It’s been an interesting year, 2011. We continue to live in hectic times—a turbulent and uncertain economy, and the ongoing war on terrorism. Our individual and collective losses have been staggering. But, throughout it all—and perhaps despite it—we’ve witnessed countless examples of the resiliency of the human spirit; evidence of the abiding faith, buoyant optimism, and incredibly strong senses of caring and community that define our great nation.

As I start yet another year…I find myself reflecting on my own many blessings— loving family members, continuing good health, reasonable financial success, and many truly wonderful friends and associates. I know that I’ve been very, very fortunate in this life experience and I plan to continue paying it forward every day that I’m on this earth.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson I’ve learned in my life journey so far is this: Life is short, fleeting and entirely uncertain. Having dealt with my own challenges, I would strongly recommend that you recognize and appreciate all of the small things that are very ordinary, but very sacred.  I’ve learned not to be complacent about good fortunes, like health, freedom, mobility, opportunity and more.  And most importantly never, I never want to miss the opportunity to tell  friends and loved ones how much I care and appreciate them and all they do.

It seems somewhat trite to talk about living life differently. I think we all struggle at doing the best we can in the moment. That said, however, it does seem that with a plan, focus and action items, we have a stronger probability to get to a “new” and “better” place we chose to be, rather than settling for the security and comfort of “the same”.

I’m not giving up the fight!  Let’s continue the goal to become a better person, wife, husband, friend, family member, influencer, leader, guide, confidante, and helper…whatever the choices.  Here are a few simple questions to ask:

• How do I plan on getting what I really want
• What will I do differently in this moment to live the life I envision?
• What will I do to build and design a legacy that goes beyond my lifetime to help others on the lessons’ I’ve learned on my own journey?
• What will be the one activity I do every day to carve out a little bit of joy and happiness and peace for myself, no matter what the circumstances?
• How can my own energy positively impact another in some small way…even a total stranger?  A smile, a laugh, opening a door…you know the drill…
• What time will I invest in me to become more of what I desire to be?  Expanding your knowledge and wisdom comes with the investment of some kind of purposeful activity like taking a class, reading great books, finding a mentor….time!

Simple questions require a little thought and a mechanism to keep you focused so you can execute what you will need to do to get to that “new and better place”.

It does start with gratitude for where you are now. When you are grateful for the present, no matter what, you set yourself up for getting more of the good stuff. This is a time to recognize our many blessings. I’m recognizing mine and thanking you in advance for being your best you. I wish you joy, and love, and prosperity. But most of all, I wish you peace and joyright now and all year long…
and that this will be the year, you live your best life!

Terri Murphy

Okay…it’s Thanksgiving once again.
Plans for turkey, travel and thanks and giving can be heard in passing conversations…
But let me ask you a question…
How truly “grateful” are you for the ordinary?
Unfortunate as it is, as humans, we get caught up in the doing versus the being and often overlook the supreme gifts of the obvious…
• How about being able to gulp and enjoy a cool glass of water?
• The freedom of using your body to get from place to place without assistance or equipment?
• How about being able to speak any words, especially the words, “I love you”?
• Enjoying the simple act of eating and swallowing to ease the pain of hunger?

Unless you’ve spent a little time in a hospice facility lately, we can’t appreciate the gifts of health and freedom. We hear it all too often that if you have your “health” you have it all, and I painfully know how true this statement is. My wish for you is that in this moment you celebrate these extraordinary but simple gifts, especially today. Until we’ve lost them, or see someone we love who have lost them, we can’t fully embrace the true “presents” that they are. What are you especially grateful for this Thanksgiving?

The research confirms it!

It’s all about being MOBILE! With Smartphones always online and always available, you’ve got to be ready to serve 24/7 and that includes serving customers and clients on the run.

Pew Research surveys reveal that 1 in 3 mobile searches are local, texting rules, and sending photos, posting to social media sites and accessing information rates as the highest of activities. What this means to agents is that getting into NOW requires the right marketing systems tools and services to meet the ever growing expectations of real time demands.
The challenge is to figure out just where you need to spend your marketing dollars without breaking the bank!
Every business entrepreneur needs office tools to help them compete and win in the marketplace, but smart entrepreneurs get more for their money when they do a little research to get products that save money and time, and produce high quality results.

So the days of buying some “office equipment” are long gone and “multi-tasking high results equipment” is in!

I was fortunate to work with Kodak in 2011 and learned about some great products they offer that helped make our 2011 more successful. Here are a few tips to get you in the game:

1) Get Mobile! To WOW your customers, you have to be a virtual wizard. Printing is now available using cloud computing thanks to wireless advancements. The latest innovation in cloud printing is the Kodak Hero Office 6.1 printer available for under $200. Imagine you are with a customer and need to get the contract printed for the attorney or for the company The Kodak Hero Office 6.1 provides a virtual print service to print emails, documents and photos from basically anywhere using your Smartphone, iPad or tablet. The cartridge refills are under $30 and the ability to print in advance from anywhere offers great service options and time savers.
You can remotely send documents or photos to your printer and have your documents waiting on your printer when you got home or back to the office!

2) Scan and Save: Scanning is the new standard for saving and organizing files and documents. Not only does it save from storing heavy paper files, it preserves documents for easy retrieval from multiple locations. Many scanners are bulky and heavy, but not the new Kodak i920 Scanner. Similar to the previous model, this latest version is half the size and you can hold it in one hand! It’s less expensive and priceless when it comes to organizing files, scanning sale documents and preparing a “packet” of documents for a new customer. It provides high speed scanning of 20 pages per minute; 2-sided full color, with image stabilization, and will convert files to PDF. Flexible and powerful, this incredible software handles file management, and handles any size paper including contracts or business cards.

3) Online Video: Mashable reports that 90% of all internet content will be video in the next 12 months. Cisco estimates 82.5% of the U.S. audience viewed video online, so it is imperative that agents deliver relevant, timely information that people want to watch.

Today’s consumer is less interested in static photos, and more interested in authentic video clips of you, your products or services and how they might fit into their lifestyle with information and real time reporting. Kodak’s easy to use Playtouch video camera is the size of your cell phone and a powerful tool. Video is king, but only if it has superior audio. Look for a video camera that includes: an external microphone jack (this is critical when shooting testimonials), high definition 1080P, and easy to use editing software…and, go with a trusted name in cameras! Check out the Kodak Playtouch video camera that does this and more!

Marketing and connecting require the ability to connect anytime from anywhere. Get the products and services that help you become the agent of choice!

Bio: Terri Murphy is an author, speaker, communication consultant, and e-Strategist. She is the author of 5 books, including one with Donald Trump. She is the Pres. of Terri Murphy Communications, Inc as CIO of U. S. Learning in Memphis. email: Terri@TerriMurphy.com

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