As I continue to research top performance in all areas of life, I am reminded that we are always rewarded disproportionately in life for our efforts unless we push ourselves to the highest levels possible. That’s right; reward lags effort until you are the best in your field at what you do.
I’ll give you some examples that I’m sure you can relate to.
You give something a Poor effort, whether that is a relationship, a project in school, or a former job. I say former job because giving a poor effort at work will result in a quick Pink Slip. You give a relationship a Poor effort and it will be over before it’s even has a chance to get started. When you were in school, if you give a project a Poor effort the professor saw that from a mile away and failed you. If you do a Poor job with your health and you likely won’t be reading my blog posts for very long. (Please look after your health!)
Okay, what if I give things in life a Good effort? Well, the results will be a tad bit better, but they will still fall behind the effort you gave. If you put just a Good effort into raising your kids, they will likely be overweight, get mixed up with the wrong crowd, or maybe have a drug problem. You give your marriage a Good effort and then 10 years later you will be wondering why your partner left you for someone else. You put in a Good effort at work and you will be wondering why your request for raises are denied and you are stuck in that sub $40,000 income range.
I’m sure you are now wondering a bit about the title then of this blog post – why would the level of Excellence suck? Isn’t that what all achievers are reaching for?
Well when you give things an Excellent effort, you still only get Good results, and let’s call a spade a spade – Good results suck when you have put in a lot of effort and you are left asking yourself “Is this it?”. That might be okay if that was a skunk works experiment and a Good result popped up by pure chance, but not when you had the majority of your focus on something. That’s discouraging and being discouraged sinks.
However, out of discouragement usually comes a lesson right? My lesson for you today is to always be pushing yourself to find a new gear to SLAM the shifter of life into. A new standard we can set. We all have another level we can take our game to. That level is the level of being OUTSTANDING.
I know what you’re thinking, you don’t want to try for Outstanding because you think it is tied to perfection or some other un-reachable standard, (and if its unreachable, it really isn’t a standard is it?). Not in this case. Being Outstanding is about making a conscious choice to not only excel to the highest level possible every day of your life, but it is about inspiring others. Because you have chosen to Stand-Out or be outstanding, you will show others what is possible. You will give others a vision for what they could be some day too. You may or may not know it in the moment the impact you make on other people with your behavior, but Outstanding people are the ones who inspire the next generation to be the best versions of themselves as well!
Okay, now that I have you all motivated to up your game, you are probably asking yourself how can I be Outstanding on a more regular basis in more areas of life? Here is that missing key that takes someone from going from Excellence to Outstanding. It’s what separates people who are working their tails off to make a six figure income vs. those who are the industry leaders, grab the majority of the market share and have disproportionate rewards for the efforts they now put in. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about. It’s the top realtor or mortgage broker not just in your city, but in your county or state.
The missing key is HEART. What is HEART? Lots of times its’ an intangible that isn’t easy to measure, but it can be seen in a person’s actions. I believe HEART is a person’s commitment, their persistence and drive towards their Burning Vision. And their vision usually includes bringing others to the top with them.
Whether that is sports, sales, helping others regain their health, or building a real estate empire. People who do this for way more than fame, money, endorsements or recognition. They are doing it because they have a burning vision of what THEY thought was possible, not just society. They put their heart into it their craft and they have hundreds of reasons to succeed vs. failing. It’s easy to put their Heart into it because they are striving to create more value than anyone else in their field. They are doing it to not just show themselves what was possible, they do it to inspire the next generation. These people were not the most skilled in the beginning, but they mixed the components of heart, vision and reasons in the right recipe to propel them to the top of their field.
So, before you might think that this Heart stuff is all hokey pokey, give it some thought and see if it’s true or not. Think back to a time when you had some Outstanding results. Were you willing to burn the midnight oil without being asked to? When you scored that winning goal, had you not played it out hundreds or thousands of times previously in your mind? Were lots of people depending on you to be a leader for them that year? Did you have absolute confidence and certainty in the outcome you were chasing? The answer is a resounding YES! Outstanding results don’t just happen. They are envisioned, crafted in advance and pursued with joy, fervor and passion. It doesn’t seem like work when honing your craft is fueled by vision, passion, heart and hundreds of great reasons why you need to hit the mark.
But often we lose touch with that high level. Who’s kidding who, the crowd is slim at the top. Usually only those in your master mind groups, or high level trainings are playing at that same level.
So, what can you do to help you with more Outstanding results?
Well, the first thing you can do is to write up an Ultimate Vison for all the different areas of your real estate investing business. With a clearly defined vision, you can review it daily as your compass to make sure you are heading in the right direction. The more you follow a vision in the right direction, the more likely you will be on your way to that Outstanding level.
Ask yourself often, what would a 10/10 in business look like to you? Even if you aren’t there yet by knowing what that Outstanding level looks like, and reviewing it often enough, you will actually be creating what is possible through modelling. Modelling off of your vision of what you want works not just in business but in all areas of your life. A clear vision will really help when it comes to focus and execution which is where the rubber 100% hits the road.
Without execution and regular progress, there is nothing, just dreams and a lot of talk. I’ll save execution for another future post though!
Getting to Outstanding is not a sprint, it is a marathon. And a marathon is always easier to run when you have a map of the race and the mile markers along the way. Even when you get to the finish line, there will always be another marathon to run. Different location, more challenging, harder to qualify for. Yes, this is how an overachiever thinks! Welcome to the club J.
With that, give some thought to the different parts of your business whether they be your marketing campaigns, scripts, back end admin, or final product and ask yourself, what would I need to commit to being to make this part of the business Outstanding? Who would I need to become to dominate the market? Who needs to be on my team to get there? Who could I model? Who could I learn from? Who could I cross-pollinate with to get a different set of eyes on my business? What have I been resisting that I need to start doing right NOW to get closer to Outstanding? Or, what do I need to delegate or take off my plate to get there?
Remember my friend, we all have another level. It won’t be easy. Hard work is required but the rewards once there will be worth it, so don’t stop pursuing that Outstanding level! Go out and make daily progress towards Outstanding and trust me, people will start to notice and want to join your team!
See you at the top!
