Right now my goal is to prove to you that your next big breakthrough is a just a decision and some inspired action away from becoming a reality.
In the grandparent of all self-development books, "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, Hill was charged with interviewing and investigating the success methods of 500 of the most successful businesspeople, politicians, inventors, writers and leaders of industry of his time. In the book, he writes about his findings and tells short parables on examples of how these people became successful. One of my favorite stories is when he describes what has been termed "3 Feet from Gold". This story is about the uncle of R.U. Darby, who went to Colorado to dig and get rich. He hit a gold vein and decided to go back east and raise money from family and friends to extend his mining operation. Once the money was raised, he went back to the mine, started back up his mining operation only for the vein of gold to disappear before the profits could pay back his debt. Darby decided to quit and sold the mining equipment to a junk man for a few hundred dollars. The "junk man" hired a mining engineer to come in and evaluate his investment and provide advice. The engineer said that the mine had failed because the owners were not familiar with fault lines. His calculations showed that the vein could be re-found just 3 feet from where Darby had stopped drilling. That is exactly where the vein was found. The junk man took millions of dollars of gold ore out of the mine. Darby learned his lesson never again to give up. After learning that lesson, he became one of the most successful insurance salespeople of that time and paid all of his debt back to his friends and family.
Lesson learned: Never give up. Your breakthrough is right in front of you.
I've always loved that story and it reminded me when I read the book for the first time in 2009, that if I kept trying, I would find the solution and I did and will. I've found through the years that the answer to challenges is normally right under your nose, you just need to be in the right mindset to receive the advice, to take consistent action and stick with your idea until you find the right approach. That story about Darby's "3 Feet From Gold" is so similar to those that I've lived and witnessed.
Last year, I was talking to an agent that had been in a 2-year slump. During the conversation, I started to ask questions to find out what might have been the difference between the last 2 years and how she was operating prior to going into her slump that had her questioning whether or not she wanted to stay in the business. I asked a simple question: "What were you doing differently when you were in flow prior to getting into the slump. What were your days like?" The answer. "I don't know, I'd get up, use my planner to plan my day and just go do it." I replied "Are you still doing that? Are you still using your planner?" She replied "Nope, I don't use it anymore." I asked, "When did you stop using the planner?" She replied "About 2 years ago." I asked, "How long have you been in a slump?"
She replied, "About 2 years.”
I kept asking that line of questioning until she realized "OMG, that $19 planner was the difference." She got off the call, drove to office supply store, bought an updated version of that planner and the rest is history. This year, she will hit a production goal and a level of recognition that was just a dream a short few months ago. For her, that planner was her 3 Feet from Gold moment.
On Friday, I had another agent tell me that a simple Active Pipe email, from several years ago, reminded one her past clients, at exactly the right time, that this agent was the solution for her current real estate needs. The email created a reconnection between the 2. $18,000,000 in business resulted from that email. An active email marketing campaign was this agent's 3 feet from gold story.
Lesson: If it works, keep doing it. Don't quit.
2 months ago, a person who had been following the Instagram feed and stories of a Jameson agent, contacted the agent via DM and with the introduction "My husband and I have been following you on Instagram, like the type of product you sell and are wondering if you would help us with our search and sale of our home?" A consistent drum beat of content and interaction on Instagram resulted in several millions in production from just that one lead. Prior to that story, the agent wondered if their effort was worth it. They almost quit before their 3 Feet from Gold story.
Lesson: Don't quit.
Last week, I personally was about to sign a large contract on a window replacement project when I got a follow up note and offer from another company that piqued my interest. I called them, had a meeting, got a solid offer, better product and better timing. If that company would not have followed up a year later to an inquiry I had a year ago, I would have signed that other contract. It reminded me to "Go get sold". A simple mailer, sent at exactly the right time netted this company a large project.
Lesson: Maintain lists, follow up regularly and go get sold.
I have endless stories of agents changing how they manage their mornings, their days and their boundaries resulting in massive changes to how they operate their businesses. I've seen 200%, 300% of happy growth because of simple changes in how efficiently one operates their day, their week, and quarter. Trading 1 hour at night for a more productive hour in the morning is step #1. Learning to say "No" is powerful. Lesson learned: play on offense, not defense by winning your day, week and quarter. Choose wisely.
What is your 3 Feet from Gold story? Is your gut, intuition, inner genius pinging you to take action on a certain project or initiative? You know what it is. You've probably not put enough leverage on yourself to force action. Are you at the point of full capacity? Not another hour in the day? Are you looking at adding the right person to your ecosystem as an expense not an investment? What is the universe pinging you with every day? What message, idea or thought are you avoiding? Are you listening to proven ideas, thoughts, processes, systems learned via mentors and coaches? You know exactly what I'm talking about. Your lack of action in certain areas can haunt you.
If that describes you, here should be your goal: Identify 3 strategies that are tried and true, that have created opportunity for you over the years. If you are newer and don't have that experience to fall back on, ask questions and listen. Take those 3 initiatives and master them over the coming quarters using the 12 Week Year process. Most people, including myself, only need 3 initiatives to change the trajectory of your life and business.
Honestly, to build a thriving, highly productive real estate business is not all that tough. You need create a vision for what you want, model others that operate the way you want to operate, build your execution plan using the 12WY process, be consistent and be patient. That's the formula. There are no "secrets" out there that you're missing. Trust me, no one talks to more people every day or does more research than I do. I'm a real estate junkie to a fault and the agents I see winning are using that formula with their own personal sauce added over the top. Your next breakthrough is hitting you over the head every day. You either listen and act or you get more of the same. Your "3 Feet from Gold" is that grouping of personal strategies and small changes that will result in big progress.
