Are you determined?

I was recently at a Wizard’s game and during the warm-ups I was looking around the stadium and noticed there were hardly any fans at the game.  Yes it was a beautiful day outside yet people had paid hundreds of dollars on their tickets and still didn’t go to the game (courtside seats and center 3 sections on each side are sold out for every game).  Earlier in the day I had conversations with a few other season ticket holders who asked why I would go to a game when they were so bad and the team they were playing – the New Jersey Nets – were even worse.   After giving it some thought, the answer came to mind and it was dedication. 

It made me realize it is hard to have dedication when things aren’t going well.  When you have to give it your all when the chips are down or when you have to make a commitment and there are other choices that appear to be more appealing like the weather, the time obligation required and in a lot of cases – short term sacrifice for long term gain.  Truly, it can be difficult to go all in day after day when faced with adversity. 

In business, so many people give up when they are so close to success and it made me realize that they don’t have the dedication required to succeed.  They try one thing then stop, then try the latest fad and don’t get results and move on to something else always looking for the easy way to success and it is never the case – you need dedication for success.

What does it mean to have dedication?  Perseverance, commitment and devotion are characteristics of dedication and are essential elements of success.  The thought process of it is easier to do nothing than to put forth the time, energy and effort to get the results is relevant in today’s market more than ever.  Dedication to your education is critical.  Dedication to the development of your sphere of influence and its growth is necessary.   Dedication to market research to know trends is an essential element for success.  Dedication to your clients is a key area of focus.  Dedication to showing up and putting in the effort is essential. 

Think about this, the winners in life persevere when things look the bleakest and come out on the “other side” stronger, smarter and better equipped to handle the next challenge.  They have made the commitment to grow and learn from their experiences and become better in their chosen field.  As previously mentioned – you see it all the time in sports – many athletes “just mail it in” and many professionals do the same thing when faced with misfortune.  Be devoted to your career.  Be willing to sacrifice the time and resist the temptations of outside elements to get ahead in the business.  Decide if you have the loyalty for the business required to go to work every day and perform at the highest levels and attain success.  If not, you should find something that gives you this type of drive.  If the dedication, commitment, and devotion aren’t there for you in real estate – get out of the business and get into something else where you have the drive to succeed.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Do you have pride in all you do?

The longer you do something, the longer you realize how important having pride in what you do is so important to your growth as a business person and how it plays into how you get more referrals or stay employed longer.  The question to ask yourself is – do you have it in you?  Do you have or take pride in what you do?  Do you feel confident that you are doing the best you can do and are performing to the best of your abilities?  Do you feel remorse when something slips through the cracks or if you feel you are not doing your best or giving it your all?  Are you doing the minimum to just collect a paycheck or are you pumped up to go to work and improve upon what you did the day before, every day?  Are you doing the little things when no one else is looking because you know it is the right thing to do?  Are you doing the right stuff to do the job better than someone else?  If so, you are taking pride in what you do.  We have made the decision to take pride in what we do for you.  Our goal is to provide you with the best training, education, support and so much more.

As we have done in the past, let’s break down the word pride and discuss the elements of each letter:

Professionalism – embracing professionalism in the way you dress, the way you speak with others, the way you approach each day shows you have pride in what you do for a living.

Responsibility – the idea is to not only take on the job you were hired to do but to take on even more.  The more you do, the more you will get.  Also, do the right stuff – all the time.  You know what to do so do it!  Don’t take extra advantage of your lunch hour, being on the internet to surf the web during work hours, etc.  Be responsible and be the ultimate agent or employee.

Initiative – take the initiative to take on more projects and suggest new ideas.   Be proactive, creative, take the lead on projects – don’t wait to be assigned a task or responsibility.  What do you think about while you are at work?

Dedication – you must be dedicated to what you are doing.  It is the drive within you that makes all the difference in your success.  Be dedicated and get more satisfaction and better results out of what you are doing.

Excellence – this should be your minimum standard in the level at which you should be performing.  If you provide excellent service, perform at an excellent level, you can always expect to be given referrals and get promoted more quickly than others in your field.

Are you interested in taking more pride in what you do?  Ask the experts, be engaged, be active, read, learn, attend trainings to understand your field, be positive, make your job your priority and improve everyday and you will shine.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!