Someone much smarter than me once said, “Many of us spend our lives searching for success when it is usually so close that we can reach out and touch it.”

I’m in Indianapolis, Indiana, today delivering the Keynote Address for the Real Estate Success Summit. Close to 400 Realtors from around the greater-Indianapolis and surrounding areas are here at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Indy to hone their Business Planning, Pricing, Counseling Buyers, Systems Development, Niche Marketing, and Lead Generation skills around. My role, as the first speaker of the day, is to get the crowd pumped up and ready for a great day of learning and networking, and to remind everyone of our collective successes.

Teaching today’s sessions–at the invitation of STAR POWER® Systems founder Howard Brinton–are the following top producing Realtors, all of whom are STAR POWER Stars:

• Rob Levy from Prudential Northwest Properties in Portland, OR
• Leslie McDonnell from RE/MAX Suburban in Libertyville, IL
• Cathy Russell from Cathy Russell Real Estate in West Lafayette, IN
• Martin Bouma from Keller Williams Realty in Ann Arbor, MI
• Debbie Yost from RE/MAX Of Casa Grande in Casa Grande, AZ
• Mike Watkins from Mike Watkins Real Estate Group in Greenwood, IN
• Terry Moerler from AVIARA Real Estate in Westlake Village, CA
• Michael Maher from RE/MAX First in Shawnee Mission, KS
• Alexis Bolin from ERA Old South Properties in Pensacola, FL
• Jana Caudill from Keller Williams Realty Leaders in Crown Point, IN
• Darryl Baskin from Mcgraw Davisson Stewart Realtors in Broken Arrow, OK
• Debbie Morris from Morris Group Realty in Indianapolis, IN

That’s all for now (oh, aside from the fact that Ameriquest–yes, the same Ameriquest that earlier this year settled a $295,000,000.00 mortgage fraud claim–yesterday announced that it will implement a new “business model” that will result in the closing of 229 retail branch offices and the layoffs of about 3,800 workers, effective immediately). New “business model,” huh? So that’s what they’re calling it these days! Interesting.

I’m back in Boulder, Colorado, today and tomorrow working with Howard Brinton and his amazing staff over at STAR POWER® Systems on a new real estate and mortgage fraud education/awareness product for Realtors. While I’m not at liberty to say too much about the product itself (detailed info will be available soon enough), I will share that it’s going to be a great resource in the ongoing effort to spot, stop, and report real estate fraud.

Funny thing happened on the plane ride out to Denver from Detroit. While working with my assistant on my new book–Flipping Houses For Dummies, which will be published by John Wiley & Sons this November 2006 (ISBN: 0470043458)–we met Gregory Campbell, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service-Detroit Division. Because most real estate and mortgage fraud cases involve allegations of Mail Fraud, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Inspectors like Mr. Campbell, are all too aware of the dangers of real estate and mortgage fraud. It’s a small word, isn’t it?

I had a great dinner last night at The Briarwood Inn in Golden, Colo. If you ever make it out to this part of the country, you have to stop by The Briarwood. Nestled in the foothills of Golden, the Briarwood’s an idyllic setting for any occasion. With me were Howard and his wife Babs, my assistant, and Anita Padilla-Fitzgerald and her husband Gene from MegaStar Financial. We talked a lot about the challenges facing real estate industry professionals, and for Howard and Anita, even though they live so close, it was their first time meeting in person.

After I wrap things up here in Boulder with Howard and his team, I’ll be headed down to Denver to meet with Anita and her team of superstars. Then, tomorrow afternoon, Howard and my assistant and I fly to Indianapolis for STAR POWER’s Real Estate Summit, which I believe is close to being sold out, so if anyone’s still thinking about attending, now’s the time to register.

The Chinese thinker and social philosopher Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Confucius must have been a REALTOR®, because that’s exactly how I feel, especially on a day like today. I’m in Chicago (starting last night thru Noon today) meeting with a group of top producing Realtors from across the country in town for a networking event.

I’ll tell you, as much as I live to help my customers buy and sell homes, I also enjoy connecting with other successful Realtors. There’s so much to learn and share with one another that I could literally spend all day every day doing exactly this… talking about the benefits of Blogging; discussing the rules of engagement for dealing with real estate and mortgage fraud; learning about other people’s successes when it comes to branding, marketing, and salesmanship, especially in a downwardly trending market; and covering strategy for helping ‘flippers’ (the good kind, not the four-letter kind).

Already I’ve had a chance to interact with:

- Jean Shine of The Shine Team (Harker Heights, Texas)
- Chip Neumann of Neumann Real Estate (Ridgefield, Connecticut)
- AJ Fischer of Aadvisor Realty (Naples, Florida) www.ajfischerteam.com
- Ivan Sher of The Shapiro/Sher Group (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Bill Ryan of The Ryan Team (Chandler, Arizona)
- Char MacCallum of Char MacCallum Real Estate (Olathe, Kansas)
- Anita Padilla-Fitzgerald of MegaStar Financial Corp. (Denver, Colorado)

The eight of us had a great dinner last night at Gibson’s Steakhouse, and I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with everyone later this morning.

Remember when you were old enough to comprehend your parent’s getting a new car? I can. The day my Dad came home with a brand new Buick Electra 225 (a ‘Duce and a Quarter’ he called it) was one of the proudest days of my childhood. If you’ve never seen a 225, it’s bigger–or longer, I should say–than anything on the road today (click here for a picture of what the Duce looks like). For a couple of weeks–at the ripe old age of seven or eight–I was for sure the proudest kid in my neighborhood. No one else’s Father had a Duce, and because of that, I thought I was the envy of every kid on my block.

