My website for ordering my personal books has been temporarily closed. I am reconstructing the site with a more user-friendly host as the current site is not the easiest to work with. Requires transferring the domain name and I am adding some new wrinkles. My books can still be ordered through CreateSpace or on Amazon.com. They are available in paperback or as an EBook. To order from CreateSpace you can click on the following links:
Every Day Leadership
http://www.createspace.com/3534026
One Day With Two Leaders
http://www.createspace.com/3529718
To order from Amazon.com you can order direct at Amazon.com or you can click on Lano's Books and Goods to the right.
Remember it is What you do Everyday That Counts!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Growing to Greatness
As many of you know I am a firm believer that you can not shrink your way to greatness. To become great as a company and as an individual you have to grow your business and grow as an individual. You are either growing or you are standing still and the pace of change is such that you will be left behind if you don't keep growing. As a result of that, along with some recent changes in my life, I am developing rapid growth plans for my insurance business.
I am looking outside the normal, traditional banking channels to raise expansion funds. Much like a company may offer debt obligations, I am offering a Promissory Note program where my business, Stephens Insurance Design Group, LLC, (SIDG), will issue a Promissory Note in return for small business loans from individuals or organizations. I am offering a 5% interest over a 3 year monthly payback with a minimum loan amount of $250.00. Currently, I have no maximum but the offer is going to be goos for a limited time only!
Please let me know if you would be interested. You can contact me at lane@sidgaz.com or by
phone 480-227-5754.
It Is What You Do Every Day That Counts!!!!
I am looking outside the normal, traditional banking channels to raise expansion funds. Much like a company may offer debt obligations, I am offering a Promissory Note program where my business, Stephens Insurance Design Group, LLC, (SIDG), will issue a Promissory Note in return for small business loans from individuals or organizations. I am offering a 5% interest over a 3 year monthly payback with a minimum loan amount of $250.00. Currently, I have no maximum but the offer is going to be goos for a limited time only!
Please let me know if you would be interested. You can contact me at lane@sidgaz.com or by
phone 480-227-5754.
It Is What You Do Every Day That Counts!!!!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Housing Challenges Still Loom in Several States
There was a very good article on Yahoo this week from Michael B. Sauter at 247wallst.com about the percentage of homes under water on their mortgages!
The article indicates that 22.8% of mortgaged homes in the country are under water. That is almost one in four. The article goes on to list the top 10 states with mortgages under water based on Corelogic's negative equity report.
Nevada is #1 on the list. Note that almost 2/3 of the mortgages are underwater! In fact, the amount owed on all homes in Nevada is greater than the value of the homes!
The state I live in, Arizona is #2 on the list. 48.3% of houses are under water! Almost one out of two houses are under water!
The positive in this is now might be a good time for all of you folks wanting to have a winter second home to consider Arizona. Houses are going for 50% on the dollar in some spots. Weather is great so come see the state, spend some money to help us get the economy going and take one of these significantly reduced houses and call it your own. In every recession (depression???) some people emerge better off than they were because they were employed, making money and had cash. Cash is still King. Key to financial success: Buy low and sell high!
I do want to remind folks that only a small percentage of these houses that are under water are due to what one could classify as LIAR loans or 110% loans or NINJA loans. (For those who who don't know what Liar Loans are they are mortgages that were approved without requiring proof of the borrowers income or assets. The worst of those loans are called Ninja Loans for no income, no job, and no assets.)
Only a small percentage were overly aggressive lending in my opinion. Only a small percentage are due to unemployment or being unwilling to do every thing they can to stay in their houses and not walk away. The majority of the people who are feeling this negative impact are hard working people who tried to do the right thing by continuing to pay their mortgages and other bills.
As I have written and said many times before, sometimes, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished!
I will use myself as an example. Michele and I borrowed only 70% of the appraised value of the house. Not 80, 90 or 100 or even 110%. 70% so we should have had 1/3 equity remaining in the house. To obtain the loan, we produced income tax reports, employment verification, copies of all financial accounts such as IRA's, 401K's, bank statements, etc. We worked hard continuing our pursuit of the American Dream. That home was going to supplement our retirement. Little did I know after doing all that we could that the house and the challenges that we did not create would not supplement our retirement but instead jeopardize it.
We are in process with a short sale that represents 51% of that appraised value. So borrowed 70%, selling it for 51%.
