90 to 95 days… I was just looking, and basically, we have about 90 to 95 productive days left in 2024. Can you believe it?
I personally love “90-day sprints”; they are just long enough to make good progress but not so long that they get boring. Do you?
I have a 90-day sprint guide; shoot me a message to get a copy.
The great late Billy Graham said it best:
“Decisions are made whether we make them or not. Time decides if you will not. Because not deciding is a choice, decisions are made whether we make them or not. Bottom line: time is our enemy, and time ALWAYS wins unless action is taken.”
A System Will Produce What A System Will Produce, Nothing Less and Nothing More!
Habits – good or poor – start as a thin thread and become a strong cable.
Good Habits vs. Poor Habits
Habits can be our greatest allies or our worst enemies. Good habits, like regular exercise, healthy eating, and consistent sleep, build a foundation for well-being. On the other hand, poor habits, such as procrastination, unhealthy eating, and lack of exercise, can slowly erode our well-being.
The Temptation Battle: Gym vs. Dunkin’ Donuts
Across from one of my local gym locations is a Dunkin’ Donuts. This juxtaposition perfectly illustrates the daily battle between good and poor habits. On one side, the gym represents discipline, health, and long-term benefits. On the other, Dunkin’ Donuts symbolizes immediate gratification and the allure of indulgence. Every day, we face choices that either strengthen our good habits or reinforce our poor ones.
Start, Stop, More of, Less of
When it comes to habits, it’s I’ve found the key is to identify what we need to start, stop, do more of, and do less of. Here are some examples:
Start: Incorporating a routine that sets a positive tone for the day and week.
Stop: Mindlessly scrolling – approach things with intention.
More of: Daily intentional outreach.
Less of: Procrastination.
The Journey of Habit Formation
Habits – poor or good – start out as a thin thread and end up being a strong cable. This transformation to good doesn’t happen overnight. It requires consistency, patience, and a clear understanding of the goal. By focusing on small, incremental changes, I’ve found you can gradually build habits that support your desired outcome.
I’m sure you’ve read Atomic Habits. If not, grab a copy and dig in.
Habits are powerful. They shape our actions, influence our decisions, and ultimately define who we are. By consciously cultivating good habits and eliminating poor ones, we can create a business and life that aligns with our values and aspirations.
Every small step counts, and over time, these steps weave together to form the strong cable of our daily routines.
Habits – poor or good – start as a thin thread and become a strong cable.
In my memories, today was when we had tickets to a doubleheader: Reds vs. the Angels, and I was the designated driver. My family trusted me to drive to get them back and forth safely; in fact, Tim fell asleep in route. That’s trust.
Trust is so important in so many ways.
Trust is everything, whether it’s driving my family or friends or working with my associates, clients, and vendors. There’s nothing more impactful on people, their work, and their performance than trust.
Stephen Covey said it best:
“You can ignore the principles that govern trust—but they will not ignore you.”
In other news, that night was tough for the home team.
Angela Duckworth said it well, “At various points, in big ways and small, we get knocked down. If we stay down, grit loses. If we get up, grit prevails. Grit and self-control are related but are not the same thing.”
How to get “gritty?” Duckworth identified 5 ways:
1. Pursue Your Interests: Find something that genuinely fascinates you. Passion fuels perseverance.
2. Practice Deliberately: Embrace mistakes and setbacks as part of the learning process. You’ll make errors when you practice, but that’s how improvement happens. View frustration positively—it’s a sign of growth.
3. Clarity of Goals: Be crystal-clear about your ultimate goal and align smaller goals with it. Clarity helps maintain focus and commitment.
4. Make Your Work Meaningful: Seek ways to infuse purpose into your tasks. Even minor adjustments can make your work feel more fulfilling.
5. Practice Optimistic Self-Talk: Replace negative thoughts with enabling thoughts. Encourage yourself during challenges.
Duckworth said, “Grit isn’t fixed—it’s something you can develop over time as you keep pushing forward.”
Two of my three sons are proud UC Irvine Anteaters (the other a Banana Slug), but today, I’m delving into a different kind of ‘ant’—the kind that can infest our minds.
Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Daniel Amen. It was from him that I learned about the concept of Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs), a term he coined in the early 1990s. The origin story of ANTs is as intriguing as it is enlightening.
