Compass to Success

New Year’s Resolution: Become A Homeowner!

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

sparklers

Image source: Marisol Casben

Its that time of year again when everyone is setting their sights on new goals. From being healthier to save money to try new things, January 1st is when we all want to set ourselves up for a successful year.

One major goal many people have is to become a homeowner. This is a huge goal but very attainable. With Hall Financial, we can make it very simple and easy for you to obtain a mortgage.

Here is a step by step list of everything you need to make your homeownership dreams come true:

  1. Obtain preapproval from Hall Financial, you will need:
    1. Two years of W2s
    2. Your most recent pay stub
    3. Two months of bank statements
    4. Copy of driver’s license
    5. Credit Report
  1. Start house shopping
    1. Need a realtor? No problem, Hall Financial has preferred partners.
    2. Find a house. Put an offer in, and get it accepted!
  1. Loan documents
    1. Sign all documents
    2. Obtain homeowner’s insurance and provide to your processor.
  1. Closing
    1. Review closing documents.
    2. Schedule closing with your processor.
    3. Confirm closing date, time, and place with your realtor and processor.
    4. Sign all final documentation.

Enjoy your new home!

Advertisement

3 Reasons Why Waking Up Early Puts You Ahead

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

Alarm

{Image source:Julian Hochgesang}

We’ve heard the saying, “the early bird gets the worm” but how true is that? While the idea behind getting up early and getting a head start on your day is accurate… it’s more about what you’re plan of action is and how you maximize each minute! Here are 3 reasons why waking up early puts you ahead.

Discipline

Waking up early is hard! Who doesn’t want to lay in their warm and comfortable bed for just a little bit longer each day? But, developing the discipline to get out of bed early, will serve you well! Learning discipline in all areas of your life will greatly benefit you but, learning to discipline your time, will be a game-changer.

Productivity

Sure, you have the same 24 hours in a day as every other human on this planet, but do you sleep/lounge the day away like most? The key to waking up early is having something to wake up to do! Planning your day, the night before and having a routine, will ensure you are maximizing every minute.

One Step Ahead

Simply put, as an early riser you are one step ahead of the crowd. While everyone else is sleeping, you are planning your day, crossing off your daily task and strategically thinking of your next move. You can get into the office sooner, so you don’t have to worry about loud coworkers and other distractions.

Live On Real Estate’s 100th Episode!

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

LORE Logo

It was a big week here at Hall Financial. Our in-house podcast, “Live On Real Estate” recorded the 100th episode on Wednesday! Hosts Patrick Ali and Chris Puzzuoli sat down with David Hall our owner, CEO, cheerleader, mentor and occasional host from time to time.

Top 3 Quotes from DHALL himself:

  1. Life is short… and I want to WIN!
  2. “If you aren’t embarrassed by your first launch, you launched too late”
  3. Being impatient for results… makes for a great CEO

Here at Hall Financial, we came from humble beginnings. David worked hard in his career. He came to a point where he wanted to take everything, he liked about the companies he has worked for and created a platform (company) for those who wanted to learn and grow in a fast-paced environment. He didn’t want to do what others were doing.

This year one of our major goals is to reach 1000 5-Star reviews by the end of 2019, and eventually reach 10,000! Why? Because we breathe MORE PERSONAL ATTENTION. It is our mission to make sure our clients are well educated and feel comfortable with huge financial transactions. Currently, we are at just over 700 5-star reviews, which puts us well on our way to this year’s goal!

You are in for a treat with this episode, you will hear David be more candid and transparent than you ever have before! Click the radio below to listen to the 100th episode!

LORE Radio Blog

You’re Always Auditioning

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

All hail to sails

Source: Canva

We’ve all heard the saying “first impressions are lasting impressions” and that couldn’t be truer. Think about a moment you really wanted to amaze someone you were interacting with for the first time. Whether it was an interview, an audition, a team try out, or even a first date you made sure you were putting your best foot forward, and that you were READY.

You arrived 15 minutes earlier, ready to impress and to display your passion for the potential opportunity. Knowing how important this moment was, you went above and beyond to leave a great impression and to secure your spot. Think about all the things you did to outshine your competition and make yourself stand out.

The trap that many of us fall into is letting our guard down once we’ve been awarded the opportunity we worked so hard to get. Huge mistake.

The truth is, the way you conduct yourself after the gig is yours, is what determines the level of success you will reach. You need to keep the same level of enthusiasm and crispness that got you in the door, to begin with. You have to remember; people are ALWAYS watching you. You don’t have time to rest on your laurels!

