Posts Tagged ‘thrive’
How to Drown Your Competition
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
How much can you talk about your real estate specialty? Assuming you have a specialty, do you run out of things to say or contribute after just a few minutes, or can you go on for hours?
How you answer this question is a measure of your professional depth and commitment. Given that Kevin Tomlinson doesn’t even have to look at the Miami MLS to tell you which South Beach condos are for sale, under what terms and what unique features each offers speaks volumes about his depth. One that his competitors can’t hope to match because they are far too busy trying to be everything to everyone.
The same with Linda Jefferson of GoArmyHomes.com who can give you every nuance of working with relocating army families. Like it or not, real estate sales is no longer just about sales. It is also very much a function of how well you serve and stand out from your competition as evidenced by your passion and depth of knowledge. It doesn’t matter if your experience spans hundreds of square miles if it’s only one-inch deep.
This reminds me of something my Dad said something to me when I was in my teens that I’ll never forget…
There are those with years of experience and those with experience in their years.
Max O. Russer (Mr. Internet’s Dad)
Guess which one prospects will be attracted to and to whom clients will refer others. If you call yourself a professional it is incumbent upon you to maintain and grow the depth of specialized experience and knowledge implied by that moniker. Anything less is just posing.
Don’t Drink the Poison of Comparison
Saturday, July 10th, 2010
Let me ask you something, and be honest about how you answer this. Have you ever felt just a tinge of envy when meet someone who is “more successful” than you? Or on the flip side, feel just a bit superior when you meet someone who is not as successful as you?
If you answered yes to either of these welcome to the Human Race. The tendency to compare ourselves to others (either positively or negatively) is very common and in fact well supported by our celebrity-crazed media and society. If we are not careful we could end up spending a significant part of our time worrying about how we compare to others. Let me share something from first-hand experience in this matter —this never, ever works to your benefit —ever!
Comparing yourself to others is like a highly corrosive acid that eats at your soul and tarnishes the possibilities you already have available to you. I remember (way back in 1976) as a young, upstart sales person who saw some early success. At first I just focused on what I needed to do to be successful. I learned from others as I could and was not being bothered by the fact that so many (in fact almost everyone) was better at doing the business than me because I was new.
However, once consistent success was achieved, I started to compare myself to others and without fail ended up feeling depressed because there was always a bigger fish. As a result my productivity, and even more importantly, my enjoyment of the business plummeted…
If you resent those who have achieved more than you, that blocks your own path to achievement. If you feel superior to those who have achieved less, your own achievements will quickly crumble.
Choose to be inspired instead of intimidated or resentful.
Focus on creating your own special manifestation of goodness and abundance.
Ralph Marston
The next time you have the urge to compare, stop and remember that it is about as useful as drinking a cup of poison. Instead, celebrate the success of others and learn what you can. And be grateful for your own success and readily share what you know. Either way is a much more fulfill ling way to live.
Work to Live, Not Live to Work
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Summer is here (at least for those of us North of the equator) and today is one of the biggest and most important “relaxation” holidays of the year in the U.S. —the 4th of July (okay, it’s actually the 5th, but we are celebrating it today).
So just how relaxed are you feeling? Is it hard to “let go” and not think about work. Or do you feel stressed because you are trying not to think about work and the little voice in your head says you better or something bad will happen?
If so, welcome to the club. Far too many of us (me included) have a hard time relaxing. I suspect the primary reason for this is that age-old culprit, fear. Fear that if we let go of our iron grip everything will fall apart. Actually, quite the opposite is true. If we don’t learn to relax on a regular basis, everything will fall apart, starting with our health and relationships…
When you don’t have time to relax, that’s when relaxation will help you most. Go ahead, and allow yourself to relax.
Stop clinging to what you think you need. Start allowing the beauty of what is.
Ralph Marston
So as you are cooking those hotdogs and burgers enjoy the moment for what it is. You’ve worked hard, you deserve to enjoy life without constant fretting and worry. Remember, you can handle anything that comes your way. It’s just a lot easier when you are fully rested and regained the perspective that you work to live, not live to work…
Learn From the Best of the Best
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
It’s not to often that you get the opportunity to see how success is done first hand. You now have that chance and it is one that could cost you big time if you don’t take advantage of it.
