Welcome Jet Xavier, our new mindset columnist. Each issue, Jet will be looking at various aspects of mindset and its application to your success in the Real Estate industry.
What is Mindset?
Mindset is “a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations”, or simply “thinking that determines your behaviour and outcomes”.
As a real estate agent, your mindset can be your greatest friend or your worst enemy. It can determine how much money you make or how much you don’t.
Think of your mindset as big V12 engine. If the engine is running on all cylinders, finely tuned, running the right oil and fuel then you will get superior performance. If your engine is not tuned right and is out of alignment then the performance is below standard.
I like to use the example of top fuel dragster racers. The dragster engines have to be perfect for the five or so seconds they race to get ultimate results. One small deficiency in the engine and it is over in seconds. That is the same in real estate in many aspects. One small doubt and everything crumbles. One moment of procrastination, laziness, or bad attitude – and the deal is lost.
Zig Ziglar, a world leader in high performance coaching uses the term “stinkin thinkin” for mindsets that work against you. In real estate this “stinkin thinkin” results in, bad attitude, self defeating language, bad moods, procrastination, disorganisation, lack of discipline and low motivation just to name a few. Stinking thinking creates a no win situation.
These interviews and research through neuroscience and positive psychology has shown categorically that skill set is not the only determinant of a successful agent; it’s also about mindset.
Success is 80% Mindset and 20% Skillset
Recently I have been interviewing some of Australia’s top agents for the series The million dollar agent mindset – “How top agents think and the rest don’t” and I have been digging deep into their mindsets and how that relates to their ultimate success. These interviews and research through neuroscience and positive psychology has shown categorically that skill set is not the only determinant of a successful agent; it’s also about mindset. It is clear that you can have all the skill sets you want, however without the right mindset you will never reach the success you desire.
A good agent friend of mine, Stephen Bock, who is also the 61st Australian to summit Everest says “that people need to understand that success at the top level is 80% mindset and 20% skill set rather than 70% skill set and 30% mindset which most people apply in return for average results”. As he told me it was his mindset that got him to the top of Everest, not his body, it just came along for the ride.
The Million Dollar Agent Mindset
Here are two key mindsets from the million dollar agent mindset series that you can apply for success.
1. The solution-focused mindset
A solution-focused mindset allows you to gain an action perspective straight away and not get distracted on non-important aspects of the problem. Having a solution-focused mindset provides a roadmap out of any difficult situation. A solution-focused mindset asks questions like “what’s the best I can do in this situation”? Or, “If I knew a solution, what would it be” Rather than dwelling on the problem and becoming paralysed by it. Having a solution focused mindset takes you away from the problem and towards a suitable outcome. It energises and motivates you rather than increasing stress and pressure.
2. Abundance mindset versus scarcity mindset
With an abundance mindset, you see more opportunity, more possibilities, more resources, and more potential. When you operate in scarcity, you are reactive, feel threatened, and just try to survive, thus closing off all avenues to success. An abundance mindset gives you more confidence and self-belief. A scarcity mindset keeps you in self-doubt.
How is your mindset? Is it working for you or against you? Remember your mind is like a muscle. You need to exercise it to get the best results. As they say if you don’t use it, you lose it.