We are not alone. I hear horror story after horror story here in Arizona. These are not people who were duped. They are victims of people who did behave badly and actually committed fraud in the mortgage meltdown. They are victims of the people who just said screw it and walked awey. They are victims of large financial institutions that made Liar Loans and Ninja Loans their market niche. Keep selling the bad mortgage packages over and over. Who will ever catch us at this?
Okay. Enough negativity for today. My primary purpose in writing this is to make sure every one understands that when you start seeing all of the wonderful positive spins about how the economy is turning around, remember not everyone is participating in the recovery.
Remember to learn some lessons the easy way and not the hard way which seems to be the way that I learn them the best unfortunately. Pay attention to what has happened to others in this period. Learn from them. I use John Wooden's quote a lot, "It is what you learn after you know it all that counts!" It has never been more true than today!
What have I learned? I have learned a lot.
1. Keep your expenses low. You never know when this stuff is going to happen. You never know when you or your spouse are going to have medical issues or a parent or child needs some financial assistance.
2. Cash is King. Do your best to have access to cash (not under the mattress cash) to keep you going for a long time in case you become unemployed or unfortunate circumstances overtake you.
3. You can not save too much money.
4. Make sure you have adequate medical insurance that includes supplemental coverage like cancer coverage and medical gap coverage that covers things your medical insurance does not.
5. Don't think it can't happen in your neighborhood. It can and it did.
6. While I always knew real estate was a risk/reward situation I had never been in area that experienced this until now. Even if your neighborhood has never been hit, it can happen to you.
7. For me, housing decisions will no longer be based on how big I can get or how much money I can make. It will be based on how I like the house, it's livability, it's location, and the ability to fit it into my budget without requiring me to spend every waking moment trying to pay for the mortgage and to make the property more valuable. I am sure one day people will make money on housing again. That would be a happy side benefit.
There are other lessons I have learned but I have made this posting longer than I intended.
It is what you do everyday that counts!
The article indicates that 22.8% of mortgaged homes in the country are under water. That is almost one in four. The article goes on to list the top 10 states with mortgages under water based on Corelogic's negative equity report.
Nevada is #1 on the list. Note that almost 2/3 of the mortgages are underwater! In fact, the amount owed on all homes in Nevada is greater than the value of the homes!
The state I live in, Arizona is #2 on the list. 48.3% of houses are under water! Almost one out of two houses are under water!
The positive in this is now might be a good time for all of you folks wanting to have a winter second home to consider Arizona. Houses are going for 50% on the dollar in some spots. Weather is great so come see the state, spend some money to help us get the economy going and take one of these significantly reduced houses and call it your own. In every recession (depression???) some people emerge better off than they were because they were employed, making money and had cash. Cash is still King. Key to financial success: Buy low and sell high!
I do want to remind folks that only a small percentage of these houses that are under water are due to what one could classify as LIAR loans or 110% loans or NINJA loans. (For those who who don't know what Liar Loans are they are mortgages that were approved without requiring proof of the borrowers income or assets. The worst of those loans are called Ninja Loans for no income, no job, and no assets.)
Only a small percentage were overly aggressive lending in my opinion. Only a small percentage are due to unemployment or being unwilling to do every thing they can to stay in their houses and not walk away. The majority of the people who are feeling this negative impact are hard working people who tried to do the right thing by continuing to pay their mortgages and other bills.
As I have written and said many times before, sometimes, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished!
I will use myself as an example. Michele and I borrowed only 70% of the appraised value of the house. Not 80, 90 or 100 or even 110%. 70% so we should have had 1/3 equity remaining in the house. To obtain the loan, we produced income tax reports, employment verification, copies of all financial accounts such as IRA's, 401K's, bank statements, etc. We worked hard continuing our pursuit of the American Dream. That home was going to supplement our retirement. Little did I know after doing all that we could that the house and the challenges that we did not create would not supplement our retirement but instead jeopardize it.
We are in process with a short sale that represents 51% of that appraised value. So borrowed 70%, selling it for 51%.
We are not alone. I hear horror story after horror story here in Arizona. These are not people who were duped. They are victims of people who did behave badly and actually committed fraud in the mortgage meltdown. They are victims of the people who just said screw it and walked awey. They are victims of large financial institutions that made Liar Loans and Ninja Loans their market niche. Keep selling the bad mortgage packages over and over. Who will ever catch us at this?