STAR POWER 2010
From Sunday July 25 to Wednesday July 28, the 2010 STAR POWER conference in Murfreesboro, TN has jam packed every hour with speakers, business growth strategies, interactive resources, tools, and networking all to help you take your business to the next level. “Mirroring” is one of the most effective and fastest ways to improve your business. See what other highly successful people do in their markets and then replicate those actions in yours. STAR POWER was founded by Howard Brinton on that principle and has been going strong for over 20 years.
The Whole Gang Will Be There…
In addition to the top agents in the business and stellar keynote speakers, yours truly, Mr. Internet will be there speaking and pretty much my entire ULTRA Alumni eTEAM, many of whom will be speaking and sharing their secrets as well. Yes, the market is tough and it may be hard to spend the time and money to attend, but don’t let a false sense of economy cost you tens of thousands in new revenue. Now is the time you look for proven methods that work in this market, and there is no better place than the STAR POWER conference at the end of this month. Be there or be square!
Avoid Comfort Zone Jail
Monday, June 28th, 2010
How you feeling these days —pretty comfortable? And if not, then chances are you expend a great deal of effort trying to achieve the state of comfort. Almost everyone does.
If you take a hard look at today’s mass media, the vast majority of it is geared to achieving greater levels of comfort, whether it be through food, a new car, Lazy-boy chair or the hammock that swings just outside my office door that is used almost daily.
There is nothing wrong with being comfortable. In fact it is a state we all need from time to time otherwise we grow dull very quickly. When “comfort” becomes our primary goal however, that is when it is no longer our friend. It becomes a very deep rut from whose depths it can be very difficult to climb out of.
As human beings we are “hard-wired” to stretch and learn new things. And when we don’t things can break down very quickly, be it your business, relationships or health…
I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn’t fail. The same four walls and busywork were really more like jail.
Author Unknown (click here to read the whole poem)
Getting out of your comfort zone is easier said than done. At first things feel awkward and very unsure. Now there are two ways to look at this: a) “Ugh, this feels like I’m just starting over and I’ve been there, done that!”, or b) “I wonder what new things I’m going to learn and be able to do!”. Perhaps the best way to think about “comfort” is that it’s a rest stop on the road of life, never the destination…
Win Win vs. Win Lose
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
When the World Cup of Soccer is over, in addition to those annoying horns going silent, very few will remember who came in 2nd or 3rd regardless of how hard each team played. If you make a profit in the stock market it is coming out of the pocket of some other investor. A seller just said “yes” to list with one of your competitors —they win, you lose.
The idea that business, and even life for that matter, is a zero-sum game is deeply ingrained within our highly competitive Western society. By the way, our primitive reptilian brain loves the idea of “I win, everyone else loses” because it is so survival-centric. Which of course should give you a clue that perhaps this way of thinking is not the best for your long-term well being and happiness.
A much more powerful (and healthy) way to look at competitive situations is to consider what you can learn each time you “lose”. For example, when I started selling real estate back in 1976 (okay, hold the AARP jokes) I focused on listing FSBOs. At first I was terrible at it. However, every time I “lost” the listing to another agent I made a point to ask the seller a very important question:
“Mr. & Mrs. Seller, congratulations on listing with _______, I am sure they will do an outstanding job for you. Would you mind sharing with me what it was about ________ that caused you to choose them to market your home?”
By taking this approach, I went from “terrible” to “pretty darn good” pretty darn fast! Each time I lost a listing to a competitor, it became an opportunity to learn what set them apart. From that perspective I should thank each of them for helping me become the “FSBO Kid” (as I was known) in just three months flat…
Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker.
Zig Ziglar
Zero-sum is a very limiting way to look at life and business. Celebrate your wins of course, and be grateful for the opportunity to learn when you don’t come out on top. It truly is a gift if you choose to see it that way.
Creativity —Your Key to Standing Out From the Crowd
Monday, June 7th, 2010
As a speaker / coach, you would not believe how many times I hear “I’m just not creative!” coming from the mouths of real estate professionals (then again, maybe you would).
First of all, this is a complete myth. Everyone is creative. Some are just more in touch with their creativity than others. Given that success in business depends heavily on standing out from the crowd, this is an important trait to nurture for every every real estate professional serious about their career.
So why do most sales people feel like they are not very creative? Fear. Fear of making “mistakes” (there are no “mistakes” in the creative process that by definition is messy), fear of not being in control (creativity is about letting go, not hanging on with a death-grip) and ironically, fear of being different (wait a minute, isn’t that a prime reason for being creative?) Sorry, there are no good excuses for not tapping into your God-given gift of creativity…
…your ability to create and contribute isn’t determined at birth. It’s a choice.
