Login
iscover
In his recent Sydney seminar, real estate coach Josh Phegan emphasised that the best performers always go back to the basics.
But what he defined as the foundational elements of a successful real estate career might surprise some people.
He’s not talking about remembering to make prospecting calls, acing a listings presentation, or doing a letterbox drop.
For Phegan, the foundations are literally the life that you build a career on top of, and he emphasised that you ignore these important elements at your own risk.
“If you’re thinking about the foundations, you’ve got really good relationships, you’re in a position that you’ve got good financial stability and security, if you’re in a position that you’ve got work which gives you purpose, and you’ve got health and you’re looking after yourself and being able to perform at your best,” he explained.
In his view, those are the basics that need to be “rock solid” to succeed.
That’s not to say that the other things – prospecting, listings presentations and letterbox drops – aren’t important. But in Phegan’s view, agents need to focus on the bigger picture, or what he calls the “visionary level”, before they get down into the nitty-gritty of job performance.
“The visionary level is, who do I plan to become? What do I actually want in my life? Where am I going? What does it look like? What are the things that are going to be important? And if you think about it, that’s the difference between what we call resume values versus eulogy values,” he said.
As the real estate veteran explained, resume values are the career highlights – making number one agent in your area, for example. Eulogy values are what people will say about you at your funeral, and in his view “the eulogy values are the ones that really matter”.
The lesson here, he said, is to think differently about what you have in life and what you want to achieve, because “if you get the foundations right, then you can become a phenomenal real estate agent. But you’ve got to be a great person first”.
Being a great person can mean different things to different people, but there are obviously some common threads – being there for family members or contributing to one’s community. But Phegan emphasised that a big part of having a solid foundation and being able to be a “great person” is having a healthy mental headspace – and doing the activities that contribute to mental health for each individual.
He urged the participants in the room to ask themselves, “What am I doing if I’m not doing real estate”? For those who might be stuck, he suggested looking through your camera roll to see what you’re most frequently photographing. That can offer a handy hint at what you value most in life.
The answers could range from riding a motorcycle, reading a book or taking a sauna, to spending time with your kids, having a meal with friends, or enjoying live music.
Whatever it is, Phegan stressed that enjoying those motivating activities – the things that make life worth living – is integral to ultimately building a successful career.
Why? It’s all about the benefits that are brought by cultivating a healthy mindset.
“Because do you know when your best ideas come? Very rarely while you’re doing the work. Most of your best ideas are when you’re going for a walk, you’re seeing the sunrise, or you’re experiencing something else, because of the energy and the momentum that it gives you.”
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.