DOES YOUR DESK LOOK LIKE THIS?… NOT TO MENTION THE FLOOR AROUND YOUR DESK?
February 4th, 2008 Categories: Home Maintenance, Lighten Up
Ever wonder how the confluence of random threads of thought entering our brain can lead to ACTION?
Well especially for YOURS TRULY, who whether I like it or not is (or is it “am”?) a lateral thinker, not a linear thinker (like my husband Wayne).
Random Thread of Thought Number 1:
A few days ago I notice my desk is starting to disappear under a mountain of piles. Come to think of it, the credenza is also beginning to disappear from view.
Random Thread of Thought Number 2:
My fellow entrepreneur friend Steve Ilott of Decluttering.ca, Therapy for your Home sends me an article he wrote about getting rid of the Clutter Monkey.
Random Thread of Thought Number 3:
I come upon the above cartoon, while surfing the net this morning.
OK, IT’s time for ACTION:
The last thing I feel like doing is clearing everything off my desk and other surfaces in my office, and putting items big and small “in their proper place” but I make a commitment to do it and my readers get to hold me accountable.
Want to check out Steve’s Step by Step Guide to Banishing the Clutter Monkey? Click here.
| Discussion: 5 Comments »
FEELING OVERWHELMED? MAKE A “STOP DOING” LIST (AND BAKE SOME COOKIES TONIGHT)
February 3rd, 2008 Categories: Books I Read, Food for Soul and Spirit, Lighten Up
Ever feel you can never can get caught up on your endless LIST of things to do?
This week I did one key thing that has revolutionized my business and my life!
I made a STOP DOING LIST.
The most powerful ideas are the simplest.
This very simple idea (which most of us are not putting into practice in our lives) was inspired by a chapter of the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. (Incidentally, in my humble opinion, this is one of the best business books ever written.)
According to the author’s survey of companies “those who built the good-to-great companies made as much use of “stop doing” lists as “to do lists” (page 139).
The phrase “less is more” is so true provided that when you do less of certain “less important things”, you do more of the “more important things”.
I still have my To Do Lists and am busy working those. But my Stop Doing List has freed me up to do the most important things on my To Do lists.
Some things I decided to stop doing:
1) Stop trying to do too many different prospecting initiatives, to focus more time on my key areas which are 1) Effective blogging on my new blogsite 2) the incredible relationships I am fortunate to be building within my Business Networking International referral group 3) Getting involved in my community, volunteering, especially in South East Oakville, where I live.
2) Stop giving in to the fear of “what will people think if I say no?”
(Ask yourself how much of your to do list is reactive and driven by the fear of being left behind, or the desire to please others.)
3) Stop indulging the feelings of being overwhelmed, simply do what I can each day and realize that tomorrow will take care of itself.
4) Stop going to bed late. It is a bad habit. (Face facts, I’m no longer a spring chicken.) In order to wake up earlier and have time for prayer, meditation, and clear thinking, I have to stop procrastinating my bedtime!
These few decisions have liberated my soul this week and taken the cloud of overwhelment off my head!
Decision: Every day I make a To Do List, perhaps I should also make a “stop doing list’, perhaps once a week?
Why not make a STOP DOING list and share how it helps you?
Whew, maybe I`ll have time to bake some cookies tonight!
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Discover Enza Natural Health and Day Spa in Oakville. See Below for Oakville Buzz Discount!
January 25th, 2008 Categories: Food for Soul and Spirit, Lighten Up, Things to Do in Oakville, Why Move to Oakville?
It was like stepping out of a cold Canadian winter into an African rain forest…
Recently I spent four blissful hours at Enza Natural Health Spa in the middle of a very hectic week. It was time to “turn myself in” and allow the experts to de-stress and re-energize me.
Having chosen the “Lion Package”, my experience began with the donning of a plush African-themed bathrobe and the opportunity to warm up in the infrared dry heat sauna.
This was my first experience with a hot stone massage. It was both relaxing and reinvigorating. In a softly lit room, my South African therapist, Jenna, performed her healing magic to the enchanting strains of Chopin’s Nocturne and Ravel’s Bolero, the calming sound of water lapping against a distant shore, the occasional chatter of tropical birds.
