For some people, especially those who come from bigger companies, the constant change can be somewhat unsettling at first. If you are not prepared to deal with constant change, then you probably are not a good fit for the company.

We must all learn not only to not fear change, but to also embrace it enthusiastically, and perhaps even more importantly, to encourage and drive it. We must always plan for and be prepared for constant change.

Although change can and will come from all directions, it’s important that most of the changes in the company are driven from the bottom up — from the people who are on the front lines and closest to the customers and/or issues.

Never accept or be too comfortable with the status quo because, historically, the companies that get into trouble are the ones that aren’t able to respond quickly enough and adapt to change.

We are ever evolving. If we want to continue to stay ahead of our competition, we must continually change and keep them guessing. They can copy our images, our shipping, and the overall look of our web site, but they cannot copy our people, our culture, or our service. As long as embracing constant change is a part of our culture, they will not be able to evolve as fast as we can.

Zappos Core Value #2

  Homes vs Stocks

This article was written by Mark Cuban with which I agree on this issue. You can find the original article at http://blogmaverick.com/2008/11/11/homes-vs-stocks/

By Mark Cuban,
So whats the difference between being underwater on a mortgage and underwater on a stock ? Is it that “experts” will tell you to hold the stock in hopes of it going up in value and then explain that those with homes worth less than their mortgages shouldn’t feel bad about breaking their mortgages and defaulting ?

I think “Buy and Hold” for stocks is one of the all time great marketing scams.

“Buy and Hold” for your house is a mantra you should always live by. The difference ?

You can live in your house. You get utility from your house. You may get a deduction for interest paid on your tax bill. You can develop a positive emotional attachment to a house.

A share of stock….well you can…you can look up the price anytime you want if you think thats fun. There is no utility of a share of stock beyond its financial value. The value of a house is that its your home.

The fact that you may be underwater in your mortgage is of no relevance if you can make the payments.

If you can make the payments on your mortgage, it shouldnt matter if your house is worth 10pct of your mortgage. If you can make the payments, make them.

My last house, (Mark Cubans house), I remember being freaked out watching as my rate on my Adjustable Rate Mortgage went up and up as I watched the value of my house go down. For 2 years my rate went up, my house value went down. Fortunately, I liked living there. I wasnt building any equity, in fact, I was negative, but I was going to have to pay to live somewhere. On top of everything, my credit was bad enough, I didn’t want to make it any worse. In fact, I knew that if I didn’t make the payments on my house, my chances of ever owning a house again were none and none. So I kept paying the note every month. In spite of the financial pain.

Then a funny thing happened. Interest rates started to go down. I didnt even know it until I got my annual notice saying that my mortgage payment would go down. The value of my house wasnt going up, but for the next several years, my payments went down. It took years, but I actually built equity in the house.

Which is exactly the point. Buy and hold works when it comes to the HOME you LIVE IN. Turning in the keys because you have negative equity is a fool’s game.

Your home has far more value than its mark to market price because you can live in it . Do whatever you can to stick it out. It will pay off for you in the long run.

After many years waiting for ChadBennett.com to come available and a couple complications when it finally did, I was finally able to register my domain name. The old proverb that says, “Tis a lesson you should heed, Try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed, Try, try again.” really came in handy. So now, this is the official website for Chad Bennett. Even though there are probably a thousand Chad Bennett’s in the world, I am officially THE Chad Bennett. I hope finally be able to succeed at blogging, this being my third attempt.

If you do not yet know me and would like to learn more about me then keep reading the entries and hopefully you will get to know a little more about whats happening in my life. To give a little synopsis, I have been married to the greatest women in the world for almost 5 years now. We have a little boy, a little girl and another little girl on the way. I am an entrepreneur through and through with my current successful ventures in Real Estate investing. I am the founder/co-owner of a Real Estate investment company that invests in residential, multi-family and commercial projects in multiple states but mainly in Utah. In my free time I love to play with my kids and I have actively been training and participating in triathlons. So with this short introduction I hope you enjoy ChadBennett.com