Look (and think) before you leap...

"It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterward.” (Gracian) – From the Jack’s Winning Words Blog.

Those are words of good advice and ones that are especially important when Blogging. More than once I’ve come within a button push of posting something on this Blog that I would have maybe regretted or been awake that night worrying about. It’s even more important to pause, think, and cool down if necessaary, when email is concerned. At least with a Blog I can go back a few minutes or hours later and delete the entry. With email (or text messages as Detroit’s mayor recently learned), once you push the send button the damage is done, it's hard (if not impossible) to pull-back the message and the message may exist out there forever in the files of the email company that you use. I suppose Blogs are actually the same way; but, if you delete it before anyone reads it, it at least feels like you have removed the offensive post.

Most of my posts have been about the real estate world – the process, the state of the market and things that buyers and seller can do to be partners in the process. Occasionally I’ve wandered off message and ranted about something happening in local or state politics and occasionally I’ve gotten into the weeds by railing against part time agents and companies; mainly because I believe that they do a disservice to their customers. I’ve committed to be more positive in 2008, so I hope to do more sleeping on things beforehand and less worrying or apologizing about things later. Hopefully, that new attitude will be reflected in this Blog; although, the actions of governmental bodies (at all levels) to protect us from ourselves may, on occasion, still warrent a rant.

I occasionally draw inspiration for a post from the daily feed that I get from Jack Freed, the retired pastor of my church. His Blog – Jack’s Winning Words” is a simple, short daily post of something to think about for that day. Jack is widely read and draws from many different sources to come up with his daily message, which always starts with a quote and then contains his thoughts on that saying. If you think you’d like to get this Blog, too, go to http://jackswinningwords.blogspot.com . You set up a daily email feed like I get, too. Some days his message hits me more than on others, but it’s always something that I look forward to seeing each morning.

I also think it's appropriate to end this post with another of Jack’s Winning Words posts that goes:

“It’s easier to do things the wrong way, but it’s always best to do them the right way.” (CleoMae Dungy – Tony Dungy’s mom)

I'll see you on the sunny side of the street!