Brian's Journal

Jennie Finch Leaves the Apprentice

by Brian

Sadly, on the last episode of The Apprentice, Donald fired superstar athlete Jennie Finch. Jennie joins Playmate Tiffany Fallon, Olympian Nadia Comaneci, and Rock Star Gene Simmons as the first four celebrities fired on the show.

Jennie, who is as fierce a competitor you would ever want to see on a softball field, just didn't seem to have the same fire in the boardroom. Through the first four episodes, she has remained in the background and paid for it on Thursday.

I like the the Celebrity Apprentice. If you haven't seen it yet, the winners each week get to donate their winnings to a charity of their choice. So far, none of the fired celebs have actually been the reason that their respective teams lost the task. Now that we are down to ten celebs, I expect that to change.

The girls are at a definite disadvantage having the divisive Omarosa on their team.  I would have fired her every week so far, but maybe that is why Donald Trump is at the helm and I am not. Each season he has ended up with the best as his new hire so how can you question his judgment.

The most interesting episode so far was the third episode when Gene Simmons was fired. I am a big Gene fan. As a businessman and marketer there may be no equal. I agreed with Gene that the execs at Kodak made the wrong choice when they awarded the victory to Hydra that week. Gene is only comfortable when he is in the bosses chair and rightfully so. If you haven't read his book, Kiss and Make-Up, I would suggest it. I have it on audio from audible.com and it is narrated by Gene himself. Fantastic book!

I really enjoy the tasks that are assigned and I often learn something from each episode. Still, the best season is Season One! Bill Rancic is really something. One thing I always say about Trump is that whatever he gets involved in he always adds value. The Apprentice is no exception.

Bob Evans New Coffee is Terrible

by Brian

Today I had a breakfast meeting with my preferred mortgage consultant, Will Mendoza, at one of my favorite breakfast restaurants, Bob Evans. Our meeting went well. We discussed how we could better serve our clients through better education and shared technology.

Will is a terrific young man and a welcome addition to my team. Among other things, Will is the V.P. of the local Hispanic Community Chamber of Commerce and an avid Harley rider.

What didn't go well is the cup of coffee. Terrible! As soon as you walk in, there is a huge wall poster extolling the virtues of their new coffee. Blech! It was so bad we asked that it be removed from our bill.

We filled out a comment card expressing our distaste for their new brew. I went online to complain there too, but unless you have some pass code from your receipt you cannot leave a comment. Not very smart marketing. It's a new day Bob Evans, people see through this password or enter your e-mail crap to leave a survey. How do you expect to hear from your paying customers if you make them jump through hoops. Bob Evans, you are the ones that benefit from customer surveys. Make it easy for us to tell you what we think.

By the way, I love your sausage links and pancakes.

Recent FHA Loan Process Meets My Approval

by Brian

My most recent transaction involved an FHA Loan and I have to say the process was very satisfactory. Buyers are required to bring a small down payment, so they end up being better qualified to own a home and able to make the payments. The inspection and appraisal both went well and we settled the whole thing on time.

If you currently have a home for sale, I would suggest being open to accepting FHA financing on a purchase offer for your home. Based on the current market conditions and the state of the  mortgage market, at least the perception of the mortgage market, we will see a lot more homes financed with FHA insured loans. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Be sure to check with your hired representative, Realtor or attorney,  before making any decision on whether or not to accept an offer from a prospective Buyer.

Countrywide Exec Cashes in on the Way Out

by Brian

Countrywide CEO, Angelo Mozillo, is going to walk away with a severance package of $110 million after the sale of his company to Bank of America for $4 billion. At it’s peak in February 2007, Countrywide had a market value of nearly $26 billion. The company, under his direction, lost almost $2 Billion a month and he gets to walk away with all that money.

We've all heard stories of folks making money even thought they didn't do a good job, but this is unbelievable. If this guy had any scruples he would decline the package based on his "below average" performance. Trouble is, I guess, is that he is probably unemployable at this point.

Good luck to Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis in melding these two diverse cultures together.

You Have to Try This Just Once

by Brian

You absolutely have to try this just once, if you haven't already. The overwhelming sense of joy and relief that I feel having done this I cannot describe in words.

I recently just listened to an old tape set I have from David Allen of "Getting Things Done Fast" fame.
If you have never been exposed to David, do yourself a favor and go to his site and get one of his books or one of his audio programs.

One of things that he said that you have to experience is to have your Inbox in your e-mail COMPLETELY EMPTY. I concur. Just prior to penning this post, I completely emptied my Inbox. WOW! I have been reborn!

Think I'm exaggerating? Go ahead and try it. You'll see. Remember, completely, totally, 100% empty. It's painful to go through, but well worth it.

I had e-mails as far back as the summertime. All I had to do was take the next action for each e-mail. The next action may have been putting into an e-mail folder, scheduling a task, logging on to the recommended website or replying. What was amazing was how many that the next action was DELETE. Why do I put this off? 

Now I have a more complete task list and my brain is free!

As far as clearing my inbox on my desk, now that would really be something. I think I'm going to give it a go.

Clear your inbox 100%. Let me know how you feel when your done.