Real estate is a fast-paced, relationships-based industry, where you get to work your own hours and set the sky as the limit for growth and earning.
Hard work is rewarded, competitive streaks are stroked, and tangible achievements make it an exciting, lucrative career for anyone who considers themselves a ‘people’ person.
KEY CHALLENGES
The current coronavirus pandemic has created even more of a challenge for the real estate industry, so there has never been a better time to get your body and brain in the best possible shape for work, and for life.
It’s about the way you eat, move, and recover.
It’s about your energy levels, your mindset and about incorporating as much play as possible into your life.
Now, what has your grilled chicken and salad or your after-work workout (or lack thereof) got to do with being a successful real estate agent?
Actually, a lot.
These basics create the foundation for our energy, for our brain function, our ability to focus, our wellbeing, and our capacity to manage stress.
If you want to be at the top of your game, you need energy and you need to be able to focus – especially when you are dictating the rhythm of your day.
You also need resilience to cope with and adapt to the changes facing the industry.
BUILD A GREAT SUPPORT TEAM
One of the key lessons I took out of 15 years in elite sport is that the world’s best athletes and teams have the world’s best support teams.
The best agents have great support teams too, they don’t try to go it all alone.
Constantly ask yourself ‘what do I do best, and am I focusing on this every day?’
In simplistic terms, the best agents I have worked with sell more than their
competition.
To sell more, free up admin time with great support staff, add processes and
systems wherever possible to streamline your delivery, and focus on selling.
Work with your support team (physical or virtual) to allocate a set time for you to chunk your administration and marketing, new sales leads, and implement clear boundaries to protect your time and energy so you can be fully engaged when you need to be.
FOSTER AN OLYMPIC APPROACH TO STATE
The biggest differentiator between good and great real estate professionals is the ability to intuitively understand the importance of managing and shifting state.
The reality is, people don’t care what’s going on for you personally.
In real estate, you have to be emotionally and mentally sharp, and ready to sell.
For those who want to perform at their peak and achieve their career potential, there’s a lot they can learn from the approach of elite athletes and how they operate.
They must manage their psychological and physical state, be able to down-regulate their response to stress, and use it as fuel.
Regardless of their physical talent and the quality of their training, if
athletes are not mentally fit and able to manage their psychological state, they struggle.
In Jim Afremow’s book, “Lengthen Your Line: The 5 Cs for Exceptional Performance in the Game of Life”, former world and Olympic champion Ian Thorpe attributed his physical edge in the pool with his psychological edge outside it.
“Sport psychology gives me an advantage over myself that no physical training can ever provide,” he has said.
“Sport psychology allows the athlete to use all of their mental strengths.
“This gives them a huge advantage over their opponents, as usually, their biggest opponent is themselves.”
Athletes need to be physically prepared, but also to be mentally prepared so they don’t lose their nerve or crack under pressure.
Similarly, great leaders and those who want to become great leaders must be physically resilient and mentally perform under a perpetual state of pressure.
To do this, like an elite athlete, they need training and tactics.
TRAIN FOR CHANGE
The same game is the tendency do the same thing in the same way day-in and day-out, which can be comforting, especially when we are overloaded.
Ultimately it means we are always treading water and never swimming.
It also means that when faced with the changes mentioned above, we struggle to adapt and can be left behind.
Firing neurons in the brain in fresh ways keeps us learning, stretching and
growing.
It also helps us become agile and adaptable.
One of the simplest ways to do this is to stop playing the same game via
implementing micro-doses of change.
Try doing one or two things differently every day, including:
- Walk or drive a different way to work
- Get off the bus or train at a different stop in the morning
- Take a different route on your run or cycle, or try a new class at the gym
- Say yes to something that you would normally automatically say no to
- Order a different coffee or tea in a different place
- Sit down to dinner with your partner and talk, instead of sitting in front of the TV
These are small changes in our routine that are training our brains to stay flexible and ready for daily challenge, as well as being open to radical change at times.
This enables us to make the changes necessary to be successful in both our personal and business lives.
Once we have our brains in the game, we can extend on their ability to adapt.
