Do It Now! / Women's Leadership Workshop - Chicago / A New Real Estate Textbook / Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Do It Now!

Recently I was having coffee with a relatively new industry friend Dan Elman who, since 1999, has been delivering communications and marketing services to finance, capital markets and real estate firms.

Our animated conversation went on many tangents.  One related to the series of full-page ads that were run years ago in the Wall Street Journal by aerospace giant, United Technologies (UT) …coincidentally Dan worked for UT in those days.  While cleaning out some old briefcases this week, I found a binder where I had saved a number of these pieces.  I’d like to share this particular one with you, and remind myself at the same time about it’s importance.

Do It Now

• If you’re putting off something you’ve been meaning to do, what are you waiting for? 
• Always wanted to play the banjo?  Start taking lessons.
• Dreamt about visiting the Greek Islands?  Call a travel agent. 
• Hate your bathroom wallpaper?  Scrape it off and paint. 
• Feel better if you exercised?  Start jogging.
• Love the taste of homegrown tomatoes?  Plant your own. 
• Angry about the potholes in your street?  Go to your town meetings. 
• Whatever you’ve been putting off, do it now. 
• Tomorrow may be too late.

While I have subscribed-and sometimes been successful in implementing this philosophy-I have put several important things off…I’ve started to change that:  This past week I got my New York City Recreation Department membership card and tomorrow morning will be making my first to the facility nearest where I live.  There are exercise machines, a gym (for basketball), Olympic-sized swimming pool and, last but not least, ping pong tables (I love ping pong)! 

I have committed to going back to writing for 30-minutes early every morning.  The 2015 goal? Publish my semi-autobiographical / semi self-help book called ‘Driving With Your Knees’, which has been in the works for almost 20 years.  Accepting the suggestion of a number of friends, the book will include some of the pieces from this column that have resonated with many of you since I first started publishing in 1999. 

Lastly, I have started to form a band that, in 2015, will perform the material off my two CD’s of original music.  Much of this music has never been played in public.  The first band member?  My son Kevin who co-wrote two of the songs on that second CD, Wait For Me.

I know these goals are achievable and recently discovered a great message on a greeting card:  Proceed as if success inevitable.  It’s my new mantra!!

Women’s Leadership Workshop - Chicago

This coming Wednesday, December 3, my partner Liz Weiner and I will be facilitating a Women’s Leadership Workshop in Chicago.  The price for the 4-hour session is $279 – there are still a few seats remaining.

Women from the following forward-thinking real estate companies will be attending:

•  Bentall Kennedy

•  GEM Realty Capital

•  Harrison St.

•  Heitman

•  INVESCO

•  L&B Realty Advisors

•  National Real Estate Advisors

•  Origin Capital

•  Principal Global Investors

This dynamic, interactive session is open to women at all levels in the commercial real estate industry. Attendees will acquire presentation, communication and leadership skills to take them to the next level in their career – and beyond.

Here is the registration link.  

We’d really appreciate you forwarding this on to someone you know who may be interested.

New Book:  Indirect Real Estate Investments

My good friend Prof. Dr. John C. Davidson, Asset Management Board Member of Deutsche Finance Group,  from Zurich, Switzerland recently published a new book to complement “Private Equity Real Estate," which he published in 2011.

The aim of “Indirect Real Estate Investments” is to outline the potential of indirect real estate as an asset class from the perspective of professional investors. The following list of supporters of, and contributors to, this academic work are evidence of the high esteem in which John Davidson is held by the industry: Aberdeen, Amstar, Avenida Capital, Cordea Savills, ANREV, Composition Capital, CBRE Global Investors, Grainger, Caerus, Deutsche Finance Group, Dieners Syz, INREV, Invesco, Jamestown, KRE, Mercer, Partners Group, Patrizia, Revcap, Southern Bridge Capital, PREA, UBS.

You can learn more about the book or purchase here.

All the best with this one Dr. John!

Macy’sThanksgiving Day Parade

For those in the U.S. (and expats around the world) I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Mine was something special:  Watching the 88^th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from a building right on the parade route.  The location was my daughter-in-law’s office where she, my son and their 3-year old twins and I had a great time.  In person, the parade is much more of an awesome spectacle than on TV - even with the cold, snow-showery day - the energy was something to behold.  For those who have never seen this parade, it’s huge, just like New York City. There are numerous high school and college bands that make a special, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, trip to Manhattan to participate.  Here are a couple of photos I took…feel free to share them with younger people who will appreciate the characters (and know them!).

On the Road...

Dec. 3:  Women's Leadership Workshop, Felix / Weiner Consulting Group, Chicago, IL Learn more and register here.

Dec. 3 - 4:  NAREIM Capital Raising and Investor Relations Meeting, Chicago, IL. Learn more and register here.

Jan. 15 -16, 2015:  NAREIM Asset Management and Acquisitions Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Learn more and register here.

Jan. 21-22:  Introduction to Capital Raising Course offered by Steve Felix and Liz Weiner in partnership with IMN running alongside their Opportunity and Private Fund Investing conference, Laguna Beach, CA. Learn more and register here.

Jan. 21 - 23:  IMN's Winter Forum on Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing, Laguna Beach, CA. Learn more and register here. 

Feb. 17 – 18:  NAREIM Research & Investment Management Meeting, Chicago, IL. Learn more and register here.

Feb. 19 - 20:  University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Real Estate Challenge (I've been invited to be a judge!), Chapel Hill, NC. Learn more here 

Mar.3 - 5: NCREIF (National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries) Winter Conference, Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register here. 

Mar. 10 - 11:  National Association of Real Estate Research Professionals (ARERP) meeting, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Mar. 17 - 18:  NAREIM Executive Officers Spring Meeting, Miami, FL. Learn more and register here.

Disclaimer 

All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation.