This year, Workman Success Systems (WSS), as they do annually, picked a word for our context for the year. This year’s word, “elevate,” is one that I love because, in itself, this word is a challenge to all of us as we work to take everything to the next level.
As I come close to my 40th anniversary as a real estate agent, I realized when I saw the word “elevate” that I needed to elevate my “leverage” game. I had to step it up when it came to leveraging my time, leveraging my money, leveraging my knowledge, leveraging myself and leveraging my staff and business partners—all of which I consider my “assets.” Many of you may already be doing all of this, which is great, but can you elevate the level of leverage you’re experiencing already?
When I coach higher producers, I always do what I can to speak to their “significant others,” or their staff or assistants. The reason I do this is to find out if they’re truly leveraging their staff and their team. During these conversations, I’m typically made aware of things that haven’t been revealed during our coaching sessions.
When your productivity isn’t what you think it could be, or what you know is possible, ask yourself how well you’re leveraging your assets.
Many of you have experienced some level of financial freedom, which rarely goes hand-in-hand with time freedom. For the most part, they’re mutually exclusive. People who elevate their leverage tend to feel differently and tend to experience both financial and time freedom simultaneously—a very rare event.
Recently, I had my coach review all of these daily activities with me, and I committed to an exercise that we have our coaching clients commit to: the Daily Success Habits form, or DSH. For the third time in five years, this form changed my life.
When examining every single 30-minute increment from waking up to going to bed, and then comparing it against my “perfect week” calendar, it was shocking to see how many times I didn’t leverage my assets. My wife is a sales coach, and I’ll often hear her remind me from the other room: “Is that something you should be doing, or delegating?”
If we’re being honest, accountability is highly uncomfortable for most of us, but I’ve learned to love it. In fact, that’s why we say at WSS that accountability equals love. Holding someone accountable to what they’re capable of is simply that: a way of showing them love. It’s a way of holding up a mirror for them to see what you’re seeing, rather than just telling them that they’re capable of so much more.
Here’s everything you need to do to start. First, let us send you a “perfect week” worksheet and take the time to complete the exercise. Then, use the DSH for seven days, and be serious about it. It’s important to allow your coach or accountability partner to review both, as this is when your blind spots will appear. If you’ve filled in everything you’re doing—and honestly—and have accounted for every minute of every day for seven days, you and your accountability partner will clearly see where you haven’t “elevated your leverage.”
This isn’t for wimps. If you do it, you’ll find huge wins. If you don’t, you’ll continue to struggle with time freedom. I promise.
Rick Geha of The Rick Geha Real Estate Team began his real estate career at age 22. Over the past 15 years, he’s led more than 1,000 classes and workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada and has presented keynote addresses to thousands of professionals from all industries and walks of life. He is currently a coach with Workman Success Systems. Contact him at Rick@RickGeha.com. For more information, please visit www.WorkmanSuccessSystems.com.
