There’s nothing like a crystallized Mission to clear your vision and help you focus on only the relevant tasks that will make that overriding goal a reality. By first defining a Mission Statement that you can wholeheartedly commit to and identify with, you protect yourself against the Time Bandits like Uncertainty and Busy Work that will leech away your energy and concentration.
Now, many in our business break their Mission down into two statements: one defines their purpose and the other is their personal motivator that gets them up in the morning.
For example:
My Mission is…
To make the buying and selling of real estate as cost-effective as possible, while maintaining the highest level of service. To provide accurate and up-to-date information, skilled analysis and sound real estate advice. To continually explore new ideas and technology, to make the selling and buying of real estate faster, less costly, and easier for the consumer.
My Future Vision is…
To be the leading Real Estate Agent from North to South Richmond, always exceeding my customers’ expectations and providing them with a totally positive service experience.
In short: to provide the best service and to be recognized for it.
You’ll notice that neither statement mentions money. Do you wonder why?
Money doesn’t motivate. What you can do with it might, at least for a while, but ultimately there has to be more to life if you’re going to keep enjoying what you do and being rewarded for it.
Enjoying the business is motivating. Learning new things, interacting with positive people, putting together creative deals – now, that’s motivating. Not wasting your time on extraneous tasks is motivating. And, if you conquer those goals, you’ll be a success and LOVE doing it.
Let’s take a look at how you can optimize your time and stay excited in this business:
Define Your Mission to Reflect Your Goals and Values: What do you want your business to achieve? How do want people to think of you? Don’t get sidetracked by focusing on how much you can make or how soon you can retire – those ideas won’t sustain success. Instead, concentrate on developing your company as a complementary reflection of the best version of yourself. As an agent, you’re in the business of helping people come home. You facilitate them in achieving the life they want and, along the way, you reap the rewards within your own life.
Once you are clear about your goals and direction, you will save yourself inordinate amounts of time. From this point forward, when faced with a new decision, you can simply refer back to your Mission and ask yourself, does it fit? You now also have an encapsulation of your business that you can provide to clients if they’re unsure about your values.
Get Comfortable Saying “No” to the Time Bandits: Success attracts attention from all manner of sources and, especially if you’re a ‘people person,’ you’ll be approached with numerous requests for your time. To stay motivated, effective and efficient, you’ll need to say “NO” (politely) more often. It becomes easier with practice although, at first, you’ll find yourself frequently referring to your Mission and Purpose for clarity. In the end, you’ll discover that your own respect for your time and goals will be reflected by those who come to you. Finally, they will understand what you’re about and what you value in life and business.
Learn from Everything and Keep Exploring: Every mistake or disappointment holds a lesson within, if you choose to learn it. And, once you do, you save time by not repeating that negative experience. Often, such analysis will also uncover new ideas and, if you’re serious about building your business, you’ll want as many of them as possible:
- Identify resources you can trust and draw from them.
- Try new activities and take on learning projects – your brain is a muscle and needs to flex.
- Keep up-to-date with current affairs and local news.
As you accumulate knowledge, keep asking yourself, “How can I apply this idea to my business or personal development?
Associate with Positive People from All Walks of Life: As long as those around you are creative, constructive and energetic, it doesn’t matter if they’re in the same business or not. Their energy will feed your own and you’ll learn more from other disciplines than you would if you limit yourself to just one sector. As a side benefit, this varied interaction also increases your referral base as long as you don’t ‘sell’ yourself.
Train your Assistants and New Associates with Care and actively listen to their ideas and suggestions. Fresh input is vital for maintaining your own motivation, but be careful about how you ask for it. A business will stagnate if the major players are too alike, but they must at least share similar values and goals. Even opposing opinions can be energizing if you keep a sense of perspective and objectivity.
Balance your Business Activities with Rest and Diverse Pastimes: Overworking is not efficient. You make poor decisions and communicate ineffectively when you’re tired, which wastes more time than it saves. Replenish your energy with complete rest and hobbies that totally transport you away from your work activities.
Reward Yourself for Achievements and Completions, and celebrate the success of others. Even if it’s just a small reward like a fancy coffee, take a little time to mark the win, it does wonders for everyone’s motivation.
The combined impact of Mission and Motivation cannot be overstated in terms of how much time they will save you every day. If you can marry the two, you’ll also create a synergy that will energize you even in the slow times and downturns. And, as you and your business mature over time, don’t forget to revisit your Mission so that it remains in harmony with changing goals and refined values.
About the Author:
Cindy Bishop is the CEO and founder of Cindy Bishop Worldwide, LLC; a real estate education, coaching and consulting practice focused on transforming individuals, brokerages and leadership teams to achieve superior strategic business outcomes. Cindy brings extensive business development experience from her corporate and real estate career to guide her clients through educational processes to maximize their potential from start-up, survival, turnaround and growth modes.
