Blue Moon Over Miami
December 31st 2009
I would like to wish everyone a lovely New Year and a brilliant new decade ahead.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Archive for December, 2009
Could This Simple Plan Really Work?
December 29th 2009
Courtesy Huffington Post
This is the most sensible plan I have seen in years.
Could we really regain our fiscal and consumer power by getting back to basics like this?
Something to think about . . .
For more info, go to: www.moveyourmoney.info
Tony Robbins: In a Nutshell
December 29th 2009
This is the simple answer for all those who asked me what I learned at DWD/Scottsdale.
Lessons Learned - No Matter the Industry, No Matter the Year
December 28th 2009
Article Courtesy Keith Cunningham
http://www.keystothevault.com/
In the late 1980’s, the real estate market in the Southwestern part of the US collapsed. As many of my friends and business associates were experiencing the inevitable catastrophic aftermath of one of the greatest real estate booms in the history of mankind, we collectively decided to record a log of lessons each of us learned.
We had made scores of millions in the preceding 6-7 years and subsequently had successfully lost every last penny we had, and then some. We truly had unmanageable debt loads, no cash or cash flow and personal liability which far exceeded the market value of our assets.
Of even greater significance was the hit our egos had taken. We had our identity wrapped up in our financial success. When the success vaporized, so did our sense of who we were and what our place was.
We were anxious to get this phase of our careers behind us, lick our wounds and get on with our lives, but we instinctively knew that if we weren’t careful, we would repeat the errors which caused the problem to begin with. We wanted to make sure that we accumulated twenty years of experience and not one year’s worth of experience twenty times. Without learning the lessons, we would be doomed to repeat them, which was an unacceptable outcome given the pain we were in.
Historians will tell you that history may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. The economic reality of 2008-09 has many of the same characteristics of 1989-1991. Imagine over 3,500 banks disappearing in a four year time period, which is what happened in the late 1980’s verses fewer than 100 banks in the current meltdown. Imagine commercial property being sold for 20% of replacement cost and rents for Class A office buildings being less than the taxes/insurance and Common Area Maintenance fees. This was our reality in 1989.
We wanted to be certain that we NEVER had to experience this kind of disaster again. The thinking was NOT that we could somehow control the economy or interest rates…. We can’t. But what we could control was the thinking and strategies that allowed us to get caught in the tsunami in the first place.
As you read the lessons collected twenty years ago, you might be tempted to say this doesn’t apply to me because I’m not in the real estate business. I can assure you the lessons are applicable regardless of the industry. You might be tempted to think these lessons don’t apply because you didn’t really have any debt or investments during this current crisis. The best time to learn the lessons is prior to making the mistakes.
Interestingly, most of us avoided repeating these mistakes in the ensuing 20 years…. Not because we were smart, but because the pain of the lessons twenty years ago was severe enough that we disciplined ourselves to avoid using our emotions to make what should be intellectual decisions. We established a set of rules and followed them maniacally.
Herewith are a few of my favorite lessons on Financing as collected during the week of May 23, 1989….
Strategy
• Emotions, when mixed with unbridled greed, produce economic disasters.
• Land eats three meals per day.
• A good market tends to hide mistakes. Nothing takes the place of being actively engaged in the running of your business and being thoughtful as well as skeptical about the future.
• Doing a marginal deal to keep the staff busy is stupid. Do not do marginal deals.
• Last week’s marketing report has absolutely nothing to do with where the market is headed, what the economy is doing or what the demand will be next year.
• How you run your business during the good times is the only true predictor of how well your business will cope with the bad times.
• You must keep a conservative strategy during the good times because you generally don’t know you’re in a bad time until it’s too late.
• No team has ever won the game with an ‘offense only’ strategy. Great teams, the ones who win championship rings, all have fantastic defenses.
• Not all progress is measured by ground gained…. Sometimes progress is measured by losses avoided.
• True wealth is built slowly. Speed and greed necessitate aggressive leverage and increase the odds of catastrophe.
• It is better to go slower and avoid the do-over’s.
• The successful people we admire are not the ones who made it…. We admire the ones who kept it.
• Partners MUST be hands on and involved in every aspect of the business.
