Category: Thought Process – THOUGHT PROVOKING

Personal, Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING

Personal Development and Reflection- Personal Mission Statement

I’ve been reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – and I have to say it is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I have read many books through University, and I have read a good half dozen books since I have been out (6 months actually – so about a book a month). What is really hitting me hard about reading all these books, and my ENTIRE University experience for that matter, is that it is all a tremendous waste of time unless you implement what you learn.

To me, that is simply the reality of the situation. And it’s funny, I remember professors and mentors saying it – and I thought “yah yah, is class over yet? is this going to be on the test?” Thats actually pretty terrible! I guess I can chalk that up to just being young and maybe a little bit immature as a result. I could also blame it on the fact that I didn’t really NEED to care about what was being said, I was just supposed to.

Fast forward to the real world – I am running my own business, I am now married and have a few obstacles in front of me until I start having children.  Thats quite the progress – and quite the change of mindset to boot.

So back to the book – the first chapter teaches how YOU are the creator of your own life, and then the second teaches you that your LIFE must be your first creation. Does that make sense? I might not be saying it right. It teaches to begin and live your life with the end in mind. One of the most powerful parts is the very beginning where it asks you to imagine yourself going to a funeral of a loved one. You drive over, get out of your car, see friends and family in sadness, togetherness and reflection. You walk through the funeral home and approach the casket and you see yourself lying there. It is your funeral. You get a copy of the Eulogy and see that there will be four speakers – a family member, a friend, a colleage and a member of your community. What would you like them to say about you? How would you like to be remembered?

I actually wrote it down. This exercise helped me realize what is truly important to me- the ultimate drivers behind my life.

The chapter ends with suggesting you write a personal mission statement, and it provides a link to a website that helps you create one.

www.franklincovey.com  (who’s life story is unreal).

So I built my Personal Mission Statement.

Here goes:

I am at my best when I am using my unique skills and traits to help others.
I will try to prevent times when I shelter myself too much.
I will enjoy my work by finding opportunities where I can help people solve problems.
I will find enjoyment in my personal life by providing security, freedom and pleasure.
I will find opportunities to use my natural talents and gifts such as Ethic, Integrity, Caring for others Welfare, Intelligence, Determination, Focus, Honesty, Sincerity, Creativeness.
I can do anything I set my mind to.

I will focus on enjoyment of life, pursuit of creativity and uplifting challenges.

Unite my team and push towards health, wealth, maturity, responsibility.

Add to the quality of life of my loved ones.
My life’s journey is to establish my family as one that is secured, healthy, wealthy, strong and happy.
I will be a person who believed in something bigger than himself, that there was a purpose behind every day of his life and he never lost sight of it.

One who devoted all his time and effort to the betterment of his loved ones and raised the bar for the standards in ethic, passion, determination and drive.

I will surround myself with family, and a handful of good friends who share my values.
My most important future contribution to others will be security, freedom, strength, land to live and profit from, access to resources and positive mind frame (created by leading by example).

Strength of character and ability will be taught.
I will stop procrastinating and start working on:

  • Realizing my potential.
  • Continuously improve my production capacity and set objectives for production.
  • Follow through with action steps – implement the knowledge I have gained.

I will strive to incorporate the following attributes into my life:

  • Choice and Control of circumstances and responses to life. Quality of life is created by self and rests in my hands.
  • Consistency and perseverance in application. Devotion.
  • Pioneering a family with responsibility and love.

I will constantly renew myself by focusing on the four dimensions of my life:

  • Being physically strong and conditioned.
  • Personal Values and Principles that guide the person that I am.
  • Focus and Unbreakable Ethic. Determination.
  • Living with Passion, Experiencing Love and Caring for others.
Personal, Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING

Friends VS Business

Yes I’m going there. Why? Because it’s a touchy subject and a lot of people have a hard time with it. More importantly however, the likelihood of me getting or loosing a client because of this blog is minimal, but the likelihood of this blog doing a lot of good for all of you out in cyberspace is GREAT. So let’s give it a shot, entertain some friendly debate and come to some conclusions.

When I first started in this industry, a lot of my first clients were friends. There was a little bit of potential energy building around me because I was just graduating, getting married, and yes – my Real Estate license. So a fair amount of people were seeing me quite often and on good terms – so the idea of having me help them buy or sell came into my sphere of influence’s head more so than otherwise. Bing Bang Boom, few deals here and a few deals there – and I had learned a tremendous amount in a very little span of time.

