Category Archives: Thinking outside the box

Innovative ideas bring all cultures together

Apr4

Own Sweet Home !

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Own Sweet Home !

Housing market rates are on the rise with the Feds decision to taper Quantitative Easing. The Inventory levels are still low and the number of buyers in the marrket is unreasonably high. This is the recipe for prices rising further.

Axis at San Jose Downtown - High Rise Living

Axis at San Jose Downtown – High Rise Living

Year 2014 

If I knew exactly where the market was going to be and had a crystal ball I would be a gazillionarie. Unfortunately, I dont have a crystal ball and we have to deal without the gazillionaire part. I’m not one and I am going to give my best inputs based on past performance and current market conditions for newbies .

Beach Residence for the deep pockets ;)

Beach Residence for the deep pockets 😉

Lets summarize where we came from, Year 2013 we had anywhere from 30-45% increase through out the bay area, thats a huge huge increase. Year 2012 – we had 8-15% increase around the bay area. Now, that is 2 consecutive years of very big appreciation. Historically we only have about 3 or 4% per year. So with that huge amount leading us off to 2014, I think we will be fortunate if we just maintain a flat even growth. Actually, that will be outstanding. We’ll probably get a little bit of an increase because there is still tight inventory, there is just not enough homes for the demand that is out there. So we can see some modest growth but overall I think we would be lucky by the end of 2014 saying, hey we had 0% growth cause it just means we did not LOSE any growth 🙂

Spacious Home for luxury cravers

Spacious Home for luxury cravers

Dream Home overlooking the ocean

Dream Home overlooking the ocean

Soaring High

A huge factor of momentum from this year and next year. and thats what we see right now. Historically, winter is a very dead time to the market. It’s not very dead this season. Interest rates are still very very low plus there is just limited inventory which keeps the demand high and prices are here to stay. It’s a perfect time to buy and sell. Simple reason is that Interest rates are super low and if you’re out there applying for a regular type of conventional loan or even FHA loan you’re in the mid to low 4%. Historically that is very very low. So that makes it very affordable to get your feet wet in the market. It is also a good time to sell becuase there is demand and there is less competition. If you want to sell your home and and not have it on the market for 2-4 months, a golden time to sell with multiple offers flooding your way.

 

Apr1

Fancy, Racy Crossovers !

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Fancy, Racy Crossovers !

Our favorite multi-tasking cars are a mash up of two very different segments

BMW X6

Positioning: Street Coupe

Beemer’s first 4×4 coupe goes like a stabbed rat and handles like a car half its size.

Pros: The closest you’ll come to driving a life-sized Tonka toy.

Cons: Despite being as big as a racecourse, it only has four seats.

BMW X6 crossover

BMW X6 crossover

 

ASTON MARTIN RAPIDE S

Positioning: Super car / Family sedan

This is the bond car James would drive, should he decide to settle down and have kids.

Pros: Um, have you seen it?

Cons: Only midgets/kids can fit in the back seats.

The Bond Car

The Bond Car

 

Aston Martin - smooth interiors

Aston Martin – smooth interiors

MERCEDES-BENZ CLA

Positioning: Small car / Wannabe sedan

It’s a CLS that’s been shrunk in the wash. Looks and handles like a sports car while Continue reading “Fancy, Racy Crossovers !” »

Sep11

Facts about Teen’s Brain……

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Facts about Teen’s Brain……

Decoding a teen’s brain, is it possible?

Understand the transformation in the growing-up years and lay the foundation for respectful and responsible behavior for the future.

One of the most frequent complaints one hears from parents of pre-teens and teenagers is, “He is so rude to me”, or “she is so cutting and insolent”. Most parents find the transformation of their sweet child into this whippersnapper, confusing and difficult to cope with.

Teen beans.

Teen beans.

Research has shown that several factors play a part in bringing about this change. The most compelling being the change in the pre-teen brain. From roughly the age of ten, the brain starts ‘pruning’ its synaptic connections. (Imagine a gardener trimming down a tree to make it healthier and robust). During this process as many as 30,000 synapses may be lost per second in the early adolescent brain leading to an ultimate loss of almost one half of the synapses that were present in the pre-adolescent period.

During this pruning phase, the part of the brain that is last to develop is the prefrontal cortex – the clear thinking and decision-making part of the brain. However, the emotional part of the brain – the limbic system and the amygdala are alive and kicking. In simpler terms, imagine the teen brain as a powerful car with Continue reading “Facts about Teen’s Brain……” »

Apr17

Serve to Gain or Gain to Serve ? – Part II

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Serve to Gain or Gain to Serve ? – Part II

Billionaire and lifestyle guru Martha Stewart of net worth $650 million was convicted of insider trading in 2001. Not one of her 600 employees reached out to her aid. Why? Because her focus was all about pushing her own agenda. Although her aggression did yield immense short-term success, in the end, she was all alone when it really counted. So what’s the solution?

Martha Stewart - a business magnate

Martha Stewart – a business magnate

Servant Leadership

Serve. Serve the mission you believe in, serve your team, and serve your organization. Service means being absolutely clear on the outcome you are committed to, and comes from a place of contribution rather than demanding significance (pusher) or craving significance (pleaser). The intent is different. Most people have Continue reading “Serve to Gain or Gain to Serve ? – Part II” »

Apr16

Serve to Gain or Gain to Serve?