All of that came crashing down though on the day my Father took us out for a drive along the highway. Between the on-ramp and the exit-ramp, I saw no less than a dozen 225′s that looked exactly like ours. I was heartbroken. Here I was operating on the assumption that my Dad had the only Buck Electra 225 on the planet, and with one drive down the highway, well, you know how the story goes. It’s funny how that works, isn’t it? The day you get a new car, it seems like every other car you see on the road is the same make and model as yours.

What does any of this have to do with the title of today’s post and real estate/mortgage fraud? Hold onto your pants, I’m getting there (said with a smile).

As I wrote yesterday morning, I’m in Kansas City visiting with a true real estate industry superstar, Char MacCallum. Later today I’ll be meeting with other Realtors who, like Char and myself, are top performers in their geographical areas. There’s so much to learn from one another and yet so little time to get it all in, but I’m trying.

Here’s the point of today’s blog entry:

I started my day off this morning by venturing out of my hotel for an exercise walk. Along the way I passed Restart, Inc., where dozens of people were waiting for day labor jobs. Then, when I got back to my hotel, I decided to hit the gym for some more intense exercise. On a wall in the hotel gym was a sign that said that using the gym is a great way to ‘restart’ your day. Finally, while looking over the menu in the hotel’s restaurant, I came across the same word, ‘restart;’ this time in reference to healthy choices on the breakfast menu.

Like I said before, I think its interesting how a word–just like my Father’s new car–can keep popping up and hitting you alongside your head. “Restart” is a great word. Every single day we have a choice to make. We can either pick up where we left off the day before–as many bad guys and fraudsters do when it comes committing real estate and mortgage fraud–or we can choose to restart by bettering ourselves and improving on our past performance. For me, I wake up each morning ready to build upon the previous day’s success. I’m not here in Kansas City because I’m satisfied with where I am in life. I’m here meeting with other Realtors because I want get better, and because I want to help others ‘restart’ their businesses as well.

2006-04-17 06:30

I’m in Kansas City, Kansas, today shadowing real estate industry superstar Char MacCallum of the Char MacCallum Real Estate Group. Char and her team of real estate professionals have been assisting Kansas City-area homeowners for nearly a quarter of a century. Last year alone, Char closed on more than 200 real estate transactions worth more than $24 million in sales. Like myself, Char is a STAR POWER® Systems “Star,” Certified Residential Specialist, and (CRS) Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI) designee. In addition, Char has earned the Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) and Accredited Buyers’ Representative (ABR) designees as well.

As I’ve said many times before, professionals–regardless of what industry they’re in–all too often tend to work in a vacuum. You know the type, don’t you? They’re the ones who walk around saying, “I know best” and “what can anyone else possibly teach me.” Well, Char and I feel differently. Regardless of how successful we are (or how successful other people say we are), we know that there are always new things to learn and areas in which we can improve our performance.

So, that’s that… I’m in Kansas City, and I’m looking forward to meeting with Char and talking with her and her team about Lead Generation, Customer Service, and Blogging, among other things!

In the meantime, I want to point out that the Detroit Free Press is now covering the Brenda and Terry Edwards mortgage fraud case. With a paid circulation of over 1 million readers, this weekend’s front page coverage of U.S. Bank National Association’s attempt to evict the Edwards’–who were victimized by real estate fraudsters–should help raise awareness in the metro-Detroit area of the dangers associated with real estate and mortgage fraud. Click here for the article, titled STEALING HOMES: Some people unknowingly sign away ownership, by Free Press real estate writer Suzette Hackney.

I’m in Boulder, Colorado, today and tomorrow meeting with a small group of highly successful REALTORS® from around the country. All of us are here at the invitation of Howard Brinton, founder of STAR POWER® Systems, and a real trailblazer and thought leader in the area of REALTOR® networking. Howard started STAR POWER® back in the late-1980s, and has guided it to be one of a very small handful of highly-respected real estate education companies on the planet.

All of us who have gathered here in Boulder believe that if we want to be wildly successful, we must surround ourselves with other wildly successful people. It’s a pretty straightforward concept, and it serves as the very basis of why STAR POWER® exists in the first place.

Later today I’ll be meeting with top real estate producers, including Ed Birdsong (Lake Jackson, Texas), Alexis Bolin (Pensacola, Florida), Martin Bouma (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Judy Markowitz (Flushing, New York), Jeff Meyer (New Port Richey, Florida), Debbie Morris (Indianapolis, Indiana), Sandra Nickell (Montgomery, Alabama), Cathy Russell (West Lafayette, Indiana), Russell Shaw (Scottsdale, Arizona), Mike Watkins (Greenwood, Indiana), and Debbie Yost (Casa Grande, Arizona).

Our agenda includes sharing ideas, thoughts, tips, and experiences on a variety of topics, including those related to:

- Pricing
- Commission Models
- Listing Presentations
- Creating Buyer Urgency
- Prospecting and Marketing

Along the way, we’ll be sharing our own statistics and stories on operating in a down market, as well talking about the types of materials we put into the hands of our clients; what types of dialogues we each find to be most effective; and how we differentiate ourselves and our approach under hot and down market conditions.

Gatherings like this one are not about keeping score or calling in a favor. They’re truly about helping one another to be the best people we can be. I think it was Albert Einstein who said, “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.” That’s exactly how I feel, and it’s what drives me to help my fellow real estate industry professionals as much as it does to help my customers.