We just returned from a stay at the beach with the family…plus 6 grand kids and no TV. It was WILD! and WONDERFUL! I loved every minute. My husband took a marathon nap when we returned home.

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ALERT! ALERT!

I have a number of things to share that will encourage you about the future of staging:

1. I just read an e-mail from a friend in Orlando who sold her high-end lakefront house in one week-end. We could not stage it in the traditional manner, timing and distance, etc., so we e-staged the house. She sent several photos of the key rooms & I told her what to move and remove, add or replace. The result: “…We put the house up last Sunday, had two couples go through, both made offers. The second couple… gave us our asking price and it sold.” Nancy F.

Hooray Nancy! You did it!!

E-staging is not as effective as traditional staging, but it’s a viable option. It’s good for DIY individuals. We are adding it to the website soon as an additional service. The average cost is $25. per room.

2. CareerPath.com is a company known for tracking different employment fields to forecast future demand. There are always winners and losers in a changing economy. They claim that “staging is an emerging career poised for growth in coming years.”

It’s very encouraging. Read the article…

[2] http://careerpath.com/career-advice/209501-7-emerging-jobs

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MARY HABRES

3. One of our recent class grads, Mary Habres, has learned the importance of networking and marketing. She was recently featured in a front page article in the Florida Times-Union. You may remember Mary as the co-hostess of  two of my recent teleseminars. It’s the first time, in recent memory, that a staging story has landed on the front page. We’ve come a long way, Baby! Mary, You Go Girl!!!
Read the article:

[4] http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-06-story/in_shifting_job_market_baby_boomers_reinvent_themselves

~The teleseminar replay will be available for a little longer. It addresses changes in the staging industry. Click on the link: [5] http://www.youpublish.com/files/24034/Staging-Teleseminar-1

~Watch for the announcement of an upcoming webinar. It features some of our best before and after pictures and staging stats. All previous students should attend. We will not have a replay. ~There is one space available in the August certification class next week, two or three in September. 904-945-0093

[6] From The Heart You may remember that my Mom went to heaven two years ago and shortly thereafter my Dad’s brother, best friend and golf buddy, Uncle Bill, joined her. Both went with minimal illness, thank God, but little warning.  My 88 year old Dad could have become depressed or despondent, but no, just the opposite. He recently shot a 78 on his favorite Orlando golf course; he still works most days in the family business and he speaks occasionally in his church. I’m not saying that we have not had a hiccup here and there. But we, as a family, choose to see the “glass half-full.” I remember, many years ago, when we read about a local man, 80 years old, who died while playing golf. Everyone said how tragic this was… everyone except my Dad. He said, “How wonderful… to live to be 80 and stay healthy enough to play golf till the day you depart this earth.”  [7] My dad, Chuck Morgan, is on the left, standing next to Uncle Bill and my cousin, Bud Roberts, Dad’s second best friend is on the right.“What’s your secret,” people ask this man who dresses up in funny costumes and keeps firecrackers in his golf bag (for laughs). He surprised us all at a family reunion once when he appeared as an Elvis impersonator. I recall a special-occasion family dinner at a posh Orlando restaurant where Daddy released an air-filled 11″ balloon (that he had inflated to about 14″) into the air. I held my breath as I was sure some proper maitre’d would promptly remove this disturbance. The next hour is etched in my memory as we watched this lighter than air, 5 cent toy entertain a huge dining room full of participants. It floated slowly, like it was half-filled with helium, from one side of the room to the other. This ordinary moment became magical (in Orlando, no less), like an orchestrated symphony as everyone joined together to keep the balloon ballet in motion.  I don’t remember what we ate that night or what I was stressed-out about that day. I only remember how we all felt as we were lifted to a higher place. Thanks Daddy, for one of many such memories.  Yes, the world is in economic turmoil. And no, we don’t want to ignore the challenges facing us.  But no matter what’s happening, every single day, we can choose to be a “glass half-full” kind of person. Find the good in every person and every situation. Be kind to strangers. Pay it forward. Speak words of power. Most importantly, look for the magic in ordinary situations. It’s always there. Till next time… Happy Thoughts, Becky Harmon  “A dream is a wish your heart makes.”         Jiminy Crickett  “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”         Wayne Gretsky