COVER STORY
Meet Mr. Loan Guru: Whitney Hall
… I first met Whitney Hall, Senior Loan Originator. He was a tanned, tall man whose magnetic presence and swag were dynamic, and for those who listened closely, he was a man with a message. He had, and still has today, a lot of drive and a loud bravado about how he delivers upon his ideas of success.
Leadership On the Front Line
Front line leaders and client-facing associates are truly the heroes of most organizations. They are the closest to the action and absorb some serious heat. And yet, in my experience, they can be the least understood and listened to.
HELTER SHELTER – American Real Estate Under Siege And the Vision to Return
How ironic that the greatest asset we own is our home and in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic, it is the very thing that has given us the greatest shelter from harm.
Featuring Contributing Writer, Jenny Mason
8 Keys to Professional Vitality: Do You Live with Vim and Vigor?
How do you approach work? What is your attitude? Are you full of pep and vinegar? My thesaurus lists more than 30 words as synonymous with the word vitality. My personal favorites include energy, spirit, bounce, pep, spark, sparkle, passion…
Books and More!
Words are powerful change agents that help us transcend to a place where learning and dreaming can occur…
Events and Happenings
Mark Your Calendar for June 17! It’s a virtual happening…
WRITE FOR US
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20/20 Vision for Success Coaching
GOING FOR THE FULL MONTY . . .
Written by: Christine Beckwith
Many years ago, I indirectly managed a Florida branch where, during a routine visit, I first met Whitney Hall, Senior Loan Originator. He was a tanned, tall man whose magnetic presence and swagger were dynamic, and for those who listened closely, he was a man with a message. He had, and still has today, a lot of drive and a loud bravado about how he delivers upon his ideas of success.
Our work relationship would separate as his team would move to another lender. Even as we carried on with our separate lives, we remained aware of each other on social lines. I kept in touch with this dynamo of potential as he, like many in our business, rode the economic waves of our industry only to find himself burnt out and running on fumes. He found himself falling out of love with a job that once empowered his life with a cause. He found himself jaded and weary of striving to fulfill his future vision. Combined with personal, life-changing moments, he came to realize that he was wandering through his career looking for a foothold. Whitney being Whitney, he was determined to get back on track, to continue the stellar climb he had begun, only to realize that the fuel was not there. Doubt crept in.
Whitney realized that his greatest volume year in this industry had occurred in 2006, right before the fall. Since then, he realized that he had been in an inconsistent chase scene, with some years filled by a real attempt for betterment while others were less committed and focused. His story follows a path many loan originators in our space walked and will recognize.
This path changed for Whitney. One day he noticed an ad I was running for my new coaching firm and sent me a text, Hey are you now coaching?
My one-word answer, Yes! brought us back together and set us on a path of change for both of us.
In the lobby of a Dominican Republic hotel, I reunited by phone with my old friend. I was on a planned vacation and fit him in, between hours of poolside rest. We caught each other up on the significant changes in our professional lives. He shared that he was still out there plugging away, still grinding but missing something. I shared that I was in the early stages of bringing my long-time dream of coaching to fruition.
I could fill the rest of these pages with the story of how great my firm is and how satisfying I find it is being a coach, but that is truly not the story that should be told today. The real story is about a strong, successful man who is the least likely candidate to hire a petite female as a coach. The story is about a 6’ 1” weightlifting Marine who, understanding finally that his missing piece was accountability, set out to find someone who culturally fit into his world and would ride shotgun with him. Whitney knew he had to choose someone he trusted and whose management style was familiar and compatible, who he felt could plug into his dragging business life and re-energize it.
The next year for Whitney Hall was a journey of self-discovery. In our coaching sessions, he unearthed some bad traits which he will poignantly share with you if you ask him, as he truly is an open book. He shared his dark spots, his blind spots, and his rough spots. He listened and learned the next step needed. And the next. And the next. He examined each step, sometimes admitting why he didn’t want to take that step. He followed through. He talked through, with me, his coach, and identified the purpose and reason for each step. Then he would pivot until that step fit his personal, authentic narrative.
Whitney Hall is an amazing student, a fact I can attest to. He listens and then goes to work. He requires little direction. I would argue he already knew most of the answers, that he knew the path that needed to be taken, and just needed what we all need in life—affirmation and a cohort to stake the claim that our GPS is in fact aligned with our Vision for Success.
Each step along that path Whitney personally grew. He returned to our conversations and coaching sessions amazed at times by how easy a task had been that was given to him.
“Go record some videos,” I said to him. “Just do it. Don’t be refined. Don’t be perfect. Be authentic and say what’s on your mind.”
