A Life That POPs

Millionaire for a Moment

2007-06-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

I attended an exciting conference last week all about Mortgage Planning. The most rewarding moment, however, may have come when I did not receive $1,000,000. On the second night of this three day conference they played one of the many games designed to keep the energy level high. This particular game was based on the TV game show Deal... or No Deal and the player had a chance to win $1,000,000. I was as excited to play as the next guy; that may not be a lot of money, but you can probably live on it!

The first step had all 3900 of us go to side tables where we randomly picked a chocolate bar. Twenty-six of those bars had a golden ticket inside, a la Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I was one of the lucky 26 and we all went on stage. Now they had to narrow us down to one contestant so they handed us each a black envelope as they collected our golden tickets. All but one person would open their envelope to find the word "Sorry" printed on the card inside. But that one person - he or she was going to continue on and play the game. There was a glitch though, as often happens in life, and when they finished handing us our envelopes they realized that they had given out more than 40 chocolate bars with golden tickets! How to fairly deal with the people who did not get an envelope? The host decided to collect all the envelopes from us and divide us into two groups; he flipped a coin and half the group had to leave the stage. The other half were given the envelopes anew and after opening them one person went on to play the game. Yours truly was in the group that had to leave the stage.

Now what I neglected to mention is that I did not know what the envelopes were for when they handed them to us and before the host decided to take them all back I opened mine and glanced inside. You can probably guess by now that mine did not say "Sorry" and I would have been the person playing!! While I sat in my seat watching the game play out (after passing on the chance to take $29,000 and losing the chance at $1,000,000 early on, the lone player walked with a cool $9,000) I at first felt a little frustrated and angry. But I soon realized that I was walking away with much more than a million dollars. After all, even if you win $1,000,000 it begins to lose value instantly due to depreciation, taxes and so on. But I was the only one in the room to leave with a secret message from an envelope. A message of priceless value that can never be taken or stolen or depreciated. A message that was fated to end up in my hands. Inside the envelope, there was a card and it read: You ARE a WINNER!

A Season in Tme

2007-06-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

I missed the Brokers' Open last week while attending a conference on Mortgage Planning in Las Vegas and I came back with great info and lots to tell you about. Today I want to share the most exciting parts:

The market is expected to continue its contraction from $3.9 trillion in 2003 to $3.0 trillion this year while inflation (rates) continue to rise... THAT IS GOOD NEWS
Over the course of 2007, the number of loan officers should drop from 480,000 to 250,000. That means 230,000 less people dropping rate sheets on you, 230,000 less people attempting to buy your business rather than earn it and 230,000 less people trying to explain yet another convoluted loan program with "assisted this" and "deferred interest that" when they can not get THE PAPERWORK RIGHT ON A BASIC 30YR LOAN, OR EVEN RETURN A PHONE CALL... (and that is very good news).
By the end of 2007 the number of Real Estate agents will drop from 2.7 million to 1.4 million... AND THAT MAY BE THE BEST NEWS OF ALL!

Let me share with you one of the most important things I learned last week: there are no bad markets!! There are seasons: times of contraction and expansion, times to sow and times to reap. But for the successful Real Estate agent it is never a bad market; just a change in positioning.

If you do not have a plan for the seasons, if you are not sure how to dial in your success, that is OK. See me after the rally, or see Katie of Lisa. I have strategies and plans to grow your business. Who is going to be successful during this time of transition, this change of season? That is a mystery here at the Mystery House Tour. I will tell you one very good indicator though: people whose professionalism demands that they make time each week to preview properties in their area and know their inventory! I congratulate every one of you that shows up on a regular basis. Enjoy the change of seasons, enjoy the Rally and most importantly: enjoy the Ride.

"Life is Hard"

2007-05-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

Each week I have the opportunity to share ideas and inspiration with over one hundred Realtors at the Brokers’ Open Caravan. Last week I shared the poem IF by Rudyard Kipling. It is a poem on life, happiness and what it means to be a truly successful person. I learned it in high school and amazingly, I have yet to encounter a situation that is not covered by this heartfelt letter from a father to his son. It is, in my humble opinion, the greatest piece ever written in the English language. If you have not read it, please do so here. You may find yourself, as I have, burning it into your memory and served by its wisdom on a daily basis.

