VanDyk Mortgage - July 2021

JULY 2021

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

THE SECRET IS OUT: COLLEGE IS OVERRATED!

Why You Don’t Need a 4-Year Degree to Make a Great Living

A s you can see from the title of this article, I have a hot take for you this month: College is overrated! When I was in high school in the 1990s, kids weren't expected to attend college right after graduation — in fact, even going to college wasn't as common as it is today. Instead, society gave us the freedom to choose our next step and career path. But now, it seems kids don't have that choice, and they're practically expected to attend college regardless of their goals. This flip-flop makes no sense to me because college has only gotten more expensive over the years. Back in the ‘90s, a four-year degree was pretty attainable, but right now the average college graduate is $30,000 in debt. I know adults with as much as $330,000 hanging over their heads because of college debt. That’s insane! If you get a job paying $75,000 a year with debt like that, the loan will never go away. It will be an anchor weighing you down for life. Now, before I get too deep into this, I want to say there’s nothing wrong with wanting to get a four-year degree. I actually think it’s a great idea if you want to become a doctor, a lawyer, or another specific type of professional. College can also help you build a great network you can leverage

after graduation, and it looks like a pretty good time. (Honestly, the only thing I regret about not going to college myself is missing out on extra socializing!) The problem for me is that a four-year degree is treated as the only option for today’s kids when there are a lot of other ways to make a great living. Some of the most successful people I know don’t have college degrees. Instead, they worked hard, learned a trade or skill, stayed consistent, saved money, and grew their money over time. I’m happy to be one of those people who is doing well in life and providing for a family with just a high school diploma. I think I got away with skipping college partly because of the time I grew up in and partly because my parents knew getting As and Bs didn’t light my fire. I learned the value of hard work, competition, and achievement in high school instead by playing sports and spending time with my friends. Then, when I graduated, I went to work at the Publix grocery store. While I was there, I realized the managers at Publix were making six figures working inside in the AC all day without degrees in their pockets. I thought, “Hey, I can do what those guys do!” From there, I got a job working in sales, then I got into the

mortgage business. Now, I’m running an award-winning office (see Page 4 for those details) and making great money, all without a college degree. I know my path is still possible for kids today because when I talk to my buddies who are living the good life as welders, mechanics, plumbers, or electricians, they all say their biggest problem is finding good help! A lot of them even work at companies that are happy to put kids through trade school or apprenticeships at no cost. Those kids come out of the process debt-free and with the ability to make a really good living over a long period of time. My wife has a doctorate degree and doesn’t regret it, but we both agree college isn’t for everyone and you don’t need a degree to succeed. We’re not going to push our kids down one path or the other. Instead, we’ll make sure they know their options, find something they’re interested in, and get busy learning about it in whatever way they can. I hope if you have a recent graduate in your life, you’ll consider doing the same!

NMLS #354676

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

Page 1

GET YOUR TRAIN OF THOUGHT BACK ON TRACK Recovery Hacks

Take a short pause. Pausing briefly is a great way to make recovering your train of thought seem natural. This hack works really well if you’re answering a question and you need time to think, and you also don’t want to be bogged down by a chorus of “ums” escaping from your mouth. Write it all down. This hack works well when you know beforehand that you’ll be speaking with someone or in front of people. Even if you never refer to your notes while speaking, simply writing down a road map for your train of thought can help you recover from a detour and speak more confidently.

Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, presentation, or debate, stringing together thoughts in a way you hope is coherent and insightful when — poof! — you lose your train of thought? It’s frustrating. You just want to make yourself understood, but your brain has other plans. What if there were a way to keep your train of thought on track? Well, the good news is that recovering your train of thought is easy with the following hacks in mind. Repeat, repeat, repeat yourself. Paraphrasing your last few thoughts out loud can help you remember where you were going. Think of it as retracing your steps: You go back to the last words you remember saying, and more often than not, you’ll find your direction again.

Remember your overall point. The easiest way to drive your train of thought into the weeds is to forget your overall point — or not to have an overriding point at all. Always have a short, overarching point you can use to recenter yourself and get back on track. With these hacks, your brain will have to work a lot harder to make you lose your train of thought! Now you’ll be more prepared to tackle any subject matter, no matter how deep or technical, that comes your way.

