomers, now age 18 to 31, and the largest generation in U.S. history. I recently became an Adjunct Professor at Monmouth University where I teach in the Kislak Real Estate Institute with Don Moliver, PhD., MAI, CRE. There are [...]

By |2013-10-22T09:42:37-04:00October 22nd, 2013|Children, Demographics, Uncategorized|Comments Off on The (Echo Boomer) Kids are Alright

So Where Is Jersey Shore Real Estate Going After Sandy?

I have received a number of inquiries about appraising Jersey Shore properties that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy for casualty loss under Internal Revenue Service Rule 165. Thus far, I have not taken on any of these projects. I am not going to lie to you, this has ticked off some clients. Let's start from [...]

By |2023-10-18T15:39:26-04:00May 1st, 2013|Real Estate, Residential, Risk, Uncategorized, Value|Comments Off on So Where Is Jersey Shore Real Estate Going After Sandy?

Commodity Pricing

Repeat After Me: “I, (state your name), am not a commodity. I offer unique and valuable services. My clients (customers) benefit greatly from my skills and experience.” Avoid commoditization. If you allow yourself to become the human equivalent of a bushel of corn there is only one way your income can go: down. I can’t emphasize [...]

By |2013-03-23T14:05:52-04:00March 23rd, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Commodity Pricing

Ugh, It’s Like Moving

I am in the process of changing my website and made a terrible discovery - it is like moving one's home. So much junk to box up, save or discard. Good thing I don't have to pester a buddy with a pickup truck.

By |2013-02-06T11:51:52-05:00February 6th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Ugh, It’s Like Moving

Anti-Marketing

Show of hands. If you see on the street: A (likely homeless) man holding a Going Out of Business sign; A kid flipping what appears to be a small surfboard about; or A guy dressed as the Statue of Liberty touting "expert" tax services. Are your drawn to do business with the advertiser? Me neither. [...]

By |2013-01-25T10:10:09-05:00January 25th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Anti-Marketing

It’s Beyond Me

I got a LinkedIn request from a name that was familiar, but I did not know exactly why. I clicked Accept and shortly thereafter got this message: "Bob! Great to see you and your profile...glad to see you are running your own show! Looking back over the years, you are one of the people I [...]

By |2013-01-25T09:51:45-05:00January 25th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on It’s Beyond Me

I Couldn’t Resist

I was one of the recipients of a mass e-mail to all of the vendors working for a certain municipality. The e-mail was sent by the town clerk who had received a OPRA request relating to the Hurricane Sandy cleanup. The clerk seemed a bit perturbed.Anxious to calm her, I wrote back, "Not to worry. [...]

By |2013-01-18T16:38:44-05:00January 18th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on I Couldn’t Resist

It’s the Little Freedoms that Matter

I was perusing our local paper this morning when I ran across this article: http://asburyparkpress.nj.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=0f94002a0. A 15-year-old girl in Iceland is suing to use her real name - Blaer - which means "light breeze". The problem, it seems, is that Blaer is not among the 1,853 government-approved girl names. I was shocked by the article in a [...]

By |2013-01-04T09:27:58-05:00January 4th, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on It’s the Little Freedoms that Matter

One New Thing: December 2012

Fearful that I was becoming horribly dull, I committed to Do One Thing I Have Never Done Before ("DOTIHNDB" for short) each month in the New Year. Because I am me, I started in December. The always game Miss Karen and I decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Warhol, Matisse and [...]

By |2013-01-01T08:57:16-05:00January 1st, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on One New Thing: December 2012

We Should All Hope for Such an Ending

[Scrooge] became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world... His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

By |2012-12-25T17:48:01-05:00December 25th, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on We Should All Hope for Such an Ending

Christmas Eve Day Memories

When I was a kid we had a family tradition on Christmas Eve Day. My dad would take the four of us out for lunch, no doubt to give mom time to wrap some gifts and get the house ready for the Christmas Eve festivities. Dad would take us the Rum Runner Restaurant in Sea Bright in the days [...]

By |2012-12-24T16:58:42-05:00December 24th, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Christmas Eve Day Memories

Christmas Issues II

George Michael memorably croons: "Last Christmas I gave you my heart. The very next day you gave it away." Legally, this statement bothers me. Wouldn't giving one's heart create a form of bailment and preclude one from transferring said heart to a third party? Also, knowing what we know about Mr. Michael today, couldn't this create an awfully [...]

By |2012-12-24T12:42:53-05:00December 24th, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Christmas Issues II

Christmas Issues I

If you can remember Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, why wouldn't you remember the most famous reindeer of all?

By |2012-12-23T17:30:51-05:00December 23rd, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Christmas Issues I

12 Word Novel

In the Million Dollar Consulting® College Alan Weiss gave us several challenges intended to help us understand that most of our limitations are self-imposed. At one point Alan asked us to write a 12 word novel in five minutes, just to let us know that we can be instantly creative.  The novel had to have a beginning, a middle [...]

By |2012-12-21T18:30:59-05:00December 21st, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on 12 Word Novel

Rethinking Communication

I have been focusing on time management recently, to the point where I am considering a fog-free mirror to save shaving time in the morning. And that is all well and good, but in the process I discovered much more insidious time wasters in my day, the worst of which is e-mail.I only recently realized that [...]

By |2012-12-19T13:55:59-05:00December 19th, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Rethinking Communication

Thoughts on the End of the World

With the end of the world looming in two days, one gets, you know, contemplative. Here are some of my thoughts:Isn't it possible that the Mayan stonecarver just ran out of room? Or retired to Cancun?Or the Mayan astronomer said, "and it repeats from there, you get the picture".By logical extension, shouldn't we all be [...]

By |2012-12-19T13:51:02-05:00December 19th, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Thoughts on the End of the World

One Crazy Standard

The appraiser's canon of ethics is called the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice or USPAP for short. While it sets down some reasonable and common sense rules, it also contains some rules that seem to me, well, crazy. For example, the definition of an appraisal is, "an opinion of value". So, according wildly broad [...]

By |2012-11-28T14:17:07-05:00November 28th, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on One Crazy Standard

Do Yourself a Favor

When next you are in a diner, coffee shop or similar establishment, smile warmly at your server and inquire as to their well being. Perhaps engage in some pleasant conversation. When the check comes, leave a 50% to 100% tip. And don't tell anyone.

By |2012-11-28T14:12:23-05:00November 28th, 2012|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Do Yourself a Favor
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