Posts Tagged ‘passion’
The Gift of Being Grateful
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
How often do you go out of your way to help people? Most real estate agents complain their time is already crunched with too many demands. Being almost constantly overwhelmed can make us blind to other situations going on around us. This also, unfortunately, makes us blind to the possibilities or gifts available to us at any given moment as well.
Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart. — Henry Clay
I read a news story lately about a man who, although late for an appointment, stopped to help a stranger on the side of the highway change a tire. Nice, right? Just hold on… The tire being secure, the man gets in his car and drives off, but a couple miles up the road suffers a heart attack! Meanwhile, the man he had just helped with the tire came along, called for help and performed CPR until medics arrived – saved his life. If the first man had not stopped to help with that tire, the second would not have been able to get there in time to rescue him.
The message here is not original, but is a very simple and profound truth. Soon or later, you get what you give, often multifold. And not just the normal things you do for people in your everyday life. It’s the special times, the times when you see an opportunity to do something meaningful for another even though it is not convenient or enjoyable for you.
As Thanksgiving approaches (for the U.S. anyway), take a minute to think about the news story I mentioned, and by turns put yourself into the position of each man. Imagine how grateful the guy felt who needed help changing his tire that someone had enough empathy to pull over on a highway and provide assistance. Imagine the depth of gratitude the man having the heart attack felt to have someone there who knew what to do to pull him through. Imagine what the outcome would have been had neither of those two events happened?
What are you truly grateful for? Who made what happen in order for that to be possible? You never know how deeply what may seem like a simple act on your part impacts another person. So look for those opportunities, enrich someone else’s life… as well as your own.
Reconnecting with Momentum
Monday, November 7th, 2011
Let’s be honest here… We just simply can’t be 100% all the time. Whether due to illness, lack of sleep, stress, or even just plain don’t feel like it, sometimes our brains simply disconnect for a while. Fact is, humans sometimes need that “down time” to regroup and refocus. However, it can be really difficult to get back in the swing of things. What do you do to regain momentum?
The best way out is always through. — Robert Frost
One of the most basic laws of physics is that a body in motion tends to stay in motion while a body at rest stays at rest. So let’s say you have had a brain disconnect, that’s like you have come to rest. And that’s OK! As long as you don’t stay there. In order to get through it and become productive again, you need to move.
It doesn’t need to be a huge, monumental effort. One small step, one little thing, just do something to get into motion. Once that happens, you will find it gets easier to take another step, make another larger more meaningful move. Soon you will find you are back up and running full speed!
Setting Your Intentions
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011The following is a true story. It happened in a small village in southern New York where several residents lost everything in a flood the night of September 8.
“On October 12, Steve’s neighbor knocked on his door. He was tired from running constantly between his job, putting his home back together till all hours of the night, caring for his family, and sleeping on other people’s couches. He was sick (literally), anxious, and extremely stressed about where the money for even simple things like clothes or his kid’s birthday was going to come from, let alone finishing his home before it gets too cold. He had been searching and praying in his mind for some answer, some relief. And he wasn’t the only one, other friends nearby had lost their homes too and he was concerned about them. But when he saw the strange look on his neighbor’s face, he dropped his tools and opened the door.
In her hands were 10 envelopes. She handed one to him and said, “Open this, tell me what’s in there.” The envelope contained $1,000 – ten crisp hundred dollar bills in a paper wrapper.
Shortly before she had a knock at her door, and there stood a man dressed as a Catholic priest, but not anyone she had ever seen in the village before. He smiled gently and told her, “I need you to do me a favor. You live here, you know who has been hit hardest. Please take these envelopes and hand them out to the 10 people who need it most.” Then he turned and walked away around the corner and was not seen again. But whoever and wherever he is, we hope he knows the deep gratitude and hope he left in that neighborhood that day.”
Now I ask you, what was that? A coincidence? An angel? Everyone is going to have a different answer and opinion. But here’s what I think… When you set your intentions and put them out there, you get a response. “The Universe” by whatever means you recognize or wish to call it – God, fate, luck, karma – will give you what you need if you are open to receiving the gifts. Next time you are lost, hurt or confused, remember that when you let go of trying to control the means and process (How am I ever going to do this?) and start instead by focusing on the need and outcome (Please send help!) you project that to all around you.
