Lag Time
Have you ever wondered why changing some of your behaviors is easy and changing others is so difficult? One of the primary reasons may be due to “lag time,” the time it takes between taking action and experiencing the result of that action. 
Psychological research has shown the best time to “reinforce” a new behavior is right after the behavior occurs. Yet most of the changes we would like to implement in our lives take time to create. In fact, activities such as earning a college degree, raising a child, or fulfilling your life’s purpose can take years.
Since obtaining reinforcement often takes more time than we are willing to spend, we often give up on the new behavior before the full effects have a chance to take hold. One of the primary sources of frustration occurs when we want instant gratification and life simply doesn’t cooperate.
If you would like to avoid being trapped by life’s lag time, here are three suggestions.
- Let go of the idea that change will take place instantly. In most cases, whatever distresses you in life took a fair amount of time to get that way. Obstetricians routinely tell women it will take nine months to totally lose the weight from their pregnancy. It takes 3 years to totally return to the state the mother was in prior to the pregnancy. Consequently, it often takes an equal, if not greater, amount of time to remove the source of your distress.
- A major obstacle in dealing with lag time is focusing on the goal rather than the process. Imagine you are driving from Los Angeles to New York. If you only focus on how quickly you can get to New York, the time on the road will be both an inconvenience and a frustration. In contrast, if you focus on the process of making the most of each part of your drive, the drive itself becomes as fulfilling as reaching your destination. Thus, focus on making the most of each moment rather than focusing exclusively on how quickly you can arrive at your goal or destination.
- Recognize small changes over time lead to huge results. For example, eating an extra sandwich a day doesn’t seem like much. Yet, if you maintain this behavior for a year without changing your exercise or other eating habits, you will gain 52 pounds.
Small, incremental changes over time, whether positive or negative, can produce extraordinary differences in your life.
Two Ways to Build Your Referral Network
Real estate agents usually meet lots of potential leads. The question is how to build a connection. Here are two tried-and-true approaches that have withstood the test of time.
First, you must know what the group where you are prospecting is most likely to want and then make sure that’s what you give them. For example, if you’re door knocking in a specific area, most people are interested in knowing what has sold in their neighborhood.
On the other hand, if you’re involved in building a referral database from a charity that raises money for medical research, send monthly updates on new advances in research. Providing people with information on their interests is one of the best ways to turn them from leads into clients.
It’s Time to Ditch “Hunt ‘em, Tell ‘em, and Sell ‘em”
Are you still prospecting using the old 20th Century approach called, “Hunt ’em, tell ’em and sell ’em?” One of the most important shifts you can make to succeed in today’s tough market is to shift to what is known as “give to get” marketing. This means that you provide value before you ask for business. 
Let’s face it—clients do not want to be hunted down. Today, you must earn the right to do business with them by providing value first. Give-to get-marketing is about providing service, building relationships, and creating trust.
Whether it’s coaching a soccer team, doing charitable fund raising, or working at a food bank, it’s smart to give back to your community. Best of all, you may be surprised by how giving elsewhere in your life translates to more closed deals for your real estate business.
Do You Share These Two Traits of Mega-Producers?
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.
A Simple Recipe for Happiness
Would you like to be happier? Most people are keenly aware of what makes them unhappy, but what about what makes them happy?
Everyone knows stress can trigger a wide variety of issues including heart disease and even cancer. On the other hand, friendship and happiness appear to have a protective effect.
The research shows that having strong relationships with family and friends is crucial. The wider and deeper your relationships are with those around you the better. In fact, having strong, satisfying friendships can ward off germs and illness.
What may really surprise you is that friendship has a much greater influence on happiness than virtually anything else including income.
If you’re spending too much time working and too little time with your family and friends, now is the time to make the shift. Not only will you be happier, you’ll be less likely to be sick this fall and winter.