Seth Godin
Our ability to think and act creatively sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Our ability to literally “cause” from nothing is as close to god-like powers as we get in this life. Yet, like any muscle it needs to be exercised. Use it or lose it.
How to Make Continual Change Work For You
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Does the expression “Drowning in a sea of change” ring true for you? It’s a great metaphor for today’s human condition. Be it technological, financial, sociological, political etc. At first glance it appears to be an increasingly boiling, angry mess of an ocean that promises to swallow all those foolhardy enough to be caught in it (as if we had a choice :0)
Yet if you take a step back, you will notice that no matter how fast or big the changes, there are patterns, one very much like waves. Now if you flail in those waves you will eventually become exhausted and overcome. That’s one way to deal with change and not very effective.
Another way is to learn to “surf” these waves, which takes practice. One of the first things you learn in surfing is how to read the waves. Take off to late and you will miss the wave, too soon and it will chew you up and spit you out. However once you learn how to catch and ride these waves of change, you harness their power to your pleasure and benefit…
Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.
Anonymous
It used to be said that the only constant was change. That’s not really true anymore because the very nature of change is, well… changing. It’s accelerating and we are all seeing rouge waves of change more frequently (seemingly instant massive swells that come out of nowhere -i.e. the financial meltdown).
We will never escape this sea of change. It will never be easy but those that learn to embrace it will come out on top, and frankly have a lot more fun. Our very survival, both figuratively and literally requires that we stop fighting it and learn to surf with it. And when you do, your life becomes one very exhilarating ride.
How to Avoid Being a Top Producer “Biggest Loser”
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010
What good is it being a “top producer” if you are working 80 hours (or more) a week and haven’t had a vacation in five years? Sounds more like a prison to me. It doesn’t matter how much money you make if you are always exhausted or miserable.
I remember meeting the #2 producer for an entire state during one of my speeches. When the audience was asked “Who here is having an extraordinary career?” she raised her hand and said: “I maintain 75 – 90 listings at any one time, get 2 – 3 hours of sleep a night and I hate my life!” She was as serious as the heart attack that was heading her way.
So why is it that so many of us work ourselves to death this way (whether or not we are making a ton of money)? Largely it is due to fear. Fear of being out of control, fear of uncertainty, fear of scarcity and the big “gotcha”, fear of who would we be if we were not doing what we do. That last particular fear is a result of becoming a “Human Doing” instead of living as a human being…
Strive to turn your business into a faithful servant that always serves you, instead of you being a slave to it.
Mr. Internet
I remember a couple of elderly lady Realtors during a speech in Texas. During the break we started chatting and they shared how they just returned from a trip to New Zealand where they did (among many other things) bungee jumping! As I was recovering from my shock of that mental image they went on to say how they were looking forward to visiting Antarctica! When asked why they were going there they said it was the only continent they hadn’t visited.
These two ladies were clearly enjoying themselves (unlike most of the rest of the audience) so I asked them how is it they were able to balance their work with such an active lifestyle. Their answer will stay with me forever: “We learned long ago that we work to live, not live to work.” Out of the mouths of very seasoned babes…
The Truth Behind a Successful Business
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Imagine what your life and business would be like if you always told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No white lies or sins of omission allowed, just the truth. Scary thought, isn’t it?
You know what’s a whole lot scarier and dangerous? Accepting that we will almost never encounter the truth and in so doing, the pervasive sea of “less than truth” most of us swim in each day acts like an acid slowly dissolving our individual and collective spirit. If you need any proof of this look at what is going on in Washington these days (regardless of which side of the political fence you tend to lean).
There is nothing more powerful than always telling and living the truth. There is nothing more capable of bringing peace into one’s life than accepting the truth. And for many people, there is nothing more frightening than facing the truth. In fact it can be so painful as to be devastating, for a while anyway. What’s left after that initial shock is something so pure that human beings are attracted to it like moths to a flame. Truth is the one thing we all yearn for yet are most wary of at the same time…
The truth shall make you free.
Jesus (John 8:32)
Some people come to embrace the truth after they have exhausted every other way of living only to find none of them delivered. Living the truth is a lot like jumping out of the nest for the first time wondering if you are going to plunge to your death or soar. In these increasingly troubled and confusing times in which we all live, instead of dreading the truth, consider embracing it fully as the only real safe harbor there is.
