May 15, 2012

Seven SMART and Safe Tips for Buying A New Home

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Our first home in Colorado Springs, CO

This last weekend Thom and I spent time with good friends that are looking to buy a new home.   In case I haven’t mentioned it before, both Thom and I have been real estate brokers for over 25 years (yikes!  Where does the time go?)  While Thom works exclusively with commercial properties, I mainly keep my license active in order to use that knowledge for my writing career.  Plus, it comes in handy for personal use and sometimes to help friends or family.  After showing our friends about ten homes in different areas, it occurred to me that based upon my experience, I could offer some tips to anyone who wishes to buy a home in a SMART (sustainable, meaningful, artful, responsible and thankful) way.  So here are my seven tips to do just that! Continue reading →

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May 8, 2012

Is Your Over-Thinking An Addiction? —Here Are Eight Steps To Recovery

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

I like choices.  Nearly every one of my decisions is carefully researched to maximize the greatest number of benefits.  When I buy something, I like to know I purchased the best product at the best price.  When I travel somewhere, I am fairly certain I’ll enjoy the most outstanding experience available.  When working I am reasonably convinced that I have covered as many bases as possible and creatively contributed to my field.   And while most of the time I enjoy the process—I have to admit there are times when I take the whole thing to extreme. (I’m sure Thom, my husband, would agree!)  That’s when I know I am caught in the loop of over-thinking and that’s when it’s time to seek recovery. Continue reading →

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May 1, 2012

Don’t Let Hornworms or Troubles Get You Down!

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

This year, for the first time ever, I planted a garden.  At the beginning it was fun, rewarding and easy.  I began harvesting lettuce within two weeks and peppers barely 30 days later. Every day was a miracle as I watched green tomatoes forming on my wandering vines. Then, just as I anticipated ripe tomatoes, I noticed something awful.  Huge juicy caterpillars were munching my vines and my baby tomatoes.  Not only were they devastating my plants, their overwhelming presence shattered my idyllic garden image. Almost overnight, my garden became both a challenging endeavor and a reality check.   Much as I’d like to believe that disappointment or challenges don’t happen to all of us on a regular basis—the truth is they do.  And because it is SMART to stay focused on solutions rather than the problem, here are 8 suggestions anyone of us can use to overcome the hornworms  (or any other challenge!) you face in your life.   Continue reading →

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April 24, 2012

Seven Mental Illusions that Influence Our Everyday Thinking

Happy SMART Living Everyone!

A big part of Living SMART 365 is staying conscious, awake and aware.  In fact, most of us like to believe that’s what we do most of the time.  But after reading the book, “Thinking Fast & Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, I’ve discovered that I am seldom as awake and aware as I think I am.  In fact, far too often I frame most of my decisions like a lot of you—in the easiest and most comfortable ways possible. Fortunately, now that I have a better understanding of how human thinking and decision-making works, I can be more awake and conscious about some of the most routine illusions that befall us all. Continue reading →

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April 20, 2012

A Simple Cure for Those Suffering From Cash-Burn

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Most of us are familiar with the pain of heartburn.  And if you check you’ll find that news sources say close to 40% of all Americans suffer from it at least once a month.  But what about cash-burn?  Chances are the same numbers of Americans suffer from this common affliction as well.   But what is cash-burn and how does it happen?  Even more important—what’s the cure? Continue reading →

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April 17, 2012

It’s SMART to Define What We Mean By Happiness

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

The recent World Happiness Report reminded me that it is always a good idea to define your terms—even with a common word like “happiness.”  That’s because while we all tend to use the word on a regular basis, what I think happiness means, what you think happiness means, and what everyone experiences as happiness are very likely three different things.  And if we are going to pursue it as the U.S. Declaration of Independence suggests, then it is critical that we know what we are talking about. Continue reading →

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April 10, 2012

The World Happiness Report And How It Applies To You and Me

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

The World Happiness Report is hot off the presses and critics are lining up to take shots at its diversion from the GDP and the economic status quo. Commissioned for a United Nations Conference on happiness and published by The Earth Institute at Columbia University, a major focus of the report suggests the outrageous idea that seeking the well-being and happiness of individual citizens is much more important than the growth and health of that country’s economy.   Using statistics from over 150 different countries and three prominent world studies, the report offers ways that governments can develop public policies to support and enhance the quality of life for its citizens, and create a more sustainable foundation for happiness for everyone.  What does that mean for you and I?  And why are the critics so worked up about it? Continue reading →

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April 6, 2012

Creating a Complaint Free Life

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Several years ago a book entitled, “A Complaint Free World” became an overnight sensation.  To date, nearly ten million people have read the book and obtained purple rubber bracelets to help them recognize how much they complain on a regular basis.  The practice was designed so that once people recognized their complaints they could put an end to them and gradually transform their world.  This last week I came across my little purple bracelet and immediately realized that the bad habit of complaining was worming its way back into my life.  Right then I admitted I could use another dose of “complaint-free living” in my life and in my world. Continue reading →

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April 3, 2012

Consider Yourself Lucky?—Here Are 5 Ways To Increase Your Odds In The Future

Happy SMART Day Everyone!  

Now that the largest Mega Millions Multi-State Lottery is finally behind us, let’s talk about luck.   According to estimates,  nearly $1.5 billion dollars was spent with the hope of winning $640 Million.  Unfortunately, those who bought tickets were in reality 50 times more likely to get hit by lightening—and some guy in Kansas actually did on his way home from buying three tickets at a local store.  But those odds didn’t stop hundreds of people from standing in line over five hours in nasty and cold weather for the miniscule chance of becoming a mega-millionaire.  News reports say there are only three lucky winners and dozens of others who will share in lesser prizes.   Do those winners have a secret the rest of us can use to increase our odds in the future?   The answer is yes—lucky people do have a formula.  But it isn’t exclusive and you and I can benefit every day of our lives by knowing certain behaviors that can increase our odds.      Continue reading →

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March 30, 2012

What you Think About Me Is None Of My Business

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Back in the early 1980s, there was a New Thought minister in San Diego, CA named Terry Cole-Whittaker.  She was and still is a very vivacious speaker who was so popular that she even had her own Sunday morning TV program.  During that time, she authored a book called, “What You Think of Me Is None Of My Business.”  Although Terry’s path changed rather dramatically in the years that followed, one of her legacies is this idea.  It doesn’t even matter if you’ve read the book or not—the title alone is something that I refer to on many occasions.  It would certainly be SMART for each one of us to regularly remind ourselves “What others think of us is none of our business.” Continue reading →

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