Are you thinking everyone knows that ? I would say knowing and applying are two entirely different things. Everyone knows that it takes hard work to accomplish just about anything but how many people apply it ? There are many opinions on how someone should live their life including how they should worship, the education they should have and the career path they should follow.

Many of us are influenced by our parents , grandparents, siblings and the environment we grew up in. What is the secret to living life to the fullest ?

Older people believe they know more than younger people and younger people think older people have no idea of what’s going on in their lives and couldn’t understand it if they did. With today’s technology old axioms are being shattered by internet billionaires in their 20’s and the baby boomers watching their retirement dreams fade as they struggle to keep up with a world changing with the speed of light.

With all the information in the world readily accessed at home by computer professionals once respected and trusted are challenged by customers, clients and patients that seem to and quite possibly know more than them.

Whole industries are being stood on their proverbial ears by technology that can change the way a whole business or industry operates. The internet is like the ocean with each tide and wave bringing something new that could radically effect all of our lives in a heartbeat. If you are in business , ignoring it can mean failure and bankruptcy. If you are an employee your job can be gone tomorrow.

Taxes and the pay government employees receive have both gone so high that disposable incomes have shrunk almost eliminating the middle class and making it impossible for small business’s to compete for quality employees. There is not a country in the world whose economy is not struggling to stay on solid financial footing. There is a lot of stress out there and we all have to deal with it.

That in a nutshell is life in today’s world . What is the solution as it relates to you as an individual. We all have similar problems, money (Most of us anyway) illness (If not us someone we know or love) death (Loved ones pass away) employment and responsibility for others as fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, grandparents and yes employers.

We all have to deal with life’s everyday problems and deal with all this change. That is life today as we know it and we have no choice but to live it. The choice we do have is how we live it and how we adapt to it. We have to take control of our lives and embrace change not resist it. Resisting is wasted energy . Things are going to change whether you resist or not.

I am a 60 year old man in the real estate business. I embraced the internet from day one. My knowledge of the internet and internet marketing has given me a competitive edge in my service area. In my service area I have about 40 local competitors. 58% of the local business goes to the near by city . That leaves about 42% of the local market served by local agents. There are about 250 listings locally and I have almost 100 of those listings.

The largest Re-Max operation locally has about 100 agents(Includes all their agents not just those in my area) . My company website gets twice the traffic as theirs. The largest local Century 21 company has about 50 agents(Includes all their agents not just those in my area). My company website gets about 5 times the traffic as theirs. (Note: This is based by traffic comparison on Alexa the recognized source for traffic stats on the internet.) I tell you this not to brag but to demonstrate how important it was for us to adept to change to survive in business.

Was it hard ? Yes .Was it a lot of work? Yes. Was it worth it ? What do you think ? Are we continuing to adapt and change ? Everyday , every hour and every minute. Are we learning new things ? Constantly . Is everybody in real estate doing it ? I was talking to one of those Re-Max agent the other day who informed out of 1135 licensed agents in our association 928 didn’t do 3 deals in 2010. These were figures provided by her management and I have no reason to doubt them. I relate this conversation to prove my point. Life is passing these people by.

There are two facts to every life. Number one . We are born. Number two. We all die. (Sorry but that’s how it works) Life is what we do in between. Time is the most precious asset you are given in this life. Time to learn, time to play, time to work , time to love , time to succeed , time to fail , time to overcome, time to rest and time to sleep. Are you getting my point. You are not living your life if you are wasting your time. Those 928 agents (Now some may be new and still learning) but based on those numbers over 80% of the people are wasting their time. I believe that ratio is probably true of society in general. Over 80% of people waste their time.

They do not lead productive and fruitful lives. They do not live life to the fullest. Please do not misunderstand me here. I am not talking about monetary success. I am talking about at the end of your life being able to look back and say. Ah, life I have lived you and I have no regrets.

Remember that environment we are raised in impacting on our lives. Well I was raised to believe we work hard and do everything we can for our family and loved ones. That was what my mother taught me. Have I done that ? Yes to the best of my ability with many sacrifices made along the way. Do I have regrets ? Many including spending more time with loved ones before they passed , spending more time with my kids when they were young, spending more time with my wife traveling while we were young and I wish I had been more successful in business. Do you see the paradox . Do you see how many times I mention time.

All the money in the world won’t buy you more time at the end of your life. I know that but still I wish I had been more successful in business. Without meaning to preach In the book of Job in the Bible he says wisdom is fearing the Lord and understanding is avoiding sin. Ecclesiastes tells us life itself is meaningless we live and we die. What we do between those occurrences we are to do with all our might. These are the simple rules I live my life by. I have to be honest when I admit it took me 60 years to realize that those were the rules I had been following as I searched for answers through many of life’s trails and tribulations.

As in any relationship God and I have had many disagreements. All the time the answers to my questions could be found in that old book written 2000 years ago as man was inspired to ask the same questions and receive the same answers. There are some things that the internet has not changed. As I learn and adapt I can rest and mend my spirit by letting someone else carry the load.

Many people ask me when will I retire ? I simply say “When the Good Lord retires me” until then I have a life to live, battles to fight and mountains to climb. I fully intend to continue with all my might. I think if I were to live another life I would love to be an artist . Ah Maybe next time around. Remember you are born with a treasure chest full of time. Spend it wisely and live life to the fullest. It is your Life You do have to live it.

God Bless

Luke Oct 27^th 2010