Steve Kantor’s classic book, Billion Dollar Agent: Lessons Learned, was based on over 100 interviews with agents who have earned a billion dollars or more during their real estate careers. While there’s a wealth of information about the path to mega-real estate success, here are two of the most important takeaways.

First, almost every single billion dollar agent profiled wishes that he or she had hired an assistant much earlier in their career. The reason is that doing minimum wage activities such as picking up cleaning, filling brochure boxes, or going to the post office prevents them from being in front of buyers and sellers, which is usually worth several hundred dollars per hour.

A second important characteristic is that approximately two-thirds of the billion-dollar agents Kantor interviewed were actively involved in charitable activities that give back to their community.

If you’re wanting to increase your income, implement these two tips: hire someone to handle those minimum wage activities for you and look for ways to contribute to your community.