Tips For A Successful Life

by Calvin J Case

  I couldn't resist the urge to write tonight!  I feel like I have reached the point in life where I have learned many of life's lessons.  In some strange way, this may finally qualify me as being wise. 

      Here are some of life's lessons that I would love to share. Please remember to not just read the words but actually let them sink in. 

"Don't let your subconscious mind make decisions for your conscious mind."

That is not one of the lessons :)

#1.   Always trust your gut.

#2.   Don't cheat

#3.    Multi-tasking creates chaos, organize your life in an order so that you can focus on the priorities and delegate the less important tasks.

#4.     If you don't know what you want you can't obtain it.

#5.     Take the time to manifest, meditate and consciously think daily.

#6.    What we consume creates who we are:

What we breathe, what we drink, what we eat, what we watch, what we think and the way we treat our body creates who we are.

#7.    In order to change the way you think you have to realize your own faults, not an easy task because we are heavily conditioned.

#8.    85 years go by fast so don't waste time.

#9.    Figure out what you are passionate about and figure out how to make a living at it.

#10.   True love is hard to find, realize the difference between love and lust, fake and real, true love is always patient, kind, and natural.

#12.  Great things happen naturally they are never forced.

#13.   Approach life with sincere gratitude spread love and positivity, and give generously and you will receive back what you give 100 fold.

#14.   Travel and be amazed by nature.

#15.   Share your wisdom and create opportunities for others, it is your responsibility to mentor, teach and motivate so those who are open minded can learn from you.  Pay it forward, always.

#16 And last for today..... learn how to follow before you try to lead, walk before your run, pay attention and learn from everyone you come in contact with.

We Are The Solution

Now in real estate for over 10 years and radio advertising sales for 5 years during and before, I am far removed from my previous " Life As A Shoe Salesman".  Interestingly I received some criticism about calling my blog this name, it seems some people still look down on the shoe salesman.  I even contemplated changing the name to something more pretentious or a name that commanded more respect but after not so much deliberation I said "screw it" because I am proud of it.

Truth be told in America it is every parents dream that their children will grow and have more opportunities than we did.   I got a little side tracked when I was in college and didn't graduate, still today I wish that I had... but it isn't the end of the world, I"ll press on.  That said, I am a firm believer in ALL young people getting a college education.

I obtained more practical knowledge selling shoes than I would have learned in college.  WHAT?  No, it is true. I learned usable people skills, management skills, salesmanship skills and communication skills in the shoe store.  I started reading self help books at a very young age reading everything ever written by Dale Carnagie, Og Mandino, Stephen Covey, Dwayne Dyer, Napoleon Hill and the list goes on and on.  I worked daily on the principles I learned from reading these books on the employees in my stores until the principles became habit.

I read books on management, attended management seminars, time management seminars and again put the principles I learned into practise.

Today in my daily dealing in my real estate business I still put everything learned into practise on a daily basis and I am blessed that I have been able to build a successful business thanks to all of my wonderful clients that continue to refer me business.  However, the rewards of the real estate business will probably never surpass the rewards that I received while working in the shoe business.  I loved helping young men and women that had just began embarking on a career.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching them learn how to run their own business, grow as a salesperson and manager and develop their skills in learning how to grow within a corporation.

Over the course of 22 years in retail I developed certain quotes that I used in my teachings to my salespeople and management trainees. On occasion I run into my past employees and almost every time they will bring up a quote or two and tell me how often they still remember and use many of these quotes.   I now post these quotes on twitter so other people can read, enjoy, use or ignore these quotes that I have found so useful for all these years.  You can join me on twitter at https://twitter.com/TucsonsRealtor.

Many of the principles that I learned while studying the teaching of the authors of all the incredible self help books that I have read and enjoyed were principles that placed emphasis on having a positive mental attitude.  I wake up every morning and thank the good lord for giving me another day on this incredible earth, for blessing me with wonderful parents, brothers and sisters and two fantastic boys that make me proud every day. I am also grateful that I am able to share my life with my girlfriend that enjoys my passion for life.  I sometimes have a bad moment, hour, or quarter of a day.  But make every effort to not ever have a bad day.  I am completely blessed that everyday I am surrounded by other people that share the same zest for life.

