Cold Turkey

Going cold turkey generally refers to stoping a bad habit quickly and suddenly. It is usually in reference to quitting smoking or drinking. Tony Robbins famously says that it is in our moments of decision that our destiny is shaped. Or as Yoda says ” Do or do not, there is no try”.

With some habits there is no shade of grey, you either do it or you don’t. So it is really up to us to decide if that habit serves us or not. If it doesn’t then it may be time to drop it and replace it with a better one. I mean that because bad habits must be replaced by something if the change is going to stick for the long term.

We live in a vacuum so if you stop watching 3 hours of tv every night, you will need to find something else to fill that same amount of time. It’s best to pick something new that will serve you instead. My dad smoked for years and whenever he tried to quit he would always pick up drinking pop or eating candy bars. Thus these new and equally destructive habits didn’t help him and he would fall back into smoking. So find something positive that will change you for the better.

I recently gave up surfing social media, yes cold turkey. I had not planed it in advance I just did it when I realized that 5 mins of scrolling would lead to 45 minutes of productivity lost and nothing learned. So I channeled that into reading more, and am now on my 10th book of the year. Find something destructive that you could switch out for something constructive.

Today I am thankful for the chocolate challah bread that my wife brought home this morning, lessons learned from reading a biography of one of the greatest minds to have ever lived and for that Etta James song stuck in my head.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

First Things First

There is a reason why the flight attendants recommend that in the event of an emergency that you put your mask on first. This is because in order to help others you must first learn to help yourself. While you may think that this is contrary to how it should go, it actually makes sense.

You can’t help your loved ones financially if you yourself are in need of financial assistance. It is almost impossible to calm down a situation if you yourself are not under control. How the heck can you help those around you with their health if yours is in a state of disrepair. Do as I say an not as I do is not an answer.

Learn to take care of yourself first so then you can help those around you. Have at least 30 minutes of “me” time every day just so you can properly meet the stresses of the day. Pay yourself first from every pay cheque so you will have some for the rainy days ahead. Lastly but mostly importantly take good care of your health as we are here for a short time not a long time so do your best to make every second count.

Today I am thankful for the beautiful sunrise I saw in Halifax while walking my dog at 6am today, flexible lending policies from lenders so files can get closed and past clients with more projects.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Upset win

Well the underdogs came through big time yesterday. CODA the little picture that could came out on top when it really mattered. Also the Canadian men’s soccer ( football for everyone else) team won to qualify for the world cup later this year. Both monumental wins as it was the first win in the best picture category for a streaming service and the first time in 36 years ( and only the 2nd time at all) that the Canadian men’s team qualified for the world cup.

We all love it when the underdog overcomes overwhelming odds to win. Here are a few examples to jog your memory. When Leicester City over came 5000-1 odds to win the Premier league in 2016. When unseeded Boris Becker wins Wimbledon in 1985. Lastly when unknown John Daly won the US PGA Championship in 1991.

When underdogs win they can teach us a few things:

  1. Teamwork is important and that no individual person can do it all alone.
  2. Having the motivation and passion to be the best that you can be.
  3. It all starts with the belief that you can over come the odds and do it.
  4. Behind every so called overnight success is a strong work ethic and persistance.
  5. Lastly the ability to pick yourself up after your have encountered a setback and push through to the end.

Sure it’s exciting watching great teams set records but after a while you want to see someone new win, this is why it is always fun and exciting to root for the little underdog. Your story is not done so there is still plenty of time left for you to come out on top.

Underdog

I have to confess that I don’t watch a lot of TV. When I do it tends to be Hockey a documentary or a fun movie. Last night I stumbled upon CODA on Apple TV +. Mostly because I had heard that it was in the mix for an Oscar and that it was billed as an easy feel good movie that was fun to watch. This is vs Power of the dog which my wife watched and told me that it was supremely acted but very dark. While I get enough of the dark watching the news lately I didn’t really feel like investing 2 hours of my life watching it, thus leaving me angry or depressed.

This has nothing to do with Apple vs Netflix or traditional movie studio vs streaming, in my mind it is all about the perceived front runner Power of the dog with 193 wins leading up to the Oscars today vs CODA with 32. To me this is the David vs Goliath battle. It is just as similar as rooting for Canada to snag a berth in the world cup of Soccer this evening as well.

It is fun to go for the plucky underdog compared to the established player. This may be also why I get a feeling of excitement when I have been able to secure a client away from one of the big banks. A file or two does not mean much to the big five but they do matter to me. Think of it as supporting a local business vs a large chain store. All the profits stay in the community as compared to disappearing on their corporate balance sheet.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Long Term Thinking

Too often I find that people look at situations or problems based on their short term inconveniences or immediate benefits. Thus you see people wasting their pay check just after they have gotten paid by going on a shopping spree, a night on the town or a fancy vacation on credit. All these things may give you good feelings over the short term but don’t help you at all if your long term goal is financial stability.