The beauty of his success lies in his ability to take fearless action. His success came from the application of lessons learned and overcoming mistakes made. He left the dreary, ass-dragging career he had been feeling for so long. He picked it up, dusted it off, and shined his career boots. It was magical to watch as, brick by brick, he laid the groundwork and built the path forward leading to more and more business with every step.
Whitney’s journey resulted in a 100 percent increase in his annualized volume in under 12 months. Impressive, right? Agreed. Yet, even more impressive was how he adapted to a market that had gone digital and yet kept the partnerships human. Striking that balance is not easy. For folks who get stuck in an analytical world, it can be debilitating. Whitney’s ability to embrace technology and keep it human has led to accelerated results. I have given thought to and spent time analyzing results across the range of students I coach and have come to recognize a few factors that Whitney brings into clear focus which enable him to tread his fast-track to success.
Top Characteristics for Success
- A willingness to share and explore what is broken. When Whitney began coaching, he did not sugarcoat areas where he needed help. That transparency is a gift to a coach or teacher; it allows us to provide a laser-focused prescription to heal the problem.
- A can-do attitude. Instead of fighting suggested actionable steps or battling change as many people do, Whitney welcomes direction. That is rare even with people who want to have a coach and who ask for the direction. Often, they still battle that authority internally. It is human nature to think we all know the best answers for our own road to success. To give that eyesight up to another person you trust and who can see your blind spots, is truly what makes self-development work.
- Execution. Whitney did the work and does the work. He knows there are no short cuts. When he is given a project that may take months to complete, he pecks away at it, inch by inch.
- Magnetism. Whitney attracts referral partners, friends, and colleagues. Even within our student community, he is a magnet.
How Can You Be a People Magnet?
While a magnetic personality is not entirely teachable, there are actions that can be taken to enable any person, of any personality, to be more appealing to other people. Whitney exudes these characteristics. You can cultivate what is not inherent in your personality. To be discovered similarly to Whitney’s experience, you should:
- Put yourself into the Social Media world for consumption. Fully commit to it in an authentic, organic way. Whitney took huge leaps by committing to video posting. This was uncomfortable and something he did hardly at all before we began coaching. With repetition and a lot of trial and error, he has a popular series now with people tuning in regularly. He manages several Facebook groups as well. Check out his Mr. Loan Guru group if you’d like to connect with him. https://www.facebook.com/MrLoanGuru/
- Brand yourself. Whitney Hall is synonymous with Mr. Loan Guru, a brand that Whitney came up with while learning about branding in his virtual training at 20/20 VSC. Whitney now understands the world of personal branding and he created his brand in a way that connects with his audience, referral partner network, and clients. His brand implies expert (which he is). His brand describes and is his overall image.
- Be authentic. I hear this everywhere but rarely do I see it to the nth degree as I do in Whitney. For good or for the brazen, he often lays it out there—his truth is shared. Liberally. He is willing to put up controversial videos that speak to his personal authentic beliefs about how to build organic business. He has been known to denounce large organizations that want us to drink self-served Kool-Aid®. Whitney is no Kool-Aid drinker, no sir, but he is also not going to go against the establishment. He is likely to be the guy carrying some of the heaviest weight, offering his own self-development up for others. He has taught many a LIVE class for partners and appears on webinars giving away his free advice.
Behind the Scenes
Whitney surrounds himself with beautiful women—his devoted wife and daughters. Whitney credits his wife of ten years, Lauren Hall, with making him an honest man, saying that her love, her friendship, and their life together is what makes it possible for him to concentrate on his career with little personal distraction aside from the desire to be with his family as much as he can.
Whitney and Lauren are parents to two beautiful daughters, Lily 6, and Sadie 8 months. Whitney is also the immensely proud father of 23-year-old son Phillip, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become a Marine.
Early in our coaching together, we watched Whitney’s journey in bringing his son home safely from the Marines. Their reunion played out in anticipated palpitation on social media as Whitney counted down the final hours with a shocking surprising delay when the almost at war political turmoil rose from the Iranian debacle in late 2019. The reunion followed by celebration between two Marines, one a father and one a son, played out as they drove cross country to move Phillip and his family (including a newborn!) back to Whitney’s hometown, Fort Myers, Florida.
A Jacksonville, Florida native, Whitney is no stranger to the beauty of his tropical surroundings and believes calling that majestic land home has been his blessing. He is an avid fisherman who has celebrated his recent success with a nautical gift to his family—a boat. When his hectic life gives way to necessary freedoms, we enjoy his social posts and pictures of his family spending leisure hours on the boat.
