Stocks surged Tuesday as Federal Reserve policymakers announced that they would keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0% to 0.25%, and that they planned to keep rates in a very low range for the next two years.

“The Committee currently anticipates that economic conditions—including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run—are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through mid-2013,” the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in its announcement.

Immediately after the FOMC announcement at 2:15 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average dropped to a low of 10,600 but recovered in late-afternoon trading to close at 11,239, up 429.92 points, or 3.98% higher. The Dow on Monday fell 634 points, or 5.6%. The S&P 500 surged 4.74% and the Nasdaq jumped 5.29%, erasing most of both indexes losses from Monday.

Seven of the 10 FOMC members, including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, voted in favor of the announcement. However, three members—Richard Fisher, Narayana Kocherlakota and Charles Plosser—voted against the action, saying they would have preferred using the same language used in the prior FOMC announcement on June 22. The prior statement didn’t name a specific period or year for maintaining rate policy at its current historic low.

The June 22 announcement said that the FOMC continues to anticipate that economic conditions “are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period.”

At the end of June, the Fed completed its second round of quantitative easing with the purchase of $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities. On Tuesday, the Fed said it would maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. It made no mention of a third round, known as QE3.

The Fed’s announcement came a day after the U.S. stock market plummeted on economic fears following the late Friday downgrade of U.S. debt by Standard & Poor’s. But the announcement, released as regularly scheduled six weeks after the prior one, was unrelated to the S&P rating action and in fact made no mention of the downgrade. Instead, it referred to earlier negative events such as the earthquake in Japan last spring and a deterioration in overall U.S. labor market conditions in recent months.

Analysts said the Fed’s economic assessment in its Tuesday policy statement was more downbeat than earlier this year.

“The policy statement accompanying today’s no-change monetary decision included a second and deeper downgrade in the Fed’s perception of economic conditions,” wrote Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist for Janney Capital Markets, in a comment on Tuesday. “Gone was the reference to ‘somewhat more slowly’ evolving growth conditions, a phrase which was replaced by “considerably slower’ growth. The statement also made reference to an outright ‘deterioration in labor market conditions,’ a factor the Fed previously cited as a reason it might move towards more accommodative policy.”

The best small mortgage company in the Grand Valley just got better! On June 13, 2011, MVM Mortgage Group merged with California based CMG Mortgage, a subsidiary of CMG Financial Services, Inc. CMG’s Website describes the company as having a “fanatical devotion to customer service,” which makes the merger a perfect match for MVM.

Owners Dave and Mandy Vindiola, and Gwen DeCino started MVM Mortgage Group in 2001 with a focus on mortgage planning. They don’t just sell loans. Their goal is to look at a borrower’s entire financial picture, including short and long term goals. After listening carefully to understand a borrower’s wants and needs, they make loan recommendations and compare products. Their goal is for people to understand how a mortgage can enhance overall financial wellbeing.

CMG Mortgage has been around since 1993 and was named one of the “Best Places to Work in the Bay Area” and one of the Bay Area’s fastest growing companies. In 2005, CMG introduced the revolutionary Home Ownership Accelerator (HOA) loan. Since then, thousands of clients in 34 states have used this remarkable tool as a cornerstone of their financial strategy. The loan was patented by CMG in 2009, and today remains the only patented mortgage product in the market place.

The Home Ownership Accelerator is how Europe and Australia structure mortgages. It saves thousands of dollars on interest and allows people to pay off their mortgages is a much shorter time if they have good financial management skills. For the right client, it is a powerful wealth management tool.

MVM Mortgage Group has been working with CMG to offer the Home Ownership Accelerator loan in the Grand Valley for several years, and the opportunity to merge with CMG allows them to expand the number of loan products they offer while staying focused on their number one value, customer service.

The new Grand Junction branch of CMG Mortgage will have all the traditional loan products, including FHA, VA, 15 and 30 year fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgages. What sets this small company apart is their commitment to helping borrowers understand the product they are purchasing.

You can find CMG Mortgage at their same location – 321 Rood Avenue in downtown Grand Junction – and at their same telephone number (970) 263-0645.. Their offices are located on the second floor of what was Sundrop Grocery and is now Grand Junction Therapies. Stop by, or look for them online at www.cmgmortgage.com.

Coming soon will be their parking lot party to celebrate the change. Event details will be announced soon!