• Do not be afraid to say, “NO!”. Too many deals got done because it was easier to say yes.
• It is a mistake to believe the quality of our people and the quality of our projects can overcome a bad market. Our occupancy is 30% above market, our rental rates are 50% above market and we are still 75% below pro-forma.
• Litigation is expensive, time consuming and to be avoided.
• The best way to avoid losses and to stay financially healthy is to “sell too soon.” The old real estate maxim of, “In the history of the world, the seller is always wrong” is outrageously stupid!
• Don’t fall into the trap of believing you can get more for it tomorrow. Regardless of which direction the market is moving, never hesitate to sell for a fair price today.
• Never buy something because you think you might need it someday. Have a definite purpose or use in mind TODAY!
• Keep working all your alternatives until something closes.
• Putting all your energy and focus on one lender or one buyer or one tenant is a disaster if the one you were focused on disappears.
Success does not make you invincible or bullet proof.
• What success does best is it makes you complacent and egotistical, which by themselves are sufficient to create disaster.
• The euphoria of a hot market usually results in ignoring marketplace fundamentals.
• Prudently gathering and evaluating market based economic information is the only prescription for avoiding smoking your own exhaust.
• Never delay taking corrective action once the problem has been recognized. Hoping for better conditions in the future so the problem will solve itself is a fool’s game.
Failure to recognize reality is delusional. You might be smarter and better than your competition, but when the market shifts, you’re still broke. Don’t confuse ability with economic reality.
• Never rely on only your consultant’s recommendations….
• Do the study and analysis yourself based on your familiarity with the market…. It you don’t have the familiarity, don’t do the deal.
• A lack of rules and discipline caused every mistake we made.
Keep your eyes focused on the road ahead, and remember the lessons of the road already traveled.
Wishing you all a happy, intelligent, prosperous new decade.
Santa Baby
December 24th 2009
Here’s my Date With Destiny partner Frank Schnabel, the Costa Rican Harley-Claus with huge shoulders and a heart of gold.
Among his many gifts of gratitude are his annual Santa Claus holiday visits to the children in Costa Rica.
What a man, what a man, what a man he is.
BRAVEHEART!
Put a Spin on Giving
December 22nd 2009
Here’s a thoughtful gift that gives so much -
for you and for the LIVESTRONG/Lance Armstrong Foundation.
After all, what is the best thing about Christmas?
GIVING, of course!
So log in, team up with or sponsor the very philanthropic Ron Sarchian at his
24-Hour New Years Eve Spin Ride to Cure Cancer
$10,000 Challenge!
A Livestrong Fundraiser
DONATE NOW!
Donate online or via mail.
Start - New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31st at 12:00 noon.
Finish - New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1st at 12:00 noon.
Location: Premier Fitness, 16654 Ventura Blvd. Encino, CA 91436
(818) 789-5553 (gym office)
____________________________________________________________________________________
Come and ring in the New Year with Ron Sarchian!
Be a part of this fun, exciting, worthwhile and challenging 24 hour fundraising event benefitting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Not only will Ron be riding for 24 consecutive hours, but he will also be attempting to raise $10,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Ron is a 4-Time Guinness Book World Record Holder and is also a veteran endurance cyclist. His completed rides include the 300 mile Grand Tour, The Furnace Creek 508 as a relay team member, and also winner of California Triple Crown honors by finishing three or more 200-mile rides in 2008.
Ron Sarchian, Personal Trainer and Survivor.
Enjoy Ron’s Comeback! This will be Ron’s comeback to endurance events since crashing on his road bike in January of 2009. Ron suffered multiple fractures and heavy cartilage damage to his right shoulder that were repaired during surgery. Ron has endured months of therapy and is confident that he will not only ride for 24 hours, but will also raise over $10,000 for the LAF in the process.
Ride Alongside Ron!
Anyone interested in riding with Ron for the entire 24 hours - or even part of the time - is more than welcome to try. 4 additional spin bikes are available. Please Note: Ron has structured this event like his many successful Guinness Book World Record Attempts. This means he and those who choose to ride with him will be taking mandatory 5 minute breaks at the end of each hour. However, as a veteran of several 24-hour rides both indoors and outdoors, Ron wants you to know that these events are completely draining, both physically and mentally draining. consequently, you are urged to make your decision early and get started on your prep training. Ron is available for advice and training assistance. Contact Ron today if you’d like to join in on the spin!
