New Day One: Drive + Passion + Urgency + INNOVATION + Stamina = Success
Happy holidays everyone!! I hope you all had a restful and joyous holiday, but I hope you are all also ready for a successful 2014!! I hope you had the opportunity to read the article on URGENCY I sent out before the holiday– the third ingredient in the recipe for success in this industry. The fourth ingredient is INNOVATION. I hope that as you read the article, you will be inspired to start 2014 with a new perspective and new, larger but more exciting goals for yourselves. Remember that, though the idea might be overwhelming and daunting, it is so easy to start implementing changes TODAY. This attribute is so important to your own personal success in this business, but it needs to be a conscious decision that requires constant effort and consistent implementation to see significant growth and success. I truly believe that if we all make strides in innovation, both for personal growth but also in favor of the betterment of the industry, we will all be that much more inspired to make the changes needed to help us in our quest for a successful life. Most importantly, innovation can be huge and life-changing and industry-altering, but it can also be slight, personal and self-motivating. It’s your choice, it’s your destiny. Here we go…
Success Ingredient #4: INNOVATION
“If you build it, they will come.”
Think about the companies that immediately come to mind when you hear the word “success.” They probably all have some similar characteristics– money, influence, power… But they also probably have transformed the face of their industry in some way. Now think of the PEOPLE that come to mind when you think of success. The same characteristics come into play. Innovation is the one key element that sets them apart from everyone else. When you dream big, big things happen. When you come up with new ideas and concepts, people take notice and admire you for it. People respond to “the best” in all industries. Think about it, do you want just anyone performing your surgery, or do you want the doctor voted the best surgeon of 2013 performing your surgery? Do you want just anyone listing your home, or do you want the top agent of 2013 listing your home? Titles, influence, and prestige all sell in this industry, and part of your job is being able to compete and hold your own with other agents who have stellar reputations. How are you going to step up and how are you going to leave your mark on the real estate industry?
Again, let’s go back to your business plan. Your day should be accounted for — it should be organized and carefully planned, but in there should be room for research, education, and rumination. Of course you will find moments to eat lunch, call your family, and check important news going on around the world, but the innovation process is a creative one. Though some might feel like innovation is technological at heart, every new idea is created, so you need to be able to leave time for creativity, dreaming and ultimately invention. This does not equal scheduling time that turns into playing games on your phone, checking emails or zoning out. Creative time does not equal free time. Additionally, people come up with some of their most creative ideas while exercising, dealing with an actual issue that they suddenly come up with a solution for because it is right in front of them, or even in their sleep. So though it is important for you to not be over-scheduled so you can have moments to dream, you know yourself best and thus know when your best ideas are concocted.
The most important things that lead to new, brilliant ideas is being able to think outside the box and adapt to new advances in the industry. No matter what industry you’re in, it is expected that you will be able to pick up whatever new technological advances are out there as well as implement whatever new concepts are considered most effective. But the people who reinvent the face of their industry are people who both create ideas that solve the most basic problems, but also think ahead to what the industry will be and create the advances that they can foresee will be needed. Remember in the past, we discussed time not being on your side and industries catering to the young novices who are hungry to create new ideas. We all need to be able to compete with the top agents in the industry or we need to seriously assess what we’re doing here.
Remember, also, that innovation is not just about inventing new software or technology. It truly is a creative process. Part of the creation is inventing, but this can also encompass “re”inventing. If you bring just a little innovation into what you’re doing now, imagine how drastically you can be transformed. Creating new ways to go about your day– organizing, planning, and effectively executing, can all be innovative solutions to complacency, boredom, laziness and monotony. Find ways to be innovative. It doesn’t have to be creating new software or worksheets or spreadsheets or cures to every ineffective process. Don’t get me wrong– it CAN be those things too, but it doesn’t have to be. Innovation can be finding solutions to your own problems. It can be creating ways to conquer fears or inadequacies. It can be making sure none of your deals have errors, that no phone call goes unanswered or making sure you are being the most proactive and productive in prospecting. It can be reaching the goals you thought were unreachable for 2014.
This is why the idea of dreaming big is so important. Because you have to have big dreams to get to where you want to be. If you are happy in your own complacency, you have no reason to create, try, implement, grow or achieve. We all have an innovative spirit– that’s part of why we are in this industry in the first place. We want to come up with amazing ideas that lead to amazing careers that lead to amazing successes. No one has ever said “I want to be a real estate agent so I can just fade into the background and put in my 9-5 day Monday through Friday.” (No one that has succeeded, anyway.)
Real estate isn’t a job, it’s a career. Selling and bargaining and reasoning and juggling and marketing and self-promotion are all just some of the qualities and characteristics that we need to have to be successful. This is one of only a few industries that you can actually work, but not make any money. This is a fear for all agents. So how do we make sure that never even comes close to happening? By consistently implementing the elements for success that I keep talking about in every article.
Don’t be afraid to dream too big– no dream is too big. Don’t be afraid to fail– no failure is insurmountable. Don’t be afraid of “no”– no “no” is irreversible. Be afraid of the characteristics that lead nowhere– I mentioned then before: complacency, boredom, laziness and monotony. Nowhere in these characteristics will you find innovation. There is no room or necessity for creativity in those adjectives. Feed your own hunger by dreaming and answer your own question by creating the solution. As I mentioned, innovation can be huge– it can be reinventing the face of technology or sending man to the moon or finding the cure for cancer. But that doesn’t mean that whatever you create, whether you consider it monumental or not, won’t be just as effective or necessary to you. Or to our team. Or to the real estate industry as a whole. But you have to start somewhere. And if you can start within yourself, there’s no better place to begin.
Remember what I said in the conclusion of the last article: You have the ability to change the course of your own destiny in this business right now. If you have found that the above negative, stagnant characteristics define or apply to you, remember there is hope. New Day One is about taking each moment for what it has to offer. This moment is the moment that changes everything for you. Start dreaming, start creating and start living your destiny today. You can always find drive, passion and urgency — these characteristics exist in all of us. But think bigger. Imagine and invent new possibilities for yourself. And there is no better moment to start than right now. Find your inspiration. Find your passion that attracted you to this industry, and start performing up to the standard that we all know you are capable of. Your past does not define your future. It takes a lot of hard work to achieve the kind of success we are talking about, but it is possible. It is all up to you. Choose you. Choose success. Choose today to be your NEW DAY 1!
After working with, and for, many different real estate firms, it became apparent to Harout that there was a major disconnect between what consumers needed/wanted and the service that was being provided to them. It was upon this realization that Harout founded and opened JohnHart Real Estate; and as the CEO/Principal Broker he has continued to break from the norm and redefine real estate with an insatiable appetite to give his clients the service and attention they deserve.
