Written by Shaun Rawls, Operating Partner for The Rawls Group (www.RawlsGroup.org) of Keller Williams market centers in Atlanta and Regional Director for KW’s New York Tri-State Region.
I recently had a conversation with David Pollay, who, among other things, is the author of an upcoming book titled “The Law of the Garbage Truck.” I’ve been reading this book, which is full of messages and strategies that remind us that we always have a choice when it comes to who and what we let into our lives. David Pollay creates a vivid picture of the garbage that so many people carry around with them and how they tend to dump their garbage on those of us who allow them to do so. Best of all, he challenges us to declare our personal and professional lives “No Garbage Trucks! Zones.”
When you think about it, our inputs determine our outputs. What we take in determines what we put out. That’s why the great Jim Rohn would say, “If you want the stuff on the highest shelves, then you have to stand on a higher stack of books.” The better the books you read, the smarter you get. The smarter you get, the better you think. The better you think, the better you do. The better you do, the more you succeed. The more you succeed, the more significant you can become. The more significant you become, the greater the legacy you leave. Rohn said that “the best things in life are usually located on the highest shelves, where not everyone can reach them.” What a great reminder he was of how simple it is to succeed. I think David Pollay would agree with Jim Rohn, because his book underscores the notion of “garbage in, garbage out.
Unfortunately, what’s easy to do is even easier not to do. As a broker who counsels with hundreds of professionals each year, it amazes me how success boils down to one simple decision. The most successful people I know have simply DECIDED to succeed. They haven’t decided to succeed as long as it’s easy, or as long as the market doesn’t shift, or as long as they can afford it, or as long as someone doesn’t outmaneuver or outwit or outplay or underprice them. They decide to succeed. Period.
Think about this: When obstacles present themselves in your life, do you feel that they threaten your success? Most people do. I used to, too. Then, I realized that the more successful people in my life have a very different perspective of their obstacles. Because their success is certain, they perceive obstacles merely as ingredients in their ultimate success – ingredients that are simply part of the journey. I cannot begin to tell you how much freedom we can gain from improving our perspective around this issue.
If you think that your success has more to do with what you do (or what’s done to you) than how you think, I disagree. There are plenty of examples of people who have succeeded on the outside at very high levels, only to lose it all because they never were that successful in their own minds. People make millions of dollars in business only to become bankrupt because they never really believed they were worth the success they achieved. People perform at the highest levels in sports only to end up in an eternal slump because they never really believed that they could truly be “the best” at anything. If you want to succeed in business, in your relationships, in your faith, in anything, then you have to DECIDE to succeed at it…for better or for worse.
This year Gary Keller was explaining to a group of people why he plans his vacations and his play time at the beginning of each year BEFORE he plans his work time. He said, “I do this because I know I’m going to work hard and I’m going to need it. And I know I’m going to be successful, so I’ll be able to afford it.” Brilliant. The bottom line is that Gary books vacations way ahead of time because he already KNOWS that he’s going to work hard and be successful. Gary just happens to be one of the most successful people I know.
Year after year, too many agents “wait and see” before they plan their vacations and put their deposits down. They “wait and see” how their income is before they invest in a 33 touch program designed to produce massive results. They “wait and see” how their year is going to turn out before they create leverage and hire talent to help them succeed. This strategy all too often results in vacations never taken, touch programs never developed, talent never hired and results never achieved. In the Keller Williams course Quantum Leap, we teach that if you don’t plan your time, then someone else will!
It’s now June. We’re almost halfway through the year. Now is the time to make a pit stop and check your inputs, defend yourself against the garbage trucks who want to dump their mediocrity on you, and commit yourself to the decisions you need to make in order to have the life and business that you want. If you’ve been a passenger in your own life’s car, then move over and settle into the driver’s seat. Take control. Reconnect with your BIG WHY, re-focus on your goals and intentions, improve the books you read, improve the company you keep and DECIDE to succeed – rain or shine.
It’s been an awesome year so far, and I believe that the second half of 2010 may be one of the most critical times of the rest of our careers. Deciding to succeed and doing the time-tested, proven things that produce results is going to be a crucial part of our daily routines. Look at the results you want to achieve – that you REALLY want to achieve – and then make a list of the things that you do each day that directly impact, or cause, those results. This is a fantastically simple exercise that can call you out on a lack of focus or commitment to your goals. Often times what we want and what we are doing seem worlds apart. Re-evaluating where you are now and re-committing yourself to what you want and why you want it could be the most important thing you do this year.
Thanks for all you are doing to make a difference. And know that if you want to discuss any of your strategies and accountabilities, our leadership team at The Rawls Group is ready, willing and able to help you succeed at any level you wish to succeed. No one succeeds alone, and in this company, you’re never alone. So be sure to take advantage of all of the good stuff we have created here to make sure that we have a productive and fun environment in which to work and prosper.