One other thing… “The Universe” will respond with equal enthusiasm to your own! This is true in any and every aspect of your life, be it business with your clients, your relationships with friends and family, or even your own journey. The more positive and energetic you are when setting your intentions, the greater your return.
Generate Business NOW —Even As the World Crumbles
Monday, August 22nd, 2011
The news from Wall Street and Main Street (i.e. the housing market) could hardly be less encouraging. And to put a cherry on that sundae, the “experts” are now saying we will likely be entering another recession (like when did we stop having the first one?). This all begs the question: How are you going to generate new business when everything seems to be falling apart?
The first thing to remember is that no matter how bad the economy gets, people will still be buying and selling real estate. I remember being in the business (actively buying investment properties) when interest rates on 30 year loans were around 17% – 18%. The key is to help those who need to sell –right now! This means aggressively courting the FSBO’s and Expireds of the world. The majority of these folks need to sell, no other option available, which means they need YOU.
I made a lot of money during another recession (in the mid 1970′s) specializing in FSBOs. Here are some proven tips to help you turn these market opportunities (FSBO’s and Expired’s) into cash:
- Sell the appointment, not your service - you have to get “belly to belly” with these folks if you want to list their home. Many agents make the mistake of selling their services over the phone. The only thing you want to use the phone for is to get that in-person appointment. So get good, real good at selling the appointment.
- Be their advocate - FSBO’s and Expired’s tend to be stressed out and just a little bit cynical about Realtors. Make it clear that you are there to help them achieve all of their goals, whether or not you get the listing.
- Have an irresistible marketing plan - you better have something that will make them go “Wow!” when it comes to selling their property. Something that most other agents in your area are not likely to offer. For an incredible example of this review the 2/8/11 GUEST EXPERT “How to Win Every Listing and Have Sellers Pay You Upfront!“ Live Group Coaching archive.
There will always be business. And in times like these when it seems everything has been made that much more difficult, you may just be open to doing things that are proven to work, in any market. And that my friend is the gift of troubled times.
How to Pace Yourself For Success
Saturday, August 13th, 2011
Does it ever feel like you are going straight up hill with your business with no end in sight? Everyone runs into these kinds of challenges from time to time. The good news is that there is a proven way to conquer them and turn them into your advantage.
This became abundantly clear to me as I recently hiked to the summit of Mt. Shasta (elevation 14,160′) with a group of eight friends. Here’s what I learned from the most difficult hike I’ve ever been on that also applies to business:
- Pace yourself - when the challenge is very difficult (read: steep), you will quickly burn out if you don’t pace yourself. On the seemingly endless 45° slopes of Mt. Shasta we could maintain a pace of 20 steps, rest; 20 steps, rest; and so on. Anything faster and we would actually fall behind and become more exhausted. For maximum advancement, find your pace, then stick with it.
- It’s better to not look at the whole mountain - for our final assault on the summit, we left at 4:00am using head lamps to see our way up the vast snow field. Seeing only a few feet at a time was a good thing. It would have been too demoralizing to be constantly reminded on how much further we’d have to go with every step.
- You will reach the summit, eventually - there is always a point where you no longer will struggle with the up hill slog. It’s called being at the top, the summit and the view is incredible.
- Once you are at the top you can enjoy the ride back down - there is nothing sweeter than knowing you achieved your hard won goal and can now enjoy the fruits of your efforts. For us it meant having thrills (and some spills) glissading down the mountain (i.e. sliding down our butts in the snow).
- You now have greater confidence - the experience of conquering a difficult challenge gives you the confidence and experience to it again, or even something greater. (BTW, Mt. Kilimanjaro – elev. 19,341′ is on my bucket list)
Human beings were designed to be challenged. It’s the only way we grow, get stronger and get better. So next time you run into a wall with your business, just remember that it’s just a really, really steep hill. And with the right approach you can conquer it and turn it into your advantage.
NOTE: to see some HD videos of our Mt. Shasta adventure taken with my “helmet-cam” just go tohttp://vimeo.com/mrusser/videos/sort:oldest. These include attempts at glissading by me and our team and some breath-taking scenery.