Every now and then I come across some wise thoughts that I want to share with the people I care about.  I don’t know the author’s name, but I thank him or her for their wisdom:

 You are brave…when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.

 You are happy…when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.

 You are loving…when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.

 You are wise…when you know the limits of your wisdom.

 You are true…when you admit there are times you fool yourself.

 You are alive…when tomorrow’s hope means more to you than yesterday’s mistake.

 You are growing…when you know what you are but not what you will become.

 You are free…when you are in control of yourself and do not wish to control others.

 You are honorable…when you find your honor is to honor others.

 You are generous…when you can take as sweetly as you can give.

 You are humble…when you do not know how humble you are.

 You are merciful…when you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself.

 You are beautiful…when you don’t need a mirror to tell you.

 You are rich…when you never need more than what you have.

 You are you…when you are at peace with who you are and are not.

Do you have some “You are…” wisdom you’d like to share?

Givers Gain, is the two-word condensation of the Golden. This law has been expressed in many ways:

“As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”

“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

“What goes around, comes around.”

In my experience whatever I want in life, it seems I get it faster when I focus on giving it, or helping others get it first.

If I want love, I receive love when I give it.

If I want money, I get it when I focus on helping others get it.

If I want a great connection to another, I get it when I focus on giving them my full attention, focusing on them and what they care about.

This law applies equally well with referrals. If I want people to be comfortable referring the people they care about to me, I first must be comfortable referring the people I care about to others.

It struck a cord with BNI (Business Networking International) and has been their philosophy since shortly after their inception in 1985.

I love the thought that when I am giving referrals to others, I’m modeling the behavior I want them to follow as well. I become the giver and the getter!

Getting a mortgage in 2011 is a little more complicated than it has been in the past due to the challenging economy and increased government regulation of the mortgage industry. In fact, it’s like a giant hurricane has swept through the housing and mortgage markets, leaving chunks of debris and danger in its wake. But never fear; that’s why I am here! As your Certified Mortgage Planning Specialists, Our role is to walk by your side, be your personal guide, and set you up for success every step of the way. Here are a few of the challenges that we will tackle together as we navigate the danger zone known as the 2011 mortgage process!
New Good Faith Estimate
The US government has created a new version of the disclosure form known as the Good Faith Estimate (GFE). The old GFE itemized all your closing costs and illustrated your “cash-to-close” – the amount of cash you would need to bring to the closing if you are buying a home, or the net proceeds you would receive at the closing from a cash-out refinance. The new GFE lumps in your closing costs under certain categories instead of itemizing them, and does not illustrate your cash-to-close. Also, if the seller is paying closing costs or points on your behalf, this is not reflected on the new GFE. In other words, it will look as though you are paying these fees even though the seller is paying them.
As your Certified Mortgage Planning Specialists, MVM Mortgage Group goes above and beyond the government’s minimum requirements for our clients. In fact, we have created special systems and easy-to-understand forms to help illustrate the total costs associated with the loan options available to you. Please contact us for more details.
New Appraisal Guidelines
Most mortgage loans these days are either insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This means that mortgage banks and brokers need to follow the rules set by Fannie, Freddie, and the FHA. In 2009, Fannie and Freddie adopted new rules surrounding the home appraisal process. In 2010, the FHA followed suit and implemented many of the same guidelines. What this means for you is that the appraisal process is going to be more stringent and inflexible, costly, and time consuming than it has been in the past.
In fact, many appraisals are now conducted by appraisers who may not live in your community, resulting in value estimates that may not agree with your own opinion of what your home may be worth. Also, many appraisals now go through multiple layers of screening and are handled by Appraisal Management Companies, resulting in higher costs and fees. Finally, loan originators are prohibited in most cases from ordering appraisals or discussing home value with appraisers. Even so, it is important to keep in mind that an appraisal is simply somebody’s opinion of what your home would sell for in today’s market. You and I are entitled to disagree with the appraiser and have a different opinion, but the lending guidelines that we need to follow require us to use the appraiser’s opinion when calculating your loan amount and strategy.
As your Certified Mortgage Planning Specialists, our commitment to you is that we will help you understand the appraisal report once it is completed. If there are any errors, We will do what I can to get them corrected. Most importantly, we will work hand in hand with you to adjust the mortgage strategy as necessary if the appraiser’s opinion of value comes in below what you or I think your home may be worth.
New Disclosure Rules
The US Congress has enacted some new laws, and the Federal Reserve Board has issued some new guidelines that could delay the loan process. For example, if the APR on your loan changes by more than 0.125% before the closing, the lender needs to issue new disclosure forms and give you time to review the new forms.
Here are just a few examples of what could cause the APR to change:
• You decide to lock in your interest rate or get a rate lock extension
• You decide to reduce your loan amount
• You are getting an adjustable rate mortgage and the index value changes
• Your credit score changes before closing, resulting in a higher rate or higher fees
• You decide to pay more or less points than what you initially requested
As your Certified Mortgage Planning Specialists, our commitment to you is that we will help you avoid costly delays to the best of our ability by planning with you ahead of time and setting you up for success. While we I can’t control everything that happens during the loan process, we do have the experience to know what pitfalls to look out for and help you plan accordingly.
Higher Credit Score Guidelines
As stated above, most mortgage loans these days are either insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This means that mortgage banks and brokers need to follow the rules set by Fannie, Freddie, and the FHA – all of whom have issued stricter credit scoring guidelines. I know it sounds ridiculous, but if your credit score is less than 740 (gasp!) you may get hit with higher fees if your loan is being sold to Fannie or Freddie! Most of my clients are responsible individuals who take pride in paying their bills on time and maintaining a good credit rating. However, many Americans have recently been hit with unexpected financial difficulties due to the challenging economy.
In fact, many credit card companies have reduced the credit limits on accounts that have never even been late. This is causing credit scores to go down across the board for people who have never been late on any payments in their life! If you fall into this category, or if you have some challenges with your credit score, you may get hit with higher costs when it comes to getting a mortgage. As your Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist, I will work with you to evaluate your options and point out strategies and ideas for increasing your credit score and getting a great deal on your mortgage.
Please contact us at MVM Mortgage Group for more information on any of these items and how they may impact your situation. As always, we are here for you every step of the way. Together, we will make getting a mortgage in 2011 a very rewarding experience for you and your family!

