If you've never licked a frozen flag pole in the winter, you probably have no idea what it feels like to be shivering in the cold with your tongue stuck to a cold piece of steel. Count yourself lucky. It goes without saying that you're also a fortunate person if you've never thrust a screwdriver into an electrical socket. I've done both of those things. I freely admit my stupidity.
Some lessons are best learned from experience. The best lessons, of course, are those we learn from other people's mistakes, but those are often hard to come by or, for other reasons known only I suppose to some higher force in the universe, ignored.
Mike Lyon, the CEO of Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, is fond of saying, "May all your mistakes be new ones," and that's a favorite quote of mine. I can't say that I will never ever make mistakes, but I do strive not to make the same ones twice. I like to believe that I learn from my screw ups.
So, when a person I respect tells me, "Don't do THAT, because THIS will happen," sometimes I do it anyway, just to confirm that it will indeed happen. It's not that I don't believe the person who is giving me advice, it's that I need to prove it to myself. Besides, somebody might ask me, "So, how do you really know?" And then I can honestly answer, "Because I've done it."
My advice to you today is if you end up getting your tongue stuck on a frozen flag pole, don't try to pull it off. Wait for a kind soul to pour warm water on the pole. Moreover, if you're going to work on an electrical component in your home over this holiday season, first turn off the main circuit breaker.
And may all your mistakes be new ones. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah everybody!
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from publisher Archer Ellison in January 2009.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
In case you were wondering what real estate agents really do on the computer, I'd like to introduce you to my new chart.