“That many had ventured farther and done so in finer style bothered me not. My journey was my own and I found it to be quite spectacular.” -Markus Pierson
(Whitney’s favorite quote is from the Markus Pierson painting, Spectacular Journey)
Whitney is the epitome of the American dream in many ways. His is an American comeback story. He has fought the same demons we all do, including lethargy born out of strife. Whitney has overcome, conquered, and prevailed. In recent months I sat with Whitney atop a tall business mountain we climbed together to celebrate his 100% annualized volume increase, double the prior year’s production. We asked each other, “What now?”
We both know that his story is only getting started. While limits are boundless and recent challenges have come in the form of a national pandemic, Whitney is still hard at work, currently, as a Branch Manager and Mortgage Loan Advisor, juggling the balance, and staying straight in the ways of keeping his business afloat and strong.
I equate our conversation that day as a dive into the mindset of Gay Hendricks who wrote the Genius Zone. We talked about people who sabotage their successes after reaching the mountain tops and how we need to protect his success and fortify it, so he does not roll back down the mountain. I know that message resonated. I know that Whitney’s path is straight ahead, and his Vision for Success shines clearly in his mind.
Today Whitney Hall works for Acopia Home Loans, as he has for the past five years. Lead by incredible professionals who support Whitney’s career all the way, it was no surprise that when Whitney attended the Vision Summit in the fall of 2019, he was flanked by his executive and senior leaders. His growth had intrigued them. They came to see for themselves how he pulled it off. I was as intrigued by them as they were me and I spent a fair amount of time talking to them. I wanted to learn what made his company tick and I soon learned they have an incredible culture of independence and support. That is a vital part of anyone’s success: the right tools, product, price, support, and culture ultimately are the key ingredients. That is evident in Whitney’s success. It cannot be understated.
When I asked Whitney what it took to find his Vision for Success he said, “Guts and validation. I needed to take risks and push through fears and I needed to know I was on the right path.”
Whitney has gained both during this journey. I asked Whitney to leave us with his philosophy on life:
“Ask for help, be willing to change, and remember you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” –Whitney Hall
Christine “Buffy” Beckwith is an Award-Winning Executive Sales Leader who has spent the past 30 years in the Mortgage finance industry. Her life and career are filled with a progression of success stories that reach all the way back to her childhood. A Best Selling and Award-Winning Author, Christine branched out in 2018 to begin her dream job as the Founder and President of 20/20 Vision for Success Coaching & Consulting. After breaking glass ceilings in the Mortgage & Banking Industry, Christine now is a columnist for professional magazines and is a special correspondent anchoring the news and interviewing experts in her industry. She is an advocate for women, dedicating a complete division in her own company to the cause and communities she touches at a vast level.
Christine spends her days on the national speaking circuit, lecturing on topics focused on sharing her expertise in finance while highlighting her personal stories of inspiration and motivation to deliver both tactical and practical advice. Breaking mainstream in 2019 Christine has appeared on huge stages to speak, kicking off the year at the Miami Garden Stadium with Gary Vaynerchuk Agent2021 as the Real Estate Expert Panel Moderator. Among her many speaking engagements recently, she has spoken at the Anaheim Convention center in Los Angeles, The Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City, NJ and for multiple prestigious organizations and media companies.
Christine will tell you that writing, teaching, and speaking are at the core of who she is, and her legacy work with a commitment of making a difference in the lives of professionals and youth everywhere.
Christine is a mother, a girlfriend, a daughter, a sister & an aunt, a homemaker, and a lover of laughter, good health, home & heritage. She calls herself a happy human.
A Few Words from Whitney . . .
Acopia Home Loans
Whitney Hall, featured in this month’s cover story, is a game-changer. Acopia values his dedication and commitment and supports the success of each of our loan advisors.
We have created a team of hardworking mortgage professionals, who enjoy serving homeowners with integrity and enthusiasm. We place our value in the high level of service we provide to clients, partners, and each other.
Our team is committed to excellence and doing the right thing, every time. If you share our values and commitment to providing exceptional customer service, please consider joining our team. Learn more at AcopiaHomeLoans.com.
Written by: Michael Chapman
Front line leaders and client-facing associates are truly the heroes of most organizations. They are the closest to the action and absorb serious heat. And yet, in my experience, they can be the least understood and listened to.
The leaders who shaped me, and specifically those who mentored my first supervisory role, are especially memorable to me. At the age of 22, I was entrusted with a team of fifteen associates. During each shift, for four to five hours, our mission was to safely sort, by zip code, ten thousand packages per hour. A continual stream of packages originated from ten bay doors and flowed onto a horizontal, straight-line, moving conveyor belt. Stress was high. The recurring echo was, “Don’t stop the belt…!”