I was being tansported to a place far, far away… when Spa Owner Judith Elaine began a hot oil scalp and shoulder massage, with an application of shea butter providing much needed nourishment to skin and hair.
In addition to being passionate about health and healing, Judith is an artist and her original paintings of South African flora and fauna adorn the tea room where I floated in, after my treatment, to enjoy several cups of hot South African rooibos tea and taro cookies.
I enjoyed my conversation in the tea room with Judith and the chance to find out more about her, her life in South Africa and how she brings so much of the wisdom and natural healing philosophy from that continent to people here. Enza is the only south African spa in Canada.
How much did this calming oasis and respite from the rigours of daily life cost me? A very reasonable price. Next time I will try the “Giraffe Package” which includes a facial.
Click here to find out how you can have an “Out of Africa” experience right here in Oakville. Write back and let me know how it goes!
As a benefit to readers of THE OAKVILLE BUZZ, Enza will provide a DISCOUNT OF 10% on your first visit. Just print off this post and present it at time of purchase. SAUBONA*!
*Zulu greeting
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Hilary Shantz, Oakville, Ontario Real Estate Agent Has Been Meme’d!
December 18th, 2007 Categories: Blogs, Blogging and the Blogosphere, Lighten Up, Oakville Events
Being “meme’d” in blogger’s lingo is being tagged, online, and then having to write 5 things about yourself that others may not know. (See Wikipedia for original definition of meme, in short a unit of cultural information that propagates from one mind to another).
Fellow real estate blogger Janice Gagliardi of Port Orange Juice in Florida meme’d me. Five days till Christmas and so much to do, but let me take a minute to give my random response to this, in the spirit of Christmas!
Five Things You May not Know About Me:
1. When I was five, and sitting in the back seat of the car, I put a paper bag over my dad’s face while he was driving. (Seemed like a good idea at the time.)
2. I have been married for 17 years to my husband Wayne, and we have two kids, Nathan (age 15) and Meagan (age 14). We live in South East Oavkille in a home surrounded by trees.
3. Going to our family cottage in Buckhorn, Ontario in the Kawartha Lakes for the last thirty-five years holds many memories for me. We have no cable tv, land phone or other technology up there, just a hand made birch bark canoe that glides across the water. We have seen deer on the property and have a resident family of beavers. I still remember the squeals of delight from our son when at age four he discovered some turtle eggs, saw them hatch and named each one before putting them back safely in the water.
4. I find real estate to be an emotional roller coaster ride, thrills and spills, one day you’re up one day you’re down, but one thing is guaranteed, it’s never boring. The best thing about it is the people. The most challenging thing about it is you’re always working with people who are under stress.
5. I was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and lived in Jamaica, Scotland and the Cayman Islands as a child, and have lived in Canada for the last 3+ decades. My grandparents were from China. My husband is Mennonite. His ancestors were originally from Berne, Switzerland where his predecessor Ulrich Shantz left Europe for Pennsylvania 12 generations ago. The family subsequently moved to continue their farming lifestyle to the fertile lands of Kitchener, Waterloo, in Ontario, as did many other Mennonites, in the early 1800’s.
Now I am going to pass this on to to three other unsuspecting bloggers. Merry Christmas, you don’t have to respond till after the 25th!
| Discussion: 4 Comments »
Buyers Buy with their Hearts First, Not their Heads
November 24th, 2007 Categories: Lighten Up, Real Estate News
Research confirms what I’d suspected: Buyers are highly irrational beings.
![IStock_000003077171XSmall[1]](http://theoakvillebuzz.com/files/2007/11/istock-000003077171xsmall1-small11.jpg)
An economist might assume buyers make logical decisions about features, benefits and reasons to buy. As an observer of home buyers’ reactions first-hand (as well as my own) I say ”Not so!”
