My book, Single Page Life Plan for Realtors explains how you can extend single page planning to all of your important projects and ventures. Single Page Checklists are a ‘catch-all’ for special projects that you can review regularly to stay focused.

Click here to enroll in my online class, Buying the Apartment Next Door at 50% off (Coupon Code is Plan2022) and receive a signed copy of the book: https://bit.ly/3rqBquh

For example, the Single Page Checklist for Buying Apartments summarizes on a single page the 4-color, 6 page laminated flyer I created that explains:

• How to build your team of advisors.
• Things to consider in putting together contracts.
• Important questions you need to ask the seller of apartments you are buying.
• The important questions to ask to obtain favorable financing.
• How to select a good property management company.
• The types of insurance you need to consider.
• Criteria of good multifamily property.
• Ways to continue to learn more about investment real estate.

This format can work for all of your projects.

Other examples of Single Page Checklists that I have on my blog include:

• Real Estate Brokerage and Sales
• Wedding Plan on a Single Page

You can use a Single Page Checklist to implement a social media plan for your company, a new product plan, or a new fundraising campaign. And the great thing about having your plan on a single page, is that it keeps every on your team on the same page together. Everyone stay laser-focused on the steps needed to achieve the goal!

Click here to learn more about the online class and book

With a Single Page Checklist, Priorities must earn their way to page one!

The post Single Page Checklist for Buying Apartments appeared first on Walking and Talking.

It has been said, in a lot of clever ways, that people who do not care where they are going, don’t need a map. But CEO’s need a business plan, coaches need a game plan, pilots need a flight plan, and leaders need a life plan. Here are 5 things to include in yours …

Single Page Life Plan  2013 Ballylongford Books, LLC

The Five Elements of a Single Page Life Plan:

1. Mission or Vision Statement:
This is the overarching vision you have for your life. All other parts of your plan synchronize with this.

2. Life Categories:
Your Life Categories are the six major highways that lead a path towards your Vision Statement. These Life Categories are the most vital aspects of your life.

To see an example of a Single Page Life Plan that has already been created, click here:

3. Action Steps:
These are the specific, achievable, and measurable steps that you commit to take on a daily basis to remain intentional, strategic, and accountable to each of your Life Categories.

Action Steps turn your life vision into reality.

4. The Boxes:
There are four Boxes to your plan:

• Coins are small kindnesses you perform to help others you encounter along your path.
• Attitudes speak to the frame of mind you adopt to stay motivated in your quest.
• Potholes are hurdles and distractions that steer you away from your goals.
• Strengths are the character-attributes, skills, and talents you possess that can propel you towards attaining your goals.

5. Your Signature:
This is the part of your Single Page Life Plan that will take the least amount of time, but it might have the longest term of consequence. It is the promise to yourself that you will follow the vision you have for your future.

With a Single Page LIfe Plan, priorities must earn their way to page one!

Question: Which of these 5 elements of the Single Page Life Plan do you think is most important to you?

To see an example of a Single Page Life Plan that has already been created, click here:

The post The Five Elements of a Single Page Life Plan appeared first on Walking and Talking.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com

Don’t mistake simple for easy

It takes a lot of effort and creativity to reduce things to their most simple form.

The genius of Albert Einstein was not that he could comprehend so many of the complexities of space, time, gravity, and light. All scientists can do that. His genius was in his ability to simplify those complexities into an understandable theory of relativity.

How Einstein Simplified Complexity

Einstein discovered the simple. He sculpted away the clutter and left us with the meaningful. He chopped away at row upon row of mathematical calculations and left us with E=mc².

He simplified complexity! It was not easy—but it was better.

The Single Page Life Plan is designed to bring the simple back into your life in a fast, fun, and creative way. Hopefully, it helps you to identify the truly meaningful things in your life; the significant things that matter most at work, home, or play.

Synchronize your universe!

The successful people I observe and try to learn from do not compartmentalize your life. They synchronize every aspect of their life to achieve the overarching goals they have. They get in sync!

IT’S ELEMENTAL!

There are 5 elements to the Single Page Life Plan:

• Mission/Vision Statement
• Life Categories
• Action Steps
• The Boxes
• The Signature

Simple isn’t easy … Only better!