Okay. Enough negativity for today. My primary purpose in writing this is to make sure every one understands that when you start seeing all of the wonderful positive spins about how the economy is turning around, remember not everyone is participating in the recovery.
Remember to learn some lessons the easy way and not the hard way which seems to be the way that I learn them the best unfortunately. Pay attention to what has happened to others in this period. Learn from them. I use John Wooden's quote a lot, "It is what you learn after you know it all that counts!" It has never been more true than today!
What have I learned? I have learned a lot.
1. Keep your expenses low. You never know when this stuff is going to happen. You never know when you or your spouse are going to have medical issues or a parent or child needs some financial assistance.
2. Cash is King. Do your best to have access to cash (not under the mattress cash) to keep you going for a long time in case you become unemployed or unfortunate circumstances overtake you.
3. You can not save too much money.
4. Make sure you have adequate medical insurance that includes supplemental coverage like cancer coverage and medical gap coverage that covers things your medical insurance does not.
5. Don't think it can't happen in your neighborhood. It can and it did.
6. While I always knew real estate was a risk/reward situation I had never been in area that experienced this until now. Even if your neighborhood has never been hit, it can happen to you.
7. For me, housing decisions will no longer be based on how big I can get or how much money I can make. It will be based on how I like the house, it's livability, it's location, and the ability to fit it into my budget without requiring me to spend every waking moment trying to pay for the mortgage and to make the property more valuable. I am sure one day people will make money on housing again. That would be a happy side benefit.
There are other lessons I have learned but I have made this posting longer than I intended.
It is what you do everyday that counts!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Know When to Hold 'em and Know When to Fold 'em
As many of you know, our greatest strengths can beome our greatest weaknesses! Many of you on this distribution list worked with the late Tom Rand, a brilliant and genuinely nice man who helped Unum and many other companies develop their leadership talent. In my Rand profile, as we called his evaluation of our leadership skills, Tom would point out that I was very persistent, never gave up, and did not know when to quit! His point to me was that was not always a good thing.
While persistency is one of the keys to being successful in my now humble opinion, the events of the last 4-5 years have driven home the fact that one of my greatest strengths, my not giving up, has been a weakness in what has been a dreary economic climate. I refused to believe that the housing market in Paradise Valley, Arizona, would take more than 5 years to turn back in the right direction. Up until about three months ago, all indications pointed to the fact that our house value was still greater than what we owed on the mortgage.
We have battled and scratched and clawed to continue making the house payments on our house. After all we had only borrowed 70% of the appraised value of our mountain-side lot and this was Paradise Valley, a community that had never experienced anything resembling a turn down. No way this mortgage meltdown and financial meltdown would send the values down more than 30%.
I was wrong. I am also painfully reminded of one of my favorite quotes that I use a lot. John Wooden said, "It is what you learn after you know it all that counts." Turns out I was not as smart as I thought I was when it came to real estate. Perhaps I have to look in the mirror and question had I become arrogant? Did my arrogance lead me to take steps to keep that mortgage current that make it so much more difficult and longer to recover? We all know how dangerous arrogance can be.
I am happy to report that we have finally received an offer on our house. It is 55% of the appraised value on the house in early 2007. That appraised value was before we finished the remodel by the way.
I am grateful that we finally have an offer for the house and I am reminded of the Kenny Rogers song The Gambler, and the famous line of "Know When to Hold 'em and Know When to Fold 'em!" Hindsight is 20/20 and hindsight says we should have folded a couple of years ago. It is what it is so it is time for me to absorb the lesson and begin moving forward! I am still sober and healthy which means I can and will come back strong.
As you can see on the right hand side of this blog. I have started a twitter page and I am just beginning to tweet! You can sign up as a follower to receive the tweets by going to @dlanestephens. Once again, humble beginnings. For those of you who know I can become quite verbose, the good news is that tweets are limited to only 140 characters!
It is what you do everyday that counts!
Lano
While persistency is one of the keys to being successful in my now humble opinion, the events of the last 4-5 years have driven home the fact that one of my greatest strengths, my not giving up, has been a weakness in what has been a dreary economic climate. I refused to believe that the housing market in Paradise Valley, Arizona, would take more than 5 years to turn back in the right direction. Up until about three months ago, all indications pointed to the fact that our house value was still greater than what we owed on the mortgage.
