You don’t realize how much you need a boss until you don’t have one. They provide (the good ones) a certain level of accountability that many of us have trouble producing for ourselves. So, what do we do when we’re self-employed and need that extra accountability and discipline?
You find and ally to help you fight the good fight. This can come in many different forms, but finding a quality accountability coach can bring your business to new heights.
We all got a huge gift just a few days ago, a brand new year. A brand new year to wow our family with all the time we devote to them. A brand new year to dominate our market place. A brand new year, a brand new gift.
What you shouldn’t have gotten this year was a brand new list of resolutions you have no intention of keeping. No doubt New Year’s is a time for renewal and a fresh perspective, but if this is the only time of new you plan or set goals, you need a strategy.
Instead of waiting until New Year’s, here are the things we’ve been working on for months that we’re bringing into the New Year.
This has been quite a whirlwind year for us, and we have you to thank for that. We started this show with a simple mission: to Reach, Teach and Help people in any way we could.
Now, five and a half months, 30,000 blog views and almost 22,000 video views later, what we’ve learned so far… is that we still have a long way to go. But, it’s because of this that we feel so blessed this Holiday Season.
Chalk up. It's about to get tough.
Discussions about raising the bar are worth having if they make you take hard-looks in the mirror. If they’re difficult. If they’re counter-culture. You have to test the conversation.
“Are you saying I’ve been doing it wrong all along?”
That is the sort of reaction you want when you talk about the bar. If things don’t get uncomfortable, you’re not actually serious about raising anything. Abstract bar discussion is regression.
When I was in gymnastics I couldn’t wait to get to the bars. Watching the older boys display grace and strength from across the gym, doing mat work. “Mat work? Really Coach,” I’m grown.”
I wasn’t ready. He knew it. I didn’t. But, really I did – deep down. I wasn’t ready for the commitment… the work.
Most people aren’t ready. Most people try a figure out right where the bar is, and do that. They work tirelessly to maintain the bar.
Raising the bar is exhausting. Very few people have what it takes to work relentlessly to raise the bar.
To show up before everyone else.
To over deliver.
To push.
If you can’t get concrete about your strategy, you’re just doing mat work.
As 2011 comes to a close we decided to reflect on many conversations we’ve had over the year. It was clear as we talked, there are similar patterns amongst many different people in our industry.
There is a definite mystery surrounding 2012. The opinions that are swirling around vary greatly, and to a certain extent everyone is right. The year is going to be what you make of it, so make sure you start by avoiding the 3 biggest mistakes of 2011.
Imagine a big explosion as you climb 3,000 feet.
Imagine a plane full of smoke.
Imagine an engine going KLAK-KLAK-KLAK-KLAK!
Sound scary? This was the reality for Ric Elias, CEO and co-founder of Red Ventures. He had a front row seat on flight Flight 1549 as it crashed into the Hudson River in New York in January 2009.
During his TED talk he tells his story, and shares what was going through his mind when he thought it was all over.
So what does this story have to do with real estate?
Well, for one we’ve all experienced crashes in this business. None quite as terrifying as Elias’s, but still we all know it can change in an instant. He heard the pilot stoically say, “Brace for impact.”
In that moment he thought of all the things he hadn’t done. Funny isn’t it, when the business is roaring, and the money is rolling, we think of what we’ll do with it when things slow down. Then, the crash comes, and you look at all the things you wanted to do, with the money that either isn’t there or is needed now more than ever.
He adopted a new philosophy:
Collect bad wine.
Because if the occasion arises the wine is always ready, so pop it and enjoy. Let that spirit of urgency sit with you. In a business like this where you’re always on, what have you been postponing?
As the plane cleared the Washington Bridge, he thought about all the time he’d wasted with things that didn’t matter with people who did matter.
One of the first, and if I’m being honest, most important pieces of advice I’ve received in my life is often you can choose to be right or to be happy. Elias regretted all the times his ego had gotten in the way of his relationships.
In my youth I can say I battle with this constantly. My only weapon has been a new habit,
Whenever you find yourself getting defensive, stop and find the opportunity you missed to learn.
If you’re right in a given situation, whether that be with a loved one or in the workplace, don’t let your ego get in the way of a learning opportunity.
Have you defined your Why yet?
15…14…13…12… He can see the water fast approaching. The plane is about to crash into the Hudson and all Elias can think of is his children. All he wants is to see them grow up. The only thing that matters in his life is being a great dad.
With the recent arrival of my daughter, the irony of that last point isn’t lost on me. However, I can remember vivid conversations, even back when I was 17, about wanting to be a great dad.
Don’t let the true message be lost, he’s ultimately defining his Why. All too often people decide what they’re going do. Some go deeper and decide how they’re going to do it.
But very few… too few… decide why they do it.
What have you been postponing?
How much time have you wasted on things that don’t matter, with people who do?
Have you defined your why?
It seems almost crazy to think about, but less than two months ago Steve Jobs passed away. And yet, it seems, even now, you need look no further than the last Steve Jobs interview or quote to find some life changing epiphany.
A 46-second excerpt from an old PBS documentary, shot while Jobs was still at NeXT, encapsulates his genius and his wisdom perfectly. Even if you’re not a big Apple fan, or even a big Steve Jobs fan, it is incredibly hard to listen – really listen – to the message of this clip, and not be changed.
What blame really does for you
This is the first warning sign when I start coaching someone. Often times it begins before we finish our coffee order and find a table.
My default question is now going to be,
“What happens when there is nothing and no one left to blame? What happens when you relentlessly avoid blaming others for what you’re doing in your life and your business?”
Don’t get me wrong, I understand. Our subconscious is programmed to blame. We’re wired to find excuses. “If the market wasn’t so bad…” “If I had more time…” “I don’t have the right this or that…”
It’s amazing how quickly people start to stammer, sidestep, or otherwise fall over themselves into the blame game.
The better, long term solution is to learn to love responsibility. Or at least enjoy it enough not to cheat yourself. It’s how I build healthier relationships with my clients.
What happens when these unprecedented changes to our economy, job market and housing market are here to stay?
What happens when technology continues to advance and doesn’t slow down for you?
Do you kick the can down the road, make excuses and blame others?
Start today. Start now. Attack blame in your business with a vengeance. Who knows, maybe if you focus and work so diligently to avoid blame, you may never need to make excuses again?
Maybe.
