by markjohnson | Nov 12, 2018 | Freedom, Mindset For Success, Productivity, Real Estate, Service, Veterans Day
In today’s blog, we honor our veterans, those that have served us in preserving the freedoms we enjoy. President Franklin Roosevelt spoke about four freedoms: the freedom of speech & expression; the freedom of worship; the freedom from want and the freedom from fear. I’m reminded on this Veterans Day, that all the freedoms we enjoy don’t come without a cost.
What can learn from those that serve and how can we apply those learnings to our real estate practice? American Express, in their Open Forum, interviewed 18 veteran business owners who shared the lessons they learned in the military that has led to business success. They are summarized here:
1. The Power of Intense Focus
2. Teamwork
3. Adaptability
4. Superior Decision-Making Skills
5. Resourcefulness, Flexibility, and Persistence
6. The Ability to Harness Processes and Procedures
7. Extreme Discipline
Focus
The ability to silence distractions is a critical business skill that allows us to quickly assess situations and identify solutions that yield positive outcomes.
Teamwork
In order to achieve a mission, the military teaches that it takes a team watching each other’s backs while doing their individual best.
Adaptability
In the military, if something stays the same for too long, it starts to feel strange. You’re constantly moving to a new base, changing roles and deploying to different locations. In private business, change is also constant, especially in companies like ours that strive to be ‘innovative and growth-oriented’ and continuously look to improve.
Superior Decision-Making Skills
All leaders would love to make decisions with perfect information, but that never happens. In the military, you learn to trust your ability to make decisions under pressure using what information you have available. Then you adjust as the situation warrants. Situational awareness is a skill learned in military service.
Resourcefulness, Flexibility, and Persistence
Veterans learn to pivot on a moment’s notice from plans that aren’t working to plans that are. When you are faced with the challenge of getting a job done without access to the resources that would ideally be available, one of the greatest skills you gain is an uncanny and nearly unparalleled ability to independently solve complex tasks with little to no guidance.
The Ability to Harness Processes and Procedures
In the military, everything is built on the fundamentals with a process and a procedure. We would never be able to progress to conducting night live-fire exercises if we weren’t able to shoot, move and communicate during the day. You don’t just hop into a plane and take it off the ground. There are many checks and safety inspections that have to be done, and a responsible pilot has to be accountable for all of it.
Extreme Discipline
Starting and running your own business is the most all-consuming thing you can do. Running on little sleep, having a no-quit attitude and preserving until the end is all attributes I can trace back to the military culture and training.
There you have it, 7 key skills that we can learn from Veterans. Which ones can you apply today to #WinTheDay.
by markjohnson | Aug 6, 2018 | BluePrint Of Success, Freedom, Goal Setting, Independence, Master Mind Group, Priorities and My Time, Productivity, Success
As a coach, as a leader both in the military and private enterprise, I’ve often wondered why do people say they want to change yet never do? It seems from my experience, it is our human nature to rely solely on willpower in creating change in our business and our lives…but what if we are thinking about it all wrong?
In Willpower Doesn’t Work, Benjamin Hardy explains that willpower is nothing more than a dangerous fad – a fad that is bound to lead to failure. Instead of “white-knuckling” your way to change, he suggests we need to instead alter our surroundings to support our goals. JP wrote a great outline of how to “alter your surroundings” in the blog article: 7 Steps for Success in Real Estate Sales. Each of these 7 steps is a practical way to alter your surroundings, create confidence and crush your goals.
You see, working with so many of you… I know you want something bigger for yourself… I do, you do, your loved ones do. You want to feel more in control, you want more transformation of your business. If you are relying solely on willpower, here’s what I know: “willpower alone simply is not an effective approach to change.”
Spiritually, I’d rather rely on my higher power than my own power.
Motivationally, I’d rather rely on my WHY power than my willpower.
Behaviorally, I’d rather create environments of positive stress and high demand vs. staying in the status quo.
The story of John Burke… John was nominated for a Grammy for the best new album. One of the songs on this album was titled Earth Breaker. Here’s the interesting thing, Earth Breaker was a song Burke didn’t even know he could write or play when he started it. When he composed the music it was beyond his current musical ability. Yet that is exactly what he wanted. He wrote a song he couldn’t play and then took immediate action to practice and practice, over and over until he mastered it.
Writing a song beyond his skill level was as a “forcing function” for Burke. It created conditions with more advanced rules than he was accustomed to living. He had to GROW into the environment he created for himself. The moment Burke decides he is going to pursue a new project he immediately decides and takes 7 decisive actions.
- He decides when the project will be completed and by when it will be released.
- He works backward from the release date, mapping out all key milestones.
- He calls that day to schedule studio time.
- He pays up front to ensure he gets his preferred studio date and time.
- Organizes his personal calendar and schedule to support the project.
- He passes on other opportunities that would be a distraction from his main project.
- He declares his new project publicly, creating an expectation and accountability from others.
Burke CREATES conditions that force him to succeed by taking immediate and decisive action.
So what’s holding you back?
What action can you take NOW?
If you are not in a weekly mastermind group, I’d encourage you to create one TODAY.
Are you role-playing with a partner the most common questions, the most common objections, and the most common tripwires daily? If not find a partner and start TODAY.
Here is what I know… “the business world rewards action, not thought.”
If you need coaching and accountability… either in a group setting or one on one basis, schedule a consult today at www.travisrobertson.com/jpar
#WinTheDay
by markjohnson | Jul 3, 2018 | 4th of July, Federal Holiday, Freedom, Independence, Independence Day
On July 4th, 1776 our founders adopted a declaration of independence that established a vision of hope and equality that endures to this day. America’s strength and its prosperity are a testimony to the enduring power of the founders’ ideals that liberty is the birthright of every individual and all people are created equal. America’s creed remains so powerful today because the universal truths it represents are truly the real hope of all mankind.
The secret to happiness is freedom, and the secret to freedom is courage – Thucydides
President Franklin Roosevelt spoke about four freedoms: the freedom of speech & expression; the freedom of worship; the freedom from want and the freedom from fear. I’m reminded on this day, those freedoms don’t come without a cost… a personal cost, a regional cost, and a national cost.
History shows the path to liberty invariably involves conflict. Conflict doesn’t always mean a war or a fight, it can be a regional or local challenge or your personal circumstances. So whatever your fighting and whether you are serving in politics as a local elected official, working in a local food shelter, volunteering at a local school, walking the beat as a constable, firefighter or EMT or serving in our armed forces know that your acts of service uphold and extend the very best of freedom in America.
For my friends in real estate sales, we are blessed to serve so many families in buying, selling or investing in real estate. We each have the freedom of the same 24 hours. Are you investing those hours to be the best version of you? Are you serving your community at the highest level? Take a look at what my friend JP Piccinini wrote about the 7 S’s of success… those same principles could be the 7 S’s of freedom. The choice is yours.
#WinTheDay #ExceedingExpectations