We’re not juggling String Theory here, but we are talking about adding energy to your life. You could almost say that E=SPLP. Try wrapping that around your head, Mr. Einstein!

Question: What is the best thing you do every day to simplify things at work and home?

The post Simple Isn’t Easy … Only Better! appeared first on Walking and Talking.

The brilliance of a Single Page Life Plan© lies in its simplicity. It must never be P.O.S.H. – Perfect, Overloaded, Set in stone, or Hidden.

Photo courtesy of @iStockphoto.com

Perfect

Your life plan is not the Magna Carta! It is an important document—but it’s different. Your life plan is a blueprint of how you want to live your life. It forces you to identify your goals and strategies, and it makes it easier for you to gauge results and to stay accountable. However, it is not meant to be all-inclusive or perfect.

Mark Twain once said, “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” So, don’t get mired down searching for a grand epiphany here. Just get things going in the right direction.

Overloaded

Peripheries are not Priorities! Peripheries in your life have to earn their way to Page One! Until then, they are distractions; they are clutter. They are second and third ideas that keep getting in the way of your first good idea. Place a laser focus on your most important goals. Don’t let your laser beam be diffused by a wide array of useless, energy-zapping activities.

Set in Stone

Your plan is a working plan that you will want to continually update, edit, and change; sometimes in very dramatic ways. Circumstances are always changing. Like airplane pilots, we are sure to experience cloudy days, unexpected headwinds, and high-pressure systems along our journeys. We need to be nimble and able to adapt quickly as we keep our focus on our destinations.

Your life plan is to be used as a tool, not adored! Be prepared to take a pen or pencil and scratch up your life plan.

Hidden

Share your plan with others! Studies show that people are more likely to achieve success while on a diet if they share their goals with friends and family. Similarly, if you share your life plan with others, it will help motivate you to stay accountable to your goals and aspirations. And, by knowing what your plan is, your friends, family, and colleagues will be able to help you ahieve your plan.

If your Single Page Life Plan is not P.O.S.H., it will be easier for you to use. You will refer to it regularly, which will help you change course when necessary. It will be fast, simple, and life-changing!

Click here to learn more about Single Page Life Plan .

The post Your Single Page Life Plan Should Not Be P.O.S.H. appeared first on Walking and Talking.

Your Mission (or Vision) Statement

Pretending that we might not live forever can be a motivation for creating a Single Page Life Plan©; for adding some intentionality to our lives. A good question to ask ourselves is this: A decade from now, how would I want somebody to describe that period of my life?  What must I focus on for this to happen?

40 Words or Less! Some Examples:

You make all of the choices when creating your life plan. It is unique to you. Your Vision Statement is the overarching purpose you see for your life. There is no right or wrong answer as long as it resonates with where you want to go. But, to create a laser-like focus, keep your Vision Statement short! 40 words or less.

For some brainstorming help, here are some examples …

Sample Vision Statements (By Theme)

General:

• Live each day as if it were my last—Carpe Diem!
• Live a simple and content life. Seek my place in the world.
• Be a good student, teacher, apprentice, and mentor.
• Live up to my potential and leave a significant mark on the world.
• Maintain an attitude of gratitude. Be healthy, wealthy, and wise.
• Be intentional as I continue my path to a new career and life.
• Laugh, smile, love, advocate, exercise, work, learn, and teach.

Nature:

• Continually learn about my place in the world and make the world a better place.
• Continually improve my heart, mind, soul, and body through truth, love, and discipline.
• Live in union with nature and enjoy my life. Enjoy the journey.
• Be in community with my local surroundings, the earth, the universe, and others.
• Be content by discovering laughter, love and happiness.
• Use my personal strengths to make the world a better place.

God:

• Make the most of the skills, talents, and abilities God gave me to lead a significant life.
• Put God first in my life, and lead my life according to the plan God has for me.
• Show love and give love through faith, hope, and caring.
• Worship God with all my heart, mind, and strength.
• Continually seek God’s plan for my life and have the courage to act on that wisdom.
• Reflect God’s love in everything I do and strive to do.
• Love and honor God by serving others.
• Continually improve my relationship with God, my family, friends, and colleagues.
• Be grateful for my blessings and share them with others.
• Do unto others as I would have them do unto me.
• Be spiritually, mentally, and physically healthy.

