Motivation is tough.
As real estate agents and entrepreneurs, finding and sustaining motivation is something we struggle with constantly – sometimes we have it; other times we don’t. Most of the time, we’re somewhere in between.
Challenging or not, motivation is crucial … especially now as we navigate an uncertain and unclear future. While we don’t choose our future, we do choose our habits that will uncover our future. And, with the right practices in place, we can set ourselves up for incredible success.
During my 20-year real estate and coaching career, I’ve learned that we are only ONE habit, thought, or discipline away from everything being different. So, it’s important to have a variety of habits in our toolbox that we can pull out when needed.
With the right practices, there is no more:
- Wondering where our next listing is coming from.
- Worrying whether our paychecks will arrive or not.
- Stressing about how we’ll make that next hire that could change our lives.
If you want to achieve the big life you’ve envisioned, put the following habits into play.
When you’re finished reading, register for Mega Camp 2020, where I’ll discuss each in-depth and offer more hacks and habits to keep you moving forward.
Register HereHabit #1: The Bedtime Rule
Map out your tomorrow, today.
Before you go to bed tonight, map out your tomorrow. You don’t have to have a detailed game plan; you only have to have clarity on the ideas, priorities, and framework of the day. Whether that is through writing it out, putting your thoughts on Post-it notes, or just lying in bed and thinking, “Here’s what’s important tomorrow” – which I do. You’ll be surprised every time you wake up with new solutions, or the problem you had the day prior is no longer a problem at all. If you start your day in the morning, you’re already a day behind. And, if you’re going to live big, you can’t be behind.
Additionally, ask yourself two questions when the day is done:
- Was I effective today?
- Did I help someone today?
Habit #2: One Plus One Can’t Be Two
Everything we do has to give us multiple wins.
This habit comes from a joke someone told me. When choosing a new accountant, ask them, ‘What’s one plus one?’ Keep asking around until you get the right answer. The accountant who answers “two” is wrong. You want the accountant who replies, “What do you want it to be?”
If we want to experience significant gains, we can’t have one win from one thing. Everything we do has to give us multiple wins. Instead of calling anyone in my database, I’ll call one person who knows 50 or 100 people they could introduce me to. In this case 1 + 1 = 50. If all I ask is, “Do you want to buy or sell real estate?” then I’m sticking to 1 + 1 and will never be bigger than 2.
Real estate is about multiplication, not addition.
Habit #3: Future Me
This is the person to live for the most.
Future me is more important than my kids, my relationships, my company – because future versions of me drive who I am now. Actor Matthew McConaughey summed it up best during his 2014 acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for “Dallas Buyers Club”:
And to my hero. That’s who I chase. Now when I was 15 years old, I had a very important person in my life come to me and say, “Who’s your hero?” And I said, “I don’t know, I gotta think about that. Give me a couple of weeks.” I come back two weeks later, this person comes up and says, “Who’s your hero?” I said, “I thought about it. You know who it is? It’s me in 10 years.” So I turned 25. Ten years later, that same person comes to me and says, “So, are you a hero?” And I was like, “Not even close. No, no, no.” She said, “Why?” I said, “Because my hero’s me at 35.” So you see every day, every week, every month, and every year of my life, my hero’s always 10 years away. I’m never gonna be my hero. I’m not gonna attain that. I know I’m not, and that’s just fine with me because that keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.
Like McConaughey, we should ask, “Who do I want to be in the future?” In three years, three months, three days? And, as issues arise, we respond with the appropriate versions of our future selves. If something is not that big of a deal, then it will only get the 10-minute version of me and nothing more.
Habit #4: The Five-Minute Funeral
Be upset momentarily, and move on.
Early on, I would get so upset for long periods if something wouldn’t go my way – an employee quitting, a deal falling apart. Now, I tell myself, “It’s okay to have a five-minute funeral, but it’s not okay to have a five-day or five-month funeral. Of course, everything must be kept in perspective, which is another habit. If something is going to matter in five years, it will get the time it deserves today, but if it doesn’t, then it won’t.
Implementing the five-minute funeral and perspective habits can be challenging. Sometimes, I battle the temptation to feel sorry for myself or have a pity party. There is nothing wrong with wanting it, but doing it is different. We have to press forward to be productive for ourselves, our people, our clients, and our teams.
What is vital is the path ahead of us.
About Cody Gibson
Cody Gibson has been a top-producing agent for over 20 years. He is the founder and CEO of the Portland Real Estate Group and United Home Group – which sells in 96 markets across the United States. Gibson is also the operating principal of Keller Williams Realty Portland Central and passionate about helping others find success, travels around the country teaching courses through KW MAPS Coaching. He is a highly sought-after speaker and business coach.