BRIAN and MARIE SPRAY - Frisco TX Realtors

With all the weird and distressing news these days I've been feeling a little down so I decided to re visit some of my archive of motivational quotes and thought I'd share some of them with you! We all need a little help focusing on things from time to time don't we?

"A man may fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else" - J. Paul Getty

"Big goals get big results. No goals gets no results or somebody elses results" Mark Victor Hansen

"The state of your life is nothing more than the reflection of the state of your mind" Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves" Thomas Edison

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Un successful people are always asking - Whats in it for me?" Brian Tracey

"Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of the mind than on outward circumstances" Ben Franklin

There are many many more I can use but these are good ones to start today with!

Brian.

If you're thinking of moving, maybe finding a new place to live where the sun likes to shine alot and the economy is still going in the right direction then you should seriously consider Frisco Texas! Frisco is a thriving and growing city just north of Dallas with many large companies/corporations located here. Some suburbs of large citys are considered "bedroom communities" because everyone worked in the big city and just came home to the suburb to sleep. Well, Frisco is different! We have a huge employer base here and its growing larger all the time! Check out the Frisco Chamber of Commerce for more information.

I've put together here a "Top Ten" list of things to do if Frisco. This is by no means a complete list, and I may have omitted something that others may feel belongs here but these are things I'm personally familiar with so here goes:

Go see a baseball game at the Frisco Roughriders Stadium

Go see the Texas Tornados play pro hockey at the Dr. Pepper arena!

See a concert, watch fireworks or World Cup Soccer at Pizza Hut Park

Go shopping at the trendy furnishing store Ikea

Visit our huge mall and the hundreds of stores nearby at Stonebriar Mall

Family fun? Visit Strikz or Main Event for bowling, Laser tag, video arcades and more!

Like movies? You have your pick at the AMC 24!

Hungry? Frisco has too many restaurants to list here, but one of the staples of Frisco has to be La Hacienda

A day at the park sound good? Frisco Commons park is one of the best!

Need a new or different or bigger home? Call Brian and Marie Spray!

We've been using direct mail for some of our marketing, sending out buyer and seller letters and

such. I hear now the postage rate is going up again? To 44 cents per letter? I know, its not alot higher

than the 41 cents it is now, but it just feels alot higher. It kind of puts the cost into a different

perspective. Generally, a can of Coke/Pepsi whatever is about 50 cents in the vending machines- Why

not use one of them in place of postage? I guess our letters might have more

impact if we just set up a table outside of some store and had a sign saying- "Read our letter and get a

free can of cola!" It would be more effective, people would be more likely to actually read it and

remember us! Or we could go up and down the streets and wrap a can of soda with our letter and leave it

on their door step! It'll cost about as much as mailing would and be more effective as well! Heck, go to

Sams/Costco or wherever and buy in bulk and your cost per can will be less than the price of a stamp!

You know, I started this post in jest about the price of postage, but I think I'm on to something!

I'm heading out to the store now...

I recently put up a list of my first 10 cars and it got me thinking about un cool cars - I've owned one or two in my time. My list is subject to interpretation or revision!

#10. Toyota Prius

9. Chevy Chevette

8. Ford Pinto

7. Any Chrysler K car

6. AMC Gremlin

5. Plymouth Valiant

4. Renault Le Car

3. Nash Metro

2. AMC Pacer

And Topping my list of being one of the most Un Cool cars ever:

1976 Chrysler Town and Country Station Wagon

A friend of mines dad had one of these - it was even uglier in real life!

OK now "Talk amongst yourselves"

Brian.

This is a story my aunt sent me this morning. In the end, how do you want to be remembered?

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes.

I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprizing a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes, but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

'Hello Barry, how are you today?'

'H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good.'

'They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?'

'Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time.'

'Good. Anything I can help you with?'

'No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas.'

'Would you like take some home?' asked Mr. Miller.
'No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay foem with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'

'Is that right? Let me see it' said Miller.

'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'

'I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?' the store owner asked.

'Not zackley but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble', Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.

With a smile said, 'There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever.

When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or a orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.'

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man.

A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one.

Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died..

They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.

Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer what words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men.

One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.

Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.

Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles.

With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

'Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them.

Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size...they came to pay their debt.'

'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho '.

With loving gentle! ness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral : We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.

Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~ A fresh pot of coffee you didn't make yourself.

An unexpected phone call from an old friend.

Green stoplights on your way to work.

The fastest line at the grocery store.

A good sing- along song on the radio.

Send this to the people you'll never forget.

I just Did...

If you don't send it to anyone, it means you are in way too much of a hurry to even notice the ordinary miracles when they occur.

It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!

-Are you going to have alot of people at your funeral? I hope I do!