Service:

• Enjoy all that life has to offer and give back to others.
• Change the world by being a positive force for others.
• Love, protect, and defend those around me. Help others every day and be a joy to others.
• Be a protector, giver, provider, and advisor to others to help them reach their potential.
• Bring happiness to people everywhere to the best of my ability.
• Make a positive difference in the lives of others and enjoy the ride!

Leadership:

• Always strive to be a better person. Be a leader for my family, friends, and colleagues.
• Be an encourager to others. Lead by example.
• Be passionate. Generously share my time and talents with family and friends.
• Be a good wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandparent, mentor, and coach.
• Be a good husband, father, son, brother, uncle, grandparent, mentor, and coach.
• Be a positive influence on my family, colleagues, teammates, and friends.

Love and Health:

• Love life and live life to the fullest. Strive to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit.
• Learn to love and accept my life completely. Be true to myself, love others, and enjoy life.
• Love and be loved in return.
• Have a healthy marriage, healthy family, and healthy relationships.
• Have a healthy heart, mind, and soul. Laugh, love, and make people smile.

Don’t strive for perfection … It is a fluid and changeable plan!

This is one of the shortest elements of your life plan, but might be the most difficult part to create! In one sense, this will set the stage for everything else in your life plan. Nothing else in your plan should conflict with your Mission/Vision Statement. But, DO NOT STRIVE FOR PERFECTION here. Do your best and move on. A Single Plan Life Plan© is desigend to be a fluid and changeable document.

This is not about your past … It’s about your future! 

Don’t let past regrets or lost opportunites of yesterday get in your way. Your life plan is all about moving forward; it’s all about the future. The past is the past. This is about your next ten years. So, start tomorrow today!

The post Dodging Meteors While Creating Your Mission Statement appeared first on Walking and Talking.

In my book, Single Page Life Plan, I explains how you can make a big change in your life, just by adding a few Coins to your day.

Photo courtesy of @iStockphoto.com

What are Coins?

Coins are those small things we can do every day to help make another person’s life better. Every day we wake up in the morning with a certain number of Coins in our hand that we can potentially spend.

To spend them wisely, we have to be:

• Creative
• Intentional
• Proactive

Because here’s the thing … the Coins you don’t spend by the end of the day, are gone forever.

An Uneven Supply of Coins

Some days we have more Coins than others. For instance, if we wake up with the flu, we don’t have as many Coins to spend. We are probably not going to shovel the snow off our elderly neighbor’s walkway, or deliver those meals-on-wheels, or take our nephew out to lunch.

Other days we might be especially filled with good health, high energy; full of creative ideas. On those days, we have our hands full of Coins that we can spend. One Coin might be spent calling a friend who you know could use a few words of encouragement. Another Coin might be spent sending a photograph to your mom or dad of one of their grandchildren, just o perk up their day. Simple things that are quick and easy to do!

Coins will redeem an otherwise-unproductive day

How many of us go to bed some nights thinking, “Wow, I didn’t get a thing done today!’?  No matter how unproductive you might feel your day was, spending a few of your Coins wisely throughout your day will redeem an otherwise unproductive day. Small Coins make a huge impact on others.

Use ’em or lose ’em!

The thing about Coins is this … at the end of the day, you have to throw away all of your unused Coins. These lost Coins represent the  waste of energy, good health, creativity, and capability you were blessed with at the beginning of the day.

You can’t get back tomorrow, the opportunity you had today, to spend those Coins.

The good news! Tomorrow morning we all wake up with a new set of Coins we can spend.

Some Coins are very rare

The kind of Coins you receive each morning change over time – depending on the season of life we are in. Oftentimes, the older we get, we find ourselves getting some very rare Coins. Some of the Coins of wisdom that a grandparent has might be extremely valuable to a granddaughter or grandson.

The more we practice using the Coins the better we are at spending them in a way where they have maximum impact.

Make a list of possible Coins

You must spend Coins with purpose! To do something on purpose is to do something with a planned consequence! So …

Make a list of Coins!

Choose a couple of Coins from that list every day.