The pressure to sort packages nonstop, fast, and with accuracy was real. At times, despite the respect modeled for me growing up, I was less than tactful in my articulation of expectations and instruction.
I was young and learning fast on the job. During this time as I stepped (sometimes stumbled) through my first management role, I heard two distinctly different voices in my ear. They were, of course, higher-level managers who oversaw my team and who shared the responsibility for molding my growth as a supervisor on track for management. We simply called whichever was on duty, Boss.
It was a time of intense learning for me and it is many years later in hindsight that I recognize the unique opportunity I had early in my career to experience two bosses with diametrically opposed leadership styles.
Boss A
spent little energy investing in me or my development. Most of our conversations were limited to telling me rather than showing me. Often, communication was delivered at top volume, by yelling at me. In retrospect, I realize Boss A was not a bad person. There was no evil intent. Rather, Boss A lacked an ability to teach leadership and professional development since, for Boss A, these traits were a personal challenge, lessons that were never learned, and habits that were never created.
- Watched from the catwalk and barked orders from a 2-way radio.
- Would tell me what I should tell them, expecting that I, and my associates, would know how to do what we were told.
- Loved the sound of his own voice, ideas, and answers. Personal ego was above my needs or any of my team.
- Was a boss lacking in leadership ability.
If this had been the only voice in my ear, I would still be that supervisor and never have learned what true leadership is about or how to listen.
Boss G
could see beyond my youth. I was more than the Kid to Boss G. I was an inexperienced colleague with potential who had developmental needs. Most of our conversations were filled with reinforcements such as, “Hey, let’s go check it out together.” Or “Hey, let me show you, then you do it.” And followed up with, “Now you tell me what we just did and what you learned.” In retrospect, Boss G was a leader who possessed the desire to see me progress, develop, and win.
- Would come to my area, listen, and watch me interact with my team.
- Would role-play the tough conversations I had to deliver to my team.
- Listened to understand, led with questions, and led me to the answers.
- Was a servant who led by example.
I, and my team, would have done our best to accomplish any task Boss G asked of us.
This tale of two bosses is intended to demonstrate not that one style of leadership is better than another. Rather the intent is to demonstrate that leaders consider all facets when defining and refining management techniques. How do you hear from your front line? How do you mentor your teams to hear and respond to the front line?
I believe it is important to listen to the front line. Yes, there are times to be Boss A and tell them what to do. And those times, for a strong leader, will be rare. The front line knows their job. They know their own truth, their own path to understanding. I believe the best leaders, the most successful leaders, listen more than they talk.
For me, leadership simply requires the intention to turn my own larynx off, and the resolution and discipline to do just that.
Michael Chapman, a business minister, has taken the bold step of restructuring his career, life, and goals around his values and faith. After recognizing the path he was on was leading him away from God and his highest potential, he knew he had to make a change or risk losing a full life lived. Michael knows he is not alone in this crisis, which is why he is committed to showing up for others who face similar tests of faith.
A business minister is meant to act as a beacon of understanding in a sea of blue suits. Michael is a safe place to have the hard conversations about the poorly negotiated life agreements people feel forced to make and explore how to renegotiate their contracts with employers, employees, and family.
Michael is one of the many incredible Executive Coaches at 20/20 VSC.
Written by: Christine Beckwith
How ironic that the greatest asset we own is our home and in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic, it is the very thing that has given us the greatest shelter from harm. Clearly, our home’s literal value could not be more understated at this time in our lives. Still, we realize its market value sits teetering on an economic fence that is under siege by an economy rapidly declining from the effects of this pandemic.
The million-dollar questions remain: “Will our homes hold their value?” Further, in the midst of this decline, “Will the mortgage economy recover?” And lastly, “Will homeowners and homebuyers still buy and sell with protected value and collateral certainty?”
According to FNMA ( Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae), in an April Report recently published, Fannie Mae predicts that nearly 15% of home sales will decline from the previously predicted robust year ending 2020 home sales. This effect will occur at the hands of both supply and demand. Supply in that homeowners who have lost their jobs and have taken an income hit in 2020 will be less likely to choose this year to sell, primarily perhaps under speculation of perceived lost value. In short, there will be a supply drop brought on by this mindset. On the demand side the same culprit, job loss and job furlough will affect the viability of homeowners who were otherwise poised to purchase.
