On this 247th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I want to recognize all of you for toggling back and forth between your life and your business working in an industry that is so hard at times to navigate. Will it ever be easy? No. Can you make better decisions to make it easier? Yes. So I will dive into this topic today that will set us up for a series of MMPT content that I will push out over the remainder of 2024. It's time to "right size" while moving your focus to 2025.
Before I jump into today's call, I want to remind you of my professional purpose and that is to help you, the full service, full fee Advisor, optimize your productivity and help you become the best version of yourself. Why? "Because Happy Advisors Sell More Real Estate". I do that by teaching you how to handle the challenges and opportunities that you face every day. If you can effectively manage those certain situations that arise on a daily basis in your business, you'll be more productive and live a life that is the best version of you. My ask is that you listen as if you are in a one on one coaching session with me in my office or on a phone call. If you'd like a transcript and full recording of today's MMPT, send me an email at [email protected] and I will add you to my private email list.
What a couple of weeks it's been… I've never had to meditate with intention like I've had to during the month of August 2024. My mind and body have been in full fight or flight mode in an attempt to prepare us for all of the industry changes. Calming my mind has led to a more relaxed body. Fight or flight is real and we're in it most of the time to the point where we get so used to it that it seems and becomes normal. It has reminded me that the industry we've chosen is hard.
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Working with a client for months in a 100% commission environment with no financial gain until a closing occurs is hard.
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Getting children back in school while negotiating contracts with a growing number of clients behaving badly is hard.
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Completely changing our processes on how we get paid, late summer while being mentally exhausted is hard.
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Realizing that those close to us have no idea how the minute-by-minute stresses put so much pressure on us is hard.
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Navigating our kids’ and pets’ constant needs and wants as the phone, text and email are blowing up is hard.
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You've developed a craft that makes the transaction look easy, but your clients and society as a whole don't understand or appreciate the steps it took to make it look easy. It's hard.
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Feeling guilty about traveling and finding a way to keep your business covered while you are away is hard.
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Working in an industry that requires a 24/7/365 approach to care for our clients is hard.
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That group of clients that need to get a hold of us more quickly than they can get a hold of their doctor is hard.
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Trying to maintain a relationship and be present with our significant other, spouse or life partner is hard.
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Looking at all of the new social media trends and feeling inadequate is hard.
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Staying relevant while you age is hard.
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Listening to someone like me each week talking about being the best version of yourself while dealing with 3 deals blowing up is hard.
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All of this while a constant comparison to others is forefront on our minds is hard.
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Caring for others while neglecting ourselves, our health and wellness is hard.
These are just a few of the pain points I hear from you. There are many, many more that I don't have time to include. If anyone of these or multiple of these hit hard, welcome to the club. You are not alone. Trust me. Every single person I know is dealing with something in their lives that translates into massive stress. It's hard. The stories that are in my vault are, well, there's not a word to describe them. "Jim, how do you handle the weight of that?" Well, I write. I teach. I lead. I train. I do it each week with humble hopes that I get through ultimately to that one person who needed to hear exactly what I said in that moment.
We are in a moment in time that will require us to change. The days of the hobbyist are coming to an end which is a good thing. You, as a Global Real Estate Advisor, must change, improve, evolve to stay competitive in an industry that will reward excellence. I didn't say anything about production or GCI. I said excellence. The days of the transactional business model will fold under the pressure of providing the value needed to protect your revenue. If you elect to work with the right client list that respects your efforts and value creation, you will take market share.
It has become obvious to me both personally and by watching others, that we all need to "right size." We need to evaluate everything in this post-August 17th world. I've got about 12 MMPTs remaining in 2024. I will hit a topic on each of those episodes that will discuss a specific topic around right sizing. Right sizing is a combination of elimination and going all in on what works. It's the transition from wide and shallow to narrow and deep. Many of us are doing too many things at an average level.
I will be back on September 16th to show you how to "Right Size by 2025." In the meantime, I've got a "last first day," Labor Day, and the Global Networking event, and I’m sure the end of summer is saturated for you too. When I get back, we will shift our focus rightfully so to 2025. We are smack dab in the middle of the late summer NO FLY ZONE so take some time to catch your breath so we can hit it hard before we embark on could be your best year yet... 2025.
To prepare for this set of MMPTs, I strongly recommend reading or re-reading Essentialism by Greg McKeown. It is the right book for this moment. Start thinking about the "vital few" things that make your business run and let's start to push our focus to those things. It will be a powerful exercise for you.
Success is hard but that is why you get paid what you get paid. You deserve every penny and more. I’m here to show you how to make it less hard, more satisfying, more predictable and more enjoyable. There’s lots more on that when I return to a fresh set of calls on September 16th to wrap up the year. With summer over and my mind clear, I too plan to "right size by 2025."
