Lao-Tzu said, “A
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” John Maxwell
said, “Success is a journey not a destination.” You combine the two and
create the success journey begins with a single step. That is what stops
most people…that first step. That little step separates the abundance
from the failure. Without that first step you are guaranteed to not accomplish
your objective.
Without reaching out
and picking up the phone and making the first lead follow-up
call or prospecting call we are assured failure. It is that
one motion of picking up and dialing that first number that
separates the winner from the loser. In terms of time it is
less than 2 seconds that will determine your outcome.
Now I realize that
there is some pain involved with lead follow up and prospecting.
There is also pain involved if you don’t do it. There are two
kinds of pain, the pain of discipline (the making of the lead
follow-up and prospecting calls) and the pain of regret. The
truth is we are going to experience one of them. It is unavoidable
to not experience one. You have to choose which you would rather
live with. You are one who ultimately does the choosing.
When we take the step
to make the calls we are experiencing the pain of discipline,
the pain of potential rejection. You also may experience the
pain of sacrifice and pain of hard work. To avoid the pain
of regret you must pursue this course with single-minded purpose.
You must decide and commit to the disciplined path. “All glory
comes from daring to begin.” Eugene Ware. If you do not begin
you have selected the pain of regret.
If we don’t attack
our dreams we will experience the greatest pain in life, the
pain of regret. Sydney Harris wrote, “Regret for the things
we did can be tempered by time; it is the regret for the things
we did not do that is inconsolable.”
The regret of doing
what we know we should do, the regret of not achieving our
goals and dreams. The regret of not crafting a grand lifestyle
for our family and ourselves. The regret of not living up to
our potential or by living off our potential. At what point
does potential turn into regret? There is that moment in time.
It’s different for each and every one of us. Are you nearing
that point? Bill Parcels said, “You lose with potential. You
win with performance.”
Performance is contained
in the pain of discipline. Discipline involves work and commitment.
Success is not purchased at anyone time, but on the installment
plan. We only achieve success through disciplined effort over
time. When we make the calls daily to our leads, prospects,
pas clients, sphere, expireds, FSBO’s, we will achieve success
guaranteed. We will also move far away form the pain of regret.
When we create a habit
of daily discipline, an almost “magical” thing will happen.
One day you will realize that your discipline has turned into
desire. The desire to do the calls daily. The wanting to make
the calls because of the habit and the results. The road will
get easier to stay on.
The reason the first
step is so hard is the pain position. The position of the pain
is different for the discipline verses the regret. The pain
of discipline we feel now...today. The pain of regret we may
not feel for hours, days, weeks, months, and years. This will
often cause us to make the wrong selection, because we would
prefer to no have pain now or ever. The pain of discipline
will pass and transform to desire. The pain of regret can linger
forever. Start the process to discipline. Start today toward
discipline and sway form regret. Begin your success journey
to day with a single step.
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