VanDyk Mortgage - April 2020

APRIL 2020

Letters From the Hart Give us a call! 239-437-4278 Or visit www.TimHartJr.com Corporate NMLS #3035 www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org

Christmas came early for our branch this year! A few weeks ago, we headed out to Clearwater to attend the yearly VanDyk Mortgage Corporation conference. During the event, we won not one, not two, but five different awards. Each time they called out our name, it felt like Christmas Day to me. I was so glad most of the team could be there to accept the awards themselves. These accolades really recognized how hard my team works and how much we hustled this past year. I don’t want to brag, but I do want to share the awards my team claimed this year: • Second in the Country in Units and Loans and Loan Volume as a Loan Officer • Fifth in the Country in Units as a Branch • Presidents Club Winner (won a trip to Hilton Head SC, for being one of the top Loan Officers with the company) • Customer Satisfaction Award (Top 10 for positive online reviews — 131 reviews with a 4.92-star rating) • Best Use of Social Media for the SE Region (Shoutout to John Jones for the amazing presentation for this. I will never forget that, buddy!) There’s a chance you might have already heard about the awards we won. As soon as we got back home, I called our referral partners and thanked them for everything. We could not have won any of these awards without their support. And there is no way I could have managed any of this without my team there to have my back. I knew our numbers going into the conference, so I would be lying if I said I was completely caught off guard by the awards we received. I knew we’d be coming home with something, but I had no idea that we would be walking out of there with a suitcase full of hardware. This was a massive jump from the awards we won as a branch last year. In 2018, we only won the Customer Satisfaction Award. This was still a big honor that we were grateful to receive, but what we accomplished this year really highlights the changes we’ve made as a branch. REASONS TO CELEBRATE Let Me Show My Appreciation 5

In early 2018, I had an eye-opening realization. I had fallen into the trap of posting things to social media and calling it good. That was my whole marketing and customer relationship plan, but then, it finally hit me that it’s not enough to just post funny videos or witty comments on social media. All that stuff helps, but it shouldn’t be the only thing we did. We had to start adding value to our services by being available to our referral partners on nights, weekends, and whenever they need us. I’m never going to stop posting funny videos to social media (Did you see our epic “4th Quarter” video?), but I realized connecting on social media wasn’t the same thing as building real relationships with our clients. In business, no matter what business you’re in, relationships are the biggest key to success. Once I realized this and we flipped the switch to being available to our referral partners and offering more added value, things got better. It was a lot of fun to win these awards with my team, but our goal wasn't to just get a shiny trophy. We want to keep getting better by adding more value to our clients and helping more people make their homes in Fort Myers. Our goals for next year are to be the No. 1 loan officer in the country at VanDyk Mortgage and to increase our branch production. It’s a tall order, but I’m confident we can get there. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped our branch grow to what it is today. I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate my team, our referral partners, and the VanDyk Mortgage Corporation. The support we receive from all sides is invaluable. I look forward to what we will be able to accomplish this next year.

NMLS #354676

VanDyk Mortgage | www.TimHartJr.com | 239-437-4278

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SEE SPRING BLOOM In These Beautiful Locations

when waste is recycled to become a new product, but there’s a loss of quality as a result. Upcycling is the opposite: Whatever you recycle becomes a product with a higher value. One way to upcycle is to create recycled art. Use old newspapers or magazines to create collages or papier-mâché bowl sculptures around balloons, jars, or your own custom shape with chicken wire. You can also use old plastic or glass bottles as beautiful hanging planters or create a memorable wind chime from jar lids, tin cans, plastic silverware, and old rubber bands. Plant a garden. Gardening is one of the most rewarding ways to spend time outdoors. Your kids can learn about caring for another living thing and grow their own vegetables and fruits! A great way to start is to find out what’s in season in your area. If you don’t have an outdoor garden, you can pick out some Crested Butte Crested Butte, Colorado, is best known for its winter sports and summer hikes. But recently it has drawn the attention of flower enthusiasts for its unique pink, orange, and gold alpine wildflowers that appear in the spring. This natural phenomenon even inspired the creation of the annual Wildflower Festival in midsummer, which features nature walks, art, photography, culinary experiences, and more. For a truly unique experience, you can even ascend the town’s titular Crested Butte to spot some rare alpine sunflowers next to the picturesque West Elk Mountains. Antelope Valley The California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, California, is a 1,780-acre park that features sloping hills covered with fields of vibrant orange, yellow,