Go Where Eagles Gather
Monday, July 25th, 2011
As I write this I’m in San Diego speaking to the Corcoran Coaching Mastermind and STAR POWER conferences. Both of these event tend to attract the “best of the best”. And as a featured speaker, it gives me a unique opportunity to see the shared qualities that make these folks so successful.
Here’s the short list:
- They think like business people – most of them strive to make their business run successfully without them doing all the work;
- Their hunger for new ideas is insatiable – they are constantly looking for the “edge” in sales, marketing and operations;
- They are wary of “bright shiny objects” – too many of them have already been burned by the “Just buy this and all your problems will be solved!” pitches. They know that building a successful business is marathon, not a quick sprint using some fancy new tool or service;
- They freely share ideas – no small-minded “I’m going to keep this idea to myself.” behavior found in these groups. In fact, they are down right excited to help each other;
- They consistently implement - this group knows that great ideas not put into practice are worthless;
- They are very coachable – they really get that the potential size of their business success is inversely proportional to the size of their ego when it comes to being open to new ways of doing things.
And one more thing. Eagles gather with other eagles on a regular basis just like at these kinds of events. So if you are tired of hanging around the turkeys and want to really soar, start showing up where the eagles hang out and grow a few –eagle feathers that is.
Why Should I Choose You?
Saturday, July 16th, 2011
It’s not too often that I get to be on the “consumer” side of real estate. Yesterday I helped my wife evaluate two Realtors for the possibility of listing her mother’s home for sale. We asked a series of questions starting with “Why should we pick you over all of your competitors?” and that’s when the fun began.
The look on the face of the first one (who had 31 years in the business) was priceless. After composing himself he shares that he’s in the office every day at 8:30am and returns all his phone calls in a timely manner. No really, that’s what he said.
Then we asked “What is your marketing plan that will make this home stand out from all the others and give us the highest value in a reasonable time?” At that, he points to his very nice (customized and hard-bound even!) presentation package and says: “It’s in there, read it –or do you want me to read it for you?” At which point we quickly (yet politely) ended our meeting.
The second one wasn’t much better. He was quite a bit younger and more hip to technology yet he still stumbled all over the question as to why he should be chosen over anyone else. When asked about his marketing program he started rattling off his budgets for print and online advertising, yada, yada yada. When asked why he spends so much money on print when most people use the Internet he said: “I only do the print to satisfy the sellers and to promote my company, we’ve actually never received any business from it.” When we requested that he put together a comprehensive marketing plan for my mother-in-law’s home, he nods at the folder in his hand then gives it to us. Unlike the first agent, it was not customized, had only examples of mostly print advertising and no formal plan whatsoever. We’re still looking…
Granted, most consumers are not going to be quite as, well, thorough as we were. Never-the-less, if they can’t quite articulate the question, they are thinking it: “Why should we chose you over everyone else?” If you can’t answer that in a powerful and straightforward way (while avoiding the typical bromides of “I work hard!”, “I already have buyers interested in your home!”, “I have tremendous experience?”, etc.) then you are working way too hard and earning far too little.
You already have your answer if you are specializing in a niche. Otherwise, take the time to come up with a powerful response. Take it from someone who has just experienced it first hand from the consumer side, you will quickly appear to be head and shoulders above your competition within the first five minutes of any listing appointment.
How Others Can Help You Grow
Sunday, April 24th, 2011
How willing are you to have your work efforts evaluated for the express purpose of getting better at what you do? How you answer that question will ultimately determine just how good you get at your profession.
Asking for one’s peers to evaluate and provide feedback can be most certainly a frightening experience. One is flooded with a whole range of emotions including “What if I’m not good enough?”, “What if I don’t measure up to the rest of the group doing the evaluating?”, and so on. Unfortunately, those feelings can get in the way of valuable feedback that can have a powerfully positive impact on improving one’s skills.
I recently attended a meeting with a group of young professionals who ostensibly were there for the purpose of getting better at software user interface design (I know it’s a geeky thing, but it was something I was interested in). During the meeting we spent most of the time discussing what some attendees had learned in various conferences on the subject. While that was all well and good, when I suggested that some future meetings might be used for the purpose of evaluating and improving upon actual ideas that some of the members were working on, almost in unison they shuddered and essentially said “no way!”…
The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.