This was confirmed lately when I read some new research on Buyer Psychology. A group of scientists from CalTech, Carnegie Mellon and MIT reviewed studies examining how people buy. Their conclusion:
“Buyers buy with their hearts first. When money changes hands, the primitive, emotional part of the brain calls the shots. Buyers buy with their heads second. Logic comes in afterwards as the brain justifies the decision it’s already made.”
Salespeople need to pay close attention to this as well as home sellers. A few things you should know:
1. Little details matter just as much as big things.
You need to tug at the emotional heartstrings. While a new roof might be an important factor, a master bedroom that has a well-dressed bed with luxurious towels in the ensuite might make more of a difference in the buying decision.
The first home my husband Wayne and I purchased as newlyweds expecting our first child illustrates this. (I was not a REALTOR at the time.)
When we entered “the home”, the right music was playing, the table was set for dinner with cloth napkins and dinnerware. I was “really feeling this home” and then I saw the white trellis on the back patio with a glorious red rose bush clambering up it. That did it! My heart had connected with this home emotionally, and the decision was made.
(Two winters later unseasonably low temperatures resulted in the demise of the rose bush. In our inexperience we had not even realized that we had overpaid and that the house was too small…..)
But just a few years ago when we purchased our current home a similar thing happened. My husband entered the house and saw the spectacular fall panorama of trees behind our property. He was instantly smitten and decided to put in an offer before viewing the upper level or the basement.
2. It’s a seduction process: “You need to have them at Hello”
Traditional selling approaches focus on logic and reason, features and benefits. But if you engage with homebuyers at that level alone, you could be wasting your time.
It’s all about the emotional feeling they get when they first enter the house.
Have the lights on, the music playing, the scented candles, create the atmosphere! Appeal to all five senses. Cookbook open on the counter, textured throw casually draped on the chesterfield, fresh flowers on the hall table, luxurious soaps and bath salts in little bottles in the master ensuite, crackling fire in the family room, urns filled with flowers on either side of the front door, seasonal touches where possible.
Remember, you’re not just selling a house, you’re selling a lifestyle.
I make sure all homes I sell are carefully staged. My stager Karen Kostyshyn of Home Interior Transformation is exceptional. She and I work together to put those extra dollars in your pocket.
3. Don’t give them a reason to say no!
Your home must be scrupulously clean, and preferably in move-in condition.
I was in a very nice, almost new home, the other day, which showed very well and was decorated in the latest designer colors. The buyer was smiling and nodding approvingly as she wandered through, until she entered the ensuite bathroom and saw a few traces of mould growing in the shower tiles. The spell was broken. One bottle of Tilex and that negative impression could have been avoided.
The sellers market we have been experiencing over the last few years, has given way in most areas in the GTA and surrounding areas to a “balanced market’ with more or less the same numbers of buyers and sellers.
Sellers, more than ever, you have to know how to woo your buyers. This starts even before they enter the home, with the photos you show on the internet. One home that we staged and marketed this year was so appealing that I received a call from the buyer’s agent saying they were bringing a signed offer at 9 p.m., without having seen the home on the inside. I use a top-notch professional photographer, who takes up to 70 photos, depending on the size of the home, which I post on my website, in addition to the MLS photos.
Call Hilary Shantz and her home-selling team at 905-599-3311, to advise you how to prepare and market your home to capture the buyers’ hearts and their pocketbooks!
| Discussion: 12 Comments »
What’s the Buzz in Oakville? Hilary Launches New Blogsite!
November 4th, 2007 Categories: Lighten Up, Oakville Events, Oakville Real Estate News, Oakville Town Planning & Development
When I opened the paper this morning, on the front page of the Life section was the word buzz in huge letters, with a picture of bees on a honeycomb! The article is about urban apiarists.
“What’s the sound behind the hedge?” says the subtitle.
“Renegade beekeepers are quietly tending their colonies in backyards, on porches and rooftops”, all across the GTA! Who would have thunk it?
Backyard beehives are illegal, but our good friends at the Globe and Mail have blown their cover.
I don’t have time to do honey-making, but this leads me to my vision for the blog.
People, not just bees, are talking together and interacting! They are socializing and working and playing. There most definitely is a “sound behind the hedge” in this community. Wherever people are, folks are jabbering! This creates a buzz.