Every night when I put my boys to bed we read a couple of stories. Occasionally, instead of reading a story, I recite the poem IF for them. As passionately as I feel about this poem you can imagine my desire to impart it to my sons. They are just coming into the age where they can begin to appreciate what it says and remember my telling of it. Two nights ago was just such a night. I turned down the lights and recited the poem with all my heart. When I had finished I had a tear in my eye, which I normally do by the time I have finished. My seven year old looked at me and asked: “Daddy, what do all those words mean?” This is a fair question given the old English nature and style of the poem. I told him not to worry so much about all the words, that we would discuss them individually over time (it was, after all, bedtime). I told them both that the poem was about life and a philosophy of living that led to being an upstanding citizen of the world. I told them that it was about the trials and tribulations that one may face and more importantly: how to face them. My five year old then asked: “Does that mean that all those things are going to happen?” I told them that they may all happen and they may not. This poem is about being prepared. This poem is about having a blueprint for how to handle anything that gets thrown at you. This poem is about life. There was silence for a moment and then my five year old said: “Life sounds hard.”…

How do you explain to a five year old that life is a celebration of daily wonder and effortless joy? How do you explain to a five year old that we experience magic and miracles every day if we live in the present moment? How do you explain to a five year old that life is only as hard as we decide it is going to be and tell ourselves that it is? How do I explain all this to a five year old when, nearing the age of forty-five, I still find myself saying at times “life is hard”?

We talk to ourselves constantly; not only in what we say out loud and what we think inside, but in the very words that we choose. Let’s decide that life is a beautiful, awe inspiring celebration. My thought for each and every one of us today is this: before we go outside we tell ourselves that today is going to be a terrific day overflowing with wonder and happiness. Let’s see if we can’t make it so just by the act of telling ourselves it is so.

IF

2007-05-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, Nor talk too wise.

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn out tools.

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss.
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold On!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings-nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much.
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it,
And-which is more-you’ll be a man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling

LImiting Beliefs and Poorly Kept Secrets

2007-05-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Every Thursday morning I attend a Broker's Open House pitch session with over 100 real estate agents. I have a lot of fun and my energy level gets a turbo boost. It was not, however, always this way. In the beginning I had a very limiting belief system that kept me from these gifts I now look forward to every Thursday. We all have belief systems, some of which may be keeping us from success, holding us back in our income, our relationships or even our day to day happiness. I want to share one of mine with you, but first I must ask your indulgence in not judging me until I am done.

I started as a real estate agent in the late 1980s and I came to dislike most real estate agents. I thought they were too self interested and money driven. (This is the part where I ask you not to judge me!) When the idea of hosting the Mystery House Tour at Thursday's caravan was brought up almost two years go, I thought to myself: I should definitely be marketing to real estate agents... even if I do not care too much for them. So I embarked on the Mystery House Tour and you can guess what happened: I came every week, talked about mortgages, did not have much fun and left without furthering anyone else's business or my own.

Fast forward to six months ago and I begin working with Katie O'Sullivan at Stewart Title. She felt there was quite an opportunity within Mystery House Tour to help agents and to garner some business as well. She offered to join me, but only if I made some changes: I had to stop discussing mortgages and start being more "me". I said "Sure, sure" and then I told her my big secret: I do not care all that much for agents. She said: "I know!" I said what do you mean you know and she repeated "I KNOW, everyone knows; this is no secret. It shows in everything you do."

I came to a couple of realizations that afternoon. First, any dreams I had of leading a secret double life: superhero fighting crime at night and mild-mannered mortgage originator during the day - were out the window. Apparently I am no good at hiding my secret life. Second, I had a belief system and it was definitely limiting me. I used a very simple linguistic technique to rid myself of my limiting belief system and replace it with a new one. (I am happy to share this technique with anyone who asks.) Within a few weeks I found myself realizing how difficult a job real estate agents have. Not long after that I found myself looking for ways to help agents in their very difficult job. The change since then has been profound. I have so many friends from the Broker's Open that it literally hurts to miss a week. I have made friends that I get together with on a regular basis and it has nothing to do with real estate. I am now someone people call when they are in need; more importantly, I have people that I call when I am in need. My number one source of business, after referrals, comes directly from that room of real estate agents... and it turns out that is the least important benefit of them all!

