It’s that time of year again…. where everyone releases predictions on what to expect for the market in 2023.

Today marks the day of the Chinese New Year. This year’s totem is the water rabbit.

Well, it’s no secret to those of you that know me, that this week was way more disheartening and draining than anyone could have ever imagined.

This weekend I was in my happy place in the mountains, on the snow, planning and resetting for the new year.

It's that time of year again. The close of one year and the bright and shiny possibilities of another.

This week someone very smart asked me… “what do you do to release stress or decompress”?   I was honestly at a loss….  For my entire life I have never spent even a moment thinking about this let alone doing it. 

This week I am really trying to recenter my thoughts and my energy. Unwanted negativity, stress, and anxiousness have been creeping into my life. I’m in the middle of reading a book called “Think like a Monk”. In the book there is a section where he discusses what he calls… Cancers of the mind: Comparing, Complaining and Criticism. These three C’s are the root of negativity and rob us of our joy and increase stress and negativity..

We started the season of Advent this past Sunday. - Advent is celebrated on four consecutive Sundays, beginning on the Sunday closest to November 30 and ending on December 24, Christmas Eve. Each Sunday has a traditional meaning and prayers and readings assigned to it; they represent, in order, the Christian virtues of love, joy, hope, and peace

As we close out a week of gratitude and head into the wee hours of the year, it’s the time to question, reflect, and think about the time ahead and behind us.  I came across this question this week and it really resonated with me…

Do you have a Golden Goose? Believe it or not you actually do.

Notes that Resonated:

Mathew McConaughey is a really interesting dude.  He is a great actor but definitely not someone I would have called a thought leader.  He’s a free spirit and a fun loving guy.  Austin still has a shirt printed “bongo naked” commemorating his disturbing the peace arrest 😊

Just got back from F1 so I’m going to keep this one short and sweet…. 😊

If you have never watched F1, I would suggest you start with the F1 Netflix series and you will soon be addicted.

“The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will follow.” – General Colin Powell

“What if you committed to living your last 90 days of this year as hard as you are committing to living the first 30 days of the new year? What if instead of a downhill slide into 2023, you were ramping up!”

This weekend was a ranch weekend. Nothing like taking a couple of days to re-center and focus on where we need to go. I might be sporting a Formula one hat and a Jackson hole shirt but it was all ranch this weekend 😊 The extra quiet time helped me finish the week quietly and focus on improving personal capacity and increasing our speed of execution.

The most common thing I am hearing when I talk to loan officers and mangers today is how much they feel down in the dumps with the market.  We came off our highest high and we all got addicted to the feeling.  Now we are either looking for the silver bullet to increase production or we are soft quitting on 2022 and giving up on trying to win.  And honestly it’s up to us as leaders to help our team GET OVER THE SLOWDOWN SLUMP!

Super awesome week filled with heavenly sunsets, lessons from thought leaders and even a harvest moon lit paddle ride! 😲

The content star of the week was the book chop wood carry water.

Perspective and Mindset are the theme of the week. What you think and what you believe become who you are…