So what’s The Oakville Buzz about?
Whatever Oakvillians are interested in talking about, especially as it relates to Oakville housing and living in Oakville.
I will be ‘buzzing” around town interviewing locals, taking photos of cool things and reporting on community goings-on, local people and real estate.
I’ d like to introduce Boris, my side-kick and muse. Don’t you love his toothy grin and bulging eyes, one bigger than the other?
Please do stop in regularly for a visit and leave me a comment.
By the way, oakvillebuzz.com is the site for our Oakville lacrosse team. My site is TheOakvilleBuzz.com.
| Discussion: 7 Comments »
Oakville Residents: Come out on Sunday Afternoon for the Heritage Hustle, Family Walk and Run
October 9th, 2007 Categories: Lighten Up, Oakville Events, Things to Do in Oakville
This Sunday afternoon, October 14th, there is no more fun place to be in Oakville than the Heritage Hustle, starting at Lakeside Park. This will be the culminating event for Oakville’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
“No canvassing or sponsors needed, we just want Oakville residents and community groups to come out and celebrate together”, says Francine Landry, Chair of the Ciizen’s Taks Force for Oakville’s 150th anniversary.
Francine called The Oakville Buzz to request we help get the word out for everyone to join in this fun landmark event.
Family Walk: Starts at 1 p.m., no charge, 1.5 km, follows scenic lakefront.
Runners: Starts 1:50 p.m., $35, register on the day, 5 km, crosses three downtown historical districts and Sixteen Mile Creek.
Powerwalkers: Starts 2 p.m., $35, register on the day, 5 km, same route as runners.
The Start/Finish line is at Lakeside Park at the corner of Navy and Front Streets. This will be a great opportunity for fun, fitness, food, entertainment, prizes! Funds raised will go back into the community via the R.E.A.C.H. Legacy fund. R.E.A.C.H. stands for:
Raising resilient youth Environment Arts Community and caring Heritage
YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OAKVILLE 150TH CELEBRATIONS AND THE HERITAGE HUSTLE AT http://150.oakville.ca/heritagehustle.htm. You can register beforehand at this website or on the day.
Hope to see you there on Sunday!
| Discussion: No Comments »
Discover Your Own Way and Live it with Passion!
September 13th, 2007 Categories: Lighten Up
At age 10, I started to learn the piano. Mrs. Tavares taught me scales and arpeggios and how to pass the Royal Conservatory Exams.
Then several years later, I got a new teacher, Mr. Richter, a fiery, Hungarian pianist who felt the music in his bones. He taught me to color outside the lines, musically. To interpret the music. He gave me permission to turn off the metronome and make the piece my own.
Boy could he put passion and emotion into Chopin’s Nocturne!
Learn the basics, and then find your own path, your true voice.
So what’s the application to real estate? Doing what everyone else is doing is not going to get us very far. As I read somewhere “You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting another REALTOR”…, there are a lot of us out there!
If you are a REALTOR, following high-paid gurus, pre-written scripts is OK. It would be like my first piano teacher Mrs. Tavares. You can pass the Conservatory exams… But then, you need to give yourself permission to soar and discover your own unique way. Figure out your own path. Find your true voice.
For non-realtors, if you’ve been in your profession for a while, you can rekindle a passion by redesigning your life and how your work fits into it, so that you are mostly doing the things you love, and using the best gifts you have been given. Feeling like a square peg in a round hole in your work life, redesign it!
Discover your own true genius!
No two people or snowflakes are created the same. Decide to discover your own true genius. We each have a few strokes of it!
“Change up” the way you think about your work, the way you approach it, so it becomes uniquely “you”.
I ended up working for a bank after finishing my MBA. But being a left brain, creative, idea person, banking was not a good fit for me. I enjoyed uisng my analytical skills, and all that working in mortgages and finance comes in handy now, but corporate life and a regular 9-5 job doesn’t allow me to soar.
What are the things I love to do?
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I like helping people, clients, friends, just people in general.
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I love getting to know people and what makes them tick. Sharing with them my journey and learning from theirs. For me that is play, not work.
