Ask Jim Miller

On this 231st episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will hit pause on the NAR Settlement discussion and move into topics that are now top of mind for the brokers and leaders I am talking to at Jameson Sotheby's International Realty and across the United States and Canada. First and foremost, it's "Harvest Season" in most if not all markets. I'll take you through the questions I've been answering, the comments I am hearing and the advice I am giving during this particular and unique harvest season.

On this 230th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will take you through the bedrock principles of marketing and selling a property. The changes coming to our industry has put a renewed focus back on execution. You'll be able to use these bedrock principles and concepts as you revamp your listing presentation and processes over the coming weeks and months. The successful launch of a property to market will not change but it could be disrupted if not executed properly.

On this 229th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will break down what you'll need to address in your business to prepare for the changes our industry will experience this summer. Today, we'll start with the buy side and we'll focus on what you can do to best demonstrate your unique value proposition to prospective buyer clients by mastering the Initial Buyer Consultation.

On this 228th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will give you my updated thoughts on the NAR Settlement and I will outline how you should prepare for the changes that are coming to the industry mid-summer. I've always asked you to "Trust the Process" and if there was ever a need to have a process to trust, it's now. In my little part of the internet, over the course of the coming weeks, we'll focus on the operational processes (your value) you'll need to create, communicate and execute to protect your livelihood and take market share.

💼 Navigating the NAR Settlement: Insights and Action for Real Estate Pros 🏡 Watch 📺 / listen 🎧 to all Take Flight podcasts on YouTube! ✈️ 🎙️ In this 227th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'm discussing the NAR Settlement and its potential impact on our industry. As a coach, mentor, and friend, I'm sharing my thoughts based on 25 years of experience in real estate brokerage. The NAR Settlement announcement caught many of us by surprise, prompting a mix of shock and fear. However, I believe that opportunity comes from chaos, and as leaders, we must step up and navigate through this change. 🔑 Key points about the NAR Settlement: - Compensation offers will be moved off of the MLS in July. - Written buyer agency agreements will be required. - The settlement is not yet fully approved but is expected to be in the coming weeks. - This will significantly impact how business is conducted, with residential brokerage mirroring more of a commercial brokerage model. 📋 As a coach, my game plan for brokers includes: - Avoiding speculation and focusing on what's proven. - Mastering your 5 lists: Top 100, Top 100 referral partners, Warm List, Hot list, and List of Collaborative brokers. - Defining your value and mastering the buyer consultation strategy. - Committing to having a buyer agency form signed before showing properties. - Preparing to ask the listing agent for offers of compensation. - Explaining to sellers the importance of offering buyer agent compensation. - Studying local buyer agency documents and taking an ABR course. - Upgrading communication skills and staying nimble and open-minded to change. This is a significant development in our industry, similar to the changes post the 2007/2008 financial crash. It's a "low tide" moment that will expose the level of planning and execution in your business. Running a solid business will attract clients and take market share. I'll be discussing this topic with industry colleagues and leaning on leaders within the Sotheby's International Realty brand. We will navigate these changes together. If you're not open to change, it could get difficult for you. Remember, "If you are not changing, you are choosing." It's time to step up and lead.

On this 227th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss the NAR Settlement and discuss my thoughts on how it will impact how we do business moving forward. I must say, none of us know exactly how this will all play out so I come to you today in an uncomfortable position. I don't normally like to discuss things that I have not stress tested. So much of what I will talk about today is based on my 25 years of real estate brokerage experience and how the industry has reacted in the past. Obviously, come July, we will be in uncharted territory. I am coming to you today as Jim Miller the coach, mentor and friend simply hoping to give you my thoughts.

On this 226th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will challenge you to answer the question: "Is your real estate business being noticed by your clients? Do they know you are open for business?" Most entrepreneurs will answer the question "YES!" without hesitation but with some deeper thought and analysis after today's call, you might just change your answer. You may think that your clients will remember you and be committed to you, but have you done what you need to do to secure their business over the long term?