Remembering?

I know we are already into February, but the new year is still fresh, and I am running across gems of information on setting goals, making resolutions, visualizing what you want – good New Year’s stuff.  So happy New Year again!

Setting goals and visualizing what you want are good tools for moving into the New Year.  But I recently ran across another innovative way to think about achieving your goals – Remembering!

Very much like the process of pretending it has already happened (a process taught by Neville Goddard), in the remembering process you go way into the future, past the completion of your goal.  From that place you try to remember how you accomplished it.

This process is also like visualizing, except wanting it implies that you might not get it. Whereas remembering implies that it has already existed for some time.  Remembering engages another part of your brain, and has certainty about it.

“It is easier to remember than to create!”

You can play with this process by asking questions!  “Do you remember what first inspired you to write your best selling book?”  “What do you remember doing next?”  Remember the time of year, the smells, and sounds, and feelings you were experiencing, what others were saying to you about your success. Pull others into the fun by having the conversation with a friend, as you both remember your wonderful achievement.

Basically here is the process:

1)    Remember the thrill of accomplishing your goal. 

2)   Then play with remembering how you accomplished it. 

Watch for Dan  Barrett’s book about this concept when it comes out, it is his idea that I “borrowed” to share with you.

I remember how much you loved this process, and that you used it a lot, and brought Dan’s book and loved it!  Remember?