Here are some ideas to help you brainstorm your list:

• Send a stamp or coin to the young collector in my life.
• Call my roomate from college just to say hello.
• Thank a colleague at work.
• Buy someone flowers.
• Visit a homebound relative.
• Order a book online and send it to my grandmother.
• Take my 4th-grader out of school for lunch one day.
• Fill up my sife’s car with gas.
• Be the one to clean out the fridge!
• Pray for someone in need.
• Tell a friend that I appreciate them.
• Subscribe to a cooking magazine for the chef in my life.
• Send a box of chocolates to a friend under stress.
• Bake a cake for someone’s birthday.
• Skype a friend.

Now that’s real change! Spend wisely.

You can get a FREE copy of my eBook, Single Page Life Plan on my home page.

Question: Do you have other examples of Coins we can spend on others?

The post For Real Change in Your Life, Add Coins appeared first on Walking and Talking.

Photo Courtesy of iStockphoto.com

How I saved $3,500 from the power of a single action step!

You can add that hour to your week if you choose Stop Hitting the Snooze Button as one of the Action Steps of your Single Page Life Plan©, because most snooze alarms are set for nine minutes. Those 9 minutes, multiplied by 7 days, adds up to over an hour per week! This illustrates the power of a single Action Step.

A 15 minute mystery …

A time-management consultant once told me the story of a doctor who complained to her that he always seemed to be 15 minutes behind schedule all day long. She visited his office  to try to solve his problem. What she discovered was remarkably simple … he regularly began his first appointment of the day, with his very first patient, 15 minutes late! Simple Action Steps can make an enormous impact on your life.

My simple Action Step was made on January 1st, 7 years ago

I’ll leave it to you to determine how important this action step was, but I really believed it change my life for the better. I decided to

drink water instead of ordering soft drinks in a restaurant. Since then, I have

• Replaced over 200 gallons of caramel-colored, caffeinated pop with clear water, and
• Saved over $3,500 in after-tax dollars, along the way.

The downside …

Of course, there is always the downside. Now, my doctor says I am not working enough potassium sorbate into my diet. And where am I going to get my daily requirment of aspertame?

But this shows the power of a seemingly innocuous, relatively small Action Step. The funny thing is, after ten days I actually preferred the taste of the water. Action Steps, large and small, can be life-changing!

Question: What single Action Step have you taken that has made a major impact on your life?

The post The Power of a Single Action Step! appeared first on Walking and Talking.

A friend of mine once said, “Chaos is my friend!” While he was kidding, I could sense that there was a part of him that relished multitasking a hundred things at the same time. It was almost like a game for him; a game he thought he played well.

Chaos is not Your friend!

One of the main reasons people avoid creating a life plan is because they have become comfortable with chaos. This manifests itself in 5 different ways. 

• Dealing with chaos can be addicting, like a game.

  • If you’re good at juggling chaos, it can almost seem like a fun challenge.

• Dealing with chaos begins to feel normal.

  • Sometimes, we become so accustomed to feeling overwhelmed by chaos, we begin to think that it is normal to be that way.

• Accepting chaos becomes a badge of honor.

  • Some people actually wear the chaos in their life as a badge of honor. It goes something like this: Can you believe how overwhelmed my life is? My life is so scattered and hectic, I must be an important cog in this wheel of life!

• We equate being busy with being productive.

  • I will never forget this conversation I had very early in my career with a successful owner of multifamily investment property.

He asked, “How’s business?

I replied, “Really good. I’ve never been busier.”

He bluntly asked, “Are you earning any money?”

My response was truthful, but awkward. “No, not really.”

This taught me that being busy is not necessarily the same as being productive.

• Chaos provides us with a handy excuse.

  • How many times have you heard someone say I have so many things going on right now, there’s just no way I can get it all done? Isn’t that just another way of saying I keep so busy, how can I be expected to take care of all of the priority items on my list?

Replace the insignificant. Make room for the important stuff!

People who focus on a specific plan are:

• More thoughtful
• More intentional
• Better organized

They are:

• More productive
• More energetic
• More creative

Chaos … not completely unavoidable, but more manageable with a SPLP

A Single Page Life Plan© helps you deal with chaos in your life. It forces you to focus on priorities that have earned their way to page one!

Learn more about creating a Single Page Life Plan in your life, here .

Question: What do you do to reduce chaos in your life?

The post 5 Reasons Why We Embrace Chaos appeared first on Walking and Talking.