I was able to help some of my friends get some incredible homes, in great neighbourhoods, and for a bargain. I’m talking about homes that were 10% under what was the perceived market value, and sometimes more. I found unique units, perfect combination of features, and coordinated the whole shebang to a T.

Some of my other friends pulled a 180 on me, and used my services for a while (one was two weeks, and another FOUR months for example), and then for some reason distanced themselves and ended up getting a backdoor deal done through someone else! I was really mad about it at the time, and to be honest I think I am still a little bitter, but like I have said time and time again – when something goes wrong, look in the mirror for the solution. There is nothing wrong with not getting the deal, as long as you learn from it – and here is what I have learned:

 

  1. Friends and Business blurs the line between a business and friend relationship, and you have to put extra attention into making them as distinct as possible.  When you go out with your friends to dinner or over for some drinks – don’t be a douche and talk work the whole time. I’ve done it once or twice (because I love what I do, and people naturally are always asking about the industry), and it kind of steals from the friendship moment and turns it into a conference. Now the same goes the other way – and this is what is important. When you are WORKING for a friend, don’t be their friend the whole time, and be the Business Professional they respect and were hoping to engage. If you smell something funny in a house, or see something strange – save the stupid jokes for after hours when a good meal, drinks and hindsight go hand in hand. What you run the risk of doing is turning the work time into a hang out session, which again, blurs the lines.
  2. Its OK not to get friends business. Do I want it? More than anything! That’s why I got into this industry – to HELP and do incredible work – who better for than the ones I like the most? So far it has gone well every time with my friends and I always feel like I am top of a mountain afterwards. Do I expect it? No, I don’t. And you can’t.  Friends have hesitations about using friends for business. They have other friends or family members that might be able to help, or maybe they want to do the job themselves – and that’s OK.  It’s a fact of the matter that you will not get 100% of your friends business, and you are just going to have to learn to roll with it. If you can’t – your career will suffer. This is a business of thick hides, and those that have thin ones will get burned very quickly and end up leaving. If you begin to alienate the people closest to you in your life then all other aspects in your life will suffer. Here is my trick: Treat your friends as your SUPPORT GROUP – not your client base. While they certainly CAN be a source of business, you should look to your friends for mutual support. They will be able to give you honest criticisms, advice and yes – referrals. Who better to help you build your business than your support group! This actually reminds me of a story a good friend of mine told me in high school. This girl was a very good friend of mine, so much that we would hang out all the time, talk on the phone all the time, and even take the same classes together. Now despite the fact that she was very beautiful, this was a strictly plutonic relationship – and I learned from it! I remember one day she found out that another good guy friend of hers was only friends with her because he wanted something ELSE from her (wink wink). She was so upset because this whole time this guy had perpetrated to be a good friend when all he wanted was to get in her pants. DON’T BE THAT PERSON. If you are only friends with people to get into their WALLETS – then you will come across as a perpetrator and alienate these people.
  3. I am a RESOURCE – not a one-stop-shop of an answer for the problem of the day. What I mean is, my services are many, my services are unique, and my services cover a wide range of areas. If you treat yourself like a resource then you will start to open up opportunites for yourself and for your friends that you did not see before, and you will learn that you can help every single one of your friends without having to make them CHOOSE you, but rather, go THROUGH you. Going through you can be consultation, advice, opinions, a DEAL, direction, information, referrals to other professionals – whatever. Be dynamic, be valuable and be relevant – you will see that there are many ways that you can help, and they don’t all include your exclusive services.
  4. Other ways to get business. Now for you Realtors reading this, you might be thinking: “But what about making any money?” Ever heard of referrals? If your friend doesn’t want to use you – refer them to someone they will use and get a referral cut! Take the high road and make sure they get the best agency possible! Maybe you can refer them to another professional for a client down the road. Maybe you can just HELP your friend (crazy concept, isn’t it?) and be the really nice guy that made it all go smooth and who happens to be available to that friend’s OTHER friends and family should they want to engage you for a full commitment!  

 

My philosophy: Chase good business, not paycheques. Why? Because good business will go much further than your next paycheques will.

 Thoughts?

Personal, Real Estate - ANALYSIS, Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING, Uncategorized

Who’s Bottom Line is Being Negotiated Here? Not Mine, That’s for Sure.

When representing a Buyer I often get asked, “Is your commission negotiable?” Quite often, my reply is, “Well, anything is negotiable – but my bottom line does not move, I’m sorry.”

How rude.

Really?

