I recently sent out an email to all of my contacts to let everyone know that I will no longer be available by cell phone. If I recall correctly, I think I’ve had that same cell phone number for almost 10 years now. Maybe that is why I received the replies that I did…

Actually, it was kind of a funny thing. After I sent the email out, within about 15 minutes I received 10 or 12 replies back with people asking everything from… “What’s your new number? What’s wrong? What’s going on? Is everything ok? I also had the suggestion… “Eric, you should really open the mail that has the bright colored paper inside that says things like “Urgent” or “Immediate Action Required” printed on the outside of the envelope!  

I was both touched and appreciative for those who expressed their concern for me. But at the same time, I was thinking about just how much the world has changed.

All I said was… “I will longer have my cell phone… and the best way to contact me will be by email”.

You would think that I told people that I was just got dropped off by a bunch of little green men who abducted me and took me for a cruise around the galaxy in their flying saucer…  

Since so many people have asked, I thought I would further explain my recent decision to “kill” my cell phone. So go check out my explanation of why I decided to “kill” my cell phone.

You can find the post on my blog www.BuildingMyRealEstateEmpire.com. I would appreciate you leaving a reply on my blog with your thoughts…

Take care,    

Eric Foster 

Eric has gone nuts! Or… Is he saving himself from going nuts?…

You decide!

I remember back, seems like it was really not that long ago, when getting a phone call was such a special event, something that we all looked forward to. Back then people called each other just to check in, and see how the other person was doing.

I remember as a kid when a call was for me, just how exciting it was when my mom said “Eric, phone for you”. I would run to the phone excited to see who was calling. Usually it was a friend or relative calling to talk about, really nothing! Just calling to be calling, and simply checking in to shoot the breeze.      

Remember when phones had that big ol’ dial with the holes in it? It took 30 seconds just to dial a number, and if you made a mistake while dialing, you had to hang up and start all over. What about the bell that was inside those phones? When the phone rang, it sounded more like a fire alarm than a ringer for a phone. 

From there, we graduated to the “new improved” style of phone. Exactly the same phone, but now with push buttons! Now you could dial a phone number in 5 seconds instead of 30 seconds. What progress!

Then the cordless phone… Now while on the phone, you could walk aimlessly through the house and not be tethered to the table that the phone sat on. Funny thing, the other night I was watching an old movie on TV and I got a good laugh. They were talking on an old style cordless phone that had an antenna that was about a foot long, and the phone itself looked like a brick. The good old days!  

And answering machines… What a convenience, now you didn’t even have to call someone when they were home, just call anytime!

And then… The big bad corporate voice mail systems set in. You know the ones, with so many options to choose from and no matter what you do, it seems you can never get a live person on the phone… All the options just lead to voice mail. I seem to recall that the new corporate voicemail systems were the top news story for quite some time. There went the “customer service” as we knew it!

Then they figured out that regular everyday people could use voice mail too! It doesn’t need to be for just the big monster companies. So voice mail for the home phone was introduced. Does anyone still have an answering machine? Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I have left a message on an answering machine… Humm…

And we cannot forget pagers… With this revolutionary “time saving” device, you didn’t need to wait until you returned to the office or back home to see if you had messages. Now, people could page you and send you their phone number displayed on a little screen so you can rush to the nearest pay phone to call them right back. Remember pay phones? One day when I was talking to my kids I used the words “Pay Phone”. I had to stop and explain what a “Pay Phone” was, as they had never heard the term before… That will make you feel old! And now that I think about it, pay phones are actually pretty hard to find now days!

And then pagers went high tech… They introduced a voice mail box attached to the pager number. Now, the called could leave you a message, and it would page you to let you know that you had a message. With this new “improved” pager, you didn’t even need to call them back find out why they called!   

And last but not least, the invention of all pager upgrades… Display screen pagers! With these, the caller could call the pager number and a live person at an answering service would answer the call. They would take a message, and would then type it into their fancy computer, which would send a message of everything the caller said, right to the screen on your pager.

