Friday Positivity with Lauren Blair

Hello! If we haven't met before, my name is Lauren Blair. You can read a little more about me here: https://steinfinancialgroup.com/our-team

If you've been to one of our events, you've seen me running around making sure everything is running smoothly. If you've called in to our office after 3pm, you've likely spoken with me on the phone. More recently, if you've received communications about COVID-19, that's been me as well. At Stein Financial Group, we are monitoring the news like crazy. We are staying up to date about the Coronavirus, Minnesota State and Twin Cities updates and closures, and of course, the market impacts of the crazy times we are living in. While we are here to talk about any and all of these concerns, we also want to do our part in contributing to the spread of positivity during this difficult time. That is why, for the foreseeable future, we will be posting Friday Positivity blogs! Each week one of our staff will provide you with some lighthearted feel-good Friday fun. Here is mine:

Looking to next week, our office will start to work from home for the majority of the time. While this isn't ideal for plenty of reasons, its essential for the health and safety of our clients, ourselves, and the community. The bright sides I am staying focused on include 3 major things.

1. More time with my dog

Nothing takes the stress away quite like petting your pup. For years, I have been trying to come up with a way to be able to bring our giant dog, Mabel into the office. Now I can have the best of both worlds! Here is a picture of my snuggle bug:

2. Saving Money On Gas / Not Sitting In Traffic / Reducing The Carbon Footprint

No one likes sitting in traffic. The morning commute to my home office (3 steps away) will be a lot less hectic than my usual commute into Stein Financial Group's downtown Minneapolis office. And even though gas prices are extremely low right now, the gas money we'll all save by not commuting to work or scheduled activities each day will be a nice silver lining.

3. Learning New Skills / Team Building 

Part of navigating our new normal involves getting extremely comfortable with virtual systems. For many people, our clients included, this will involve learning how to use a new software or communicate in another way. For example, they may use Zoom to have their annual financial review instead of coming in to sit down face-to-face. In our office, we are learning how to maintain our close-knit team approach from a distance. A new territory for us, but one I am excited to master. With new challenges, comes many opportunities to grow your skill set.

Finally, I wanted to share an article I came across from the Life Is Good team. It shares 3 acts of kindness that any of us can start doing right now and continue even after these hard times are over. And they will be over eventually. https://www.lifeisgood.com/blog/kindness-routine.html

I hope you enjoyed our first week of Friday Positivity. Tune in to our blog next week where another member of our team will bring the optimism.

Stay Healthy and as always, call us with any questions or concerns you may have. 612-492-0212

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