Richard Branson has a dream to take people on flights into space. Martin Luther King had a dream that all would be treated equally. Man had a dream of landing on the moon. Walt Disney, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama: the list goes on. What’s your dream?
FOR CENTURIES people have dreamt many things. The fact is that only a few people ever really make their dreams happen. Doctors dream of finding a cure for cancer. Fathers and mothers dream of their sons and daughters growing up and enjoying life. Sports people and actors dream of becoming famous; real estate agents dream of becoming the best and most successful they can be so they can build the life they want and have financial freedom.
Four years ago, at the age of 45, I decided to change industries. I ventured into the real estate industry to use my expertise as a mental skills and mindset performance trainer, coach and speaker. I knew nobody, was not from the industry, had never sold a property in my life or trained agents and was not going to have a training sales skill-set. The first six months I lost money, ran my business out of my lounge room and was ready to throw it all away and go back to the corporate coaching field that I came from.
However, I had a dream to build a global business, travelling the world doing what I loved to do in one way or another. Four years later, after growing the business successfully around Australia and Indonesia, I decided to head to LA to chase my dream further. Six weeks ago all I had was a return ticket to LA and a heart full of hope, with no guarantees, very few contacts and the task of competing against a market saturated with some of the best real estate trainers and coaches in the world.
Everybody I talked to said it would be tough. ‘There are too many coaches and trainers there, it’s too hard a market and you will find it very difficult. Basically you are invisible and it will fail.’
I could have stopped there, as so many people do. I could have doubted myself and not tried; but I believed in my dream. Many of my clients have believed in theirs, like Nick Papas from C21 who, after writing over $1,000,000 in GCI, left to go to the other side of Sydney to a completely new area, set up an office and start all over again. Or Kylie Charlton, who decided not to join with the major players courting her business in her area, but go it alone and stay independent. Or David Highland, who started his office in the GFC with six staff and now has 60- plus with two offices.
They are all following their dreams, just like many of you out there.
THREE KEYS TO REACHING YOUR DREAMS
- Dreams are not goals
Agents mistake dreams for goals. Goals are different. Goals are about attaining things. If you can see it realistically happening then it’s a goal. Most goals we make are attainable and easy to reach. Goals come from the head, with logic and rationale driving them. Dreams are different.Dreams are about realising that anything is possible and that your potential is in the unknown. Dreams are an experience you create; they have a level of ‘unattainability’ to them. They scare you and seem impossible, making you a little uncomfortable and nervous. They challenge the very fabric of who you are and come with a level of risk. Dreams come from the heart with passion, purpose and internal meaning driving them. When was the last time you did something for the first time? - A dream does not start perfect and is not attached to guarantees
Too many agents want to be perfect and want everything to be perfect before they act. The fact is there is no certainty with anything, especially dreams. Dreams take you out of your comfort zone as there are no guarantees.The picture is not totally complete and you don’t understand every single working part. The dream
starts with a vision that often does not come with a clear road map. It is not about the outcome;
it is about the journey. It is about making the impossible possible.Progress is better than perfection.
- Reaching your dream requires a radical action
When I decided to go to LA I bought a return ticket straight away, borrowed money to promote and plan an event and took radical action steps to ensure I had to be committed. You need to make a radical pain decision that gets you moving forward and makes you have to follow through. The only dreams that come to you are the ones in your sleep. The dreams you make a reality are the ones you chase.What are your dreams and what are you doing to reach them? Are you coasting along in your career or challenging your potential? Are you playing a small game or a bigger game?Are you achieving easy goals or creating big dreams?
