Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.
- Leonardo Da Vinci

This quote is even more appropriate since I got to see some of Leo's paintings on my visit to Paris! Thanks to those of you who answered my question on last week's postcard about where your next vacation was. Good for you for having the relaxation time scheduled. And if you haven't, my hope was to provoke you to get one scheduled!

Ah, Paris in the Spring was everything they say! The city of 8 Million was bustling, beautiful, and bright with lights. The excuse for the trip was my friend Margaret's 50th Birthday and we were joined by 16 of her friends from Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, England and France. Communing with new friends over incredibly beautifully presented meals and fine wine surrounded by Parisian sites and culture was an experience of a lifetime.

• The Eiffel Tower is BIG and it's lights at night captivating.
• Versailles is opulently huge and ornate with gardens designed to demonstrate man's dominance over nature and a hall of mirrors that amazes and more gold than I've ever seen.
• The Louvre would take a month to explore fully but I have touched the Venus de Milo (She is big too!) and walked from left to right and had Mona Lisa's eyes follow me.
• The Toiletries Gardens in front of the Louvre were blossoming and the mood was magically entrancing

We had a glass of champagne each day with lunch and wonderful chocolate (ordinary chocolate will never be the same) at Angelina's.

• My favorite museum was a small gem of 16 rooms called the Musée Jacquemart André. Built for wealthy bachelor,Edouard André, in the late 1800's and later lived in with his wife, Nélie Jacquemart, you could picture the parties and a lifestyle devoted to appreciation and collecting of art that must have been extraordinary!
• The traffic was awful and the cab drivers mad men! The Metro was faster and quite efficient. The walking was the way to go and my, did we walk (probably why I only gained 4 pounds).
• The boat ride at night on the Seine was the way to see Paris. Ah, the history!
• The Notre Dame was truly magnificent, especially the stained glass windows.

• Open Houses Make these events and leverage it by personally inviting neighbors or doing a neighborhood tour to decrease marketing costs and increase traffic.
• Staging The Home can make a big difference. Make sure that when it hits the market it is spotless and shining and all repairs and clean up is done.
• Advertise in small, targeted media. Determine the most likely potential buyer and put an ad in something they would read, such as a local paper or magazine for seniors.
• Use a Call Capture System, such as ART to differentiate yourself and double end more sales.

I meet many agents who do not take care of themselves as well as they take care of their cars!

The bigger your goals, the more energy and focus are prerequisites to accomplishment. When building a tall building, the bigger it is, the deeper and larger the foundation must be to support it. The same is true for people. So, a strong personal foundation is the support system to achieve success.

5 ways to strengthen your personal foundation:

1. Focus on your strengths Stop trying to do it all! Do the things you have a passion and brilliance for and delegate or dump the rest. Is it time to hire a Virtual Assistant?

2. Set boundaries Life is too short to work with jerks! Luckily most clients don't fall into that category, but maybe need a little coaching on your availability. Once you communicate and set boundaries with others, they will usually respect them. You may need to remind them, but most people want it to be a win/win.

3. Plan your time off and vacations first You have a business and you have a life that the business funds. Make sure you are enjoying the benefits of your hard work. Otherwise, you'll rob yourself of pleasure and probably do a poorer job for clients when you are feeling overworked or burned out.

4. Get rid of tolerations The energy draining vampires are subtle but powerful in distracting you and keeping you from being effective. Make a long list of those tolerations and start to attack a few each week. You'll be amazed at the difference this makes.

5. Enjoy Yourself One of my favorite quotes is by my husband, Bub, who says,"If you aren't enjoying yourself you are doing it wrong." I misquoted him once by saying "If you aren't having fun, you are doing it wrong" and he corrected me by explaining it was about enjoying SELF. In other words, liking the person you are and the things you are doing. Being true to your values is integral to this.

There you go.....some personal foundation building blocks. Working on which of these would enhance your joy and your life? Go for it!