Take a good hard look at your belief systems. Are any of them holding you back? If you are looking for ways to change them call or email me and I will share some very effective techniques. Who knows, you may increase your income or improve your relationship or live each day a little happier. If you are truly blessed, as I have been, you might just find over 100 friends that you never knew you had and an open invitation to a party EVERY THURSDAY morning.

How Fat is Your Lampshade?

2007-04-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I compete in triathlons. Last Saturday I completed the California Half Iron Man in Oceanside. I broke six hours, which is a pretty good mark for anyone; but more importantly, I set a new personal best. It was, by all accounts, a good race and one that I was very happy with afterward.

A couple of days later I received an email from the company that takes pictures during the race, extending me the opportunity to buy pictures of myself swimming, biking and running. This is quite common now at nearly all races. I sat down and looked at the pictures after this great race and all I could think to myself was: “Look at how fat you are. Why can’t you get down to the body size you should be? What are you doing out there? You do not belong in a race with all those healthy people.” Those were my thoughts. The truth of the matter is this: if they were to somehow send me the pictures before the race… I would not do the race! My hang-ups, my fears really, would actually keep me out of this race I so enjoyed.

Now I know how crazy that sounds and yet how often in life do we “get” the pictures before we ever do the event? How often do we see ourselves as too fat or too inexperienced or too old or too young or too ignorant or too sensitive? Maybe we picture ourselves not having enough, or not deserving enough, or just plain not enough. How many times have our fears prevented us from picking up the phone or knocking on a door or “asking for the sale”, or a raise, or a date?

After thinking about this a little I realized that the people who know me, the people who like me… certainly the people who love me, do not see me as fat. They see the light inside of me. Then I realized that we can take the warmth and confidence that comes from being seen only for our light and we can carry it with us to meet strangers. Soon I began to think about all the times I did not go somewhere and all the times I did not meet someone new and all the opportunities I missed throughout my life because of my fears.
I was so worried about the lampshade… that I turned off the light.

My thought for today… my wish really, for all of you, is that you go out today and you shine your light.

To Your Success,

Sean Purcell

Passion

2007-02-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate enough to see a movie last week called Invincible about a “walk-on” for the Philadelphia Eagles professional football team. It is the phenomenal true story of a man handed his dream; how he lives every moment of it and greets each day with pure joy. What an inspiration. This man lives with PASSION.

Passion is the first and most important step in success. No matter how you define that success, without passion it is nearly impossible to reach. It is the fuel that fires your desire and your drive. It is the reason you move forward even after a set back. It is the reason you see that set back as a reward and smile all the while. To begin a journey of fulfillment and success, you must first choose your passion.

Passion is infectious. Passion invites others to join you and nourish you. It creates gifts for others that cost you nothing and enrich you along the way. When we move through our days with passion we do not encounter problems, we overcome challenges; we do not fear the unknown, we embrace opportunity. Passion fuels the fire of living rather than just being.

So how does one know their passion? It is always there. We do not invent it so much as we discover it. For some of us it may take years to realize our true passion, but it was always there nontheless. Sometimes all it takes is to slow down for a while and be quiet. Listen to yourself without the external world’s noise and clutter. Ask yourself what ideas and activities bring you instant joy. What gets you up early and keeps you up late. Who do you choose to be? Answer those questions and you have answered THE question. Distill those desires to their essence and discover the passion to light up your days. Live your dreams in the present. Live them with passion.

Brave New World?

2007-01-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

In Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, a dismal future is foreshadowed by the loss of individuality deemed imminent by the Industrial Revolution underway at the time. Seventy years later and we are in the midst of another revolution, this one brought on by the computer age. In the spirit of all things Hollywood, maybe it is time for Brave New World II – Even Braver.

There is little doubt that the coming revolution in communication and marketing will greatly increase our ability to put products and services in front of more targeted and (one hopes) more appreciative audiences. With the advent of blogging, pod casting, interlinking and viral marketing (my personal new favorite) we will all share our message in a much more profound way. The question I ask is: will the messages vary much? In Aldous Huxley’s time it was thought that the low cost of communication and travel would create an undesirable homogenization of people. Are we now entering the industrial revolution on steroids? If we remove the uniqueness and individuality of meeting one another face to face do we lose the essence of what it means to be human?