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Serve to Gain or Gain to Serve?

In every organization, you come across pushers, pleasers and servers. While pushers and pleasers are trying to benefit themselves, it’s often the servers who go far.

“Nice guys finish last” is a concept that goes beyond alcohol-induced, post-relationship break-up rants. It applies to the workplace too. The implicit idea here being that if we are too nice or too kind, we will be taken advantage of, be it our boss asking us to work over a holiday or our peers dumping their responsibilities onto us. Either way it’s our loss… or is it?

Organization Workforce - Pushers and Pleasers

Organization Workforce – Pushers and Pleasers

Some of us who are aggressive or assertive in the workplace have been called “pushy” and “selfish”, and have sometimes been accused of not being a team player. So who wins – the nice guy or the over-assertive pusher? The answer is neither. The ‘nice guy’ epithet has benefits such as popularity in the workplace, people feeling that they are a good team-mate and someone who Continue reading “Serve to Gain or Gain to Serve?” »

Apr10

Words of Wellness on Holistic Living

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Words of Wellness on Holistic Living

Books on health, fitness and holistic living are becoming increasingly popular in the literary world.

Who doesn’t want to live a healthy and happy life? And this is exactly what the publishing houses are encashing on. As the fad for fitness grows among people, irrespective of their age, their quest for good health has gone beyond gyms. Books, internet and television shows have become the new sources of information on how to lead a healthy life. Thanks to this, the market today is flooded with fitness-related books. From manuals to diet books to celebrity confessions on looking good, they are all about teaching how to live that perfect life.

For all Holistic Junkies!

For all Holistic Junkies!

Fitness First

Everyone wants to lead a happy and healthy life. It is a worldwide trend. There is a demand for fitness gurus not just in terms of physical fitness but also mental health. Awareness of good health is at its peak now and Continue reading “Words of Wellness on Holistic Living” »

Apr2

First Connection, Second Impression

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First Connection, Second Impression

Instead of stressing about the first impression, try making a heart-to-heart connection.

does first impression make the last?

does first impression make the last?

Make a good first impression is the mantra that is chiseled into our minds from a young age. So if we don’t land the job, don’t seal the deal, or don’t get the date, we often blame it on blotching it up in the first meeting. Just as we are so worried about creating a first impression we’re equally precipitous about forming an opinion about the way a person dresses, speaks, greets others or carries himself. All in the matter of a few seconds and if we’re wrong, we’ve shut ourselves from what could have been another beautiful human interaction.

The basis of judgment

Human brain has developed the ability to quickly judge a person’s character. It is cited that is has developed thus, as a necessity to protect us from harm. But studies have shown that judging a person based Continue reading “First Connection, Second Impression” »

Mar31

To grow in love…

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To grow in love…

Together at the Table

If you don’t share mealtime with your family, make sure you do. Envisage the scene. It is the family dining room and delightful aromas of a delicious dinner are wafting around. There is laughter, gaiety and a family looking forward to a shared meal. Isn’t it a pretty picture? Sadly this scene, quite a common fixture about a decade back, is getting rare today. TV dinners, eating out, hectic lifestyles have elbowed this feature out of the family life. The disappearance of the family meal has also rapidly lessened family conversations.

Family Time!

Family Time!

However, there are many reasons why this practice should be revived in earnest. A shared meal would enable all the members to sit together and share their day with each other. Many issues between different members could be amicably resolved over a plate of dessert. This is the time when, though small anecdotes, the kin connect and a tenacious bond is developed.

When each of us relates our day every day, one gets a hang of the pattern. You are curious about Continue reading “To grow in love…” »

Mar28

The Way to God……

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The Way to God……

 

mystery path

mystery path

Want to find the way to god? How is it possible to reach god – still remains a big mystery to many. When one holds a question long enough in his/her mind, at some point or the other, the answer arrives. It has to. God is love. Love is god.  A feeling of deep connectedness to everything that is – isn’t that love? Isn’t that god?

We don’t know if there is an ultimate destination to god. However, the way itself is so beautiful. Though our final destination is god, every human being comes to this world to fulfill different purposes before reaching the destination. The saints, masters, gurus, yogis come to earth purely to give. Apart from giving and receiving, all of us come here to learn our lessons – to love, to give, to accept and to serve. The way to god, is the way of love. We have to realize that at every moment that there is love, there is god. Silently he comes and sits in every Continue reading “The Way to God……” »

Mar26

Friends with Benefits

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Friends with Benefits

Have you been contemplating getting home a pet but are not sure? Perhaps you can’t make up your mind about which pet would be appropriate. Well, here are a few pointers that could help you decide.

A great companion

A great companion

Lessons for children

If you have children at home, it might be a great idea to bring home a pet. From pets, children learn to be responsible by caring for them. And when pets fall sick, they tend to them with great care, in the process learning to love not just people but also members of the animal world. And when these pets die, they learn the idea of death and loss.

With a pet at home, you can never feel lonely. Moreover, these animals love unconditionally, unlike any human companions. Because they are not judgmental or critical, you can be yourself. They are great listeners and are very compassionate towards their masters.

New friends

As a pet owner, you may find many opportunities to meet like-minded people who also love animals. You can meet new friends and discuss your pets at dog training classes, while Continue reading “Friends with Benefits” »