If you make it a habit to continue to shine and outwork the hardest working person in the room, when new opportunities for advancement arise, you will always be the obvious choice.

 

Living With Intention

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

live with intention

Sourced: Pinterest

Have you ever started driving and then suddenly you stop and ask yourself “HOW did I get here?” Do you feel like you are just going through your daily motions as if you were sitting in the back seat of your car? If you said yes to either of these questions it’s pretty safe to say you’ve experienced “operating on auto-pilot”.

For some, it’s a survival mode after a traumatic experience. For others, it’s simply not knowing how or even what living with intention means, and a big portion of that boils down to lack of self-awareness.

What is self-awareness? Self-awareness is the “conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires”. Being self-aware helps you know your strengths and weaknesses, along with allowing yourself the freedom to be in touch with your feelings but not allowing them to control you (to an extent). We can achieve being self-aware by making conscious choices and being an active participant in our own lives.

Are you wondering how you start?

Start small – ask yourself why you take the route you do for work? The answer could be as simple as “it’s the most time efficient route” – and that answer is great! Asking yourself “why you do what you do” gives you a reason (motive) behind your choices.  While you are asking yourself that question about your choices, start thinking about where you see yourself in 5 years and the potential tasks/decisions it will take to get there. Are your answers lining up with your choices? If not, it may be time to be a little more intentional with your decisions.

A few tips on being an active participant in your life:

  • Take care of yourself
  • Dream & make a plan for yourself, but be open to adjusting the plan if need be.
  • Pay attention to what’s around you.
  • Rest & retreat

In a world full of cliché’s you could hop on Amazon and order yourself 20 self-help books, add 20 new motivational quotes to pin to your Pinterest board, or try 20 different yoga poses to “align your chakras” but if your motive isn’t to learn and grow to help you become more present in your everyday life. Opportunity and purpose will pass you by.

Stand Up to You. [DH Sweet 16 #16]

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

It’s sad we often define a goal as “too big”, leading us to settle for what’s easy because it’s safe. Goals that are considered “too big to achieve” are lies coming from our own worst enemy: our mind.

Have you ever stopped and thought, “What if I decided to think bigger?”

Too often people don’t realize their potential. It’s one of the many faults we have as humans. We stop ourselves short of greatness by settling for what’s easy and not looking outside of our comfort zone.

How many times have you stopped yourself from pursuing a life-long dream because it feels unattainable? How many times have you settled for mediocrity because you feel it’s easiest? That small-minded thinking will never get you farther than where you are right now. You want to be a doctor? Aim to be the chief of staff at a hospital. You want to be a writer? Aim to be an international bestseller. Want to be a good golfer? Aim to win the state championship by age 45. Want to be an amazing dad? Aim to be the Dad all the kids look up to and want to have around.

We set goals to drive our success, a source for our ambition. Make them great.

It’s like when you run 5 miles and you push like hell through the last leg, thinking that cramp in your side is too much to bear and the dehydration is almost overwhelming, but then you do it. You finish. What was the motivating factor? What pushed you to run through the agony? The answer: you thought bigger. You decided for a moment that your goal was bigger than your pain. In these tough moments where you think you can’t go on but you decide to push yourself beyond your limits, that is where the growth happens. These are the moments—when you think big—anything can happen.

It takes strength to think and push yourself to be bigger than what you’re likely capable of but nobody ever went anywhere without having grand thoughts and taking big leaps. That’s the key to success.

You have to think anyway, why not think big? Our brains are not static, we have thoughts that take up space all day. Manipulate those thoughts.

Capture111

Image via Pinterest

And that’s the epitome of David’s last Sweet 16: Think

Big. “There is always room in your life for thinking bigger, pushing limits, and imagining the impossible.” But there’s only one thing that will ever stand in your way: you. You have to be the one to choose daily that you are going to think bigger thoughts than you’ve ever thought before. You have to be the one to decide your dreams are bigger than your fears. You.

Only you.

What are you going to do today to push yourself to think bigger?

Want to be great? Aim to be the individual everyone looks up to and admires. Ready to think bigger and accomplish some even bigger goals? Send us your resume and aim to do more than you’ve ever done.

Take Care of Yourself

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

Take Care of Yourself

Source: Pinterest

I want to say this loud, and clear: self-care is not selfish.

Do not let anyone tell you that it is. Even at the most basic level, taking care of ourselves lets us be able to take care of others.
Think about the directions they give you on an airplane “In case of an emergency, please put your mask on before assisting others”.

If you have nothing left to give, how can you give your best effort? You can’t. You cannot pour from an empty cup, so you must fill your cup again. How? By taking care of yourself.