The way I see it, and I am confident that any good Realtor sees it – is that they are worth something. My time is worth something, so is my effort and my results. But enough about me – what about the client?

How does a discounted commission effect the people whom we represent? For one – Buyers signed up under Buyer Agency Agreements (BAA) have me and my entire brokerage behind them finding them the best deal possible. In this BAA we talk about big bad commission and how much money we are going to make by doing all of this work. Quite often enough, the commission is set at 2.5%. I let my buyers know that in the event that the listing end is NOT offering 2.5% to my brokerage, then they will be responsible for the difference up to the stated amount (i.e. Listing offering 1.5% and Buyers agree my brokerage should get 2.5% – the BUYERS will pay the 1% deficiency). I also tell my buyers that there will be a deficiency BEFORE the offer is made, and that they may have to pay themselves. So what do they do? What would you do? Let say the offer price is $250,000 and you now realize you will have to pay me a $1000 shortfall. What would you do? Just as I thought – you would offer $249,000 and pay me. So who’s pocket does the money come out of? RIGHT! – the SELLERS (they got $1000 less in their pocket, and the Buyers still paid the regular price in the end).

So tell me – why are sellers only offering 1.5% up when the offers coming in are going to be 1% less to make up the difference?

What’s worse is that it is possible that these Sellers who are not offering a fair commission to cooperating brokerages, are not getting fair exposure to buyers because other Salespersons may be hesitant to show properties that aren’t paying! These Sellers are often seen as headaches to a lot of people (sorry to say, but Im being honest) – when it doesn’t even make a difference to how much $$ is involved! Why make yourself a headache for no reason? Why put a big X on your forehead for NO REASON?

So the money comes out of the SELLERS pocket regardless, and now the seller is hurting their chances of getting the BEST kinds of Buyers in to their house (qualified by buyer agents aka they HAVE MONEY), AND they have set the stage for a potential deal with two picky and unhappy parties. Who wins? The sellers don’t, I know that much.

So what about the Seller that has a Professional Real Estate Salesperson list their home for them and who agrees to take a hit on their commission to get the business?

To this Seller I have one question: Do you REALLY want a Salesperson to price, list, negotiate, and close on your home – one of the biggest investments in YOUR life (not theirs), one that is supposed to represent your best interests and fight for you and your bottom line – if they can’t represent their own best interests properly, fight for themselves or their own bottom line? Do you? What if I told you this discount commission you are ‘saving’ is actually coming out of your pocket REGARDLESS in the form of a % difference on incoming offers to pay the buyer agent? WHAT IF the salesperson employed is giving you a certain % of their effort for your certain % of pay?

You shouldn’t want that. You should want a strong, smart, resourceful and determined Salesperson that will not only stand up for themselves, but stand up for YOU and YOUR INVESTMENT and YOUR MONEY.

I wouldn’t hire a discount army to defend my country and I wouldn’t hire a discount doctor to look after my loved ones. I don’t even want a discount dry cleaner to clean my suits for Pete’s sake! Why would anyone want a discount Realtor to represent them with hundreds of thousands of dollars in the balance?

Do a good job, deliver what you said you would, and make me happy and you will get my business.

This country was founded on hard work that relied on honourable businessmen with integrity and an unbreakable work ethic. When my grandfathers were working in the bush and risking their lives to feed their families, or working with the military to rescue my relatives from abroad – they did so with by being strong, prepared, qualified, honest, smart, determined, and hard working.

 As they were – so am I.

I will not negotiate my bottom line, and I will not negotiate yours.

Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING, Uncategorized

Let your GOALS be Known

In light of the article I posted on the Fear of Success, I would like to remind people how important it is to have GOALS and to make them KNOWN. You need to put your goals in writing and put that piece of paper, cardboard, that picture – WHATEVER it is – put it in sight.

Tell people, Facebook it, blog it, tweet it, email it.  Be one of the few people that makes it known who they are and what they intend to do for themselves and for others.

I will skip the importance of having goals because we have all heard it a million times and I don’t even want to think about it again.

I KNOW WHAT MY GOALS ARE – and you should too. I know that I have to move 7.3 Million worth of Real Estate a year to net my targeted income. I know how much money I have to put aside for taxes each deal. I know how many pennies I need to save from every dollar I make to put towards my family’s well being. TO THE PENNY. And you know what? Because I know exactly what I need to do to get exactly what I want to get – I know where I stand and I know what direction I am heading in. Every action I take is a step FORWARD. In my opinion – that’s a great attitude that will lead to succeeding at my goals.