We have battled and scratched and clawed to continue making the house payments on our house. After all we had only borrowed 70% of the appraised value of our mountain-side lot and this was Paradise Valley, a community that had never experienced anything resembling a turn down. No way this mortgage meltdown and financial meltdown would send the values down more than 30%.
I was wrong. I am also painfully reminded of one of my favorite quotes that I use a lot. John Wooden said, "It is what you learn after you know it all that counts." Turns out I was not as smart as I thought I was when it came to real estate. Perhaps I have to look in the mirror and question had I become arrogant? Did my arrogance lead me to take steps to keep that mortgage current that make it so much more difficult and longer to recover? We all know how dangerous arrogance can be.
I am happy to report that we have finally received an offer on our house. It is 55% of the appraised value on the house in early 2007. That appraised value was before we finished the remodel by the way.
I am grateful that we finally have an offer for the house and I am reminded of the Kenny Rogers song The Gambler, and the famous line of "Know When to Hold 'em and Know When to Fold 'em!" Hindsight is 20/20 and hindsight says we should have folded a couple of years ago. It is what it is so it is time for me to absorb the lesson and begin moving forward! I am still sober and healthy which means I can and will come back strong.
As you can see on the right hand side of this blog. I have started a twitter page and I am just beginning to tweet! You can sign up as a follower to receive the tweets by going to @dlanestephens. Once again, humble beginnings. For those of you who know I can become quite verbose, the good news is that tweets are limited to only 140 characters!
It is what you do everyday that counts!
Lano
Friday, January 6, 2012
Once again we have a New Year that we can all face with anticipation and determination to make this year a rewarding and satisfying year! Eugene Ware, American Lawyer and Poet said that "All glory comes from daring to begin!" If you don't take that first step of attaining your goals and aspirations, you will never achieve them!
Wayne Gretzky, the great hockey player, has said "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!" I hope you take your shots in 2012!
Many people feel the anticipation and the excitement of a chance to start anew! Unfortunately, obstacles and roadblocks will appear during the year and many people can lose sight of their goals and that can easily dampen their enthusiasm and their resolve. I am reminded of a quote from Vince Lombardi the famous former NFL coach of the Green Bay Packers..."The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure!" These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."
I hope you will dare to begin your quest, that you take your shots, and that you remind yourself each day that it is your spirit, your will to win, and the will to excel that is important!
And.....remember to do it Every Day! it is What You Do Everyday That Counts!!!!!
Lano
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
As we put say good bye to 2011 and head into 2012, I wanted to share one of my favorite quotes from the late Jim Rohn, a business philosopher, whose work included Leading an Exceptional Life.
"There are two ways to face the future. One way is with apprehension; the other is with anticipation!"
I once heard a Jim quote that has always stuck with me, "the expression is an apple a day keeps the doctor away: not a Hershey Bar a day keeps the doctor away!" Eat the apple, not the candy bar!
I hope you are anticipating greatness in 2012!
It is What You Do Every Day That Counts!
Lano
As we put say good bye to 2011 and head into 2012, I wanted to share one of my favorite quotes from the late Jim Rohn, a business philosopher, whose work included Leading an Exceptional Life.
"There are two ways to face the future. One way is with apprehension; the other is with anticipation!"
I once heard a Jim quote that has always stuck with me, "the expression is an apple a day keeps the doctor away: not a Hershey Bar a day keeps the doctor away!" Eat the apple, not the candy bar!
I hope you are anticipating greatness in 2012!
It is What You Do Every Day That Counts!
Lano
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Lano's First Book
I hope all of you had a Great Holiday Season and that you are off to a great 2011!
Many of you know that I have been working on writing a few books. Between working at my day (and night and weekend) job in building an insurance agency and writing the books, I have not had any new postings since mid-year 2010. I wanted to but as we all know we have to draw priorities as to where we spend our time.
I am happy to let you know that my first finished book is now available on Kindle as well as in paperback. The links to ordering the Kindle version as well as the paperback on Amazon are to the right. If you want an Ebook but don't have a Kindle, you can download Kindle readers for your PC as well as for your BlackBerry and IPhones. I am in the process of selecting a printer for traditional bound books. (Kindle Ebook is $7.95 and the paperback is $12.95) You can also order the paperback versions at CreateSpace.com or the Kindle Store
I have actually finished a second book but it needs a bit more tweaking. I anticipate that being available sometime in February or early March.