And, drum roll please… The cell phone! Early on when people actually answered their phone, cell phones were quite a time saving and an effective device. But early on, cell phones were quite a bit different. I remember my first cell phone. It was mounted in a briefcase and weighed something like 20 pounds. So much has changed… My oldest son just got his first cell phone a couple months back. Now cell phones have Internet access, text messaging, picture messaging, videos, ring tones, games, music players, and on and on… Some of them are so complicated, you can hardly figure out how to make a phone call… I didn’t realize it at the time, but my son was actually the last kid in his class to get a cell phone. He is 12 years old and in 6^th grade. 

In today’s world, there are so many options to contact someone, You can call, leave a voice mail, send a text message, online instant messaging, page them, send them a fax, send an email, and let’s not forget about the “old fashioned” hand written letter. When was the last time you received a hand written letter? I miss those! I just find it a bit ironic… With all these methods, you still can’t seem to easily get in touch with somebody.

The funny thing is with all this high tech high speed stuff now days, if you don’t respond right away, (say within 5-10 minutes) most will try another contact method just to make sure you received the first message! Nothing like getting the same message as a voice mail, text message, and an email. If you ask me, maybe we are getting to the point of just too many options!

I have concluded that I spend about 1/3 of my time each week calling people to mostly leave voice mail messages. … Then it is voice mail “tag” back and forth until you finally get them on the phone.

Just so you know, this wasn’t meant to be a chronological order of when these so called “time saving” gizmos were actually invented. This is just my recollection of how they entered into my life over the years. As I have used them ALL!

I have always tried to keep up with the latest and greatest high-tech, multi-tasking, high-productivity tools that were available. After the last one and a half years of being a full time Real Estate Investor, (www.EmpireHoldingsInc.com) and previously 10+ years in the mortgage field, I am simply tired of being so “connected” all the time. It seems that now these “time-saving” devices are to the point that they are just taking up too much of my time!

“Multi Tasking” has been the buzz word used to describe someone who is doing multiple tasks at the same time, such as typing or checking email while also talking on the phone. They have actually conducted studies on this rapid fire, on the go work style, and have found that when someone spends their day “multi-tasking”, it can actually make someone less productive! In part due to what is called the “ramp-up” period, which is the time it takes, both physically and mentally to switch gears from one task onto the next.

I always thought I wanted to achieve more and more, faster and faster. I don’t know, maybe I am I getting old, or possibly having a mid life crisis…. But, I don’t think so as I am not even sure at what age you are supposed to have one. I think maybe my priorities are just shifting a bit.

Now I am thinking more about simply enjoying and living life. I am tired of always feeling rushed with to much to do, and being too tired at the end of each day to do anything but eat dinner, help the kids with homework, and get them ready for bed… Just to turn around and get up and do it all over again.

With all this fast paced high speed technology, I have always felt guilty if I didn’t constantly check my messages and get right back to people. I know a lot of it is simply the expectations that I have put on myself. But don’t get me wrong, I love technology. (I am writing this blog post sitting outside at a coffee shop via wireless internet) But like anything… Too much of a good thing can turn in into a bad thing.

Over the last couple of years, I have been doing quite a bit of reading on several topics that were introduced to me. Topics like Lifestyle Design, the 80/20 principal, prioritizing, automating, and the systematizing of tasks. I find all of these topics very interesting, and a bit intriguing.

A couple of my recent favorites are “The EMyth” by Michael Gerber and “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss. The EMyth primarily speaks about “systematizing” which is really nothing more than what we know as “Policies and Procedures” within a company. Each location will follow the same systems, so everything from the “experience” of visiting the establishment, to the taste of the food is the same from location to location. Some examples are a McDonalds or Taco Bell restaurant, or a Starbucks.

