Rules Of The Game
Do you know the rules of the game you’re playing?
If we consider any board game, there are very specific and clear rules to be followed. Furthermore, there is usually a strategy that, if implemented, increases the odds of winning dramatically.
Have you considered that business, perhaps life, maybe similar to a board game? Unfortunately, we weren’t given a set of rules or strategies for success when we were born, so we’re forced to learn the lessons of those who lived before us learned.
If you look hard enough, you’ll be able to find a pattern of success or “rules” that are required to win in almost every industry.
In the real estate industry, the rules are simple. Control the listing, control the industry. Oftentimes, agents are rocked to sleep by working in a balanced market for so long they forget this fundamental rule. One day, they wake up and realize they’re in the middle of a seller’s market and for the first time, truly experience the value of a listing.
Do you want to be in control of your time? Take listings.
Do you want to be in control of your income? Take listings.
Do you want to be in control of your client’s experience? Take listings.
If you’re like most agents, you’re likely a member of one or more groups on social media to connect and socialize with other agents. Recently, I feel like I see a post almost daily saying something like, “Can you believe the listing agent is only offering ‘X’%” or “Can you believe the builders have stopped offering co-ops to real estate agents?” It’s sad to see, yet very obvious these agents have missed the fundamental rule of real estate. List to last.
In my real estate career, I was fortunate to participate in masterminds with Gary Keller on occasion. During a mastermind, I vividly remember sitting in KWRI in Austin, Texas in the training room where many masterminds have taken place. (I was wearing a suit without a belt, the wrong color shoes and somehow I had broken the laces on the shoes that morning, but that’s a story for another day). Gary reached over and picked up his leather backpack and pulled out a few leather-bound notebooks/journals. As he casually flipped through one of the journals, he said, “As a person who wants to live the best life possible, you must become model builders.” He went on to say, “you need a model for health, a model for business, a model for key relationships, such as being a spouse and parent, a model for finances, etc.” Gary suggested to the group that we learn the rules of the games we want to win. Learn the proven methods and strategies others have learned, (he calls this standing on the shoulders of giants) create our model for each area of our life designed for us to win, and finally, test that model to see if we get the results we want.
What fundamental rules are you ignoring? Do you have a model designed to win for all areas of your life?
Have you studied people who live the longest, healthiest life? Have you studied those who have the best relationships with their significant other? Have you created a model designed for you to win or are you crossing your fingers, hoping it all works out for the best?