~Peter Drucker
I was genuinely taken aback by how vociferous and unified their response was. Then it occurred to me that most of these young folks worked in the corporate world. They had people above and below them to whom neither of which they wanted to appear “weak” by risking having their own work evaluated by a group of peers. Once again I was reminded why I would never last more than 2 nanoseconds in a typical corporate environment.
This whole experience renewed my appreciation for the true professionals within the real estate sales industry. These folks are constantly asking others to evaluate their work in an effort to become ever better at what they do. It is this quality that helps separate their success from all the other wannabes within the business. It is this kind of attitude and behavior exhibited by these top producers that represents one of the most fulfilling experiences when I have the privilege of coaching them.
Living and working in life fully is not about protecting one’s turf or ego. Triumph is a process of taking many steps, some of which we stumble upon along the way. And the real pros know that when they do stumble asking for help and feedback is not a sign of weakness, it’s a way of getting better.
Listen Carefully, The Key to Success Is…
Saturday, February 5th, 2011
So what fills your days, these days? This may seem like a very simple question, but a true and comprehensive answer is anything but (at least for most people).
If you are in the real estate sales business it’s a safe bet that the minutiae of running and doing that business fills your work day (and for many, evenings too). After hours there is eating, reading, watching the news, catching up with friends (online and off) and family, exercising, being entertained and a million other things that people can do to occupy their time.
“So…” you might say, “big deal, what’s the point?”. The point is your time awake is really not as full as it might first seem. Think hard and objectively about all the things you “do” during the day and subtract the times that you were distracted in some manner from “being” in the moment with whatever it is you were doing. What’s leftover is the fullness of your day. And for some, we are talking minutes, not hours.
This is not an easy thing to either be aware of or admit to ourselves because modern society is literally engineered to keep us from living fully focused and in the moment. Distraction of all kinds, freely provided and eagerly accepted, is our 21st century Soma that keeps us from fully waking up and realizing our unique potential…
The sound shivers through the walls, through the table, through the window frame, and into my finger. These distraction-oholics. These focus-ophobics. Old George Orwell got it backward. Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed… and this being fed, it’s worse than being watched. With the world always filling you, no one has to worry about what’s in your mind. With everyone’s imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world.
Chuck Palahniuk
The key to lasting success is the ability to focus undistracted for more than a nanosecond. The key to fulfillment is to be comfortable with, or better yet embrace, each moment exactly as it is. Simple, yes; easy, not so much. The first step begins with being aware of and accepting the fact we are more comfortable with distraction than its absence. Then it is just a matter of carving little slices of each day where distraction has no hold on us whatsoever. By the way, one of the strongest antidotes to distraction is passion. Find yours and discover what it means to be truly awake…
You Need Vision to See Where You Are Going…
Monday, January 31st, 2011
How strong of a “vision” do you have for your business? When asked, most people will say something like “I see myself making lots of money, having a nice home and my kids going to the best schools.” Here’s a news flash for you, that is the result of the vision, not the vision itself.
A true vision is very unique to the person who holds it, and in many (but not all) cases, it is not about them. And the intensity of the vision, how much fire is behind it, will determine how well you handle the inevitable setbacks that come along the way. Boulders (which are often opportunity in disguise) in the road to achieving your vision.
One of my students has a very intense and specific vision for a very unique kind of real estate Website. He had been planning for months prior to speaking to the designer (as he should). So you can imagine his surprise, and frankly tremendous disappointment, when the first design came it was nothing like he had in mind. Was he upset, you bet. Did he let it defeat him, no way. In fact, because he is so on fire about his vision, he was able to rally several very talented people around him and in short order hopefully fixed the design issue.
And that’s one of the big secrets of having a powerful vision, you attract others to help you realize it. Look at any big achievement throughout history and you will find example after example of one persons vision lighting its fire in the hearts of many others…
Most people are not really free. They are confined by the niche in the world that they carve out for themselves. They limit themselves to fewer possibilities by the narrowness of their vision.
V. S. Naipaul
Greatness is not so much a result of capability as it is the strength and heat of your vision. Even those blessed with an abundance of capability will see little in life if it is not driven by something bigger than themselves. And individuals with very modest talents can and do achieve awe-inspiring feats when their vision is bright enough to attract others to help them see it through.
