Success Story
I have been obsessed lately with Malcolm Gladwell. If you haven't picked up any of his books, I strongly recommend any of them. My title happens to come from "Outliers." If I had to describe "Outliers," I would say it is a book about understanding success, what it means to be successful, what it takes to be successful, traits of success, etc.
In it, he says scientists have come up with an amount. An amount of hours it takes to become a master at something. 10,000 hours. Imagine all of the different tasks we (as Realtors) have & really should be good at. Communicating, negotiating, scripts, researching comps -and the list goes on and on. This tells me the 10,000 hours do not just stop at one topic. It covers many topics. This tells me we have 10,000 hours PER topic...which means we have many hours to go.
Naturally Great
He also goes on to say that having talent is not enough and that achievement is talent plus preparation. When the two combine, it's magic. When talent meets practicing for over 10,000 hours...that's when the elite step away from the pack. Ever heard the saying, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard?" No?
Then meet Dad...
This is my dad. He's a prime example how practice and preparation combined equal achievement. At over 65, he competed in (and won medals) in the Sr. Olympics. When I ask him to tell me what he thinks his secret to his achievements his whole life have been credited to, he said,
"Look, I knew there were many that were faster than me. I knew that. The only way you could be good at the quarter mile was to work really hard because it was more about endurance than it was about all out speed. I knew this was my ticket. I knew I would always outwork someone. I knew you weren't going to outlast me or work harder than me."
He realized there were others more talented than he was. So, he set it in his mind that he was going to outwork them. No matter what. He prepared. He made goals. He knew where he needed to be at different times in order to be ready for competition. He practiced. He put in 10,000 hours plus. He didn't look at someone else who had achieved a certain level of success and say, "Oh, look at them. They are just too good in this field. I can't compete with them. I won't ever beat them."
Ask Yourself
How many of us set out in our career...hope we get leads, wish for business to come, spend a few hours on the phone every week, spend more time in our social lives, or watching tv instead of dedicating the few hours each day to our practice -only to get so disappointed when no business comes, and we don't feel successful when all is said and done?
Do you have 10,000 hours? You would if you didn't have a business left to go back to. Make the time. Put the hours in. Hone your skills. Perfect your craft. No excuses. You have to adopt that mindset if you don't already have it. If my 6- (ish) dad can do it....
Dad at LSU - GEAUX Dad!
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