Belief
It’s proven.
It’s impossible to achieve anything that lies beyond what you believe yourself are capable of doing.
Belief
Author: Mark Johnson
Mark's passion and expertise is enabling real estate broker-owners and team leaders to create the systems, structure, and processes to support their growth. He also enjoys sharing his thoughts on business success on his blog: www.winningtheday.blog
We Live In A #VUCA World!
We live in a #VUCA world!
The acronym?
Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. I’ve had a lot of clients, associates, and others asking about:
SVA (smaller issue)
Credit Suisse (bigger issue)
Signature Bank
I have a great circle of economic minds… my notes from various conversations on this topic:
If you go back to 1974 you can see 12 significant hiccups in the financial systems, including the 1994 bankruptcy of Orange County, California, where I raised my kids and grandkids.
Of the 12 events since 1974, 60% led to a recession. With the FED lowering rates from 1 month to 11 months post each of those events.
The FED policy has been the most aggressive tightening in 40 years, yet all the indicators seem to be the economy is absorbing this at a rate not seen before. But something broke…
Concentration (all your eggs in one basket) is a high-risk strategy not to be taken by the faint of heart.
A surge in deposits (influx of COVID money into the economy and more) in a low-interest rate environment lead to a surge in deposits. To boost yields, SVB (and others) turned to long-term bonds, yet SVB did so WITHOUT hedging. (A high-risk move & looking back, was a massive mistake of judgment and leadership)
Policy matters – in 2018, we saw a rollback of the Dodd-Frank requirements, which raised the level of banks subject to stress tests. SVB was not subject to stress tests and extra accountability. As we are seeing – accountability matters.
What will the FED do?
Who knows, but probably no hike or up to 25 basis points as we see conflicting issues, especially persistent Core Inflation.
Core inflation is still high (too much money chasing too few goods)
Retail sales and producer price index weaker
The recent labor report was mixed
A business associate and well-respected economist, Dr. Lawerence Yun, said it well several years ago, “easy money and ample liquidity has implications.” Expect more volatility, heed the benefits of diversification, and a flight to quality. This is not a time to take undo risks.
For my real estate friends – control what you can control – life still happens: birth, death, divorce, jobs, non-owner occupied exchanges, and more. Serve those that need your services. Now more than ever, they need a local area expert. I’m seeing a flight to quality in full-time professional agents with stable track records of delivering results. if you don’t have this base, it could be time to team up and join an experienced team lead.
Control the controllable.
Find A Way
Persistence
If what you’re doing aligns with your definition of a success, you must persist without exception. Find a way when it appears there is no way.
Ambiguity
Ambiguity
Peak performers acknowledged and accept ambiguity. Rather than being rigid and inflexible, they are ready to adapt when the unexpected comes their way.
Critical Thinking, Say What, I’m A Real Estate Salesperson!
Critical thinking, say what, I’m a real estate salesperson! Well, as the CEO of your real estate practice, I’d suggest critical thinking is the foundation of your current and future success.
Critical thinking will enable you to express your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs more effectively. Better communication helps others understand you better, resulting in less frustration for you and your clients. Critical thinking fosters creativity and out-of-the-box thinking that can be applied to any area of your business.
“The quality of your business largely depends on the quality of your decisions.”
Imagine how much better your real estate business would be if there were a way to make the best possible decisions, day in and day out? There is, and it’s called critical thinking.
Some real estate professionals already have well-developed critical thinking skills, others need some help, and we all can benefit from continuous improvement.
5 Steps To Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills
First
Clearly Define Your Question or Problem.
Albert Einstein said it best:
“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
Second
Gather Information to Help You Weigh the Options.
Consider only the most valuable and reliable information from the most reputable sources. Disregard the rest.
Third
Apply the Information and Ask Critical Questions.
Scrutinize all information with a skeptic’s eye.
Not sure what questions to ask? You can’t go wrong starting with the “5 W’s.”
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
Then finish by asking, “How?”
Fourth
Consider the Implications.
Look for potential unintended consequences. Do a thought experiment about how your solution could play out in both the short and long run.
Fifth
Explore the Full Spectrum of Viewpoints.
Examine why others are offering differing points of view. This will help you evaluate your viewpoint. You may find critical thinkers who take an opposing view, which can help you find gaps in your logic.
Samantha Agoos describes a 5-step process in this TED Talk that may help you with any number of problems in your business.
