I was asked
recently what the one skill is that a REALTOR® needs in order to
be successful. That was a tough question. The one skill…I thought about
it over and over. There are so many skills Agents need to be successful.
We have to have good presentation skills, marketing skills, negotiating
skills, objection handling skills, technology skills. Then it hit me.
All those skills pale in contrast to this one: Persistence. It is the
one skill that will make up for our deficiencies in all the other areas.
It will allow us to win in life no matter what obstacles that are placed
in front of us.
Calvin Coolidge our
30th president said it very well. “Nothing in the world can
take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is
more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Geniuses will
not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will
not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and
determination alone are omnipotent.”
It truly is a noble
skill to have the ability to move forward when everything around
you is collapsing, meeting the challenge head on and grinding
through the competition. We are all professionals or we aspire
to be a professional. The definition of a professional is someone
who does something even when he doesn’t feel like doing it.
Many of us know what we need to do; yet we don’t do it. We
spend our time looking for the one step that will change our
life, rather than using the path of persistence to win. We
look around for the magic answer that will solve all our problems.
Do you realize that over 80% of the late night infomercials
are centered on “get rich quick or lose weight instantly”?
We live in a liposuction society where we want abundance-yesterday.
We don’t want to do the diligent, persistent work to achieve
success. My friend Zig Ziglar has a great line. That is: “Life
is like a cafeteria. First you pay then you get to eat.” It’s
not a restaurant where you sit down, get served and get your
fill. When you are full and satisfied, then the bill arrives.
You have to pay before you receive the reward.
Persistence is crucial
to ultimate success in life. To learn the skill of persistence
you must first learn to persist in the little things. The first
step for mastery of persistence is the ability to decide, and
have the clarity of decision that you will do it or else. Start
with persistence in your eating habits or workout habits. You
could even just select one thing or task you need to do today.
Then make sure you complete it before the end of the day. Don’t
ever end your day before you get it done.
We often select too
many things or set the bar too high too early. This will cause
us to fall short, and the negative self-talk will begin. The
journey to run a marathon begins with a walk around the block.
Start with the walk around the block, and in a few days go
twice around. Then in a week you can do 4 times around. By
the end of the month you will be able to walk a mile. The process
in business is the same. Start with calling a few past clients
or sphere of influence. Call 5 people a day. You don’t need
to do 4 hours of prospecting. That’s like running a marathon
without training. If you managed to actually do it, which would
be rare, you would be so sore and tired and spent. You would
be worthless for a week. Build the skill of persistence.
The best technique
to learn persistence is to just start. The truth is, it’s the
start that stops most people. Just beginning is the biggest
barrier for everyone. Getting your sneakers on and stepping
on the treadmill or picking up the phone the first time is
never as bad as our mind makes it out to be. Once you begin,
you pick up momentum and that positive self-talk of accomplishment.
My father taught me a saying many years ago. It is a saying
about persistence. It’s a saying that exemplifies his life.
Once a task has begun
Never leave until it’s done
Though the task be great or small
Do it well or not at all.
Persistence is by
far and away the skill that we need to master. It is the one
skill that guarantees success in both your personal and professional
life. There is no substitute. Remember it is the start that
stops most people.
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