On this 225th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will go into the archives and pull out one of my most popular MMPTs. In August of 2022, I wrote an episode around "The Lowest Common Denominator Business Strategy" and I'll go back to it, make some slight edits but in whole it is still a concept that you can use to continue to shape your business. The goal of this episode is to help you re frame how to look at your Top 100, your Top 100 referral partners, your warm list, your hot list and your list of local brokers that you collaborate with about the local market.

On this 224th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss the current landscape in the real estate brokerage industry which and some of the recent reactions I've seen pop up with more and more frequency. First of all, I need to apologize. Through my Take Flight V4.0 episodes in 2023, at times, I may have come across as though building a real estate brokerage business is easy. It's anything but easy. It takes time and effort with radical commitment and consistency to get to 30,000 feet. Going into this MMPT, I started a list of what I've heard as pain points for some of you and I'll give you my thoughts as if we were one on one.

On this 223rd episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss an opportunity that most sales professionals miss while growing their business. Most sales professionals do not completely track and/or analyze where their business originates. I'll introduce during this episode a new term, for me, called a "Seed Lead" and I'll discuss its importance and where it fits into your overall sales funnel.

On this 222nd episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will deliver one of my most important pep talks where I will truly explain the why behind Take Flight. I spent all last year bringing you, step by step, the updated details of "Take Flight". I'll take you deeper into the why and how I built it. This MMPT will answer the question I get every January and February. Even after having taught Take Flight all of last year and I am still getting "the question". It hit me this year that I haven't done a good enough job of explaining the reason why this lifestyle and business operating system, is so important to consider and implement.

On this 221st episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, we will discuss a topic that is on the mind of most "goal achievers" . As January draws to a close, it’s a common for those who eagerly embarked on New Year’s resolutions and intentional goal setting exercises, to reflect on their progress and momentum or lack thereof. The statistics surrounding the success rates of these well-intentioned goals are often disheartening. By February 15, studies indicate that around 80% of individuals find themselves straying from their goals, with a considerable percentage abandoning their goals within the first month of the year. Only 8% stick with them the entire year. On this episode, I will delve into the main reason most goal setting exercises fail within the first month.

On this 220th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'll l discuss a topic that is, in theory, so easy to do but is also so difficult for most to complete on a daily basis. The 3 year vision you created when you built out your business and life plan needs a daily check in. The absence of full "buy in" to your goals and vision will slow down your progress and make the entire goal attainment process frustrating. That end goal, the finish line, your vision is what will get you out of bed in the morning, pick your friends, pick what you eat, schedule your day, put you to bed and wake you up each morning. Your 3 year vision and your goals that support it are promises you've made to yourself. A simple daily routine added to your morning and evening rituals will be the difference between you living the way you want to live or not meeting that standard you set for yourself.

On this 219th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'll lay out the daily planning method that I've been using since 2020 which has allowed me to stay focused on my goals through a relentless commitment to win each day. This daily planning method will help you stay in touch with your clients on a regular basis, remind you of the tasks that you do regularly, schedule your day in advance (morning or evening) and limit your need to “think” about what you need to do to stay on top of your life and business. This planning method requires preparation up front (we call this "multiplication method") and effort for it to work as efficiently as I have it set up. If set up properly, it will save you hours upon hours of time over the long haul and will make your daily planning during more efficient and complete but It also requires a different mindset. If you want to reach a new level in your life and business, you've got to change between the ears first and foremost.

On this 218th episode of my MMPT, we will start the sequence of building on the Take Flight content that I put out in digital course format in 2023. I've stated over and over that all success starts with the proper mindset and in 2024, I want all of you to start thinking like a successful CEO. 2024 is the year you become the CEO of your business. A CEO's primary responsibilities are company strategy, financial oversight, managing the execution of company initiatives. Key words: strategy and execution.

