Monday Morning Match is a quick post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.
Going For It
In poker, when a player feels extremely confident in their hand and decides to bet everything they have in their stack of chips, they are going “all in,” meaning they are pushing all if their chips into the game’s pot.
It’s basically a “put up or shut up” moment. If your hand wins, you live to see another hand. If you lose though, it’s game over. High risk – High reward.
“All In”
The other day I was chatting with one of my co-workers. He is a fellow teacher who I would also consider a mentor in both real estate & life. We’ve had some wonderful conversations over the years about successful classroom ideas, technology, and all sorts of leadership & sales techniques. We chat about personal accountability, health & fitness, sports & parenting.
We were chatting on the phone as I was driving home from teaching that day in Cincinnati when he asked me a simple question.
“What does ‘all in’ mean to you?”
“In real estate,” I replied, “or in life?”
“For now, lets just focus on real estate,” he said.
I thought about it for a few seconds then some thoughts started filling my mind…
If you are committed to going “allin,” you’ll be a S.T.A.R
• Show up – both mentally & physically. As legendary real estate trainer David Knox says, “you have to BE THERE.”
• Try your best – no one wins every time but that doesn’t mean you should give your best effort every day.
• Attitude – this business (and life for that matter) is all about having a positive attitude. As the old saying goes, you can’t control what happens to you, you can only control how you react to what happens to you.
• Respect – the industry, the customers, the competition, the affiliates we work with, our staffs & service providers
“All in” also means…
• Having a business plan and following it
• Establishing a marketing budget and sticking to it
• Investing in technology and gaining competence & confidence in the equipment needed (laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.)
• Creating a relationship w/ a coach or mastermind group to help hold you accountable and on track and push you to levels you might not achieve on your own.
• Focusing each day on both business development & business support. Without the former, the latter will soon be unnecessary.
• Understanding that in order to reach new levels of success, something might need to change. That might mean hiring an assistant to alleviate time constraints on the business support elements of the business which might be keeping you from the business development side of the business.
Note: There is a fine line between not investing in an assistant because you aren’t bringing in enough revenue and losing revenue because you haven’t invested in an assistant and therefore you cannot manage all the business you have created.
• Always educating oneself – through webinars, live & on-demand classes, books, magazines, websites & personal meetings with peers & mentors.
• Seeking opportunities to “raise the bar” in the industry, follow the Realtor Code of Ethics & make your loved ones proud of your words, actions & results.
• Arriving early & staying late…but also understanding the need for personal time.
• Saying “No” sometimes is okay
• Hearing “No” sometimes is okay too. However, giving up when you hear “no” is unacceptable. Remember, most people are not saying “no” to you, they are saying “no” to the opportunity or suggestion you are offering.
• Being committed to doing what works while being open to change what doesn’t.
What else do you think should be added to the list?
Being “all in” might make you vulnerable but as author/blogger Mitch Joel says, “When you’re vulnerable people connect more to whatever it is that you’re doing.”
You know what else “all in” people do? They build relationships, solve problems & have fun.
The cards are in your hand.
What’s your bet?
Photo Credit: Derek Gavey via Creative Commons
Photo Credit: RTD Photography via Creative Commons