As you probably know by now, the book publishing business is going through enormous change right now and the margins for publishers are very thin. Given that I have never been President, ran for President or Vice-President, been a first lady or first man, or been caught doing anything scandalous, it is difficult to get the traditional well-known publishers to even read my information, much less agree to pay an advance or publish my book. I am sad to say that my advance of zero dollars is significantly below that of the advances that Mr. Obama, Mr. Bush, Ms. Palin, Ms. Clinton, Mr. Clinton, etc. etc. received. Thankfully we now live in a time where technology allows anyone to be able to publish their work. Given this is my first attempt at formatting and publishing, I hope you will be forgiving of any small formatting glitches you might run across. Judge the book on the content and the ideas and realize that my formatting skills will get better.
Many of you have heard me say many times that I feel a book or a meeting is successful and worth the money if I receive at least one good idea that makes me money or saves me time. My goodness, if people don’t think they get at least $8-$13 worth of value from this book, I need to rethink how I am spending my time and perhaps play more golf or take up painting.
It is a very quick read on purpose. No one has time to spend reading a long book. It is not deep and theoretical. It is simple and easy to follow which can be viewed as key for a leader…keep it simple and be easy for your people to follow!
For all of you that I have worked with I want to say thank you. I have learned something from each and every one of you. If you are wondering whether you were an example of a good leader or a bad leader, just remember, a bad leader can still be a great example as you will read in the book… Only you and your results can answer the question of which one were you???? (As the younger generation usually texts at this point…LOL… I am only kidding. Of course you were one of the good ones. You would not be on this distribution list if you weren’t usually an example of the good one.)
Many of you know that I have been working on writing a few books. Between working at my day (and night and weekend) job in building an insurance agency and writing the books, I have not had any new postings since mid-year 2010. I wanted to but as we all know we have to draw priorities as to where we spend our time.
I am happy to let you know that my first finished book is now available on Kindle as well as in paperback. The links to ordering the Kindle version as well as the paperback on Amazon are to the right. If you want an Ebook but don't have a Kindle, you can download Kindle readers for your PC as well as for your BlackBerry and IPhones. I am in the process of selecting a printer for traditional bound books. (Kindle Ebook is $7.95 and the paperback is $12.95) You can also order the paperback versions at CreateSpace.com or the Kindle Store
I have actually finished a second book but it needs a bit more tweaking. I anticipate that being available sometime in February or early March.
As you probably know by now, the book publishing business is going through enormous change right now and the margins for publishers are very thin. Given that I have never been President, ran for President or Vice-President, been a first lady or first man, or been caught doing anything scandalous, it is difficult to get the traditional well-known publishers to even read my information, much less agree to pay an advance or publish my book. I am sad to say that my advance of zero dollars is significantly below that of the advances that Mr. Obama, Mr. Bush, Ms. Palin, Ms. Clinton, Mr. Clinton, etc. etc. received. Thankfully we now live in a time where technology allows anyone to be able to publish their work. Given this is my first attempt at formatting and publishing, I hope you will be forgiving of any small formatting glitches you might run across. Judge the book on the content and the ideas and realize that my formatting skills will get better.
Many of you have heard me say many times that I feel a book or a meeting is successful and worth the money if I receive at least one good idea that makes me money or saves me time. My goodness, if people don’t think they get at least $8-$13 worth of value from this book, I need to rethink how I am spending my time and perhaps play more golf or take up painting.
It is a very quick read on purpose. No one has time to spend reading a long book. It is not deep and theoretical. It is simple and easy to follow which can be viewed as key for a leader…keep it simple and be easy for your people to follow!
For all of you that I have worked with I want to say thank you. I have learned something from each and every one of you. If you are wondering whether you were an example of a good leader or a bad leader, just remember, a bad leader can still be a great example as you will read in the book… Only you and your results can answer the question of which one were you???? (As the younger generation usually texts at this point…LOL… I am only kidding. Of course you were one of the good ones. You would not be on this distribution list if you weren’t usually an example of the good one.)
Seriously, thank you for all that you do and have done for me and I hope everyone has their best year ever in 2011! It is what you do every day that counts!
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