I think many people are coming to the realization that we are living in a new reality. A reality that is a little unfamiliar to many of us.

What we used to think would work perhaps doesn’t work as well anymore. What we used to count on for our future can no longer be relied on.

So where do we go from here?

I thought about that question a lot and decided that I would like to explore the topic at an event. On June 19th, there is a collection of amazing speakers who are gathering at the Kelowna Community Theatre to share with you some of their insights into what can make a difference in your world today.

It is a collection of athletes, entrepreneurs and health professionals who will let you see what life can be like if you are willing to make a simple 1% difference to the way you run your life.

Fascinatingly, water at 99 degrees is inert. It just looks like, well, water quite frankly! Yet with a 1% difference that same substrate transforms into steam, and steam powered a whole revolution, the Industrial Revolution. It allowed us to manufacture materials and move materials around the world. Steam changed our lives and I firmly believe that the power of a 1% change can change your life too.

If you attend the event, some of the speakers you will hear will talk about some incidents that may in fact appear accidental. In reality you will learn about an aspect of their life that was very focused and created a set of circumstances that led to the journey they are now on. So perhaps the journey is not as accidental as we may think.

The speakers will convey the power that subtle changes in your life can bring. The power in paying attention to the employee that has been asking for a few minutes of your time. The power in answering the phone and taking the time to listen to the idea instead of saying you don’t have the budget without knowing what you are saying no too.

Attendees will receive a copy of an eBook, The Accidental Journey. For $20 you will be able to listen to six speakers who will not only inspire but empower you to make subtle and important changes in your life. For $40 you will receive a VIP ticket which will allow you to attend a VIP event in advance of the talks. You will be able to meet the speakers and participate in a media panel forum and of course, you too will receive a copy of the eBook, The Accidental Journey.

Tickets are available at www.TheAccidentalJourney.com and I hope that you can clear your calendar that night and join us for what could quite possibly be a life changing event for you.

Some great stats showed people are tiring of sitting on the sidelines and even though April weather was nothing to write home about, people still took the opportunity to buy homes in the Okanagan.

In general, April stats over the same month last year were up considerably which is welcome and refreshing news and supports the statement in one of my recent articles that talked about busier offices in general.

Specifically, we saw sales increase from 341 units in April last year to 406 units this year with a corresponding increase in sales volume from $140,992,881 last year to $155,860,251 this year.

While encouraging, it is not a predicator of turn around in the real estate market but again it points to sustained stabilization and does a good job of bringing our year to date numbers much closer to parity with last years year to date numbers.

The Residential category was up on average 15.58% in terms of sales numbers compared to last year and up 10.2% in terms of sales volume, good news indeed. Also encouraging is the fact that residential median values are showing a softening of less than 2% on year to date comparisons.

Speaking personally, it was as if a switch had been turned on a few weeks ago with consistent telephone and e-mail traffic from clients leading to contracts being written.

Thanks goodness the rains may have disappeared for a while and at the least the real estate markets can dry out a little as we move into the summer months.