Everyday I meet really awesome people and recently it has been off the charts incredible, the people I am meeting are nothing less that stellar.

Now if I may go just a little political for a moment!

It is very frustrating in an election year to see all the negativity being spread throughout the media via news programming, political commentary and especially political ads. 

Let's go back a little further than the self help books.

" If you don't have something nice go say about someone, don't say anything at all".

Dale Caranagie, one of my mentors and favorite writer of all time, " Cultivate the happy side of life, don't criticize, condemn or complain".

Today  "The Secret" tells us what you think about you bring about.  Thoughts are things.

What message is being projected through the mouths and actions of our presidential candidates?

To every problem there is a solution, yet I don't hear anyone proposing solutions.  All I hear is criticism.

Anyway, now that we have that out of the way I will leave you with this... If you meet someone without a smile, give them yours.  Catch yourself when you are going negative and bring it back to your base.  If you encounter someone who is not having a great day, take a moment to smile at them, spread some enthusiasm and become part of the solution.

Enough for now  ALL THE BEST,

Calvin Case
http:www//www.tucsonhomerealtor.com

Customer Care and Service Made Simple

Hi, I was the guy wearing a name tag at the entrance to the shoe store when you walked in, the manager.  I probably greeted you within 10 seconds, made eye contact, smiled and invited you to browse the store in comfort until you were ready to be helped. That was the way it was done from 1930 through 1990 or so, professional, courteous, friendly and on the box it said "The Great American Shoe Store".  On the side it said, "a great quality product, friendly service and at a fair price".  
We observed you from a distance and when it looked like you were ready we re-approached and got the sales process started.  We measured not one but both feet, placed your shoes carefully under the chair and brought you out the selected shoe in your size and a couple of other options that may come in handy down the road. We practised product placement at the seat! We then put the shoes on for you, tied them and invited you to take a stroll while we took a moment to help other customers.
We then attempted to close the sale by using the assume, which or summary close. 
After we had successfully closed the sale and during the transaction we may suggest other items that may compliment your selection.  Socks, cleaners, water proofing, a handbag, nylons etc.  If worked into conversation naturally the sales process flowed along very easily and successfully.  No pressure, just easy natural conversation.  At the register, we rang you up, hopefully without a wait, bagged your purchase carefully and gave you a sincere thank you, maybe even calling you by name if you used a credit card or if we picked it up along the way.  Sometimes we shook your hand but always invited you to come back and shop again.

Simple....I still use these exact methods when selling homes today.  

PRIDE was taken in every sale!  I loved the business of selling shoes and because of what I learned I am able to make a tidy living selling homes in Tucson.  To me, it's just common sense.

NOTE...I will always keep my blogs short because in the year 2011 we are inudated with emails, ads and just a ton of clutter, so if you are like me, I like to get in and out of my readings within a few minutes tops.

I will be writing about some of the ways that I have come up with to organize my time in 2011, process email and correspondence etc.  I call my method "time blocks" and it has been very effective for me in running my business.

C2

My Mentors

I am not famous but if I were I would want to be asked the question...Who has been the greatest influences in your life!

Easy...

#1 My Dad
#2 Dale Carnegie
#3 Og Mandino
#4 Gary Williams
#5 Randy Snyder

Some might say that I left out God but that would be an entirely different and lengthy discussion.

As I continue to blog on this site, I will continually be resiting all of these main influences and more...

Stay tuned.

"Don't criticize condemn or complain"  Dale Carnegie

Why "Life Of A Shoe Salesman"?

My first post on the new blog will be brief as this is a trial while I learn a little more about how this works. My intention/purpose for creating this blog is to take much of the material...yours included and include it in my book of the same title as the blog. "Life Of A Shoe Salesman", this may seem like a weird title to many of you since I have not sold shoes in over 10 years. The reason for the title is actually very obvious and came as a natural to me because most people would probably look down on the average shoe salesperson as being uneducated, not very ambitious and so on. The truth is, being a shoe salesman was the most educational job I have ever had and I think that everyone should have to be a shoe salesman for at least a year before they are allowed to proceed with life. Call it "Boot Camp" towards any career.

C2

November 26, 2011