Today, I want to remind you how important it is to create and stay in the right mindset. As difficult as life and running a business can become, we have to set expectations with ourselves mentally in order to maintain a sense of productive flow. I will give you a glimpse into the strategies I've chosen to stay at a "frequency" that is in line with my personal and professional goals.
I realized in 2010 after listening to an interview that Joe Stumpf, with By Referral Only, had with John Assaraf. John is a successful entrepreneur and author who started in real estate brokerage at age 18 and over the years built 5 multi-million-dollar companies. He was featured on the movie "The Secret" and now runs a company named "Neurogym,” a digital education company focused on helping people create a high-performance mindset. It was during that interview that I realized how important the mind was to "winning.” I've been a student of the "inner game" since that day and credit my ability to stay at a frequency in line with my goals as the main reason I am where I am at this stage of my life after a getting a late start. I don't worry about the future. I truly feel and know that if I execute on my goals and plan, it's not a matter of "if " but a matter of "when" I will reach them. It requires a calm and focused mind to maintain that type of commitment to yourself.
So, over the course of the last 12 years since I listened to that interview, I have tried a lot of mind hacks and strategies, have eliminated most but kept and committed to others. I want to go through the strategies I have kept and committed to maintain the "frequency" needed to hit my goals. Before I go there, you must understand a couple concepts that are proven through quantum physics:
- "What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create." - Buddha. All religions and science agree on just this one thing. It summarizes that you rise or fall to the level of your thinking. The built-in goal strategy for most people is "survival" or as I say, "pay the bills." If you want to do more than survive, you have to change your thinking.
- Creating and maintaining a frequency in line with your goals is an every minute of every day practice. Self-awareness is so important. You need "mind hacks" that change your frequency to 51% positive or higher. "Any idea, plan or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought" - Napoleon Hill
- If your mind is not right, you will not do the things needed to live the life you want to live or become the person you want to become. This is no woo woo, this is strategy. The formula you need to keep at the center of your goal setting strategy is "Thoughts create feelings. Feelings create Action. Action creates the Results" - I was made aware of this definition of the "Law of Attraction" by Darren Hardy.
Here are the practices I've used over the years to "stay in flow:”
- Alone time. I need time alone to think. Call it what you want. You can call it meditation, thinking time, think-itation but the key is that you need downtime, quiet time in thought, time to reassess, re-calibrate and re-center. My mornings are why I win. Period. I need 2-3 hours a day alone to function and I give myself that time before 7:00 a.m. when I give the rest of my waking hours to everyone else.
- Proper sleep. I need 7 hours. I've tested it several different ways and I've made it a priority. If I don't get enough, I make it up as soon as I can. You cannot operate on lack of sleep.
- Proper exercise. Yes, exercise maintains physical health, but I noticed as many or more mental gains by staying fit though exercise.
- Sprint and Celebrate. Like many of you, I love my work and I am a borderline workaholic. I don't hunt, fish, boat, ski, sail or golf (yet). I write, I lead, I manage, I coach and I mentor. I love what it brings to me personally, professionally and financially. My coaching is centered around maintaining balance and a proper mindset to create "happiness.” Happy brokers do sell more real estate. If you love to work like me, you need to love to shut it down to recharge. Build your travel in advance and in increments needed to stay focused and on top of your game. If you don't have a huge travel budget, you can still power down in simpler ways. This keeps your body healthy and your mind.
- Stay focused on myself, not the external. Keep your goals front and center and you'll be happier as you cannot control what others do. External comparison has killed so many dreams.
- Take a long drive. Focus on one question. Let your subconscious give you answers.
- A memorized affirmation that centers you in the moment. Many of you have heard mine but it goes like this: "I am so happy and grateful that money, success and introductions flow to me in ever increasing quantities, from a myriad of different sources. My life is perfect. Every day in every way I get better and better.
- Vision. You need a 3-year vision that you are pushing towards each day, week and quarter. "The 12 Week Year" is my operating manual for a reason. During my thinking time in the morning, I pull out my goal board and true up whether or not I am on track. You need to feel, smell, taste, see and hear your goals.
Most of the 911 calls I get are the result of agents operating at a low frequency for a long period of time. Grinding it out takes its toll. In this market, you are going to get beat up, clients will disappoint you, you have to give a lot of bad news to buyers, sellers are getting unreasonable and you will feel it. To thrive, compartmentalize the realities of your business, make sure your mind is right so you can handle difficult decisions and conversations with grace and confidence. Maintaining a high performing mindset is not a passive strategy. It is the only way you can compete at the top of your game. You have to learn how to hit the "reset" button and it's best if you do it daily. One of my favorite new quotes is "Successful people just hit the reset button more often.” This is an incredibly important skill.
Building strategies around maintaining a high frequency is key to living a happy life. In fact, I've not met a happy person who hasn't consciously or subconsciously made this a priority. So many people know that they need to pivot in this area but make that move only once they have a "real estate heart attack". Don't wait. Trust me. Make this a strategic priority before a painful personal, financial or medical situation forces you to change how you operate. I thought I would just live a charmed life forever but I learned the hard way, that's not how it works.