Warmly,

Gwen DeCino

Once upon a time, in America, the bankers were wealthy, the people were healthy, and the politicians were stealthy. Then we came to the land of Great Financial Crisis in the year two thousand and seven. The bankers were hated, the people felt cheated, and the politicians stayed crooked.
The great Federal Reserve decided to convene in their laboratory to see what could be done. After months of laborious tinkering, they created a magical potion known as “QE” (short for “quantitative easing”). The first batch of the magical potion was unleashed on the people in the year 2009. Mortgage rates went from 6.25% to 4.5% and the US economy avoided a Great Depression. Then, toward the end of the year 2010, the great wizards of the Fed unleashed the second batch of the magical potion and called it QE2. Mortgage rates began to tremble, and the American people began to murmur. That is where our story begins…
Inflation vs. Deflation
The Federal Reserve is required by law to encourage stable economic growth while preserving “monetary stability”. Monetary stability simply means that the Fed should not allow too much inflation or deflation in the economy. Inflation is when the dollar loses value because it costs more to buy goods and services today vs. last year. For example, if it cost $10,000 to buy a car last year, and $12,000 to buy the same car this year, that is inflation. The purchasing power of your $10,000 lost value. Too much inflation is bad for the economy because it makes it very difficult for people and businesses to budget, plan for upcoming expenses, and pay their bills due to the cost of living increasing so quickly. This is what our country experienced in the 1970s.
On the flip side, deflation is when the price of goods and services in the economy goes down, and the purchasing power of the dollar increases in value. For example, deflation is when it only costs you $8,000 to buy the same car that cost you $10,000 last year. It seems that deflation is good, because prices are coming down, right? Wrong. What if you are the one trying to sell the $10,000 car? Not only do you keep losing money on paper as the price goes down, but buyers stop buying because they know they can get a better deal if they wait.
Deflation is bad for the economy because employers lower their wages, buyers stop buying, and the economy slows down considerably. This is what happened to our country in the 1930s. In fact, during the Great Depression, our country experienced deflation of around 30 percent.
Question: So, if inflation is bad, and deflation is bad, what is a good?
Answer: A little bit of inflation — say, around 2% per year.
Let’s think this through together
If prices go down by 2% a year, is that good or bad for the economy?
Bad; this is because we are all getting 2% poorer every year. We would hoard our money, and not buy cars or houses or anything else, because everything we buy will lose value. You see, even small amounts of deflation can be very bad for the economy because it becomes a vicious cycle downward.
On the other hand, what if prices go up by 2% a year? Sure it may cost us a little more money to live every year, but the values of our houses, our investments, and our incomes are also going up. This is good. We are all essentially getting 2% richer every year. Not a bad deal.
That is exactly what the Fed is trying to accomplish. They want the economy to grow by around 3% every year, and they want inflation to average around 2% every year. Right now, inflation is averaging around 1%, and in recent months, it actually hit 0% on a month-over-month basis. This is dangerously close to widespread deflation in the economy. Remember, deflation is what we experienced during the Great Depression.
Quantitative Easing (QE)
The Fed is prescribing a medicine called “quantitative easing” (QE), because they don’t want deflation in the economy. QE is when the Fed increases the “quantity” of money in the economy by creating more “bank reserves”. For example, if Bank A has $1 billion deposited with the Fed, the Fed credits Bank A with having $2 billion in their account by buying an extra $1 billion of Bank A’s Treasury securities (government bonds). Sometimes the Fed buys the government bonds on the open market from banks and financial institutions who own them, and sometimes the Fed buys the government bonds directly from the government. Remember, the US Treasury has a “bank account” with the Federal Reserve, and the Fed can loan money to the government by creating more reserves in the US Treasury’s bank account.
QE Stimulates the Economy from Two Directions
The Fed used QE in 2008 and 2009 by purchasing over $1.5 trillion government bonds and bonds backed by home mortgages. As a result, home mortgage rates declined from 6.25% to around 4.5%. The economy grew slowly as many banks avoided bankruptcy and some businesses grew. We avoided widespread deflation and another Great Depression. Remember the fear and panic of the fall of 2008 when everyone thought the entire economy was going to crash? Our country came out of that scary period relatively intact. In fact, the stock market has gone up over 70% from its lows of March, 2009.
Much of the low interest rates we are seeing today and the fact that we have successfully avoided another Great Depression has to do with the Fed’s first dose of QE medicine. Now, the Fed is injecting us with more QE medicine. This time around, it is being called QE2 — because this is the second dose.
What does all this Mean for Your Mortgage Rate?
Your mortgage rate is determined by the mortgage bonds that trade in the bond market. During QE1, the Fed purchased $1.25 trillion of mortgage bonds. This drove down mortgage rates significantly. During QE2, the Fed is purchasing $600 billion of government bonds (Treasuries). Therefore, mortgage rates are not likely to drop by another 2% like they did during QE1. However, mortgage rates may be very volatile as the bond market digests the Fed’s QE2 medicine.
Imagine that mortgage rates are like a ship sailing in the ocean. During QE1, the Fed was not only impacting the water level of the ocean, but they were actually sailing the mortgage rate ship, and directly lowering mortgage rates by investing $1.25 trillion in mortgage bonds. Now, the Fed has changed identities from being a sailor of the ship, to simply adjusting the water levels of the ocean where the ship is sailing. In other words, the Fed is impacting the general bond market with QE2, and the mortgage rate ship will rock back and forth as the market reacts to the Fed’s QE2 medicine over the coming weeks and months.
For example, in the week immediately following the Fed’s announcement of QE2, mortgage rates shot up dramatically because the bond market in general was afraid that QE2 might cause too much inflation down the road. You see, the short term side effect of the QE medicine is likely to be very favorable for the economy. However, nobody really knows the long-term impact of QE, and whether future Fed officials will have the discipline to wean the economy off the QE medicine. That’s why the bond market and mortgage rates are very volatile right now.
As a Certified Mortgage Planning SpecialistTM (CMPS®), I am committed, qualified and equipped to help you navigate the turbulent mortgage market, evaluate your options, and make smart choices. Contact me for more information about what the Fed’s QE2 medicine means for your individual situation!
David Vindiola, CMPS®