On this 217th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk and final episode of Take Flight, V4.0, I'll take you through a 30,000 foot review of Take Flight which is intended to be a business and lifestyle operating system. Most of you that listen are in the real estate brokerage industry but it can just as easily be used in most entrepreneurial endeavors. To anchor some of the key concepts of the program, I have taken key phrases that I have read in books, picked up on a podcast or found on a social media profile. I personally have used these as my "guiding principles" over the years and have passed them on to you through this MMPT and podcast. As I review Take Flight V4.0 today, I'll weave a few of them into the call.

On this 216th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will start the process of bringing Take Flight V4.0 in for a landing by showing you how this sales and operational strategy creates critical mass in your business. The business definition of critical mass is defined as your growing business is at the point where it becomes self-sustaining and no longer needs "additional" investment to become or remain economically viable. In basic terms, this means that the business that you created provides industry leading value to strategically defined number of clients with a marketing and branding strategy that will sustain your business income goals. You have created a predictable and enjoyable business if your business has hit critical mass.

On this 215th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk and the final topic for Section 5 (Marketing and Personal Branding) of Take Flight V4.0, I will provide you a checklist of the people, tools and processes you need to build a marketing and personal branding strategy that will elevate your business. Marketing and personal branding is exactly that: personal. It requires your dedication, effort and resources to create real value to your business. No one can do it for you. The top brokers/advisors in the industry take ownership of their brand and understand that it is the fuel for their business.

On this 214th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss the final portion of my "People Hire Who They Know, Like and Trust" portion of the Marketing and Lead Generation section of Take Flight V4.0. We covered the fact that people hire a broker/advisors that "knows" the hyper local market in which they want to live and start to "like" those that same broker/advisor that lives the lifestyle that the same person covets. The final portion of this trifecta is that that person will hire that broker/advisor if they have a successful track record. To gain that "trust", that broker/advisor must show what we call "evidence of success". Demonstrating your success as a real estate broker involves showcasing your achievements, skills, and track record to instill confidence in potential clients.

In this 213th episode of my MMPT , I will build on last week's episode #212 to continue to show you how you can use the phrase "People Hire Who They Know, Like and Trust" to segment your marketing efforts as you attempt to build your personal brand on social media profiles and other platforms. This week we go over why people hire who they like. As it relates to marketing and your personal brand, "LIKE" will equate to the client wants to "LIKE" the broker/advisor they choose to assist them with their real estate needs. To do this the consumer needs to not only be reassured that the client "KNOWS" the market but to "LIKE" them, they need to see the broker "living" authentically in the market they serve.

In this 212th episode of my MMPT pep talk, I will show you how you can use the phrase "People Hire Who They Know, Like and Trust" to segment your marketing efforts primarily as you as attempting to build your personal brand on social media profiles. Over the coming weeks, we will discuss this important phrase while I break it down in 3 sections over 3 MMPTs. This week we go over why people hire who they know. As it relates to marketing and your personal brand, "KNOW" will equate to the client wants to "KNOW" the market you serve. 1/3 of your content should be focused on "know". People want to hire someone that is knowledgeable about the market that are interested in buying. If they are a seller, they want to know that you can properly sell the hyper local market/neighborhood that they've come to love. Both buyers and sellers need a market/neighborhood expert. Today's buyers are buying lifestyle first, house second.

On this 211th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will walk you through a process I came across randomly in 2013 that is a foolproof way to identify your marketing strengths. I continue to stress test it each year by looking for a better option but have yet to find it. The goal is to find 3 lead generation strategies that will garner your complete focus and to drop new clients into your transaction processes (1=3) and to grow the quality and quantity of your database.

On this 210th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'd like to give you some perspective on your marketing and its importance towards growing and/or maintaining your business. I'll do this as we start Section 5 of Take Flight V4.0. Section 5 is the final section of this year long course and it’s called: "Marketing and Your Personal Brand". It's built to compliment Section 4 "Deliver and Leverage" and Section 3 "Database and Relationship Management". On this MMPT, I'll give you an overview of what we'll be discussing over the coming weeks as we tackle the importance of building a brand and the actions needed to bring new business into your pipeline with a focus on fueling your business for the long haul.