But my new favorite is “The 4-Hour Work Week”. If you have not read it I suggest that you do. This book really touches on a wide variety of topics, (not just business) and I think most who read it will pick up a few ideas for themselves. The things that really stuck with me were the reminder of the 80/20 principal, and “batching” of tasks. Batching is pretty much the exact opposite of multi-tasking! It is doing all the same tasks together, instead of jumping back and forth all day long. Using the 80/20 principal, you simply figure out what are the most important tasks for the day, prioritize them, eliminate the distractions, and get them done. How simple is that?       

A couple weeks back, I just finished reading the “The 4-Hour Work Week” for a second time. And this time, I have decided to take some immediate actions. Some are minor, and some will probably (in today’s world) be viewed as pretty radical. For starters, I have turned off my audible notification on my email, and have set it to only check for new email once per hour, not once every millisecond! For many years I worked in an office type environment (i.e. cubicle) having the computer and email constantly running.          

As of the time of writing this long winded blog entry, I have 1913 contacts in my cell phone. I am serious, 1913! If you know of anyone who has more than that, let me know… I will buy the book for them!

With what I do, there just is always a lot going on, and basically my phone never stops ringing… Almost every day it seems, I go to bed with 3 or 4 messages that I didn’t have time to check yet, and before I get the kids get off to school at 9am there is usually another 3-4 messages waiting for me. There is nothing like ending and starting each day with the feeling of never having enough time to get things done. So I start my off my day listening to messages, returning calls, and mostly just to leave more messages.  

One of the topics discussed in the book is to simply eliminate the things that take too much time or that are constant distractions. And oddly enough, there in my top 3 was the cell phone. I have discovered that my phone, and my effort to return calls and leave messages, takes over my day, and changes what I had intended to do that day.

While thinking over what my top distractions were, I decided to look at my dell phone to see just how many calls I had made. I concluded that in the last 24 months I have made or received over 12000 calls! And that was just my cell phone! That works out to be about 500 per month, 125 week, and 25 per day based on a Monday to Friday workweek. Between taking incoming calls, checking voice mail message, and returning phone calls to mostly leave more voice mail message, I would guess that I probably spend about 1/3 of my work day playing with my phone. No wonder I never seem to get things scratched off my To-Do list.

So for now, I thought I would try a little experiment (I will call it an “experiment” that way I don’t sound totally nuts) So for now, my brainy idea (O yea, “experiment”) is that I am unplugging, no more cell phone! I have thought about it, and I can already feel the frustration of not having a phone when I “need” to make a call.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that I am no longer going to use the phone… That would be crazy! I just don’t want the obligation that comes with being tied to one all the time. Boy this is funny, it fells like I am apologizing for not being available by cell phone every waking minute.   

I figure, if I do what I am supposed to do, when I am supposed to do it, it’s probably ok. By doing this, I will have to plan a little better and think things through a bit more to actually make it work. But, that can’t be all bad can it?

Do me a favor… before you just think that I am nuts, go read the book. It was one of the best reads in a long time for me.

And just so you know, this was sent to everyone that I have contact information for. Some may be surprised when they try to call me on my phone and find it disconnected.    

I will let you know how it works out!

Eric Foster

www.EmpireHoldingsInc.com

www.BuildingMyRealEstateEmpire.com

P.S. Fell free to call… I mean, leave me a reply and let me know what you think… I can take it. You can let me know that “I am nuts”, “good luck with that”, “what an idea”, or “it will never work”… whatever you think is ok.   

P.P.S. For those of you who do read the “The 4-Hour Work Week”, maybe one day we can have a margarita on some tropical island somewhere, and talk… In person! (You will only understand this comment if you have read the book)

If you really want to be happy, nobody can stop you.

Mary Tricky

This is too true to be funny.  The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective.

• A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
• A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
• A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
• A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
• A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain… let’s take a look at New Orleans… It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division. Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans.

Interesting number… what does it mean? 

• Well… if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.
• Or… if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.
• Or… if you are a family of four…  your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C. HELLO! Are all your calculators broken???

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax 

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago… And our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt… We had the largest middle class in the world… and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

Can you spell “politicians”? What happened?