You can’t be afraid to verbalize your goals and let them be known. Not only is it important to have your goals clearly stated, but if you communicate them to someone, chances are you will feel even more obligated to achieve them. Sounds stupid, sure… but it’s true. Personally, I don’t work well if I’m not under pressure – as stupid as that sounds, it’s true. So you know what I do? I put the pressure on myself! I take on as much responsibility as I can, and that’s when the true nature of my character shines. When the going gets tough, right?  The point is – if it helps you achieve success, why aren’t YOU doing it?

Seriously. YOU!

Does your best friend, partner, mother or father know what your goals are? Any one of them?

Do YOU know what your goals are?

Write it down! Reply to this message and put it down!

What’s so scary about that?

I bet I will have over 100 views on this message and about 3 people will reply. I can almost guarantee you that those 3 people are going to have an infinitely better chance of achieving their goals because they have the confidence in themselves to take even this TINY commitment towards them.

I’ll Start.

My Goal is to build a Real Estate Business that provides for my family, myself, my community and my clients. I aim to work as hard as I can, to give as much as I can, and to enjoy as much of it as possible. 7.3 Million worth of Real Estate a year has to be moved, MINIMUM. Within 1 year I will own another property and will have started a family. I might even pick up a few Leonberger’s while Im at it.

Thats the direction I am heading in. Those are the goals I work towards every day of my life.

Your Turn.

MY GOALS ARE:

Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING

Perseverance

Have a look at this list, and try to guess the subject before the end:

1832 Failed in Business – Bankruptcy

1832 Defeated for Legislature

1834 Failed in Business – Bankruptcy

1835 Fiancé Died

1836 Nervous Breakdown

1838 Defeated in Election

1843 Defeated for U.S. Congress

1848 Defeated for U.S. Congress

1855 Defeated for U.S. Senate

1856 Defeated for Vice President

1858 Defeated for U.S. Senate

Had you stopped there, you would have missed the final point:

1860 Elected President of the United States of America

The subject , of course, was Abraham Lincoln. What a great message: You can’t fail unless you quit. If Lincoln had quit in 1858, he would have been dismissed as a footnote in American history rather than be remembered as the honoured statesman he became. He kept trying, he didnt quit and the rest, as they say, is history.

Real Estate - ANALYSIS, Real Estate Financing, Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING

The Best Things in Life are Free

You know what really threatens people? INFORMATION.

Information about them, information about where they live, what they do, what language they speak, and what religion they practice.

One would think that we are fortunate enough that by living in Canada, we don’t have to worry about these types of differences causing any kinds of major problems, right?

Now I’m not so ignorant to think that small prejudices don’t exist and won’t impose themselves on people in their everyday lives –but there really isn’t any reason, in my opinion, to want to hide anything.

 As you know, I work in Real Estate. I am blessed to be doing something that I love, with co-workers that are incredibly devoted, and I get to work with people in an exciting time of their lives. One thing that I like to do with my clients – is provide them with INFORMATION. I give them insight into different areas and housing types, specific information and research on certain specific houses, sales history, sales trends, and surrounding sales comparables. Quite often enough, my clients are blown away by the resources that I have at my disposal – and rightly so. I think they are pretty darn powerful myself! After all, in this day and age, privacy is a thing of the past, right? My affiliations within Organized Real Estate (Municipal, Provincial and Federal) give me access to a tremendous amount of information from the Land Registry System, Statistics Canada, Various Boards of Director’s professional opinions, and a seemingly limitless amount of related professionals to tap into (Mortgage Brokers, Lawyers, Home Inspectors, Engineers etc). All of this is INFORMATION – and I am not afraid to give it to you.

 But there are people who are.

 Some people would rather hoard information as to make it seem like they are pulling magic strings and digging up this information from a mixture of expertise, elbow grease and connections in the marketplace. As a matter of fact – my mentor and Broker at Partners Advantage GMAC , Dr.Bruce Firestone, has advocated ‘free information’ for YEARS! On his personal website – http://www.dramatispersonae.org – he writes: 

 “MIT has taken the position that it will put all of its course outlines, course materials, even examinations on the web for free. The engineers at MIT are among the smartest in the world. They feel confident that this will enhance the MIT experience- essentially; they are saying that they don\’t care if someone on another part of the planet wants to teach a MIT course or use their material. They believe that the spread of knowledge can only benefit humankind. MIT will instead, as my friend Professor Tony Bailletti says, sell the \’delta\’ factor- that is, the opportunity to actually be in a classroom with the creators of the material; to be exposed to their minds; to experience first hand the Socratic method of student/teacher interaction”