“…the lack of demand is placing pressure on the sales price.” This is according to Fannie Mae Chief Economist, Doug Duncan who goes on to state that sellers do not ultimately need to worry about sales price reduction as they place homes on the market. He still feels the demand will remain stable enough that the average predicted home price on existing homes will slightly rise from 2019 and that new homes will experience a slight fall.
According to most economists, the mortgage and real estate industry will rebound after the pandemic. Predictions are that refinances will remain robust in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. Most economists, as well as Fannie Mae, predict 2021 will be an incredibly robust year for real estate. While this prediction clearly resides on a moving plane at the moment, the long-term effects of the Pandemic will gradually change. For now, all predictions are that our mortgage and real estate economy can withstand the blow that it has taken thus far, assuming movement within the industry recovers in the months ahead.
The largest volume of real estate funding in over a decade was stamped in the history books in March, the remnants of the robust and thriving market pre-pandemic. Faith in the strength of this sector of our economy remains strong.
As someone in a role that supports mortgage and real estate professionals nationally, studying predictions and learning the facts about our market as a whole is a practice that I find fascinating. And critically vital to enabling success for my business and for the businesses 20/20 VSC serves. Let’s pivot away from the statistics and forecasts for a moment. I would like to share with you key ‘secrets’ to creating your own vision for success.
My faith in this industry remains strong. I have climbed the ladder, broken glass ceilings, and helped hundreds of mortgage professionals thrive. I have grown professionally and personally as I climbed through the ranks to become a national lender. It has long been my role to paint the landscape, to share the vision. Listening to the grassroots, scouring the predictions of the pundits whose forecasts we rely upon to build our businesses, and interpreting those words and feelings to share with those who follow my path brings me joy. Helping others to succeed is one of the highest callings I can think of.
Today, my successful coaching business is multi-faceted and sets the platinum standard in a fishbowl of coaches for the world to see. We know how to help businesses grow, scale, thrive, and ultimately succeed, and to help professionals SEE their way to their own defined success. We operate systematically under a proven belief system that allows us to help businesses and we have hundreds of professionals doing the same.
A VISION FOR SUCCESS – WHAT ARE THE SECRET SUCCESS INGREDIENTS?
They are simple, known tactics mixed with a special, secret ingredient. Any recipe has core ingredients. A recipe for success has at its core planning, time management, accountability, proper communication, marketing, niching, networking, objective countering, and scaling expertise. These ingredients are typically spread across expert departments, running in tandem to provide the facets of growth, human resource, reporting, technology, financial forensics, management, communications, and policy and procedure. These core elements each has a life of its own. The trick is how to cover all these bases and blend them into a successful startup!
One way to do this is to start with people who can scale as the business scales. In this scenario, individuals coming on board at the beginning often wear three or four (or more!) hats. The people you need in the early days are those who can carry multiple departments and tasks at one desk. As the business grows, these tasks will be divided and delegated as revenue rises, allowing for scaling of assets without taxing of resources. I have successfully helped thousands of professionals do this over the past 20 years, carefully navigating the rocky seas through two decades of volatility, each on profit and loss plans under the same path, the same pattern of successful growth.
The special ingredient that I have used to propel individuals and businesses towards success repeatedly over the years is building the individual’s personal Success Vision. It’s up to you, the leader, the visionary, to learn what the internal, emotional, purpose-driven reason is for each of your people. Match your leadership to their needs by knowing why they want success and what that success means to them. When individuals know their purpose and align that purpose with their daily work, they have an endless supply of energy and motivation to drive towards that success. And you as a leader can tap into this for the benefit of all.
Emotional Awakening through Education is our tag line at 20/20 Vision for Success Coaching.
We find ourselves and our businesses in turmoil again. This time, I know the way. As a Sherpa for businesses, I can cast hope that we will make it to the summit. Maybe we will not come through unscathed, but we will make it. The answer to those million-dollar questions we asked at the beginning of this article is simply, yes.
I call upon each person to reflect on your purpose and share the hope. Remind everyone why they are chasing their vision. I implore each of you to understand, as I have come to learn, that vision is a beacon of light that will take them home. Vision will carry them through the dark. Vision is at the core of who we are. See your vision clearly. Bring it into the light and remember that we are each driven to succeed for purpose-filled reasons.
What is your Vision for Your Success? Think about what that is and let that be your guide through pandemic and beyond.
