Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Your Belief Boundaries

Last week we discussed feeling “stuck” in our lives and our careers. In my role as a coach and manager I often see how people quickly discover the level of performance those around them will tolerate… and then they gravitate to that level.  Imagine if your spouse would tolerate you going out for a beer every day after work with your buds and coming home late with a buzz on... then you would naturally gravitate to the fun and easy… maybe not really considering how it may be affecting your relationship long term.

The same is true in business. If your manager will allow you to miss sales meetings, slough off training/ coaching sessions, and close only a few transaction a year… then you too will gravitate to the easy... not fully realizing how it will negatively affect your career and your income.

Then as your performance at home and work decelerates, those around you will begin to assume this low level of performance is all you are capable of achieving and will eventually stop challenging you to do better. So in reality… you, and those around you, unconsciously reinforce low performance and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

Many times in our profession I hear the word “plateau” used to describe someone in the above described dimension…. 

How does Webster define plateau? 
 Pla-teau  (noun) 1. An area of relatively high ground
                               2. A state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress.

Look at the 1st definition… when you are in a low production state I would not define it as “relatively high ground”… and for the 2nd … some low production agents may have never seen a period of activity or progress… so use of the term plateau is often misused. The reality is...you are stuck in your own beliefs and the beliefs of those who surround you.

Consider it this way...If you believe, think, and feel something… it becomes who you are. We all form mental boundaries which limit our performance... and these boundaries control everything we do… and what we achieve is always consistent with our own inner belief systems.

Your performance cannot expand beyond the limits we unconsciously place on ourselves. Based on our own perceptions, and the perceptions others have of us, we mentally draw a boundary circle around us we fully believe we cannot pass through. We make hundreds of these unconscious decisions about ourselves, our lives, and our capabilities every day... and with each decision we silently strengthen our boundary circles.

The only way growth can occur is to push back the inner walls of your circle… and we usually can only do this in small incremental expansions of your belief paradigm. If you are willing to undergo the hard work and stress of changing your inner most personal beliefs new positive thoughts and better performance will fill the expanded space within your circle.

Most old-school motivational efforts fail because they focus on changing actions and performance without first changing the base cause of a poor belief system.

If you want to change your performance first you must change your beliefs… (More to come).

Next Blog Topic: Changing your inner beliefs systems

Eddie Brown ©2016

Friday, July 22, 2016

Are You Being Tested?

No one goes through life untested....The answer to each "test" is walking away with something
learned and with a positive energy.

When we speak of positive energy think optimism, trust, enthusiasm, love, purpose, joy, passion, and the spirit to live, work, and perform at a higher level.

Our new Senior VP, Rod Eller,  has afforded me the opportunity to participate in a new style of coaching...one which works at a deeper level than production coaching can alone. It helps me as the coach, and you as the student, have a deeper understanding of your purpose, your why, and identifying your full potential in your career.

Knowing your purpose and why you think, feel, and respond the way you do to daily life events can assist you to break through barriers and remove the obstacles which can stagnate your success.

To overcome adversity in your life and work you must be willing to share contagious energy with those around you. To bring out the best in others you must first bring out the best in yourself. You have to find a way to push away from those "energy vampires" which threaten to sabotage your health, family, and success... and find the positive things which energize you and keep you motivated. 

Ask yourself this one question:
Is your life a success story... or one big never-ending soap opera?
Every problem... every crisis....holds a gift for you... only you can chose to see it as a curse... or a gift. This one choice over the course of weeks and months may determine if your life is a success story or the aforementioned continuous soap opera.


Think about it.... Everyone has challenges.... It's a part of life. Relationship problems, health problems, work problems... all kinds of problems. The first step to overcoming adversity  is to realize you are the captain of your ship... the driver of your bus... and if you can't take control and accept responsibility for your life and steer in the right direction you will never get where you want... or need... to go.

And....If you are not the driver, you will always be subject to someone else's travel plans.

Some people feel "stuck"... like they have no other choice... so they give up. I'm here to tell you that you do have a choice. You make a conscious decision each day when you get out of bed to have a good day or have a bad day... it's all about your attitude towards the challenges you will face over the next 24 hours. It is YOUR choice to make. You must take the wheel and choose to create the life you want to live. 

Don't let the world create you... YOU create your world!

Ask yourself these questions:
1. What do I want in my life? (including your health)
2. What do I want in my career?
3. What do I want in my relationships? 

The answers to these questions should be loaded with positive energy and will be the first step to becoming the driver of your Life, Health, Career, and Relationships.

Next weeks blog topic: Belief Boundaries

Eddie Brown
www.RealtorRescue.com