I t can be tough to figure out how to switch up family game nights. Kids can be very attached to their electronics, making it hard to get them invested in anything else. With Earth Day coming up this month, you have the perfect excuse to put down the phones and get outside to save the planet. If you’re looking for ways to spend time with your kids on Earth Day, try these eco-friendly family activities! Pick up trash and make art with it. You can teach your kids a lot about downcycling and upcycling through recycled art. Downcycling is this season, miles of lady’s-slipper orchids, irises, cardinal flowers, and lilies dot its lush green landscape. It’s dubbed “Wildflower National Park” throughout this time of year, and you can experience it by car or on foot. The park also offers expert-led tours that weave through the flowers during their peak bloom. Spring is here, which means beautiful flowers are finally showing themselves after a long winter. Here are some of the best places in the U.S. to see flower blossoms and welcome the season. Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains National Park stretches across North Carolina and Tennessee, and while its scenery is beautiful year-round, the park is especially alluring to nature enthusiasts during the spring. Through

indoor plants or create a hanging garden with recycled bottles! Build a compost system. If you have a garden, the next best thing you can do is start composting at home! Did you know that you can compost your cardboard products? Instead of waiting for the recycling truck every other week, you can use your spare green and brown waste to create incredibly nutritious soil for your garden! Green waste includes vegetable and fruit scraps, eggshells, nutshells, coffee grounds, etc. Brown waste includes cardboard, dead leaves, paper egg cartons, wine corks, and more. Get a bin and maintain a green-to- brown ratio of 1-to-2. Layer, water, and turn the compost to keep it healthy. It can take anywhere from two months to a year, depending on what you put in and how often you turn it. We hope you and your family have fun with these planet-loving activities! Stay clean! and red poppies in the spring. Warm temperatures and heavy rainfall across Southern California during this time of year create a brief period of thick blooms as far as the eye can see. And while the poppies can be enjoyed from the comfort of your car, the best way to experience them is to walk the leisurely Antelope Loop Trail for a breathtaking, up-close adventure. Spring flora is gorgeous and naturally attracts large crowds of people every year. If you plan to visit any of these destinations, just remember that their ecosystems are delicate. Respect park signs, stay on designated trails, and do your part to make sure these flowers return year after year for future generations to enjoy.

Keep It Green

THE BEST ECO-FRIENDLY AND KID- FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES FOR EARTH DAY

VanDyk Mortgage | www.TimHartJr.com | 239-437-4278

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Smiles Hit a Home Run In a 2010 study at Wayne State University, researchers analyzed 230 baseball cards, measuring the smile of each player. They found that the players with the biggest smiles, Duchenne smiles, not only tended to have longer careers, but on average, they also lived longer. Players with Duchenne smiles lived to an average age of 80 years old. Meanwhile, players with no smile lived to around 73. That’s a seven-year difference! In addition to making us appear more attractive and confident to other people, smiling also improves our health. Fake It ‘Til You Make It All of this is great, but how are you supposed to get the advantages of smiling if you just don’t feel like smiling these days? Well, Dr. Kraver introduced me to a quote from a Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh: “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smiles can be the source of your joy.” “This quote has been proven by science in multiple studies,” Dr. Kraver explained. “Every time you smile a true Duchenne smile, your brain goes nuts. It secretes dopamine and serotonin. These are the same chemicals secreted when we have pleasure. One study I read found that in one dose of a Duchenne smile, the amount

of dopamine and serotonin secreted by the brain is more than you’d get from 2,000 bars of chocolate.” Research shows that even faking a smile can make you feel happier. Dr. Kraver pointed out how we can use this phenomenon to our advantage. “Your brain is just a bag of goo,” he said. “And it’s trainable. You can make it a habit to smile in most situations. […] It’s not always easy to control your emotions, but you can always control your facial muscles.” Dr. Kraver also pointed out how seeing other people smiling can make us feel happier. Think about it: Just smiling at someone else can improve their day. That’s wild! No Such Thing as Perfect I really liked talking to Dr. Kraver because he’s not the kind of dentist who insists that everyone has to have perfect teeth. He preaches the importance of being yourself. Even when we discussed how dentistry can help improve a smile, he really reinforced the idea that “perfect” teeth aren’t what makes a great smile. “As long as teeth are healthy, with no cavities or periodontal disease, then that’s great. If your teeth are a little rotated or