Christine “Buffy” Beckwith is an Award-Winning Executive Sales Leader who has spent the past 30 years in the Mortgage finance industry. Her life and career are filled with a progression of success stories that reach all the way back to her childhood. A Best Selling and Award-Winning Author, Christine branched out in 2018 to begin her dream job as the Founder and President of 20/20 Vision for Success Coaching & Consulting. After breaking glass ceilings in the Mortgage & Banking Industry, Christine now is a columnist for professional magazines and is a special correspondent anchoring the news and interviewing experts in her industry. She is an advocate for women, dedicating a complete division in her own company to the cause and communities she touches at a vast level.
Christine spends her days on the national speaking circuit, lecturing on topics focused on sharing her expertise in finance while highlighting her personal stories of inspiration and motivation to deliver both tactical and practical advice. Breaking mainstream in 2019 Christine has appeared on huge stages to speak, kicking off the year at the Miami Garden Stadium with Gary Vaynerchuk Agent2021 as the Real Estate Expert Panel Moderator. Among her many speaking engagements recently, she has spoken at the Anaheim Convention center in Los Angeles, The Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City, NJ and for multiple prestigious organizations and media companies.
Christine will tell you that writing, teaching, and speaking are at the core of who she is, and her legacy work with a commitment of making a difference in the lives of professionals and youth everywhere.
Christine is a mother, a girlfriend, a daughter, a sister & an aunt, a homemaker, and a lover of laughter, good health, home & heritage. She calls herself a happy human.
Written by: Jenny Mason
How do you approach work? What is your attitude? Are you full of pep and vinegar?
My thesaurus lists more than 30 words as synonymous with the word vitality. My personal favorites include energy, spirit, bounce, pep, spark, sparkle, passion, resilience, anticipation, and excitement, along with phrases like power to live or grow, mental vigor, capacity for survival, and the continuation of a meaningful or purposeful existence.
It is important to enter every day with the intention of living it with vigor and vitality. I recognize we aren’t always going to be invigorated. I also recognize that living with vitality every day is a choice. It requires discipline and determination. Perseverance and resilience are necessary on days when life throws stones up from the road to crack the windshield. Every second of a day may not be passion-filled. That’s when we choose to lose, maintain, or enhance our spirit. I suggest we choose to live to the fullest. Vitality is vital to the quality of life.
How does one find the spark on a day filled with stress and influenced by frightful factors such as a global pandemic? I make it a conscious choice and call upon one or all of these eight tips to maintain and refresh the sparkle and vitality in my day.
1Mindset is everything. Turn negativity into positivity, fear into faith, doubting into believing. Stop complaining. Instead, visualize yourself full of vigor and allow yourself to feel energy revitalize your day. Be an energy maker, a fountain not a drain. When fears and worries come to mind, take them captive before they keep you in captivity.
Negativity affects the mind and health. Medical technology, like PET scans, can show the levels of dopamine and serotonin (happy hormones) in the brain. Both hormones are essential for neuroplasticity, the ability of the body to repair brain cells and grow new ones. Low levels of these brain growth hormones as are found in unresolved, chronic depression and can interfere with the brain’s ability to heal itself. There are studies suggesting lack of these hormones has an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.
2 Be Young at Heart. Do you recall your energy levels when you were a kid? I know that I ran barefoot, rode a bike with no hands, jumped through the sprinklers, skateboarded down hills, and never ran low on energy nor lost the desire to keep going. Our body continually renews itself. Our cells (even brain cells), bones, liver, and stomach are renewed. It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks.
Staying young at heart is about keeping an attitude of enthusiasm for life. It’s not about dwelling in the past. It’s about bringing that unstoppable attitude with you into today. When I am asked, I say I stopped aging at 22. Quit telling yourself you are old. Tell yourself you are forever young. In interviews with Centenarians, a common denominator was they all had a positive mindset.
3 What is your why? We need to know this and to remind ourselves often. What gets your motor running? Why do you do what you do? What makes you happy? What could you talk about for 20 minutes without preparing for? What did you dream of doing when you were little?
We are not trees, if we don’t like we are planted we can move. Understand and stay aware of your why.
4 Start the Day with Yourself. Every morning, before the kids, before I grab the phone or check my favorite social media outlet, I take 20 to 30 minutes for myself. Do this. Make the time. You are worth that. Keep a journal. One great tip is to write three things for which you are grateful. These could be work or life-related and even the same ones each day. This reminder of what brings joy is as useful as is recognizing new joys.
Not a writer? Take a walk. Stay an extra five minutes under the shower and create a mental plan for the day. When we begin in quiet reflection, it sets the tone of the day and allows for an easy transition into the fast-paced world where most of us live.
