Basic Practice!

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An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching. Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement.

As a real estate coach I often hear people asking what new techniques can be used to succeed, what can be added or what has changed with the methods of success.This question often puts me in a quandary because I am empathetic to the genesis of the question, which is clearly the desire to create and move forward.

That entrpreneurial drive is always alive and well as people seek to push their own creativity and learn more so they can be the one to develop the next evolution or a better mouse trap. Yet the flip side of the coin always begs the question…why are we so compelled to stray from what works now…okay so maybe it’s patronizing to say it, but I can’t resist: if it ain’t broke then why fix it!

As an entrepreneur myself, I almost feel guilty even saying that, but I will certainly explain why. Clearly there is no doubt that everybody has goals and for now I’ll stick with a financial example. The hardest part for most people when it comes to attaining financial success is simply deciding what it is they would like to do for a living. Too often they take the first job that comes their way that pays well, then they compromise their desires and live a tortured life doing something that they really can’t stand doing but can’t break free for fear of financial ruin.

So there they sit in an office or fly all over the world dreaming of their heart’s desire until that day when they finally get pushed to the point of inspirational dissatisfaction and break away. But now what? “Well I think I’ll start that business that I always wanted” and off they run in the direction of the rainbow…you know where the grass is always greener and you make your own rules!

Very cool and I stand up and applaud them all for sure; the army of dreamers who actually begin to take action and turn dreams into reality. However, it’s at that point that reality shows up…maybe all that dreamy stuff is not really the way that success comes and bang they smack hard into the first obstacle get bruised and decide to turn back and run home crying…or worse they tell themselves they are born losers, destined to fail!

What? Are you really that naive? Do you really think that those who are successful didn’t have the same problems? So here’s what to do…find them and copy them! Why are you trying to reinvent the wheel…get over your desire to be the next great inventor and take the systems that have already been developed and copy them! That’s what all successful people do…trust me on this one!

You see invention is something that actually comes through the tiniest of distinctions that clearly start with a dream or maybe even by accident…yes “by mistake’! So let’s stay right there…how is it that losing is actually a key, essential ingredient in the success cake? Let’s break it down…

Let’s assume, like I did, you want to get into the real estate business and become a top producer. Well like me your opening business plan could be to get a desk with a lamp, two thousand business cards and an army helmet and go to work. But very quickly you learn that a super hero type effort only goes so far…being exhausted gets old very fast…and so do you. So like me…just go looking for help.

In my case I did and found it in the form of mega producing real estate agent Craig Proctor, a two time number one ranked ReMax agent in the world…and best of all he had a systematized approach that not only he used but that he was selling to other agents…how good does it get! In my hands the details of a “better way”…and you know what I did? I followed it and in turn became a nationally ranked top producer…imagine that…it worked…but not only for me, it worked for many other agents that also followed the beaten path and followed the system.

However, there are others that struggled with the system…but was it really the system? Of course not…it was the operator. So my next obsession became the drive to help others understand why they could possibly break down with something so proven. And the answer is inevitably the same…they simply were lacking several missing “spices”! The first is the humility to line up behind a winner and feel good about following somebody else’s method. The next is the discipline to stick to the road and not diverge. But the last is the most important and that is the ability to accept failure and mistakes as a very necessary part of the learning process and to never take them personally.

To drive home the point in my own mind, I always go to sports for reinforcement because I believe athletes really do understand the importance of trial and error, but also how critical it is to practice the basics of whatever it is they do.For example, go to any professional baseball game early and you’ll find all the players practicing the basics…not some new swing or a trick throw…the basics! Swinging the bat the same way until they find their groove or fielding ground balls and throwing to first base!

How about mega athletes…I was in attendance when the Boston Celtics won a championship and at half time, well ahead on the score board and clearly on the way to victory, three of the Celtics’ superstars came out of the locker room early to practice free throws and jump shots! How about Tiger Woods whose work ethic on the practice field is legendary?

So the thinking tool here should be easy! Practice the basics all the time! I’m not just saying practice the skills a couple times…I’m saying all the time and forever! To become successful at anything it takes the discipline of practice and the humility to know that you are never beyond the basics! It is exactly at that moment when you think that you are beyond the basics that you forget the message of the mega stars!