On this 209th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will wrap up Section 4 of Take Flight V4.0 by discussing the importance of setting proper expectations up front with your clients to ensure successful transactions within your business. The goal of Section 4: Deliver and Leverage is to create a remarkable experience so that all of that hard work turns into client loyalty and additional opportunities. By settings proper expectations up front, it increases your likelihood of success.

On today's 208th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will provide you a simple response/script that will help you remind your satisfied clients that you are happy, willing and able to assist their family, friends and colleagues with all things real estate. You spend money on marketing trying to convert new clients, you work really hard during the transaction to create a remarkable experience for your clients and you've built a CRM to stay in touch post -closing but you feel like you are not quite getting the number of referrals/introductions that you should. Have you felt that way?

On today's Episode #207 on my Monday Morning Pep Talk , I will discuss the 10 transaction stages that need to systems and processes built out and executed on to have a chance to create repeatable, remarkable experiences allowing your business to grow. We recently had Thomas Wright, CEO of Summit Sotheby's International Realty and also President of Majestic Realty Collective (a collection of SIR affiliates) in Chicago to speak to our brokers at Jameson Sotheby's International Realty and he said "Most people try to achieve things with brute force but If you want long term sustainable success, you have to have systems." He is so spot on. On this call, I'll go into a revised and complete list of transaction stages in need of systems and processes in order to build a predictable and enjoyable business. A transaction system or process is all of those steps you take from the time you get the lead (client introduction) through the few weeks after a closing (post- closing processes).

On this 206th Episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will jump back into Take Flight V4.0 and begin Section 4 that will be "Wing 1" on your aircraft (business) that will power your business to 30,000 feet. Section 4 will focus on executable and proven strategies that will generate additional referrals/introductions during the buyer and listing transaction process. I will show you how you can "Deliver and Leverage" during your transactions so that you that you can predictably turn one client transaction into 3. When I talk about "Deliver and Leverage", I'm describing the concept of delivering a high value experience during the transaction while leveraging that high value experience to create more opportunities within your business. You should expect 2 other pieces of business off a successful buyer closing or a closed listing.

On this 205th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'll take the opportunity to do a brain dump of all of things that have been on my mind as it relates to where we are in this real estate brokerage market and the topics I've been discussing with brokers/advisors over the past month. I'll do this before I jump back into Take Flight V4.0 over the coming weeks. When the calendar flips from August to September, my mindset tends to shift with it. Does yours? We've got 3 weeks to wrap up Q3 2023 and 13 weeks/94 days to execute before the December "No Fly Zone". Championships are indeed won in the 4th Quarter and I'll discuss that today the best way to approach the remainder of 2023 and prepare for 2024.

On today's 204th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will officially complete the first 3 sections of Take Flight ("The Cockpit", "The Tail" and "The Cabin") before win continue on building your aircraft (your business) by adding the wings (lead generation and systems/processes). The goals continues to be building a business that will fly at 30,000 feet. I've pushed a lot of ideas, concepts and information your way and it will take months/years to implement. Today, I will do a quick review of some of the areas we've discussed through the first 24 episodes of Take Flight V4.0 and I plan to challenge you with a set of questions I'll be asking you throughout this episode. I want you to do an audit on where you are right now. By doing this, it will help you identify "the low hanging fruit" that you can focus on during your upcoming quarterly initiatives. High performance is a choice. Now that you know the "how", if you are not changing, you are choosing

On this 203rd episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'll cover a topic that is not talked about enough in the world of real estate brokerage and really doesn't fit specifically into one section of Take Flight. Because of that, I am going to discuss the seasonality of your business and how best to navigate it. We know that farmers plant in the spring and harvest in the fall all this while businesses have planting and harvesting seasons as well. Your real estate brokerage business has seasons and it differs by each market with some overall national similarities. The weather, local economies, travel and tourism and seasonal resident migration are all reasons that drive the seasonality of different hyper local markets. For your own mental well being, proper business planning and expectation setting for your family/friends and clients, will need to be present in your business and life for you to fully embrace and navigate the seasonality of your business. My hope is that you embrace it not disregard it. On this episode, I'll give you 7 areas of your life and business that should be considered for you to stay on track throughout the year.