 So where am I going with this? Here is my dilemma – I want to give out INFORMATION, and I am a week or two away from doing so. I want to provide my people with relevant information about their housing types in their areas so they can make informed decisions, have accurate opinions, and make good judgments about their own property values. How would you feel if you got a monthly report card in your mailbox that outlined the location and size of sales activity in your neighborhood? I think it would be pretty cool. I think it would not only help people as I described above, but I think it would help stabilize the equilibrium in our Real Estate market – albeit a small effect as it may be. What I mean is – people would not think their property is worth 30K higher or lower that it really is, as they perhaps would have had they not had access to such information I want to provide them with. People just don’t know! And its not their fault. I want to help. If the prices on the marketplace can more accurately reflect what their true market value should be – then the marketplace will be more efficient. People will sell their houses faster, no parties would be getting ‘ripped off’, and all stakeholders would benefit from the transparency and logic of free market influence. What is so scary about that?

 

As I said earlier – some people would rather protect that information and make it seem like they are the experts that came up with this information on their own, and it is part of their value proposition. Well – it is part of a Realtors value proposition.

 Here is the key – its only PART of my value proposition. A very small part. I would call it a given.

 I am not afraid to make that information available and risk a FSBO (For Sale By Owner) try to sell their homes themselves. I am not afraid of people taking this information and going to another Realtor out there. I am not afraid of other Realtors copying my idea and giving you the information in my place. Why?  Because the information is NOT what makes the difference between me and others. The information is FREE – take it. I want you to be more informed!

 Regardless of who out there has information – I would bet I am in the top 1% of the hardest workers out there in the game. The difference that I bring to the table is I push the limits of effort exerted for my client’s interests. I get out on the street and I work HARD. Part of my business model is to focus on my core competencies and make my own ground rules (within rules and regulations of course) that brings Real Estate activity to a platform where I am king – where I am the new common denominator and I do it best. I wont be part of the rat race and focus on getting the biggest ad in the paper, or getting the nicest pair of shoes to woo my clients. Im not about perception – Im about substance. I believe that people are savvier than ever and can recognize the difference between  style and substance.  A quote that I like is “You can pile on the lettuce and tomatoes and special sauce, but people are looking for the beef, the content that you offer”.

 So that’s my spiel. Style Shmyle. Im young, healthy, I exercise and dress well enough to hold my own in that department – but Im not going to pretend like that is why you should do business with me – because of my style. I don’t have to rely on an image to speak for me. My results speak for themselves.

 So take the information and run with it if you want – I can make it available and I plan on doing it soon – shake things up a little.

 But when you get tired running around between 8-10 different parties at once, trying to navigate legal documents, prepare marketing campaigns and sales strategies, crunch numbers, find and rationalize market data, negotiate price, terms and conditions, all while being at work or at home trying to eat dinner on a Sunday night – and potentially all for someone who is not qualified or experienced enough to hold up their end of the bargain – THEN you might think about getting a hard worker on your side. One that is smart, sharp, and able to get the job done.

 I am one of those people.

Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING

Increase your productivity with GOOGLE

Hi Everyone.

GOOGLE has helped me increase my productivity tremendously. I use Google Apps and iGoogle and I work at 70 x the speed of life (internet 7 times faster than life, I have 10 windows open at once).

Here is a quick Video – 50 seconds of your life you will regain 10000 x fold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbf0dlESX8E 

The Gadgets I use are: Outlook, Gmail, Calendar, WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, Globe and Mail, Documents, Talk and Hotmail.

Enjoy!

 

edit: I use Linked In and Google Notebook as well – so make that 84 x the speed of life!

Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING

The Power of Positive Role Models

From the early age of one or two years old, young children begin to copy other peoples’ behaviour.  Over the next few years, these children will begin to take on behaviours and gain a sense of self and follow through on their own ideas.  It is during this impressionable time that a positive role model will be able to influence a child’s life and create a foundation for positive and constructive behaviour.  Many children become inspired to aim for goals and achieve ambitions which they think are beyond themselves.  Here, qualities that are highly valued by business, such as perseverance, strong work ethic, determination and pride begin to grow.

In a recent survey, 100% of respondents explained that they have adopted more than one positive or constructive trait from a positive role model. Qualities that were said to be inherited directly from a positive influence included confidence, courage, self-control, sense of responsibility and the ability to prioritize and self-manage. These qualities are extremely valuable to employers because they are qualities that one can only teach to a certain extent. These qualities maximize their potential only when they are adopted by inspiration. Such deeply rooted qualities make up the content of ones character and are strong and constructive traits. Since employees are a company’s most valuable resource, the quality of this resource will play a dominant factor in how successful a business can become.