Every day, a wave of decisions comes before us, and it’s impossible to make a perfect choice every time. Yet there are ways to improve our chances. One particularly effective technique is critical thinking, and that is how can win the day.
Adjusting To Change
Success often hinges on the ability to quickly adjust to change. Peak performers follow a model:
- Being open to change
- Reframing difficult situations
Being open to change; when plans or situations change, step back and look at ways to adapt and adjust.
Reframing difficult situations, to see them as opportunities to learn and grow rather than simply as obstacles.
The Ultimate Secret
Do it until… is the most common denominator for success in anything.
Some of us learn fast, others slowly, and many of us in between. When you are committed to the cause, the effort, and the result, “you do it until ___.”
Fill in the blank; you do it until you gain mastery; you do it until you have confidence; you do it until you are the best!
The common denominator is “I did it until I got it! It doesn’t matter how long it takes.” This is a great growth mindset.
You don’t know how long or short it will take to become an expert, yet if you keep doing what needs to be done – one day at a time – one hour at a time – one minute at a time, one second at a time – eventually all those seconds add up to minutes and minutes add up to hours and so on.
It’s not about how long it takes – if we keep doing what needs to be done – eventually, we get there, and we win.
Do it until ____!
#WinTheDay
Three Steps To Creating More Certainty In Your Real Estate Practice
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” ~ Stephen Covey
Have you ever worked backward from Friday? At the end of the week, imagine you are sitting down and looking back…what would make this week great?
We can’t control the market this week, yet we can control the daily activities that lead to our expected outcomes.
I’m sure you would agree – without a doubt – we are in uncertain times. The paradox is this: we need both uncertainty and certainty in our business. Yet, from the conversations I’ve had this week, we have more uncertainty than certainty. How can we create more certainty?
Get Clear On What You Really Want.
- Create a picture of what you really want
- Envision it.
- See how it makes you feel.
- Does it move you into action?
You know this is really clear when your purpose resonates and moves you emotionally.
Make It Part Of Everyday!
- Create a daily action checklist and follow it
- What’s the ONE routine you must do every day to win the day?
- Example: P.E.D.S.
- Prayer
- Exercise
- Diet
- Sleep
- What are the one or two activities that move the needle?
- Marketing that creates NEW appointments
- Building and maintaining relationships
- Servicing existing clients and prospects
- Anticipating and solving problems BEFORE they arise
- Completing that project
- Closing open loops
- Is it all in your calendar?
- Example: P.E.D.S.
Have a strategy for when you feel stuck or lost.
- “If I don’t do this, this is what it will cost me,” or
- “If I do this, then this is what I can gain.”
- “I don’t feel like it” can be turned into “I’ll do it anyway.”
If you show up for the day with no structure in your calendar and decide to do “urgent” tasks like returning calls and texts and checking Facebook, those activities will expand and eat up all the time you hoped to devote to more “important” activities. You will end the day unfulfilled and have more uncertainty. Get clear on what you want, make it part of your everyday routine, and have a plan for when you feel stuck or lost. That is a winning formula.
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.
Has anyone seen a home seller?
Has anyone seen a home seller? Home sellers seem to be just about as rare as the Condor (unlike the red-tail hawk on my fence this morning).
Inventory of available homes for sale across the US fell another 2.5% this week, the lowest since 2019. This is the time of year when we traditionally see more homes coming on the market. Yet, according to Altos Research, there is no indication of an inventory surge coming into the market. Say what?
It is a supply-constrained market. Consumers are price sensitive to interest rates – now near 7% – and it seems sellers sitting on 3% mortgages are not motivated to trade up or out.
The result? 20% fewer homes in the pending process compared to a year ago. Only about 31% of sellers are needing to reduce their initial list price. The median price of new listings is up, yet not near the pace of increases we saw just a year ago. Rents appear to be stabilizing and slowing at the median level of $2,200 per month.
Check out the charts on this link – you can type in your local zip code.
If you are looking for an agent to explain local real estate trends – I know a few all over the US, shoot me a DM or text.
Source: Altos Research US for the week ending 3-5-2023.
Ten Excuses
- Ten excuses the top 1% all made, yet figured out a way to bust through:
1. I don’t have time
2. I don’t have the money
3. I will try it next year
4. I don’t have enough data
5. I am too tired, skeptical, or biased
6. No one ever did it before
7. It’s too much work
8. I could fail
9. I will wait until I retire
10. It’s too risky
You can bust through too. One of my associates told me all of these “excuses” are rooted in some sort of fear, so really the top 1% are masters of fear.
