The Handoff Should Feel Like a Warm Introduction, Not a Witness Protection Transfer

In our last blog post about One Team, One Experience I talked heavily about alignment. If the move from online to onsite is done well, it should feel natural from the buyer’s perspective. Exciting, even. The OSC should be building anticipation, not creating confusion. It should sound more like: “I’d love for you to meet my good friend; they’re going to have a much better handle on those specific house questions and help you take the next step.”   That is a handoff.   Not:…

Thankful for The Amazing Blue Gypsy Road

November 23, 2011

What are you Thankful for? These are the days when we start asking this question. Just before thanksgiving between the craziness of the holidays we begin to ask ourselves what are we thankful for. I am so thankful that in less than two years time I’ve been able to build Blue Gypsy Inc into a thriving business with amazing clients who respect me as much as I respect them.  As a gypsy wanderer it was…

Steve Jobs: Words To Live and Work By

October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs was an innovator and a visionary. He pushed the envelope and strove for excellence in everything he did in his short yet amazingly productive life. If we could all strive to be the best at what we do in life, in our work, with our family we will be lucky and full filled. The following are  quotes from Steve Jobs to help inspire in many areas of our lives. On this sad day…

Balance: Work and Life

September 14, 2011

When you work in front of computer all day, and you own your own business, the tendency is to work to fatigue. At least that’s what I do. There is always something that needs to get done, and there seem to not be enough hours in the day to get it all done. At some point, you, have to step back and say, it isn’t all going to get done today. Set  reasonable expectations for…

TED Talks: What Does It Feel Like To Be Wrong?

April 19, 2011

What does it feel like to be wrong? We can all learn from Kathyrn Schulz on being wrong in this TED Talk. If you’ve never visited the TED Talks site you are missing out. These talks expand your mind, make you think, and help you become a stronger individual both in your personal and your professional life. If you take 20 minutes a day to listen to a random TED Talk I’m sure it will…

Thousand Crane Project: Touching The World Through Ripple Effect

January 2, 2011

Have you ever heard about the Legend of 1000 origami paper cranes? Ancient Japanese folklore promises to grant a single wish to anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes. Well yesterday I came across the fan page, Thousand Paper Crane Project. Rich Greenhagen, a resident of Virginia Beach, has a unique goal. He’s folding 1000 paper cranes to spread love around the world. It started out as a poem, then became a story and then…

A Soldier’s Silent Night: How To Get Involved During The Holidays

December 8, 2010

I love this time of year. It’s pretty to drive down night streets and see lights and colors aglow. There’s the smell of cinnamon, spice, evergreen and woodsmoke in the air. Visions of fires in the fire place and chestnuts roasting take me back to my childhood. People are a little bit nicer as you smile and chat with strangers in stores. More bells appear to mark your entrance into shops and homes. Winter scenes…

Pay it Forward: Random Acts of Kindness and Deliberate Acts of Kindness

December 1, 2010

Hey folks did you get the invitation? It’s circulating around Facebook and it’s about Pay it Forward day. If you haven’t seen the movie it will make you cry! And then it will make you think why don’t more people do this kind of thing on a daily basis. What a better world we’d live in. I need your help paying it forward today. Every year there is a Dream Home giveaway in Hampton Roads…

What Level Do You Live On?

November 29, 2010

As we wind down the year, and especially during this season of giving, not only is it a great time to take stock of how we met our goals on a business level, but also on a personal level. It’s also the time of year to be calibrating those goals for next year. It’s important to set both business goals and personal goals. But sometimes it’s hard to decide or understand the importance of what…

Epic Change: Small Donations Create Cumulative Effects In The World

November 23, 2010

I can’t believe it was just one year ago that I was arranging Tweetsgiving in Virginia Beach with my friends Sonya Schweitzer and Karen Clements at Gordon Biersch. It was a wonderful evening of positive energy for an amazing cause to help build schools in Africa through Epic Change, a 501 (c) 3 organization, while giving thanks for all the things we have in life. I’m grateful that we were able to be a part…

November: Two Powerful Days of Reflection

November 14, 2010

In November there are two very powerful days of reflection. One just passed, Veterans Day. And one coming up in 10 more days. Thanksgiving. The following video drives home some powerful points to reflect on for both. These are secular holidays. These are days that effect all Americans and have so much to do with how we came to survive in this land, and how we continue to do so thanks to those who make…