 

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of positive role models is that they are able to reproduce themselves in the sense that the defining qualities of the role models transfer themselves into new hosts via adopted behaviours. Since these traits cause one to act or behave in a certain manner, positive role models could be interpreted as a source of renewable energy. This process becomes a pattern, where the new host refines and displays the inherited qualities that in turn inspire others, further spreading the influence. This process is recognized as being so significant and vital to society in general that many organizations’ sole purpose is to bring forth and refine these qualities. The University of Ottawa is a great example of such an organization.

 

 

If a business is able to fully comprehend how positive role models are created and how they can reproduce themselves, it can, if carefully managed, harness this power for their own purpose. The beginning of the positive role model cycle explains that certain behaviours arise from specific needs. The key here is to create an environment where a need can become satisfied if certain behaviour is presented. Once the behaviour is presented, it is to be glorified and rewarded accordingly. This will in effect inspire others to adopt similar behaviours; the cycle of the positive role model begins. If this environment is properly managed, it can be used as a system that creates positive role models that demonstrate values, ways of thinking and acting that are in accordance with a business’s vision and purpose.  

 

The influence of positive role models on business is one that is invaluable. Positive role models are a unique form of energy for businesses because they are able to motivate and inspire workers to perform at a level would otherwise seem beyond themselves. Most notably, this source of energy is able to reproduce itself in the sense that the traits that make up a positive role model are contagious, and pass along from person to person in the right environment. Using this knowledge, a business should be able to create this environment and use the concept of positive influence to guide the direction of its employees in the direction its vision and purpose dictates. The central theme of this blog will hopefully inspire original thought in the reader about how positive role models not only affect themselves and those around them, but how business models and certain situations can benefit from the concept of positive influence.

 

Thought Process - THOUGHT PROVOKING

Momentum – an Exercise in Human Potential

Ever feel like you are in a rut? There is just not an ounce of motivation left in your body? Sometimes it lasts for hours, or even a few days – and it happens to the best of us.

 

What about the other side of the coin? Ever feel on a roll? There is just nothing in your way that could slow you down? You feel as if you are on top of the world and the stars are aligning for you? This is momentum – and it is much more useful than most people realize.

 

Let’s create a character called Joe. Now Joe is faced with many challenges in the near future, say University exams, qualifying runs for a track meet, selling his home and even a possible career change. If Joe makes it through the first half of his challenges successfully, what does that do for Joe?

 

  • Increased confidence
  • Focused on successful execution
  • Positive personality traits emerge
  • External perception improves
  • Increased energy levels from enthusiasm
  • Time freed up for newer challenges
  • Limits tested
  • Lessons learned

 

What I have come to notice, is that all of the traits that emerge from a little momentum, place the subject in a better position to continue to succeed at overcoming a greater number or more difficult challenges. What I mean is, lets say Joe passes all of his University exams and the track meet, then if you look at the 8 points I put up above – they ALL increase slightly. The result is that Joe will now have a more favourable set of circumstances to complete the next challenges with. If many of these effects are short lived, doesn’t it stand to reason that the best time for Joe to take on a new and great challenge would be right after he succeeded at the last?

 

I ask myself if it makes sense to structure one’s objectives in peaks and valleys over time, with planned rest/vacation during the valleys and slightly higher peaks as time goes on. This type of structure would not only provide the benefits of structure, defined SMART objectives, and vacation (recharging of the battery), but it would also allow one to reap the benefits of momentum as listed above. These benefits would not only increase your probability of success, but it also allows you to improve upon that probability and ability time and time again. This type of regimen would be similar in principle to how a person trains their physical body = with an approach that aims to test limits and then improve upon them – using all the synergies of structured diet, rest and exercise. Momentum provides for many, perhaps less obvious synergies, that could very well stand to help individuals achieve great accomplishments.

 

After writing this blog, I will find a yearly calendar and write down all of my goals in the margin. After this, I will plan them out in peaks and valleys throughout the year (perhaps 4-6 of each with 2-3 month rises in objectives). I will consciously make my goals slightly more aggressive, and even daunting to some extent – just make sure I am continuously challenging myself.

 

For more readings, research SMART objectives, and maybe even the benefit of Vacation/Rest time.

 

All the best,

 

MVE