After a particularly challenging day at his office, filled with sessions from suicidal patients to couples locked in conflict, Dr. Amen returned home only to find his kitchen overrun by ants. This infestation sparked a realization: just as ants had invaded his home, his patients’ minds were besieged by ANTs, stripping away their joy and commandeering their happiness.
Dr. Amen’s insights extend beyond mere observations. In his book about the brain’s profound influence on our well-being, he elucidates how each thought triggers a chemical reaction in our brains. Negative thoughts—be they sad, hopeless, or angry—prompt our brains to release chemicals that induce physical discomfort: hands turn clammy, muscles tense up, heart rates spike, and breathing shallows. Moreover, such thoughts can dampen the activity in our frontal and temporal lobes, impairing judgment, learning, and memory.
Conversely, positive thoughts have the power to release a different set of chemicals that promote a sense of physical ease and mental clarity. A happy or hopeful thought can warm your hands, relax your muscles, steady your heart, deepen your breath, and enhance your brain’s performance.
So, how do we combat ANTs?
Dr. Amen identifies several species of negative thought patterns, each with its own destructive tendencies:
Fortune Telling: This ANT thrives on pessimism, forecasting doom without any real evidence.
Mind Reading: A common ANT that convinces you of others’ thoughts without their input, often leading to misunderstandings.
Guilt Beatings: Words like ‘should’ and ‘must’ can whip up feelings of obligation rather than motivation, fostering negativity.
Blame: Casting blame renders you powerless, trapping you in victimhood.
Labeling: Derogatory names cloud judgment and can cause lasting harm.
The Path Forward:
When negative emotions surge, take a moment to jot down your thoughts. Identify the ANT at play and confront it. Challenging these negative thoughts diminishes their influence, reclaiming control over your mind and emotions.
“Onward and upward” is a mindset that requires optimism, empathy, curiosity, and action.
Optimism is the ability to overcome adversity despite the circumstances.
Empathy is understanding situations from another’s perspective with no judgment. The ability to choose to respond rather than to react.
Curiosity. To be effective, be curious: curious about how people are feeling, curious about why things happen, curious about the future, curious about steps to take to navigate difficult waters.
Action. The winners are the doers. Talk is cheap; action speaks.
When we make changes by design vs. default, we can craft a future that supports the growth we deserve.
In today’s fast-paced world, there are countless conference opportunities for agents, team leaders, and broker-owners. Among them, Inman Connect events in New York and Las Vegas. This year’s Las Vegas event was no exception, offering a wealth of learning and networking opportunities.
The main topic?
Co-op commission sharing is dead, and how to move forward in a new commission model.
No matter which conference you choose to attend, it’s essential to have a plan for what comes next. That’s where my 4-Step Post-Conference Guide comes in. Professional conferences are unparalleled opportunities to expand your network, gain fresh ideas, deepen connections, break out of your routine, and shake things up.
Yet, many of us struggle to take action after these events. Why is that?
Often, it’s because we return home with an overwhelming amount of information to process.
To combat this, it’s crucial to create a post-conference action plan that empowers you.
The key to a successful post-conference routine is taking ACTION.
Here are 4 steps to maximize your conference investment:
Network Post-Event: Don’t let those valuable connections fade away. Follow up, close the loop, and build relationships for referrals, accountability, and more.
Leverage Your Social Channels: Showcase your commitment to excellence and service by sharing your conference experiences on social media. Highlight how your time investment benefits your customers and potential clients.
Organize Your Notes into a Checklist: Commit to action by creating a checklist of key takeaways and sharing it with an accountability partner, mentor, or coach. Checklists are powerful tools that help you get more done and keep your brain happy. According to research summarized by best-selling author Maria Konnikova, here’s why:
Your Mind Seeks Organization: Lists tap into our preferred way of receiving and organizing information at a subconscious level.
Spatial Processing: It’s easier to remember items when they’re written down in bulleted or numbered points.
Categorization: We process information more efficiently when it’s organized into lists rather than clustered in paragraphs.
Time Awareness: Knowing how long tasks will take increases our commitment to completing them.
Self-Reinforcement: Checking off items from a list provides a dopamine hit, encouraging us to return to the list for more.
Do your brain a favor and break down what you learned into actionable checklists.
Take Action NOW!: Don’t wait! Procrastination only delays your success. Implement what you’ve learned immediately.
So, there you have it—4 steps to make the most of your conference experience!