If you look at your phone the moment you wake up, you will be letting the demands of the world dictate how you are going to begin your day. Emails, texts, and social media are distractions that can cause anxiety, stress, and loss of self -worth. These activities can overload the brain with cortisol stress-producing hormones. Take back control of each day by spending the first 30 minutes away from your phone. A study I reviewed demonstrated that the majority of successful people sleep with their phones in a different room. More than 46% of people look at their phones before they even get out of bed. How relaxing it is to wake in a quiet stte, to breathe in deeply, and be thankful as you open your eyes for the gift of another day to be the best you can be.
5 Be Active. Exercise is a great energizer, it has been shown as a positive factor in fighting depression. Be active for at least 20 minutes a day. The gym may not be for you, but some form of exercise is.
The best exercise is something you will do. You could walk, dance, workout, find an active hobby, or even join a local adult sport team. Choose an activity you enjoy and make it a habitual part of your day.
6 Fuel-up! It is necessary to fire your body up with foods that boost your energy naturally. The key is moderation and following a dietary routine that you can maintain. Our bodies need carbs, protein, and fats. I know that as soon as I cut out carbs from my diet, that’s all my mind focuses on.
One of my favorite tips is to use the 80/20 rule. Eat clean, whole foods for about 80 percent of the calories in a day. Treat yourself to about 20 percent of your intake to those foods you crave and love and know should be limited to keep your weight in check. I have also found that following the 80/20 rule and also grazing throughout the day keeps my sugars level, keeping me from having mood swings and getting hungry.
Find the balance that works for you. There are hundreds of diet plans, each of which works in some way. Find the balance that allows you to fuel your body and maintain the healthy balance of food groups that ensure you can maintain your ideal body condition. Eating should bring enjoyment not be relegated to a math equation. Food is part of the balance in life and food choice is a lifestyle, not a diet.
7 Provide Focus. Having goals, striving to achieve goals, and reaching goals are critical parts of today’s work environment and daily living as well. It is important to focus on what you can change. Take on your goals one at a time. When you crush one, add another, but don’t overwhelm yourself with a ton of different goals all at once. If you don’t start doing the things you don’t feel like doing, you will wake up one year from today and be in exactly the same place.
8 Rest. Set a quitting time for work and stick to it whenever possible. Before hitting the hay prepare for sleep and rest. Restrict activity to limit stressful or engaging actions to finish at least an hour before you intend to sleep. During the hour before you sleep, read a book, pray, slow your breathing down, engage in activities that relax. Put the phone away or turn it upside down. Aim for your optimum amount of sleep. Most experts agree that sweet spot is likely at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
As a Peak Performance coach, I encourage everyone to keep a high level of vitality in daily life. Think of this as something you can do forever. Think of keeping vitality alive as a reward, as having wiggle room to live your life well. Balance is the essence of life and one of the most important gifts you can introduce into your health and fitness routine.
Jenny Mason is a woman of faith, married to her soul mate and best friend for almost 30 years and is the mother of three amazing kids. She has maintained a successful sales career for over 30 years, even though her college career was dedicated to athletic coaching.
Jenny has been a competitive athlete for most of her life and holds a deep passion is helping people overcome limiting beliefs and learn to live life more abundantly – physically, mentally, and spiritually. This last year she furthered her education in coaching by becoming certified as a health, life, and wellness coach as well as a Corrective Exercise Specialist.
Jenny is one of the many incredible Executive Coaches at 20/20 VSC.
MORTGAGE X PODCAST
Staying In Front of Your Referral Partners.
In this episode of Mortgage X, Frazier interviews Beckwith about the current state of the industry and garners her best advice.
Christine Beckwith of 20/20 Vision for Success Coaching and Jason Frazier of Mortgage X Creative bring you the Mortgage X Podcast. Guests range from visionaries working hard to evolve our industry to meet the needs of the modern consumer to the industry’s biggest producers, advocates, legends, thought leaders, partners, and lenders.
VONK DIGITAL
Vonk Digital, an industry leader in website and marketing tools for mortgage originators across America, is a proud sponsor and hosting partner of The Vision Magazine.
Learn how Vonk Digital can help you leverage the New Way to build your brand, authority, and credibility with our website platform and tools. Visit us at www.vonkdigital.com
20/20 VISION FOR SUCCESS COACHING
The words 20/20 Vision for Success are not in the name of this company by accident. Coaching is about building a foundation for results and knowing how to step into action based on that foundation. Turning vision into reality requires trust that the bedrock beneath the vision is sound. Coaching with 20/20 Vision begins by building and strengthening your foundation and ensures that, as coaching progresses, you and the 20/20 team behind you remain focused on the vision for success.