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I love to write, and want to get better at it.
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I like to find out new things every day.
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I don’t like a lot of routine and repetitive tasks.
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I like problem solving and I approach each client with that attitude: How do I solve their problem? Find a solution to what they are seeking? How do I help them realize their dream? Who can I call on to help me deliver what they need? Another realtor? Financial advisor? Stager? Decorator? Mover? Legal expert? Counsellor?
You have your own list of things you love to do: write it down! Then figure out a way to incoporate the things you love into your life and work.
And play your music with passion today!
| Discussion: 3 Comments »
Oakville Development North of Dundas: What’s Happening?
September 8th, 2007 Categories: Fifty-five plus, Lighten Up, North Oakville Development, Oakville Real Estate News, Oakville Town Planning & Development, Real Estate News, South East Oakville
What is the Town planning for development north of Dundas?
Last week I was manning the kiosk in Oakville Place. The mother of a girl on my daughter’s soccer team stopped by. She is an urban design planner so I ask “What’s new at Town Hall?” 
“Council approved the North Oakville East Secondary Plan Minutes of Settlement last week”, she said.
I investigated further and found out a few things:
- How big? It will encompass 2,300 hectares of land
- Where will it be? The area to be developed is bordered by Dundas Street in the south, Sixteen Mile Creek in the west, Ninth Line in the east and Highway 407 in the north.
- How many people? When all is complete, it is expected to include about 50,000 new Oakville residents.
- What about the environment? Developers say the plan is innovative and breaks new ground in creating environmentally sustainable communities: walkable, compact and diverse (from a land use perspective) community. ”It will be one of the most environmentally sensitive community plans in North America” says David Stewart, President of Mattamy Development Corporation. “
- What about new jobs? About 25,000 new jobs are being created right in the area, which will reduce the need for commuting.
- What is the Mayor’s vision? “We have created a comprehensive, balanced and sustainable plan that will help create one of Canada’s most green and livable communities, says Oakville Mayor Rob Burton in a recent press release. (Mr. Burton believes North Oakville development will contribute greatly to our town’s stated vision of becoming the most livable in Canada.)
- What will it look like? Plans are for a public open space system that is twice the size of Central Park in New York City. Some 600 hectares of land will be set aside for open space linkages and wildlife corridors.
- When does development start? Word on the street is that ground will be broken before the end of the year.
The picture I am getting sounds somewhat appealing. Wayne and I could sell our house in South East Oakville and downsize into a bungaloft or townhome in this new community when our kids leave home.
I see Wayne jogging in the park, me walking to coffee shops, and the bank. The air will be fresh and clean (goodbye Ford Motor Company, Petro-Canada refinery and that other cement factory down by the lake). I envision neighbours walking their dogs in our very own Central Park…
I plan to check out the Ontario Municipal Board hearings, scheduled to start September 10, 2007. More on this subject in future posts. Please comment if you have any other questions, news or concerns.
| Discussion: 6 Comments »
Oakville Masked Bandits Strike Again!
August 24th, 2007 Categories: Lighten Up
It’s only 7 in the morning and I can tell it’s going to be one of those dog hot days of summer. “It works, the fruit fly trap works!” I say to Wayne, as he comes in from his morning run.
The night before, our daughter Meagan said ”We have to do something about getting rid of all those little fruit flies in the kitchen.”
“Aunty Pat says you can make a trap for fruit flies if you cover a bowl of fruit with saran wrap and make holes in it.” So she put some fruit in a margarine container and covered it with saran, using an elastic band to hold it on and went to bed.
This morning, I was the first to discover thirty sugar-buzzed fruit flies crawling around inside the container. And one lone fly circling outside it. (File this in your Helpful Hints folder.)
“Well I’m really glad you caught the fruitflies,” says Wayne sarcastically “because someone left the side door to the garage open and the raccoons have ravaged our garbage again! The garage is a disaster, someone needs to clean it up!”
“Talk about straining out gnats and swallowing camels”, he says shaking his head.
Do you have any Oavkille Raccoon Stories to share?
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