SUDOKU You can see “The Science of the Smile” presentation for yourself on my YouTube channel. Just search for Tim Hart! And if you want to chat with Dr. Phill Kraver about your smile, you can find him at Cape Dental Care in Cape Coral. a little discolored, you can still rock a smile. Don’t worry. Don’t get so self-conscious about yourself.” “Beauty is fleeting, but you can always hold onto your attitude,” Dr. Kraver continued. “That’s what is actually going to draw more people to you. I’ve never seen someone’s teeth draw a friend to them. You don’t make new friends just because you have nice teeth. It’s the way you display your teeth and handle yourself. It’s your personality that makes a difference. […] Smile more. Be conscious about it. There are a lot of times in life when you can get down on yourself, but you can lift yourself out of those problems by just smiling more. It’s proven by science.” It was really cool to sit down and talk with Dr. Kraver. My favorite part of the presentation was when Dr. Kraver brought up some before and after shots of celebrities' smiles. These pictures are the reason why I recommend watching this episode of “The HartBeat Show” on YouTube instead of just listening to it. You have to see these pictures. Have you ever noticed how Morgan Freeman’s teeth look in “The Shawshank Redemption”? It’s unbelievable!

"Tim and his team made our mortgage process so seamless! The online portal allowed us to easily submit our needed documents. They made sure to communicate with us every week to ensure that we were aware of where our mortgage was in the process. They made sure that we understood every document and why they needed it.

They were so great! I would highly recommend and will be telling everyone I know to use them for their mortgage services. Without Tim's team, we wouldn't have gotten our house!" –Caitlin Allred

Trivia Question: What is your "truest" smile called?

Solution on Pg. 4

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Inside This Issue Tim Hart, NMLS #354676 8280 College Parkway Suite #101 Fort Myers, FL 33919

Give us a call! 239-437-4278 Or visit www.TimHartJr.com

Something for the Trophy Case PAGE 1

The Best Locations for Spring Blooms

Eco-Friendly and Kid-Friendly Activities for Earth Day PAGE 2

Testimonial from the Hart PAGE 3 The Science of the Smile PAGE 4

Did you know that on average, children smile about 400 times per day? If you’ve ever spent much time around younger kids, this isn’t surprising. Kids are smiling all the time! But the number of smiles we enjoy tends to decrease dramatically over time. Around 15% of adults only smile five times a day. Just five smiles in a day! How depressing is that? That is just the start of the wild things I learned about smiling when Dr. Phill Kraver joined me on “The HartBeat Show.” Dr. Kraver is a dentist from Cape Coral. When he approached me about sharing his presentation “The Science of the Smile” on my podcast, I was all in. I’m the kind of guy who smiles pretty often, but I was shocked by how much I didn’t know about how smiling can affect your health, your mood, and other people’s moods, too! The True Smile Humans have been smiling for as long as we’ve been around, but it wasn’t until the 1800s that scientists really started researching the smile. “In the 1800s, there were really no laws or rules for doing science,” Dr. Kraver said. “So this French guy, Guillaume Duchenne, began putting electrodes on people’s faces. Duchenne was an anatomist, and he was trying to figure out which muscles actually made you smile. He hooked electrodes to peoples' cheeks, their faces, all over the place, and he SMILE MORE!

Live Longer, Boost Your Mood, and Improve Your Health

was able to identify where their smile muscles originated from. What he found is the ‘true smile.’ This kind of smile, the best smile ever, where all your smile muscles are engaged, is what we call the Duchenne Smile.” Dr. Kraver explained that the Duchenne smile is basically a real smile. It’s not just a social smile where only your lips are smiling. A Duchenne smile really lights up the whole face, engaging the cheeks and the eyes. It’s this kind of big smile that actually leads to crow’s feet later in life! This sounds like a bummer, but Dr. Kraver pointed out that crow’s feet are a sign that you spent a lot of time smiling. And the good news is that true Duchenne smiles don’t just give you wrinkles — they also improve your health.

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VanDyk Mortgage | www.TimHartJr.com | 239-437-4278

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