SPOTLIGHT ON EVENTS
Mark Your Calendar for June 17! It’s a virtual happening…a Sneak Peek into the upcoming Fall event, Media Masters Workshop.
Whether you are a Vision Master member, a coaching or virtual student of 20/20 Vision for Success, or simply interested in learning more, sign up now for this virtual workshop. We will announce details for the Fall workshop in Florida. You won’t want to miss either this great virtual preview or the live event!
RECOMMENDED READING
Words are powerful change agents that help us transcend to a place where learning and dreaming can occur. Today we spotlight three books in which Christine Beckwith takes her readers on a journey to a better life using her own life and business lessons.
In Wise Eyes: See Your Way to Success, Beckwith tells her life story in a style that is real and raw, but brutally honest. Wise Eyes is a handbook for professionals wanting to walk a direct path to incredible success.
Clear Boundaries: Every Business Woman’s Essential Safety Guide was born out of the shared experiences of Beckwith and co-author Jessica Peterson. Both are women professionals who have for many years traveled across the country for business. Sadly both have firsthand knowledge of how dangerous it can be for a woman. In this book, the authors draw from their own experiences and call upon experts to present real, actionable, and practical advice to prepare anyone to avoid and survive what could be a dangerous scenario.
Breaking the Cycle is filled with engaging stories wrapped around a theme of power words. Hope. Resilience. Idealism. Strategy. Focus. Drive. Humble. Loyal. Grateful. Dichotomy. Brazen. Persistence. Again written with a co-author, Dr. Wendy L. Wright, this book features insights from life’s tragedies and triumphs and is an invaluable treasure trove of practical, hands-on advice. Jam-packed with easy-to-implement suggestions, you’ll read sage advice from two women whose diverse career paths literally write the book on how to create your version of success!
Candy Zulkosky
I
n our cover story about Whitney Hall, he shared his favorite quote by Markus Pierson. How fitting that the quote inspiring a leader like Whitney comes from a painting by a man whose life demonstrates what it means to lead by example. A leader does not always lead an army. Leadership is about showing the way, sometimes by simply living a life in one’s own way.
The artist Markus Pierson awoke from a near-death experience and turned away from an accounting career to become a successful contemporary American artist. Whitney Hall found inspiration in the words Pierson painted across the top of an almost silly (and completely significant!) painting of a coyote in a rowboat holding an umbrella. This editor thanks Whitney for sharing his favorite quote and leading me to discover a deeper appreciation of coyotes in zoot suits.
In the pages of this issue, you have read about leadership and seen an outstanding example of what it means to be a leader in Whitney Hall’s profile cover story. Our focus on Vitality provides a checklist from which to choose habits that rejuvenate. Listening as a leader has a great real-life comparison of effective tactics, and in Helter Shelter, the jarring concerns of recent events are soothed by applying Beckwith’s secret ingredients to finding and keeping vision fresh.
We hope you enjoyed each of the features and stories we’ve brought to you in these pages. We are already working on the next issue, which will publish on August 1. In the meanwhile, please share www.TheVisionMag.com in social media. Reach out and congratulate your peers who are honored in these pages. Tag them in your posts #thevisionmag and #2020visionforsuccesscoaching.
Christine Beckwith
Dear Readers of our inaugural edition of The Vision e-magazine!
Words have always meant much to me. As a child, I was encouraged to write by a grade school English teacher. I obviously went on to heed that advice. As a loan originator and manager for three decades, I found myself honing my words into speeches, into lessons and training. As I became a senior and executive leader, the words became more powerful with greater meaning to a broader audience.
Words can move us. Words can cause us to take action. Words often heal us and help us recover or simply not feel alone. It is through gaining an understanding of how powerful a weapon words can be, that I have grown into a writer and a warrior dedicated to helping.
I gave up a lucrative career as a leading mortgage executive to build a coaching company where I spend my days writing, reading, and talking to professionals. As our curriculum library and our learning center grow, I am grateful to provide a place where many people can come and learn and grow.
As an author of three best-selling books, I have learned the trade of writing on a professional level. It seems fitting that I would fulfill yet another writing dream and become a magazine publisher. That dream became reality last month with the first edition of our Women With Vision E-magazine. The Vision, even though we are launching it second, is our core magazine. It will publish on alternate months to the WWV Magazine. Readers are welcome to subscribe to either or both!
We hope you are moved by our stories, motivated to take action in your own worlds, and that you ultimately become connected to us and our community by the words we share and the lessons we teach. Join us! Subscribe at no cost and enjoy it. We hope you find our words inspiring and maybe even life-changing!
