What are you doing with your time?
Are you creating the life you want? To be successful you must develop behaviors that create more value to carry you to your goals.
1. Take a moment right now to quietly think about how your normal day flows. We all have habits and patterns that repeat day after day. This is why we love weekends or days off that alter that normal day flow.
2. Now quickly answer: what is the thing you spend most of your time doing? Don’t think about it. Your subconscious knows and will come up with the answer immediately. If you think about it, you will censor the answer and come up with something you consider to be the “correct” answer. It’s not the correct answer that’s important, it’s the truth that matters.
3. Ask yourself, does what you spend most of your time doing truly benefit your end goals? Is it moving you closer to where you want to be, further away, or keeping you locked in stagnation? Don’t put it off – become aware of what you’re actually doing with your time.
I read a great story about the founder and CEO of 1-800-flowers. As he walks around the company, he asks employees what their current activity is doing to sell more flowers. For example, when walking through the garage facility he stopped a mechanic and asked how what he was doing (installing fuel filters) would help the company sell more flowers. The mechanic answered that a fuel filter could increase the efficiency of every tank of gas by as much as 11 percent. That 11 percent savings in fuel costs could be passed on by the company to lower flower prices for the customer which would result in increased flower sales.
The question for the employees of 1-800-flowers is “how does what I’m doing help sell more flowers?” Do your employees know the question to ask to help your company achieve its goals?
4. Keep a log for a day or even a week of where you spend your time. Most of us would be shocked by the amount of time we actually spend checking emails or even Facebook. Does that move you closer to your goals?
I speak with a lot of people every single week who have large business and financial goals. Most are frustrated that they’re not accomplishing more or moving faster. When I questions what they’ve done that day or the day before to move toward those goals, we find that very little momentum is happening in their real lives. Success is more of a “wish” when we get right down to it.
What are you doing, daily, to talk with more clients? What are you doing to raise more money? What are you doing to focus on the “right” things, the “right” activities?
What question should you be asking yourself? Come up with the right question to generate the right responses from your every day activities.
How does what you’re doing help you achieve your goals? What are you doing with your time?
May 23rd, 2018 / 6:47 am
Hi Nathaniel:
You’re here on my blog so be sure to use the search bar to find marketing tips.
One mailing rarely leads to a purchase. You must mail every month for as long as you are in the business. Starting out, we mailed to the same 5600 homes every single month for 4.5 years and bought hundreds of houses. Consistency is the thing. Sellers need to learn your name and that you can be trusted. Doesn’t happen with one mailing.
Check out my blog post: 100 Ways to Create Real Estate Leads. Attend your local Metrolina REIA meeting as well as the monthly Deal Maker Session meeting in Charlotte. Both will help you learn. Investing takes work – a lot of consistent work – but it pays off better than any other avenue I know of financially.
I also offer phone coaching for $100 per hour.
Thanks for asking and good luck to you!
May 22nd, 2018 / 11:14 pm
Karen,
I really grab to your story. Heard you on bigger pockets podcast. I have 4 kids, a single dad, I’m an engineer by day and investor by night. I graduated from NCA&T and I found something that O think will be the start of generational wealth! I’m just getting started in the chatlotte NC market and its very very competitive right now. I created a LLC, and sent out 1000 mailers to absentee owners this month and got 5 calls in 3 days but they all unfortunately wanted me to remove them from my mailing list. :(
As a newby investor, what would you suggest for me to do in addition to me mailing 1000 mailers. I think It would be really cool if you could mentor me every now and then to help me out. It’s tough not being around folks that are doing the same thing. Anyways, glad to have heard you over the pod cast!
Nate.
Dec 27th, 2017 / 6:56 pm
Wow, Mark. Where are you located? I offer short term financing for rehab loans all up and down the east coast.
I only use OPM so I’m thrilled to hear you are as well. Email me; I’d love to discuss my lending program if what you need is short term (I loan for 9 months).
Thanks for leaving a comment!
Dec 27th, 2017 / 6:24 pm
Today I am filling out a HELOC application to try and free up OPM to buy more real estate.
Dec 27th, 2017 / 2:36 pm
Thank you for writing, Michael.
I wish you tremendous success with your real estate investing!
Dec 27th, 2017 / 11:08 am
I am bedridden and have not walked or worked for about 7 years. I am currently weighed heavily on real estate investing because of my background. Luckily, I paid off my mortgage about 21 years ago which was when my daughter was born. She now has 2 semesters left at the University of Arkansas. We have lived just outside of Dallas, Texas for about 34 years.