Should You Be Committed?

(By Kevin)

A good friend shared an email from Joel F. Wade, Ph.D. where he talks about commitment.  I liked what he had to say enough to share some of his thoughts intermixed with my own.  

Dr. Wade states, "It's no mystery that making solid commitments is central to a happy, successful life."

We have all met people who appear to have it all together.  What makes them different?  I also submit that it is their level of commitment to whatever endeavor they are involved in.

In the Empire Strikes Back, Yoda is teaching the young Luke Skywalker about commitment when he says, "Do, or do not.  There is no try."  Trying by itself is not enough, being committed to the outcome, no matter how many times you need to try, is what's essential.

When I ask someone to do something and they say, "I'll try", I am grateful for their effort, however, when they say, "I'll get it done."  I have a much higher confidence level that the assignment will get done, because they are much more committed. 

We have heard it said time and again at the international events from the top leaders in our network marketing business that it was only after they "sold out", in other words, becoming fully committed to the company and processes, did their businesses really take off. 

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said, "At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you."  I believe what he means is that as you develop a laser focus on your objectives, becoming crystal clear on the processes you need to achieve that objective, then success is just a matter of time and effort.

So how do you develop a level of commitment where it appears the universe will conspire to assist you?  It all comes back to your WHY?  

WHY do you want to succeed in this business or endeavor?  One of our mentors has a saying, "Until your WHY is strong enough, the How doesn't matter."  I believe this is absolutely true.

Once your WHY is strong enough, you will figure out the how.  You will figure out how to get around, go through, go over, or under obstacles.  Your WHY will drive you to get up and try again each time you are knocked down.  You will understand that each swing of the bat that is a strike brings you one step closer to a hit, or each "no" brings you one step closer to a "yes."

Successful real estate investors understand this principle.  They know that they will talk to many more individuals who do not want to sell them their property at a price the real estate investor can make money from than there are that will.  Each "NO" along the journey is simply a stepping stone to the "YES" that allows their business to make money.  They will not let the "NOs" define them because they are committed to the outcome.

In our business we know that we may send out 1,000 letters that will get us into 20 houses.  From these visits we may present offers to 15 people and get acceptance from one or two of those people.  We understand we were not a good solution for most of the people we contacted; however because, we offer a good solution for the one or two, we remain committed to helping them. 

The big question in everyone's life is how committed to your own success are you?  I am not defining success as just monetary success.  Suppose you have always wanted to play the piano.  How committed to that success are you?  Will you get lessons, practice, and put the required effort into achieve your dream, or will you just dream?

Pat Riley, perhaps one of the greatest professional basketball coaches of all time, had this to say about commitment, "There are only two options regarding commitment.  You're either in or you're out.  There's no such thing as life in-between."

So, just like I ask myself all the time, I ask you this my friends who are reading this today: How committed are you?  Committed enough to make one more phone call, create one more newsletter, analyze one more property, read one more success oriented book, turn off the income reducer, attend one more event or class?  How committed are you to your success?

Hear what John Maxwell says about being committed, click here.  http://johnmaxwellteam.com/committed/ 

Industry News  

(by Kevin)

Hiring Beats Expectations   

Marcus and Millichap reports employers shrugged off the federal government shutdown last month to hire workers at a rate exceeding even the most optimistic expectations.  Despite facing constant and varied headwinds throughout the year, the economic and employment recovery appear quite broad and self-sustaining, setting the stage for potentially greater economic growth in the fourth quarter.  The U.S. economy remains firmly on track to add more than 2.2 million jobs this year, exceeding last year's total by a slender margin.  See the entire article, click here or copy and paste the link below into your browser:

http://blog.marcusmillichap.com/2013/11/08/economy-shows-surprising-vigor-despite-federal-government-impasse/ 

Laughs and Interesting Stuff 

(Kevin and Mary Jane)  

If You Love Someone:

If you love someone let them go.........    If they come back no one wanted them

OR, my version:

If you love someone let them go.........    If they come back they are probably your full grown kids

And ......... sometimes they bring their children too!

Readers Digest Offerings:

The Collector:

A little boy went to the library to check out a book titled Comprehensive Guide for Mothers.

"Is this for your mother?"  The librarian asked.

"No", said the boy

"So why are you checking it out?"

"Because I started collecting moths last week."

Starving:

My teenage son's unwillingness to prepare even the simplest meal himself was driving me crazy. 

"David," I said in exasperation one night, "you can easily take food out of the freezer and heat it in the microwave, you know how to push buttons, right?

"Well," he replied, "I know how to push yours."

We have son who is like this, he would rather be hungry than find the kitchen.  Have you seen how I like to eat, go figure?

The Turkey Wishbone:

My grandfather always had the knack of saying the right thing.  One Thanksgiving we explained to my younger brother the custom of breaking the turkey wishbone.  Eager to have his wish come true, little Philip was bitterly disappointed when he saw that he held the small end of the bone, while his grandfather had the larger part.

"That's all right, my boy," said his smiling grandfather. "My wish was that you would get yours." - Contributed by Linda Ann Loschiavo

Guest Relations: 

Our eldest daughter, Ann, invited her college roommate to join our large family for Thanksgiving dinner.  As families sometimes do, we got into a lively argument over a trivial subject until we remembered we had a guest in our midst.  There was an immediate, embarrassed silence.

"Please don't worry about me," she said. "I was brought up in a family too." - Contributed by Garrison H. McClure

Thanksgiving Divorce:
A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams.  

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced, I'll take care of this."

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced.  Don't do a single thing until I get there.  I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow.  Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and smiles to his wife and says, "Okay, they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."  (http://www.humormatters.com)

Frozen Turkeys:

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family.  She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" 

The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead."

Keep On Smiling!

(so people will wonder what your up to AND its contagious)