So many times we burn ourselves out because we don’t know how to say no. In our culture everything moves 100 miles per minute.
And that’s okay. It’s okay to go fast. But every so often you must stop, and take time to truly evaluate your needs.

Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to mean a day at the spa, or a vacation. Sometimes it simply means saying no to that after work get together so you can fit in some extra sleep. It can mean making sure what you put in your body gives you proper nutrition and energy. It can mean taking time to spend with your family, unattached to your cell phone. The list is endless, but you can only start checking items off if you give yourself the time.

Self-care needs to be a priority, and one you should never feel guilty for focusing on.

 

 

What to do when nothing seems to be working

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

just-keep-going-quote-3-picture-quote-1

Source: Unknown

Have you ever been working towards a goal and felt like you were just spinning your wheels? Like nothing you’ve been doing seems to be working? Let me tell you, that is normal, and it happens but don’t let it defeat your drive to complete your goals.

Here are a few things you can do when you start to feel like nothing you’re doing seems to be working!

Self- reflection

The first thing you want to do is, look at what you are trying to accomplish and see if you are taking the appropriate steps to get there. Of course, this is easier said than done. But it’s paramount for you to be transparent with yourself, and ask yourself, what am I not doing that I should be doing? What can I be better at? It’s important to have an open dialogue with yourself, without the emotions of how you “feel” things “should” be. When you’re honest with yourself, you will be able to see the bigger picture in a clear way, which will allow you to be able to develop a result producing system to achieve your goals.

What to do when you figure out what’s NOT working

Within self-reflection, you will be able to find out what has been working for you and what has NOT. Now you will have a place to start the “real” work. This is the time for you to re-work your plan and strategy. Re-organizing your priorities will help you see what is truly important and will help you know where to put your focus. But remember to slow down and not exhaust yourself with everything that is NOT working. 9/10 there are some things that you are doing right.

Get help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You don’t know everything and that is ok! Having someone you trust look over your current plan of action is a great way to get feedback and help with the direction of your process.

Keep going

Finally, even when nothing seems to be working, keep going!

Remember: The ones who win are the ones who are still there after everyone quits.

 

Big contributor, over-deliverer.

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

Big contributor, over-deliverer.

Both are descriptions of someone who is successful. But you wouldn’t waste these descriptions on the mundane, and that’s the whole point isn’t it?

To be a big contributor and an over-deliverer you can’t rest on your laurels. You must always be striving to do more, to BE more. Personally, I think to be either of these you must also be the other. You become a big contributor by consistently over-delivering. By continuously going the extra mile and thinking ahead.

over deliver

Start to ask yourself: was my work today satisfactory, or did I put forth my best effort and use every bit of my talent? Am I meeting deadlines, or am I BEATING deadlines? If this is what you strive to be, you can no longer accept on time. You must be early. That’s being a big contributor. Solving problems before they arise. Triple checking your to do list. Making sure it’s never empty. That’s over-delivering.

Think of the most successful people in your life. I bet they fit these descriptions. They aren’t striving to be typical or mediocre.  They have an uncommon desire to do more, be better and always find new ways to improve. Over-achieving doesn’t happen by accident.

I don’t strive to be ordinary. Ordinary gets forgotten and over looked. I strive to be EXTRAORDINARY day in and day out.

REJECTION: Dealing with it in Business

/ hallfinancial / Leave a comment

photo-1517918810404-ef1d308d1175

Picture source: Steve Johnson

Rejection is difficult no matter who you or where you are in life. It is tough to deal with at times, but it is inevitable. Rejection is something you will have to deal with in your career, rather you are working for someone else or yourself. Learning how to deal with rejection is a skill everyone should develop, so you won’t feel defeated when it comes knocking at your door.

Tips on dealing with rejection:

Ask for feedback

Ask the “why”. There is no harm in asking for feedback as to why you were rejected. This way, you can have a better understanding and you’ll be able to focus on how you can be better for the future.

Think big picture

A no today is not a no in a couple of years. Wherever you are today, is not where you will end up. Remember to not take a “no” personal. It may not be a direct negative reflection of what your selling or what you can offer, it may simply just be that what you have to offer does not meet a need RIGHT NOW.  Each no is one step closer to yes.

You must acknowledge and share your accomplishments

Don’t let your rejection result in defeat. Let the person or company that has rejected you know you are still hungry, successful and going to thrive. This can be done simply by continuing to push forward, move on and be proud of your work no matter what. Be relentless, continue you to grow and prosper.