Times can be rough and times can be hard!

Don't you sometimes wish that someone would come and bail YOU out? I sure do. However, I don't think that is going to happen for my company or me anytime soon!
Like most of you, I'm one of those working guys who believes that this real estate market will too pass. It goes up and it goes down and sometimes you just have to go along for the ride. Keeping a good attitude in the face of troubled waters will always win over the doom and gloom of what's heard on TV, radio, and read in the newspaper.
Remember 1979 - 1982 and 1990 - 1994? Well even if you don't... Like today's market, those were some pretty rough times for real estate. The home loan interest rate was 16 - 19% in the early 80s...and unemployment was over 14% here in California. Chrysler, Ford, GM and Anheuser Busch plus a few other major companies even left California, causing the loss of thousands of jobs! Yes, times can be hard.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned during those tough times was to not buy into the doom and gloom of the day. There are always positives to every situation. Our lives are only so long, and between here (however old you are) and whenever there comes, we must strive to be happy.
Attitude creates energy! If people around you are upbeat you will tend to be upbeat as well. If they are negative and baa-humbug about everything...well you get the idea.
During these trying times we must remember every morning to count our blessings, especially the little ones...good health...good friends...the shared love of your family. Toward the end of the year I will be getting married, and let me tell you...I picked a winner! I thank my lucky stars everyday for her, and I am so thankful to have her in these hard times. And most of all, let's all remember that we do live in the greatest country in the world.
If things are hard here...they are even tougher outside the US. Where in the world is better then here? Russia? Germany? France? Spain, Egypt, Italy? Greece, Africa? Any part of South America? Japan? North or South Korea? China maybe? NO, I think not!
I don't profess to have the answers to the economy, or to Wall Street's issues or even the Real Estate market...in which i am an expert in. I do however, have an answer to changing things that are happening around me during these times.
The answer is a positive ATTITUDE.
I can control my attitude. I'm helping my neighbor take out her trash...I am putting in a little more time with one of my favorite charities, HBIC...and when someone asks me "How's it going in the real estate market?" I say, "When it's tough, the tough get going!" with a BIG SMILE!
I believe the same amount of people are still getting married this year...the same amount of babies are getting born...moving up in size...moving down in size...relocating out of the state and coming into Southern California...We all have to have a place to live and that's where i come in.
Think about it...who would you rather be dealing with when it comes time to utilize a service, be it a doctor..dentist..mechanic..check-out clerk..or in my case a real estate broker...when the times comes you want to deal with a professional with a positive attitude! Next time you see your neighbor give away a big smile and say..."It's just another day in paradise!"
One final positive thought about how tough the real estate market is...Most of the part-timers and the wannabe agents who jumped in for a quick buck...etc. have left the industry That means that cream rises. This has always been a fabulous career for me and I wouldn't give it up for the world.
When it comes time to buy or sell your house, who do you want working for you? a wannabe...or an experienced, professional real estate agent with a positive attitude. I know what my choice would be!
Don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions, or comments, or even just to say "hello" :)

John Chesshire
714.626.8880