So, as promised, I am going to start a series of MMPTs that will span about 20 calls. Between, now and the end of the year, I’ll bring you all of my top content from “Take Flight” and with it, you’ll notice that each title will have an “aviation” theme. “Take Flight” is a series of production hacks that helped me catapult my business as a broker and as an executive and coach. You DO NOT need to follow in succession as each class has a stand-alone purpose. I do recommend that if you cannot catch a call that you go back and listen to it on one of my social feeds or on Apple Podcast by searching under "Ask Jim Miller.” There will be content in each call for all levels of experience. If you are new to the business, you will have a significant head start on other new agents. If you’ve been the in the business for a while and are in a good place, I am dropping enough new stuff that I feel you’ll get something new out of each call.
So, why do I use the metaphor “Take Flight?” In the spring of 2016, my family and I were on a flight to the Cayman Islands for spring break and I had made it a goal for the trip to re-brand my course with a theme that was understandable. It hit me during that flight that getting a plane off the ground is quite similar to getting a business off the ground. I’ll be spending the next 20 weeks filling in the gaps of what I mean by that.
I define a FLIGHT as a specific, impactful, and medium time range goal that, once hit, you immediately arrive at the next level of your life or business. I’m on my 3rd flight since 2008. The first was a goal to stabilize my finances after the 2008 crash. That took about 5 years. The 2nd flight was when my wife and I decided to live more efficiently, right-size and purchase a second home in Michigan. It took 3 years to fully pull that off. Currently, I have a personal financial goal that I have been pursuing. I will “land” on that goal sometime close to June 1 of next year. You get the point. All 3 of these “Flights” completely changed how I live. Why do I tell you this? Because I want you to know that what I will teach you I’ve tried, vetted, and editorialized. It works.
So that takes me to where we left off last week. All of the “Flights" you plan to take roll up to 2 questions that you need to ask yourself:
Who do I want to be? (Your personal development, health and wellness, spiritual goals)
How do I want to live? (These will be your financial goals, your lifestyle goals)
These questions address how you want to feel. It sounds woo woo but it isn’t. In reality, everyone is really chasing a feeling, not things. Feelings motivate. Things do not. The things you have and person you aim to be make you feel a certain way. It’s your responsibility to take the action to move your life and business in the direction you want it to go.
So, like I stated last week, this is where you need to start. So, after a lifetime of chasing resolutions and goals, I realized recently that I was a tad off course with this traditional concept. Goal-setting is important, but goals are not where you start.
Goals, and their attainment, are designed to “Fund that Feeling.” If you hit your personal and financial goals, guess what? You have a much better chance of creating that feeling that you are chasing. A few words of caution, though:
- Enjoy the process. Chasing “big feelings” is fun. It’s an adventure.
- Don’t delay your happiness. Make sure you are grateful daily to maintain your energy levels while you're out executing on your big ideas.
So, I will start by asking, “What flight are you on?” No really, where are you going? Your homework for this next week is to spend some quality time with yourself. Do a little journaling and when you ask yourself those questions “Who do I want to be and how do I want to live?” thoughts will start to generate around:
Your lifestyle. Am I living where I want to live? I’m sure this recent quarantine stress-testing has forced you to already ponder this question.
Health and Wellness. Is my body healthy?
Mindset/Spirituality. Is my mind healthy? Do I have a vision for my life?
Finances. Where do I need to be to eliminate a constant stress around money?
Relationships. Are my relationships abundant and healthy? Am I spending time with the people I want to spend time with?
Self-Development. Am I getting better? Am I falling behind? What do I need to learn to operate at a higher level?
You need Clarity (ELP Characteristic #1) around these areas before you do any heavy lifting. DO NOT skip this part. It’s too important.
Why is it so important? The Reticular Activation System (RAS) is a part of the brain that filters out all of the “noise.” We get millions of inputs every day and it is the RAS that filters out everything that it feels is not one of the important inputs. This process of goal setting starts to program your mind to look for those ideas and inputs that will help you “Fund that Feeling.” If you don’t, you literally will be stuck where you are because your “default” setting is “survival” or “pay the bills.” The 97% skip this part and that’s why they don’t see growth.
This is not a new concept. It’s been around since the beginning of time. Ralph Waldo Emerson said “You become what you think about all day long” or, in The Strangest Secret, Earl Nightingale said in the first platinum recording for spoken word “You become what you think about.” You get the point. You cannot skip this stage. There is so much updated content in this area. Almost all self-help thought leaders have a mindfulness practice to support their positive momentum and improve their growth in their lives and business. If this is an area you feel you could use some progress, make “Self-Development in the area of Mindset” your first flight. I focused my self-development on this in the spring of 2019, and it completely changed how I operate. That one area of improvement will help me land “my current flight” right on time.
So, if you are struggling with where to start first, I would start with the area or areas that you “wake up thinking about in the morning.” The idea is to create some wins in the beginning to create some momentum. Not all FLIGHTS last 1 year, 3 years or 5 years like mine. They can last 1 quarter. Ask yourself, “If I could meet the following goal that has been haunting me in the next 90 days or next 6 months, how would I feel?” Chances are you’d feel pretty awesome.
So, over the coming week, I need you to get real with yourself. Thinking big costs the same amount as thinking small. In a week, I want to be able to ask you: “What flight are you on?” and you should be able to answer that question without hesitation. When you can answer that question, you’ll know “what flight you should take.”
On a broader topic, your life will be made up of a series of “flights.” I started thinking this way later in life, so I’ll probably have around 10 or so for the different stages of my growth. You may have more or fewer… it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you teach yourself to enjoy “traveling,” right? So, it doesn’t matter where you are right now. Just start and I’ll show you the HOW.
