Oprah Winfrey said, "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."

What fun I've been having! I celebrated my birthday 6 times! Thank you if you were one of the wonderful people who emailed, sent cards or presents. Wow! I can’t remember being so touched by love. Lily & her mom took me to a High Tea.

I am exquisitely aware this year of how precious the relationships in my life are and how much joy they give me every day.

I am not the only one who is having some extraordinary fun celebrating. Two very good friends of mine are celebrating 50th Birthdays with some real flair and creativity. Last weekend Bub and I drove to Phoenix at the invitation of my friend Judi Pine-Sellers. For her birthday, she created the Judea awards (à la the Academy Awards). We were greeted with a red carpet leading into her house & paparazzi and video interviews! Then a photo with Judi! She created a ceremony & gave gold Statuettes to the attendees while acknowledging each person for what they had contributed to her life. What an awesome party! It was a perfect example of what we always are talking about when interacting with clients or consumers-if you make it about them, they love it! Thanks Judi for creating something to make the people in your life feel honored!

My friend Margaret Krigbaum has invited me to celebrate her birthday this year with a week in Paris! They'll be about 25 of us from all over Europe & the US. I’ve never been to Paris, so this is doubly exciting for me.

As the years go by, the sad fact that fewer of my friends are here to celebrate their birthdays is pervasive. Maybe, there is some truth to “only the good die young!” or not…. Certainly, I intend to celebrate every single one as a triumph. Every day above ground is a good one! Yes, I have more wrinkles but my joy of living hasn't diminished. I've just had to give up striving to look like a hotty......

Taking better care of my body and psyche have increased in importance. I pretty proud that I've lost over 20 pounds and begun a nutritional eating plan to keep me very healthy + full of energy. I’m feeling great.

Several years ago, I participated in a triathlon and stretched my ideas of what I could do physically. It was a challenge, but I completed it and raised $7000+ for the Liver Foundation, with the help of many of you. But running is really not my thing.

I’ve gotten inspired again! Last year, I read Shirley McClain's book The Camino in which she chronicles her 500 mile walk across Spain. My friend Curtis Hall took off last Spring to walk the Appalachia Trail. A walkabout…now, there’s something appealing! Sooooo, here's what I am planning: to walk from Mexico/AZ to MT/Canada for my 60th year.

You'll be hearing more about this, but I thought I'd let you in on it early because I'm open to lots of input on it.
My other reason to share this, is to ask you to look at what would give your passion? Is there a dream you have that you could get into action on? It saddens me when I think of some of the friends I’ve had that were waiting to really live someday when circumstances were different and never got the chance. The ones that died with their music still in them! What do you want to do that will make your soul sing?

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. - Abraham Maslow

The 1st Quarter of 2006 is gone. How did you do? If you don't know, here's what you need to do: today, either take the time to work on this or put a time on your calendar this week to take a look. When you created your business plan for 2006 (if you haven't done this yet-you should order my Awesome Year Plan), you created some strategies based partly on last year's results. Much has changed in many parts of the country since 2005. Re-strategizing regularly can get you to your goal.

Here are some suggestions to leverage your results in this area:

1. WHERE ARE YOU? In looking at your 1st Quarter figures, are you on target, behind or ahead? Is your average price per unit where you projected it to be? What do you have in the pipeline for next quarter?

2. WHAT'S WORKING? Where has each transaction come from this year? Are these results in line with your strategies or unexpected?

3. WHAT'S NOT WORKING? Did your plan and strategies project results from sources that have not come to fruition? Are you getting fewer responses to your advertising and/or marketing?

4. WHAT HAS CHANGED? Review the MLS stats for the 1st Quarter of the year. Compare to the 1st Quarter of 2005. What do these numbers tell you about who is buying and what is selling? In our Tucson market, inventory is up over 120% (3000 last year vs. 7300 this year) however the number of closed units has continued at near record levels. What is happening in these two areas in your market?

5. ARE YOUR STRATEGIES ALIGNED WITH THE CURRENT REALITY? Are there some new strategies you should implement? Perhaps, shifting the focus from listings to buyers? Or holding open houses once again? What changes in the market are an opportunity for your strengths?

6. REVIEW what is and isn't working with your marketing plan and budget. Determine if your marketing plan is still on target bringing you the prospects you need. It is a good idea to spend more where you are getting results and less (or none) where you are not getting results.

7. WHAT'S NEW? Is there new technology, systems or tools that will give you better results? A quarterly review of what the competition is doing is also useful. Only spend money here if it makes sense with marketplace changes and the strategies you see that are now the best ones.

I believe you should spend a half day each quarter asking yourself these questions and redefining your business. Otherwise, your plan is just a wish and you're leaving it to luck whether you can attain the goal you want. You have 75% of the year left to play your best Game!