On this 202nd episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'll make a final attempt during this segment of Take Flight V4.0 to challenge you to take a hard look at your business and ask yourself: "Is my business predictable and enjoyable?" I've been in this business for 25 years and have studied it, lived it from every angle and I've concluded that it comes down to one question: Do you want to build your business that focuses relationships (your lists) primarily or will you be transactional in your mindset primarily focused moving properties. Over the course of this episode, I will cover the things I considered when I made the decision to go all in on the relationship game after the transactional model failed me in a big way. This episode could easily have been included at the beginning of the segment ("The Cabin") of Take Flight V4.0 but I think it's important at this stage to help you sift through that factors that need to be considered before you go all in on a business model type.

On today 201st episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'll take you through the steps of creating a Top 100 "nurture" campaign that will help you maintain momentum with your top clients throughout the year. There is many different ways that an nurture campaign can be created including through your CRM like Cloze, Follow Up Boss or Salesforce. If that is the case, you can use today's call as a guide to set up the internal programming and tasking needed to execute what I feel is an example of a thoughtful approach. You can also schedule your follow up tasks and reminders through your Microsoft Outlook or Google Suite or if you are more analog, a spreadsheet can be used as well. The key is that you maintain a constant drumbeat of activity with your clients throughout the year. We'll explore different ideas and strategies on today's episode.

Over the last few weeks I've been getting questions like: "What you are you going to do on your 200th episode? That's a big achievement.". Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. I was more focused on Take Flight V4.0 and pushing that content to you by the end of the year. As I started to reflect on it, I naturally started doing the math and what that meant. 200 episodes equates to over 9, 7 hour audiobooks if you average each episode out to 20 minutes each. That's a big number but pushing out massive amounts of content is not why I write and deliver a MMPT each week. The calls originated in January of 2016 with 15-20 of my Jameson Sotheby's International Realty brokers on Monday mornings as a way to scale my connection with them. I started to get requests that I record them so in March of 2019 (the official first MMPT), I fumbled around and found a way to drop them into Soundcloud. In 2020, I began to also push them to Apple Podcast. Researching, writing and delivering the content each week satisfies my personal need to "crack the code", "find the universal truths" and "stress test what I know works". This MMPT process is how I editorialize what I've learned and it gives me an outlet to document and share the proven ideas and concepts into bite size, easy to digest pieces of content. The content comes from reading a lot of books on pertinent topics, purchasing online courses, observing others that WIN and building 3 of my own successful businesses over the years. I grew up in the back seat of a car listening to Jim Rohn and one of his quotes has always stuck with me: "Success Leaves Clues" , meaning that someone has already done what it is that you want to create. Brokers/advisors/entrepreneurs waste so much time trying to figure out the "HOW". This podcast is about the "How". I don't write it and share it if it hasn't been researched, proven and stress tested by me. From the feedback I've received, the MMPTs are valuable to you. One thing is for sure, the research and process of writing them each week has changed my life and made me better.

On this Episode #199 of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I'll discuss the business plan that proved to me that the relationship based business model is time tested, will never go out style, ages beautifully and is the most cost effective approach to building, not just a predictable and enjoyable real estate brokerage business, but any kind of business. This business strategy is foundational and at the core of Take Flight. I will tell you the story, of how I personally discovered it, on today's episode.

On today's 198th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss a topic that I've never brought up on an MMPT but is a super important message for those broker/advisors that that strive to be an ELP/Super Achiever. When building a marketing, gifting or follow up strategy, you must deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. Delivering the wrong message to the wrong person at the wrong time is not effective marketing and brand building. In fact, you can actually do more harm than good.