Fun Facts About the Fourth of July YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR KIDS

Two future presidents signed the Declaration of Independence: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They both died exactly 50 years later, on July 4, 1826 . This fact is an interesting coincidence sure to fascinate both kids and adults. It’s also a great way to introduce kids to some of the Founding Fathers and share how they helped shape the United States today. In 1776, the year the United States was founded, only 2.5 million people lived here. Today, the U.S. population is 331 million. Lots of people have been born in the United States since it was founded, and millions more came here from other places, hoping to find a better life. Many succeeded, too. Many people want to call this country home! On the Fourth of July, around 155 million hot dogs are eaten in the United States. Okay, so this fact might not have anything to do with American history, but it’s still pretty funny! If anything, the fact that we have so many hot dogs to eat on that day is evidence of the prosperity so many people enjoy in the United States of America.

What do your kids know about the Fourth of July? Do they know it’s a day when you have a barbecue, spend time with friends and neighbors, and watch a fireworks show? These hallmarks of the holiday certainly do make it fun and memorable, but they don’t really exemplify why we celebrate the Fourth of July, the anniversary of when the United States declared its independence from Britain. So, along with the sparklers and hot dogs, here are a few fun facts about Independence Day you can share with your kids to help them understand the significance of the holiday. The Fourth of July marks our country’s independence because it’s when the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. This fact might seem like a no-brainer, but it contextualizes the holiday for kids. It’s a great jumping-off point to talk about why the United States wanted to be its own country, what the Continental Congress was, what the Declaration of Independence said, and what it means to “ratify” something.

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

Page 2

... CONTINUED FROM PG. 4

Measured in volume, we won …

always reminds me that we’re our own biggest critics. Those wins prove we’re doing a good job for our clients, even among our peers who are already some of the best people in the business.

• No. 3 Loan Officer in the Country! • No. 5 Branch in the Country!

With the 2020 awards behind us, I’m already looking forward to the big reveal of 2021. We’ve been working harder than ever this year, and I know we’ll have even more success. Right now, the team and I are neck and neck with the loan officers and branches that beat us last year, and I’m confident we’ll come out ahead. To find out whether I can pull it off, keep reading this newsletter! In the meantime, if you

On top of that, I got a nice plaque to recognize my “outstanding sales achievement throughout 2020.” It feels good! I’m still blown away by those numbers, and I owe my team big-time for making them happen. It has

been my pleasure to mentor them, train them, and watch them close deals over the last year. Pretty soon, the students will surpass the teacher! We celebrated with pizza and massages in the office, but that’s only the beginning of what they deserve.

want more VanDyk Mortgage content, you can always check out our YouTube channel under my name, “Tim Hart,” or listen to my podcast, “The HartBeat Show.”

Another reason we had such a good year is that we added some new loan officers. They're amazing, and I'll be highlighting them in the newsletter over the next few months.

As a team, we all try our best and sometimes we fail (or at least I do), but the recognition we get in the VanDyk Mortgage Awards

NMLS #354676

TRIVIA QUESTION: What place did Tim's branch place in units closed?

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

Page 3

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

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

Inside This Issue

College Is Overrated! Tim’s Take on Higher Ed PAGE 1

How to Recover Your Train of Thought

Fourth of July Fun Facts to Share With the Kids

PAGE 2

Testimonial From the Hart PAGE 3

Our Office Won Big! PAGE 4

We Placed 4 Times in the 2020 VanDyk Mortgage Awards OUR OFFICE WON BIG!

One thing you should know about me is that I’m a competitive guy. I like to win, and luckily, my team here at VanDyk feels the same way. This spring, we pulled off a big one! We placed a total of four times in the 2020 VanDyk Mortgage Awards. These awards pit all of the VanDyk branches against each other, and since there are more than 90 offices and 200 loan originators in total spread across the U.S., snagging four pieces of hardware is a big deal. Here’s a quick list of the awards our branch took home for our awesome performance in 2020.

Measured in units, we won ...

• No. 2 Loan Officer in the Country! • No. 5 Branch in the Country!

CONTINUED ON PG. 3 ...

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

Page 4