This event will take place at Premier Private Fitness in Encinco California
starting on New Years Eve, Thursday, December 31st at noon
and finishing on New Years Day, Friday, January 1st at noon.
Donate, Remember and Honor
Ron is fully committed and dedicated to finishing this ride but he needs private and corporate donations to make this happen. He is asking everyone he knows to participate whether it be by riding with him or simply donating to the cause.
Your donation will be recognized publicly through a photo “Wall of Hope” that Ron is building especially for this event. The wall features photos of and is dedicated to those who are living with cancer and those who have passed on because of cancer. Photos and donation-tracking may also appear on this website. This wall will also serve as personal motivation for Ron, since he also lost his father, Archie, to testicular cancer back in 1967 when he was only 3 years old. Ron hopes that the photo “Wall of Hope” will also inspire others to donate to the Lance Armstrong Foundation in honor of loved ones fighting the good fight and/or in memory of lost loved ones.
When you make your financial donation, please also donate a photo
of your loved ones who are dealing with this horrible disease.
For further information regarding this event or to help out as a volunteer, please contact Ron directly at (818) 389-2522 cell or at SarchianFitness.com.
What Will Make a Difference in Your Life is Making a Difference
December 20th 2009
The blessings and illuminations that came to me during my week with Tony Robbins are more plentiful than I can count. Tony’s general message was nothing new. His TECHNOLOGY is what made the delivery of that message more powerful than anything I have ever experienced in my entire life. It’s a big statement. Tony is all about big. It’s also true. He’s all about that too.
What resonated most is the necessity of and gifts from living an outward-focused life. It’s been pretty clear that our world of “all about me” has imploded. Thankfully. So we can either deploy our notoriously short memories and go right back to our old ways - or we can get over ourselves, look around and see where we can have an impact that helps others.
This is not about being perfect. It’s about learning that life is not just about you.
Look at Elton John. At the height of this career, was a gay man married to a woman, was drug addled, drinking, nasty, resentful and destructive. He was living completely out of his nature. It was all about him and who he thought he was in this world.
Today, he’s a different person.
CNN’s Alina Cho caught up with him at a celebrity tennis tournament benefiting his foundation.
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(By Alina Cho / Courtesy CNN American Morning)
“Did you know Sir Elton John plays tennis,” she asked?
“I’ve got a good forehand,” he tells me. And he’s using it for a good cause.
The 62-year-old music legend says he wasn’t inspired to become an advocate until he met 14-year old Ryan White in 1986. The Indiana teen was expelled from his school because he had AIDS.
John became so close to the White family that he gave them financial assistance and was at Ryan’s bedside when he died.
“I never heard Ryan complain about having AIDS. I never heard him whine or be miserable; he carried everything with such dignity. It just taught me about humility, how my life was completely out of whack. About six months after Ryan died, I began to change my life.”
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We all know about John’s ongoing commitment to fight AIDS. It identifies who he is these days. Quite an improvement. The new year is a great time to take a good look at yourself and see where your focus is. Look around you and see who the givers are. You’ll spot them because they radiate.
Giving back is the gift that keeps on giving. Even though the Soffer Collective was in dire straits financially last year, our team was committed to Poster Show and the charity that our work would impact. In a year where we won 23 awards and then suspended business because of the economy, Poster Show is really all I remember now and the thing that stands as a testament to who The Soffer Collective really is - a group of outward-focused, committed, caring, giving people.
What a great year.
What if . . .?
December 18th 2009
. . . you knew that half the world lived on less than $2 a day and there is no escape?
. . . you knew these people have no jobs, justice, little or no education and no clean water?
SO, what if . . .
. . . our purchases contributed dignified jobs that break cycles of dependency and eliminate abuse?
. . . our purchases could bring dignity, stability and hope to the darkest places on earth?
What if you could help simply by doing something you do each and every day - make purchases?
Regain your sense of gratitude. Stand tall. Stand for something. Stand for others. The rewards are huge - in every way.
