It's never too late to make a new year's resolution!

I recently came across this article by Dianna Kokoszka of Keller Williams Realty.  Her words of wisdom are always right on track! 

Enjoy.....

A Resolution for the New Year

Dianna Kokoszka

Vice President

Mega Achievement Productivity Systems Real Estate Coaching Program 

 

As the New Year descends upon us, it is a time to reflect and make resolutions.  Although many will come and go, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to the one thing that will make a difference in our lives; the pledge to discipline.  Leaders, dreamers, inventors, aspiring professionals and all who desire achievement must understand, the first step is to make a binding commitment to invest their life, and talents, toward all pursuits deserving their best efforts.

Vince Lombardi, arguably the greatest coach in the history of professional sports,

expected, and even demanded, total commitment and discipline from his players.  Every time a player takes the field, he has got to play with everything he has, from the ground up.  You need to be smart, but the number one thing in anything you do is; you have to have heart.  Heart is what gives a player the will to stay on that field, day after day; and the discipline to commit their lives to something bigger than themselves.

This year, more than ever, we all have to dedicate ourselves to maintain the heart necessary to reinvigorate the discipline within us.  The market we live in is different; there is no denying or arguing that fact.  This business is more difficult than it was in years past, and anyone who attempts to refute this fact does not understand the reality of this market.  My advice: FORGET ABOUT IT.

The most productive perception you can have on the market, this year, is to realize that: it doesn't matter.  Focus instead on the basics of generating leads, following up, converting leads, negotiating contracts and most of all; work hard to become more disciplined.  Remember the words of Vince Lombardi, "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."

Focusing on the market is an excuse for not getting the results that you want.  Make this the year for results, not excuses.  Seek out agents, friends, and business associates who steer clear of victim language and know how to make it happen; get a coach to help you remain focused and hold you accountable.  As Tony DiCello emphasizes in his "Thriving in a Shifted Market: Dare to be Remarkable Tour," success in real estate is really just a matter of doing the same things over and over. It's ironic, but true, the more habitual your business becomes, the more money you are making.

For those of us who have studied, intently, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, the path is clear.  We need to have the heart required to step up to the challenge of being repetitive - practicing and fine tuning the same scripts over and over, and lead generating every day.  Big goals are important, but to power your career forward, what you need are good habits. In his best-selling book, Good to Great, Jim Collins emphasizes, "that all great companies have a culture of discipline."

The ability to remain unfaltering in our pursuits is not easy an task, by any means.  We must understand and accept that with every commitment and every resolution comes with it, doubt and fear.  It's the little voice in our head that nags at us and questions our direction and actions; it is the little child within ourselves that seeks affirmation and the comfort of having our path laid for us.  If not for our heart and discipline, that child can paralyze us and keep us from stalwartly pursuing an unwavering course.

It is the questions we continually ask ourselves, which consume us: Do you have the discipline to tell your clients the truth about what their home is worth in the current market?  Do you have the discipline to stick to a three-hour-a-day lead generation schedule?  Do you have the discipline to sharpen your skills and commit to conveying to your clients and prospects that you are the strongest agent they know? Do you have the discipline to dream big?

Marianne Williamson, in her book, A Return to Love, gives us a powerful reminder.   

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. 

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.  

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

 

In 2008, be powerful beyond measure; stand resolved in the discipline necessary to rise above the circumstances that surround us by making a binding commitment. Remember in your reflections and prognostications for this New Year, in order to achieve something bigger than ourselves, "you gotta have heart."