Please do not confuse my being a neophyte with being a Luddite. I am embracing new technology as quickly as my late 20th Century brain can manage. I will preach my message of loan transparency and fiduciary responsibility to a much larger audience. But as I learn these new methods of communication I continue to wonder at how I will communicate the spirit that is me. How will my clients and co-workers know who I really am? It is a brave new world out there and I hope I don’t get lost in the noise.

To Your Success,

Sean Purcell

Grim Future for Wells Fargo?

2007-01-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

In my position as liability coach, I meet with a great many Real Estate agents as well as clients. Because of this I am privileged to hear a broad spectrum of opinions and perceptions on the housing market. Lately the topic of conversation has been the short sale. I have listened to seasoned veterans - those that have been through the entire real estate cycle at least once and have seen this before - discuss tactics for helping their clients: everything from the honest assessment required to creative marketing solutions. I have also heard from a great many newer agents - those that have been in the business less than five years - for whom the short sale is a trickier pony to saddle and ride. A common thread throughout, however, has been the short sighted response to a short sale market by residential lender Wells Fargo.

I am hearing from more and more agents about the absolute stonewalling and lack of urgency by anyone they talk to at Wells, whether the agent be on the listing or selling side. If you have not had the misfortune of dealing with Wells Fargo on one of these, one example should suffice: I spoke with a buyer's agent that has represented an offer on a short sale property with minimal loss to the lender. Her buyer is solid (20% down, lender approved and so on) and the seller has agreed to all terms. It has been in front of a loss mitigation "specialist" at Wells Fargo for SIXTEEN WEEKS! The only thing more surprising than Wells Fargo's negligent response is the dedication of the buyer to purchase this particular property. I spoke with a listing agent whom I hold in especially high regard that can not even get the loss mitigation "specialist" at Wells Fargo to return his calls. He has added this lesson to his client screening process. If the listing looks like a short sale, he now makes a point of ascertaining who the owners' current lender is and if the answer is Wells Fargo, he walks away.

In my examples above I put the title of specialist in quotes in relation to Wells Fargo because it seems to me the only thing they are specializing in is the portfolio risk to Wells Fargo. My background is in Securities: I was a Series 7 licensed broker and Equity Options trader on the floor of the CBOE in Chicago. My first thought when I hear these stories is to start selling Wells Fargo stock. If their actions are making the short sale of property practically impossible, their REOs are going to climb and their books are going to reflect some very real losses. Not to mention the federal banking regulations regarding what percentage of REOs a bank can keep on the books as a percentage of their deposits. All that aside, the real danger to Wells Fargo is the virtual "freezing" of their position in regards to their ability to negotiate with the professionals in the field (that is to say: the Real Estate agents). If agents begin to walk away from anyone with a Wells Fargo loan the damage is threefold: first, Wells Fargo ends up foreclosing on all of their properties which is a cost nightmare that trickles down to all of us; second, homeowners that are upside down will not only lose access to the experienced agents they so badly need while navigating the winding trails of a short sale, but worse yet will find themselves relegated to using agents too new and/or uninformed to know better than take on a Wells Fargo situation; and last but certainly not least, when no agents are willing to waste time showing a short sale home with a Wells Fargo loan, prices are depressed and buyers view a skewed segment of the housing stock.

Has the experience of others out there been similar to the stories I am hearing? I must admit as a matter of full disclosure that while my lending knowledge and experience extends from shore to shore, my interactions with Real Estate agents is primarily parochial in nature. Are there other lenders acting with such short sightedness that your fellow Real Estate agents should beware?

To Your Success,

Sean Purcell

Can You Fly?

2007-01-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

As you begin the New Year, take a moment to reflect on your goals and your expectations. Those first days following the holiday celebrations are a great time to review your plan for the coming year and make any final adjustments. Pay particular attention, as you fine-tune your objectives and your strategies, to that little voice in your head. You know the one: the voice that pops up and tells you some of your goals may be a little too lofty. That slight feeling of negativity that creeps up and quietly suggests you should perhaps… think about… maybe considering… possibly… revising that weight loss target – or that promotion. It is the voice of doubt that tells you a promotion would be a better goal for next year; after all, this year is going to be a tough year. As a matter of fact, this voice inside suggests, just getting through the next twelve months without weight gain will be accomplishment enough. Spend more time with family? Earn a promotion? Lose weight? “Why don’t we save the truly aggressive goals for next year, when we are more prepared” is the very logical compromise often proffered by the little ‘helper’ inside us all.