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was in the news again last week as he spoke at the Kansa City Fed’s Annual Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Mr. Bernanke went as far as to say that the Fed will do what it takes to support an economic recovery, but didn’t hint if the Fed will need to act. Mr. Bernanke said that the Fed did favor additional purchases of long-term securities.
“In particular, the Federal Open Market Committee is prepared to provide additional monetary accommodation through unconventional measures if it proves necessary, especially if the outlook were to deteriorate significantly,” Bernanke said.
The economy has been slowing since the middle of the 2nd quarter and the recovery that began in March of 2009 is showing signs of stalling. With interest rates near zero the Fed may not have many bullets left to combat the slow down.
However, many economists believe that despite the report the Fed still has some ammo left to fight the downturn. The most obvious strategy is that the Fed could purchase longer term securities. Another tool would be lowering the interest paid on excess reserves, which may influence banks to lend out more or its money.
A final tool would be signaling that the Fed will keep short term interest rates close to zero for longer than what the market currently expects, or for an “extended period.”
As far as the labor markets, Mr. Bernanke said that the unemployment rate is expected to fall “slowly” in 2011. The housing market took a noticeable downturn in July with homebuyers moving to the sidelines after the expiration of the tax credit. We will have to wait to see if the housing numbers for August improved.

Did You Know?
CNN reports that the current economy is the biggest stress on married couples in the past 60 years.
With that said, be sure to take the time to acknowledge the good in your life and thank the loved ones around you.

