Happy oh-nine!

Happy New Year to all my friends out there. It's been an incredibly fun couple weeks of celebrating and relaxing with friends and family, purging and organizing our storage-challenged house, reading, reflecting, and setting goals for the year.

Here's an exercise I use every year to reflect on the past year and get my thoughts percolating on the coming one: Completing 2008. I tweak it a little every year to make it more relevant to my life, so feel free to do the same.

I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of the most exciting years of my life. Blessings on you and yours this coming year!

Pain is the Litmus Test

I love the early morning. I'm already getting excited to set my goals for 2009, so I've been preparing by reading a lot of books and journals.Tom Barrack, one of the greatest real estate investors of our time writes in a memo yesterday:

"We can't control circumstances; we can only use them as a training ground to hone our communal character and culture. Let us focus on what we can control."

He also uses a quote from Lou Holtz, one of the greatest football coaches in history:

"Pain is the litmus test of our souls and all games are won one play at a time by each man sacrificing his personal interests to that of the team. There are no shortcuts to obtaining respect and you earn respect only by proving yourself in the tough times. When things get bad, I expect you to hit harder, run faster, become more intense, more focused and feel an uncontrolled sense of urgency."

I encourage you (and me) to start thinking about how you're going to run faster, hit harder and be more focused to make 2009 the best year of your life, despite the circumstances.

Reflection

It's been an exciting couple weeks since I've been back from Dubai. I've been on the road a bunch to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Big Bear Lake and Denver. In the next two weeks I'll be in San Diego again and then in Utah. All I want to do is stay home with my wife and dog!

That's not totally true- I've been having one of the best times of my life with business lately. I'll save that for another post though.

In addition to trying to strategize on how to take advantage of what may be the best buying environment of my real estate career, I've been thinking a lot about the things that are REALLY important in life.

Those feelings started when I was staying in a suite at the Atlantis Palm all by myself a few weeks ago in Dubai (my partner left a few days before me). I went to the mega-waterslide park by myself (don't tell anyone). I was surrounded by celebrities, Bentleys, Iron Chefs, hotels dripping with opulence, and 5-star everything.

I'd be lying to say that I wasn't impressed to some degree. However, it was so lavish that it gave me clarity that even the best that this world has to offer isn't nearly as important as my family, my friends, and my faith.

One of my best friends suffered a tragic loss. Another one had a relationship end. Another one is having a baby. Another one had a major life accomplishment. Life is a crazy dance.

Being present with friends and family is the most lucrative pursuit in my opinion.

Dubai Pics

A few photos from my trip to Dubai...
A sake toast with chef Nobu Matsuhisu at the grand opening.
Arabian sunset from room at the Atlantis.In front of the whale shark aquarium at the Atlantis."Al Salam Alaikum, welcome to Starbucks."
A few minutes outside the city you're reminded that you're not in the USA.Each Emirate in the U.A.E. had it's own governing Sheikh. This one was my favorite.
I snapped this at the Sake Ceremony, where I was eating behind the velvet ropes and all of a sudden found myself standing next to DeNiro, Nobu and Kerzner when they opened the sake barrel.
Looking back at Jumeira Beach Residences and Dubai Marina from the man-made Palm Island.
Toasting with my pals Luke and Tammy.
Looking over the Atlantis waterslide park at the Burj Al Arab.

Video of the fireworks display on Palm Island.

Unreal

It was an UNREAL celebration in Dubai for the opening of the Atlantis hotel and the restaurant Nobu. Here's a commentary from one of the journalists. Thanks Luke for hooking me up!I'm in the airport waiting for my flight and I can't wait to get back to Santa Barbara. I'll post up a few more pics when I get home.

Great meetings & The biggest party in the world

We've had some incredible meetings with some unexpected people. Let me just say, it's very likely that we'll be back... soon. Here are some random shots I snapped around Dubai.There's a bunch of celebs in town because supposedly tonight there is supposed to be what they're calling "the biggest party in the world" for the opening of the Atlantis. The other day we got to meet basketball superstud Michael Jordan at dinner at Nobu. I felt a big connection because I wore Jordans when I was a kid.My buddy Luke is pulling some strings so I think I'll be able to join some of them at the grand opening. I may have to pose as a waiter, but it should be fun nonetheless :)
The fireworks show will be visible from outer space (if you're out there, take pictures). It will be 3x bigger than the Beijing Olympics fireworks display. That pretty much sums up Dubai- bigger, taller, fancier, pricier.

Skiing the Middle East

Indoor skiing at Ski Dubai. Watch me nail a huge air at 38 seconds.

Ski Dubai from Deyl Kearin on Vimeo.
We had some time to kill between meetings.Here's the ski slope on the outside.

Under Construction

It's been an amazing 48 hours. Dubai blows my mind. The amount of construction underway is mind-boggling and oceans of brand new skyscrapers are everywhere. Approximately 30% of the world's construction cranes are currently in Dubai. I've seen almost all of them yesterday and today.

We had an amazing meeting yesterday with an inspiring investor/developer with a huge vision. Today we toured part of a man-made island that he bought with the vision of developing a luxury resort, marina and business center. It was totally desolate, but then we remembered that Dubai was totally desolate just a few years ago and now it's an international business/tourist hub.
This shot was taken from the man-made Palm Island. It shows the 7 star Burj Al-Arab Hotel and the world's tallest building in the background.
By the way, the Burj is running a deal for New Year's Eve: 10 nights for $38,000 (includes a New Year's Eve cocktail). You may want to jump on it as it's a limited time only offer.
We had an epic dinner at the brand-new Nobu courtesy of one of my best pals Luke. Afterward we hung out at an outdoor hookah lounge that looked like Alladin's Palace on a moonlit, balmy Arabian night. I love the multi-cultural aspect of this area as we've met people from dozens of different countries. I'm learning so much.