The thing to remember as you review your plan is this: the little voice is not real and the only limitation you have is the limitation you put on yourself. Earlier this year the imaginary nature of limitation was laid bare for me by my 4 year old son. I was taking him to school on a fine, crisp morning and it was too beautiful to drive. As we walked along, holding hands, we watched a large, black bird make lazy circles in the sky. My son looked up at me and asked: “Wouldn’t it be fun to fly Daddy?” I told him that I thought it would be great fun to soar high above the houses and all the people. Then he asked me if we could fly. Here it is I thought to myself: the beginning of the end of childhood. With a twinge of melancholy I looked once more at his innocent face, let go his hand and set in to explain that we can not always do the things we would most like in this life. I struggled to put into words the limitations that we all face as individuals and how we should endeavor to accept them while not losing sight of our goals. I looked down to gauge his reaction and was surprised to discover I had been talking to myself. You see, he was already half way down the street; arms stretched to their limit as mighty wings, legs turning over at breakneck speed, wind hitting him in the face and the wonderful giggling sounds of a four year old trailing behind him. He was flying. And as I began to sprint after him, arms stretched wide, the wind in my face and laughter erupting from somewhere deep inside, I realized how wrong I had been. We can fly… we can do anything we put our minds and our imaginations to if only we mix in a little belief and a lot of persistence.

This year, as you review your goals and take those first, tentative steps toward their achievement, remember that you can indeed fly. You can achieve more than you think possible if only you heed the wisdom of these great words from Jonathon Livingston Seagull: “They can, because they think they can.”

I wish you happiness and prosperity this year, but most of all I wish for you to soar.

To Your Success,

Sean

Aspire to Greatness

2006-11-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

We have all heard many times that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. But how many of us really make use of this powerful concept? More importantly, how many of us realize that while the sum may be greater than the parts, the quality of that sum is only as good as the quality of the parts. Think of this another way: a cake is better tasting than any of its individual ingredients – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Yet the final taste of that cake is directly related to the quality of the ingredients that went into it – the better the ingredients, the better will be the cake.

In much the same way, the whole of who we are is greater than the individual experiences and learning that goes into us, but the limit of our greatness is in direct relation to the quality of what influences us. If you want to become an award winning, bake-off champion cake you must first look to the ingredients with which you surround yourself. These influential ingredients can be broken into three categories: Body, Mind and surrounding Energy.

What we put into our Body affects every part of our well being and success. You are, after all, what you eat. What are your ingredients: fast food, soda and the ubiquitous poison called High Fructose Corn Syrup? Or do you blend in fresh foods, vegetables and whole grains?
What we allow into our Mind shapes our perception of the world. Do you spend your free time watching television and reading the latest gossip? Do you find yourself discussing things and people instead of ideas? What happens to your critical thinking muscle if it goes unused?
The energy that we choose to surround ourselves with may make up the most important batch of ingredients. In Real Estate we are told that, if we desire appreciation and a strong investment, we should buy the worst house in the best neighborhood, rather than the nicest house in a bad neighborhood. This applies to us as well! Place yourself in a neighborhood of people who have already achieved greater success than you. Who surrounds you and feeds your psyche? Who are your examples and mentors?

Within that third category: the energy in which we surround ourselves, is an often over looked but integral ingredient contributing to our whole. I am talking about those around us whom we teach. Why is this so important? Look at the process for learning: first we see something done, than we do it ourselves and finally we teach it to someone else. As a matter of fact, the greatest learning comes from teaching others. So who are you teaching and what are they learning?

We should eat well and challenge our minds; we know this. The little used, secret weapon to our success, however, may stem from this third category. If we gain our greatest success by surrounding ourselves with success and we gain our greatest understanding by teaching others, then teaching others to be successful will benefit us twice. If you Aspire to Greatness, Inspire Greatness!

