Terri King Speaks

Maybe you’re like me and having a little rain today has been invigorating to your spirit. You know water is the symbol of life. They’ve been looking for signs of life on Mars. The first thing they hoped to find was water. They did.

Without water all you have is a dry, barren wasteland. I’ll tell you what else is a dry, barren wasteland………… the economy.

We’d like to see a sign of life there, no doubt, and we will. It seems like there’s been a lot of negativity lately. Don’t let it get you down.

Let us take advantage of what a downtime can offer: perhaps more time to plan the future since spending for entertainment might be one of the areas we cut back on, or seeing the error in our financial habits that might be making this economic crunch worse than it had to be, or making investments in a buyer’s real estate market for future wealth. Incidentally, if anyone is considering the last one, call me.

Enjoy the rain and have a great week.

Terri King

Last week I had the pleasure of being the keynote speaker at a one-day workshop for aging out foster kids called ”Real World Day”. When foster children, who aren’t adopted, turn 18 they are literally on their own in life. I had 5-10 minutes to give them tips from my experience for making it in the real world.

I tell you what. Facing 15-18 year olds is scary, but it was one of the most rewarding things I have done in some time.

Look for an opportunity this week to share some good advice from your own life experiences with someone coming up behind you. We don’t know what kind of positive impact it might really have and you are bound to be rewarded for it in your own heart.

We really do need each other.

Terri King

Ever put things off? You know what I’m talking about, PROCRASTINATION!

It’s a sneaky thief. Maybe you’re asking yourself, “ What does it really cost? Is it really that big of a deal?”

Oh yea. It’s the culprit of lost opportunity, missed chances, stress and anxiety.

Here’s one example that puts a monetary value on it:

I had an opportunity to buy a house in Woodfin in 2005.
My client would sell it to me for $65,000.
I had put off settling some personal matters that prevented me from being able to move on the deal.
I had to let it go.
The house sold for $104,000 a week after it was listed.
It has a great rental history and is worth about $140,000 now.
I lost $75,000 in equity and $18,000 in rental income, for a grand total of: $93,000 conservatively.

I wish I didn’t have more of these beautiful examples but I do.

The moral of the story: Don’t put it off. Get on it and get it done.

Terri King

You know those moments when you know you’ve said the wrong thing as soon as it comes out of your mouth. Yea, me too. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t pull the words back into your mouth. I’ve had more than one incident of that lately.

My recent blundering around has led me to thinking about damage control once the foot is in the mouth.

Here goes:

You could laugh light-heartedly giving the impression you meant to say that but it was all in good humor. With this one, you’re hoping the recipient actually finds some humor in your blunder. It’s an option in most situations except maybe at a funeral, where you might be better off with your foot in your mouth than a smile on your face.

You could straightway acknowledge that you should not have said that and you didn’t mean it that way at all. This one seems to lead to more awkwardness but there may be a time when you just have to bear down and do what you gotta do. Fess up and take your punishment. Use of this approach is best, I think, when you have stepped in it with a close friend or family member. They’re more likely to forgive you anyway.

You could ignore it altogether if there’s any chance the person didn’t hear you well or there are other immediate distractions to divert you, the conversation or the other person. This one seems to be the riskiest approach and could be perceived and a serious inconsideration if the disenfranchised person actually did hear your blunder. You’re bound to get tagged as insensitive if that happens. Be careful with this one. It’s best used at loud parties.

I welcome any other damage control ideas you may have. Lord knows this week I need them.

Terri King