…if no changes were necessary for you to achieve financial independence, you’d already be there.

John Cummuta

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

Lao Tzu

Question from Sara… I’ve always been curious about fixing up investment properties, could you maybe tell me where I can find more info on getting started and how to come up with the capital to get a house and fix it?…

Answer… The best place to start your Real Estate Investing education is to “Partner Up” with someone who has been doing it for a while. There are many ways to make mistakes in Real Estate Investing, and those mistakes can be very costly… and painful! There are also many good books on the subject. Any large library or book store will have a good selection. As far as the money goes… you can team up with a “Money Partner”. Also, many mortgage lenders offer various types of rehab loans for Investors.

Best of Luck… Eric Foster

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

William Penn

The best thing we can do for ourselves and the people in our lives is to love them unconditionally, forgive them without reservation and to accept them exactly as they are.

Iyanla Vanzant

Time to unload and have a “Brain Dump”!

To design any good marketing plan, it simply comes down to having a bunch of ideas (the more the better) and taking the time to first organize, and then to prioritize them. 

In my last marketing tip, I spoke of how important marketing is but how it always seems to get put off, or put on the “do later” (aka: the never get done) list. Well, it’s time to change that!

The “Brain Dump”

Find, make, and then schedule the time to have 1 hour, (a solid hour) all to yourself. No noise, no distractions, no interruptions, just you, a pad of paper and a pen. And yes, I mean a pad of paper and a pen, no computer!

What you want to do at this step is sit for an entire hour (yes stay there the whole hour even if you run out of ideas) writing down every marketing idea that comes to mind. Remember, you have not completed this step until you have been thinking for an entire hour! If you get stuck, ask yourself questions to help bring out more ideas. Ask things like… “What can I do to attract more customers?”… “What marketing ideas have I seen other companies use?”… And so on.   

At this point, just write down all the ideas. Don’t judge or try to analyze them, and understand upfront that some ideas will be better than others. For now just get them all down on paper. Next, we will sort the ideas by organizing them.

Organize those ideas and thoughts

Now that you have taken an entire hour to write down every idea that you could think of it is time to organize all the ideas and thoughts. I like to have categories for the ideas such as; Newspaper, Direct Mail, Radio, Television, Realtor, Buyer and Seller Marketing etc. Simply put, create main categories and then write down each idea and thought under the appropriate categories.

Prioritize those ideas and thoughts

Next, it is time to prioritize the ideas that you now have in each of the categories. Number each of them starting with #1 as the highest priority, then #2 etc. until they are all numbered and prioritized.   

If your list seems to have too many ideas, something you can do is list two sub-categories under each category, one titled ”now” and the other “later”. This is an easy way to shorten the list very quickly to make it easier to work with. When prioritizing if you use the “now” and “later” sub-categories, for the time being only focus on the “now” items.

Once you have completed prioritizing all of your items, you can now enter the items into a spread sheet on your computer for easier prioritizing, sorting and editing later on.     

Things to keep in mind when prioritizing your ideas

• There is no perfect plan, just get started and adjust later
• Consider all money and time restraints when prioritizing the items 
• What you think is a good idea now, may become a bad idea after you try it 
• Just get started, schedule individual items and make time for their completion   

You can make this exercise as simple or complicated as you want it to be. However, the whole purpose is simply to get the ideas out and down on paper, get your juices flowing, and to just get started. You can always change your mind on things and fine tune them later.  

As an added bonus, a few other things happen when you get everything down on paper. 1) It makes things more real and you become more committed to the ideas. 2) It frees up “space” and removes clutter from the mind which stimulates new thoughts and ideas. 3) And as a side effect it can act as a stress reliever. 

Although this outline has been geared towards marketing activities, these techniques can also be used for organizing and prioritizing other things such as To Do lists, work flow, poject mnagement” and a wide variety of other things.  

Give it a try!

Eric Foster
www.BuildingMyRealEstateEmpire.com

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

Henry Ford