To Your Success,

Sean Purcell

Judge Not

2006-11-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet we are given one of the Bard’s great lines: “To thine own self be true.” It is profound and timeless (originating with Socrates’ “Know thyself”). But how do we maintain our self, our goals and our sense of value in such a busy world? To continue with the Shakespeare theme; how do we buffer the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” all the while encountering the negative energy and judgments of others?

It has been said that for each person who stands up and tries there are one hundred to say it can’t be done. I would add that there are another two hundred who will judge you for your efforts. I am not talking about someone analyzing your effort or offering a critique (solicited or not). I am talking about those times when people assign a value to us; I am talking about those times when someone judges us in the Biblical sense. Sometimes you will even be surprised by friends and family; they often feel they have earned the right to judge.

We would all like to go through life without being judged by others. I like to think that we all desire to go through life without judging others as well. Neither of these options is likely. One way to handle the judgments of others is called “holding your space”. This is a concept practiced in yoga and often seen in accomplished yogis. The basic tenet is to be “present” in the moment and to own your personal space. Take responsibility for and control of what you allow into your private space. It may sound strange, but we must actually practice taking an active role in protecting our own sense of worth and happiness. Too often we passively allow others to invade our space and affect our very estimation of our worth. Too often we allow others’ value judgment of us to become our own value judgment of us. When you feel that happening remember:
People who care about me do not judge me and those that judge me, I do not care about.

To Your Success,

Sean Purcell

Introduction

2006-11-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

Have you ever driven home without paying attention? You are following the rules of the road and being careful, but your concentration is on the day’s events or your conversation or the songs on the radio. You suddenly find yourself in your driveway and you do not remember how you got there. It is as if an automatic pilot allowed you to move along without really thinking. Many find a certain comfort in this but I am here to say you should fire that pilot! The same mechanism that got you home safely may also be the root of many of your fears, worries and unhappiness in life. It is called inertia and the first requirement of a fulfilling life is to Stop Living by Inertia.

If you will step back in time to high school physics , you will recall that inertia is defined as: the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in motion to stay in motion. Quite often this defines every aspect of our lives. We are doing something so we continue doing it. We have never tried something new so we continue to not try it. On a larger scale, inertia tends to take us places we never consciously decided to go. How many of us look at our careers, for instance, and see a plan? More often we start out doing something for the most superficial of reasons: our friend told us to try it; we needed money and the job was available; it looked like a pleasant way to spend the summer; it was all I was qualified for at the time. This occurs in our personal world as well. I am comfortable believing that most of us love our spouses quite dearly. But how many of us actually set out to meet and marry this specific person? Much more common is a marriage of inertia: we are dating someone and as time goes on the relationship progresses because nothing happens to stop it. The natural destination of a relationship unchecked, of course, is marriage. In other words, you take a job just to pay the bills while you decide what you really want to be. Then you meet someone who is fun and attractive and decide to date them for a while. The next thing you know you are married and have a career. You are quite literally sitting in your driveway and you do not remember how you got home.

How often is our unhappiness a product of our fear about the future or our guilt over the past? This autopilot of inertia provides our egos with that very opportunity to wander forward in time and worry about the future or go back in time and find guilt. We cannot be in two places at once; yet when we live by inertia and place our lives on auto pilot, we are hopelessly trying to do just that. Our egos are traveling in time while our physical being – our energy – is happening here and now. So how do we Stop Living by Inertia?

The answer to this is really quite simple. Of course the implementation is so difficult that few even try. The answer lies in living a life that is Present, Oriented and Purposeful; a life that POPs. The purpose of this book is to delve into what it means to be Present, Oriented and Purposeful. We will create strategies that allow us to POP and reorient our perceptions. We will explore what it means to be Present and find ways to stay in the moment when our ego calls us forward to fear or backward to guilt. We will create a Life Manual that uncovers our true goals. Our manual will include a time management system and a road map; thus keeping us Oriented toward our goals while achieving them. And finally, we will tackle the toughest concept of the three: living honestly and Purposefully all the time.

The journey to a Life that POPs never ends. I am honored that you have chosen to share some of your jouney with me. The first step of this journey is to make your next step on autopilot your last. Stop moving by inertia and take a look around; see what a miraculous world we live in right here and right now.

To Your Success,

Sean Purcell