Life is so interesting. I often hear people say how much they enjoy sitting at the airport or the mall and simply watching other people live their lives. I believe that we are so interested in watching others because we ourselves are searching for something. Searching for what makes others happy so perhaps we can become happier. Maybe, we a stuck in a rut and aren’t quite sure how to get what we want out of life so we look to others for a glimpse of hope. I have always wondered how we know for sure if we have found our calling in life. You will sometimes hear people say, “This is what I put on this earth to do”. How do they know this? How do you find your true calling or your true passion in life? There is already enough stress in our lives, how do we have time to find the one thing we were put here to do. Well, I found this article a while ago and I like to revisit it, because for me it has made the daunting task of finding your true passion in life a little easier to swallow. I have included it in this months blog in hopes you enjoy it and perhaps it will help you get that much closer to finding your true passion in life.
By Frederic Premji
According to a recent survey, about 75% of the population do not know what their true passion is. Clearly, almost everyone seems to not be doing what they were meant to do. This is an eye-opener because doing what we really love is absolutely necessary if we want to be fully happy. Perhaps this is why there is so much unhappiness going on in our society, people just aren’t doing what they are here on Earth for. Finding your true passion isn’t as simple as it may seem. For some, yes it does come naturally, but most of the time, you have to ask yourself some questions to pinpoint exactly what you were born to do. Here are my 7 questions that can guide you to finding your ultimate passion:
What puts a smile on your face?
Is there a particular event, a particular topic that makes your whole face just lighten up? Whatever it is that makes you smile, and makes you happy whenever you encounter it, this is a sign of something you are passionate about. I truly believe that happiness and passion walk hand in hand. Both require each other. So following what makes you truly happy is a wonderful way to figuring out what you were put on Earth for. Think about something that you do or that perhaps you used to do that brings total peace to you when you do it. Peace is happiness, and happiness is passion.
What do you find easy?
Usually, what we find easy for us to do, will be related to what we are passionate about. It’s very hard to hate something that is very easy for us! For example, let’s say you are naturally good at playing the piano, you will find the activity easy, and this ease makes it much more fun for you. Fun leads to happiness and happiness is synonymous with passion. So assess everything that you do, whatever it is that you find really easy and fun, this may very well be your passion. And don’t think that anything is off limits or silly. Some people have taken their passion for skateboarding, drawing, or collecting to full fledged careers. Remember this, you can make a career out of anything you are passionate about.
What sparks your creativity?
One of my passions growing up was hockey. It’s not too surprising, being Canadian and all, but I remember playing for hours and hours, and always coming up with different plays, and different methods to score goals. I was always full of creativity when playing hockey. Later in life, I developed similar creativity in business. Think about something in your life where you seem to always expand its horizon, always coming up with new, fun, and exciting ideas relating to that subject. Whatever makes you creative, is probably something that you are very passionate about.
What would you do for free?
In this society, we are ruled by the almighty dollar. That’s the way the system works, and that’s the game we have to play. The problem is, this leads many people to seek making money first, instead of what makes them happy. I have read countless number of stories about stock brokers and doctors for example, leaving their high paying positions to follow what they really love. There is a reason for that. I truly believe that if you follow what you are passionate about without thinking about if it will make you rich or not, you will end up being successful. Doing what you have a passion for brings out your best, and this leads to greatness. Greatness breezes to success. Do you think that the most successful people in the world got to where they are because they wanted to get rich? Absolutely not, they did what they were so passionate about, and their immense success was just a byproduct of their dedication. So think about something that you would just love to do, even if you were not getting paid. Think about something that you look forward to do, something that you wish you could do all the time.
What do you like to talk about?
The topics of conversation we have can definitely tell what we are interested in, and this is a good way to find out what we really enjoy in life. Most of the time, we aren’t totally aware of this. This is why, a very good way to figure this out properly, is to ask your friends. Ask them what they believe you like to talk about the most. Ask them what topic makes your eyes brighten up, and changes your entire behavior. I can guarantee you that some of their answers will be surprising to you. Some of these things weren’t that clear to you, but your friends can see the reaction on your face that you can’t see yourself. Try it out, it’s a very insightful exercise, and one that can direct you closer to figuring out your passion.
What makes you unafraid of failure?
When we do what we are passionate about, we have total confidence in our abilities. This makes us not worry about failing, because in our mind, how can we fail when we do what we love? Doing what you love is a success in and of itself, so failure is like an impossibility. Think of something that you just do or want to do, no matter what. Something that you do not have second thoughts about. Think about something that you feel you must do and that failure is not even a concern of yours, because the mere act of doing it is like the journey and the destination all wrapped up in one. This may very well be your true passion.
What would you regret not having tried?
We all have these dreams, and somehow, life pushes us in another direction, and next thing we know, we are far from those dreams we used to have. If you were at the end of your life, what would you regret not having pursued? What would you have liked to do, that you didn’t get a chance to? Think about what that might be. Whatever it is that you may experience regret now or later on for not having tried, this is a good chance to be your true passion. There is nothing worse than arriving at the end of the journey and having regret. This is why finding your passion, and following it is so important. Live your life so that you do not have regrets.

This past weekend, I spent some time at a friend’s cabin near Estes Park. It is a peaceful setting in a beautiful valley, surrounded by Ponderosa and Blue Spruce. It was a weekend that could have easily been booked with activities, but I found myself alone and enjoying nature and the quiet.

As my mind raced to list the things I “could” be doing – writing this letter, visiting a friend, answering e-mail, I finally settled upon just sitting and enjoying the precious quiet.

I realized how long it had been since I had just stopped and paid attention to my inner world, my inner voice.  Here are my best excuses for not taking the time to be quiet – you may recognize one or two:

• I’m too busy to take the time
• I get bored, I need to do something more “productive”
• What’s the point – where’s the value
• It seems like just a waste of time

In spite of all the reasons not to, when I do take the time I have found so many benefits to the quiet that allows listening to my heart’s wisdom:

• Being quiet slows down your racing energy from the tasks of the day
• Being quiet actually helps you solve the problems that are taking up so much energy
• Time to be quiet slows down reactivity – helps you be more measured when there are crisis situations
• Taking time to be still gets your body’s rhythm back in sync…you’ll feel more calm and centered
• Being quiet allows access to your creative voice – good for business and personal life
• Being quiet helps you focus on what you want, not what you don’t want
• Allowing quiet time gives you emotional relief from the daily static and stress of your life.

This habit of taking time to be quiet should be as automatic and as important as sleeping or brushing your teeth – so why don’t we do it daily? 

It’s our choice…choose to put aside time to be still and to listen to and respect your inner wisdom and watch your life improve.  I love the thought that I can choose to take time to be quiet every day!