The same applies if your goal is getting and staying healthy. Sure that donair may taste good today but if you eat consistently bad over time you will never achieve the results that you want.

The trouble is that our hedonistic society wants pleasure now and all the time. They don’t want to put in the work but want the immediate benefits. Sadly there is no magic pill for success or for the perfect body for that matter.

To be smarter, you must love to read more than you enjoy watching TV. To be healthier you much first suffer through the workouts and eat healthy. To be financial free, you must lear to pay your self first and then invest that for the long run.

We must all learn to be uncomfortable doing uncomfortable things. Paying yourself first means that you can’t hit the town every pay day or take those fancy vacations but when you are older you can do that while everyone else is still working. So think of the long term benefit while you pass up the immediate gain. Work harder now so you can play that much more later.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia Brokerage (2021-3000179) Broker (2021-3000180), Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Doom Scrolling

Doom Scrolling or wasting your life away on social media. Thanks to Apple’s screen time feature I had discovered that although I was working 10-12 hour days I was still loosing way too much time to social media. You see a few minutes to see what your friends and family are up to can lead you down of rabbit hole and 45 minutes later your commenting on the latest crisis du jour and now your productivity is out the window.

So a few months ago I decided that I was no longer going to scroll endlessly on social media. I still have my accounts but I only check them when I get up at 5am and have them open just long enough to clear out any notifications and that’s it. I still love the idea of social media to help connect us to those around us. However the darkside has also turned me off.

Here is an example and you can extrapolate it how you like. Say that you are into works of art and really love Monet, suddenly your feed is full of his works of art and groups to join and you’re able to connect with lots of like minded people. However this is really limiting as well as what if you also like Renoir, Picasso, Dali or Van Gogh, but the Monet people that you have connected with only like Monet and that’s it.

Finding a difference of opinion is really the spice of life. We can’t be all of one and none of the other. There is so much going on in the world and it’s best to approach it with an open mind. Social media, as good as it gets tends to group us around similar interests and that is far too limiting. So if I am not commenting on your latest cat photo, your vacation selfie or any number of your special occasions it’s not that you’re not important to me it’s just that I am no longer scrolling my life away.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Spring has Sprung

As of 12:33 Atlantic Standard Time Spring 2022 has officially arrived. Now for longer days, better weather, the sounds of the birds and more listings for all the people who want to get into the real estate market. I am certain that the first three will be here in no time at all, it’s the last one I am worried about.

Right now it’s the historically low inventory that is pushing prices to historic levels. As much as the central banker want to believe the raising interest rates will cool the market, I believe the tipping point will be when more people start to sell and the price wars start to simmer down.

In the mean time enjoy the nice spring weather. If you are a home buyer just keep trying as long as you persist you will have a chance to become the winning bidder.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Dig Deep

There are times in life when we are digging our selves into deeper debt or we are digging deep into our reserves of courage and determination to prevent that from happening. It really is a fine line between either one. All it takes is the confidence to know that we can do it. Getting into debt over your head is fairly easy thing to do, working your tail off to pay it all off takes some hard work but it is definitely worth it in the end.

So decide right now which direction you want to go. One will open multitudes of options for you but the other one will make you feel trapped and not knowing which way to turn. I know which way I want to go. Dig deep and give it your all.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

St Patrick’s Day

May the luck of the Irish be with you all day today. It’s the one day of the year when you can have your green beer and shamrock shakes ( are they still a thing) and celebrate all things Irish.

Also since it is St Paddy’s day, here is an Irish blessing for you.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here

Relax

Stress effects us all in different ways. As I just recently discovered. The last few days I have had a pain in the right side of my jaw. I booked a time with my family dentist only to discover that the muscles and tendons in my jaw were overly tight. I didn’t think I had any cavities as I’ve never had any but was surprised to hear being stressed and tense could cause jaw pain.

So as a result here are some things that could help you relax.

  1. Go for a walk in the woods
  2. Get a massage
  3. Do a workout
  4. Talk with a loved one
  5. Have a pice of dark chocolate
  6. Have a cup of green tea with honey
  7. Do a short meditation
  8. Close your eyes and count 10 deep breaths
  9. Get some sunshine
  10. Get or give a hug to a loved one ( the dog works too).

I look forward to hearing from you in regard to your mortgage needs.

Patrick

p.s- You can click on this link to start the process whenever you are ready. Schedule your meeting with me here.

p.s.s- I should tell you that I am licensed in Nova Scotia, Ontario(M18001555) & in British Columbia(BCFSA #504098).

p.s.s.s You can download my new mortgage app here