It’s about this time of year that I always made sure I finished strong by focusing on the one deadline that can be extremely important to property sellers & that deadline is Christmas.

Over the years, I’ve found that there are some sellers who definitely want to have their property sold & moved prior to Christmas so they can celebrate Christmas in their new home.

If you need confirmation that Christmas is an important deadline to home sellers, just ask the new home Builders & Conveyancers who frantically work like crazy in the last few weeks leading up to Christmas to either get the home built or get the transaction settled.

I also know first hand that Christmas is an important deadline for home sellers, because I remember as a young child the builders let us move into our brand new home on Christmas Eve. Our whole family was really excited.

We’d been watching for months as our new home was being built & we were all so keen to spend Christmas in our new home that we ended up sleeping on mattresses on the floor waiting for Santa. All the while, hoping & praying that Santa knew that we had moved.

Then, there are other sellers who just want to have the peace of mind of knowing that they have the sold sticker on their property prior to Christmas & don’t have to worry about keeping the place tidy just in case a buyer turns up.

These sellers can start packing & getting ready for their move over the holidays & be comfortably settled into their new home just in time for the first term of school to start.

Moving prior to the start of the first term of school can be extremely important to some sellers, especially if their children are moving to a new school.

And, then there are other sellers who don’t really care & will be happy to sell when they get their price sometime in 2010 (or in some cases 2011).

So, all you need to do now to finish the year off strong is identify who amongst your existing home sellers wants to be sold by Christmas & set a plan to help them achieve this goal before this very important deadline.

Also, if you want some inspiration about finishing strong in 2009, here’s one of the most inspirational videos I’ve ever seen.

I just read a quote that said, “Pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever.”

It reminded me of Lance Armstrong’s amazing comeback story.

Today is Stage 17 of 21 of The Tour de France. 37 year old, Lance Armstrong began today in second place behind his team mate Alberto Contador.

In 1996, Armstrong was 25 (the No. 1 ranked cyclist in the world) when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer that subsequently spread to his abdomen, lungs, and brain. Doctors gave him a slim chance of survival.

Two years later, after a miraculous recovery, he got back on a bike but then quit a race in Paris when he realized he wasn’t ready to race yet.

The following year (and the next 6), he won the Tour de France and retired as the only person to win this gruelling event seven times.

It was amazing to see Lance Armstrong in Australia earlier this year after his announcement that he was going after another Tour de France title in an effort to help promote cancer awareness globally.

There are so many superlatives that come to mind whenever someone mentions Lance Armstrong.

He is truly inspirational & his ‘Live Strong’ message is something that we should all aspire to in any of life’s endeavours.

If you’re in need of some inspiration check out Lance Armstrong’s site or follow him on Twitter

Bring it home Lance, the world is riding with you.

Smile & Move: It’s all about your attitude & actions…PLUS…Mattering to the world all with a smile.

Lynette Allison shared some amazing tips for Real Estate success & included this inspirational video during her speech at AREC09

Why Understanding The Internet Is Becoming More Important For Real Estate Agents & Our Customers.

This is brilliantly compiled & adds a whole new meaning to one of my favourite movies The Gladiator.

I hope you enjoy this short video clip too.

Dr Samual Langley had previously been able to get numerous model aeroplanes to fly, but this time his flight attempt was different. He was trying to create history by being the first to person to fly in one of his aeroplanes.

In his attempt to be the first person to create aviation history, on December 8, 1903, Langley’s ‘human-carrying flying machine’ plunged into the Potomac River near Washington DC, in front of photographers who were assembled to witness the event.

Reporters around the country made fun of Langley & his ambitions that people could fly.

Then suddenly, only nine days later , two men, Wilbur and Orville Wright proved them all wrong.

On the 17th December, 1903 the Wright Brothers recorded the first powered, controlled, heavier-than-air aeroplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Whilst everyone was saying it couldn’t be done, up came two men that proved that it could be done & once it was proven to be possible, The Wright Brothers, Langley and others went on developing bigger & better flying machines.

In life, there are lots of people who will tell you that things can’t be done and these people will often hold you back from achieving your dreams & enjoying the life that you know exists in your heart.

Don’t let others hold you back because the only way you’ll ever find out whether something works or not is to give it a go.

Alternatively, you may be the one holding you back…

People often feel scared about trying something new because they are afraid that others will ridicule them, especially if things don’t quite go to plan…

Don’t hold yourself back…Stop doubting yourself, you can achieve so much more than you ever thought possible, if you just believe in yourself & try new things, rather than making excuses not to do new things.

Also, don’t be too hard on yourself when you do try new things…because chances are that you’re not going to be great at it straight away. Understand that you have to serve a bit of an apprenticeship with every new thing you do in life.

Take a moment to think about some of the people you respect the most in the world. What is one of their major character traits that you respect & admire about them? For most people the most inspirational character trait is that of ‘Courage’.

Courage to stay the course & fight for what a person believes in.

Everyday of your life you’ll find that there will be plenty of other people who will try to hold you back. But most importantly, the last person that should ever hold you back is YOU.

It’s your life…Live it the way you want to.

A friend sent me this video earlier today…It made me think about that old clique about ‘Old Dogs & New Tricks’.

Don’t ever think you are too old to learn new things. As Johann von Goethe put it “We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.”

It’s also very hard to watch this video & not be amazed at the skill and perseverance of this dog.