On this 197th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, we'll dive deeper into the building out your CRM (database). On last week's episode, "Yes, you need a CRM!", we made the case that for you to run a business, a CRM is a non-negotiable. Today, I will take you through the steps on how to professionally build and optimize it. Let me just first say that just because you may have 1000's of names on an email list means doesn't mean you have a CRM. A large list has little to do in the overall success of your business. It's a starting point but have 1000's of people on a list with few quality relationships is not going to get you to your goals/vision. There are several steps you'll need to take to do the basic filtering method. We'll discuss those on this episode.

On this 196th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, we will take our first dive into Section 3, "The Cabin" of Take Flight V4.0 by discussing the basics of database and relationship management which is the overall topic of this section. The distinct line between having a real estate hobby and a real estate business is whether or not you have a database that stores all of the required information for each of your clients/contacts. A database, in technical terms, is called a CRM. (Customer Relationship Management). The industry definition: a customer relationship management (CRM) solution helps you find new customers, win their business, and keep them happy by organizing customer and prospect information in a way that helps you build stronger relationships with them and grow your business faster. The last 4 words of that definition is "grow your business faster". Key word: business. No mention of a hobby.

Today on this 195th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will continue with Take Flight V4.0 by transitioning into the 3rd of 5 sections of the program. We'll transition from "The Cockpit" (Mindset )and "The Tail" (Systems, Processes, Habits and Routines) into the "The Cabin" (Database and Relationship Management) where we will spend the remainder of the summer spanning 12 episodes. I want to make this transition by demonstrating that you need to truly understand "the math" in order to most effectively execute your business. I've always been drawn to the quantitative side of the business because "The Numbers Don't Lie". If you "control the math", you control your level of success

On this 194th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will do a high level review of "The Tail" of the Take Flight V4.0 set of episodes that I started 7 weeks ago. Systems, Processes, Habits and Routines are the tools that leverage the time and create sanity for anyone, in any industry to grow a business and live a centered life. In the end, that is what I've witnessed as being the goal for 95% of the brokers/advisors I've worked with over the years. I can only remember 1 person who told me that they literally would put their business first over having a life. Today, I will take you through the 7 stages I've witnessed ELPs and super achievers go through to turn chaos into opportunity.

On this 193rd episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will bring to you 10 tips that I've learned and used over the years to optimize the time I've spent towards my meeting my goals and serving the commitments of a crazy schedule. Sometimes it's not what you do with your time but what you don't do with your time and you'll see that as I got through my 10 tips today. The key word is "optimize" and that simply means to "make the best or most effective use of a situation". We all have 24 hours a day and 365 days a year that we need to make the most of so how do we "optimize" our time. Listen to this episode to get my 10 tips.

On today's 192nd episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, we continue with our journey through Take Flight V4.0 and hit on an incredibly important topic: the power of the multiplication of your time. Super achievers and ELPs deeply understand the value of time and know that one of the best ways to improve time efficiency is to build processes for tasks that are done over and over in your business. As real estate brokers/advisors, the steps in a transaction are relatively the same (depending on your market) and differ slightly based on the property and your client.

On today's 191st episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, we'll continue on the topic of Systems, Processes, Habits and Routines and I'll address the importance of learning from others that have already created that which you want to accomplish in your life and business. You are listening today because you want to reach higher levels of success, but might not know what to do next. Well, as the wise Jim Rohn said: "Success Leaves Clues", an outlook adopted by countless super achievers such as Tony Robbins and Darren Hardy. This philosophy encourages one not only find out what has already been done before them, but also take those lessons learned and use it to create their own unique path towards achieving greatness. By studying the successful people that have come before us, we can increase our chances at creating a life of abundance.

On today's 190th episode of my Monday Pep Talk, we will dive into the concept of 1%. A concept so simple yet the 97% find it incredibly hard to do. The process of getting to 30,000 feet does not happen overnight in fact, in most cases, it takes years of work to create a life and business that is in flow. Today, we'll dive deeper into the power of getting 1% better every single day.

On today's 189th episode of my MMPT and a continuation of Take Flight V4.0, we will continue our deep dive into systems, processes, habits and routines used by ELP's and super achievers. In Take Flight, we call that "The Tail", the part of the aircraft that creates stability. Today, I will cover one of the most important execution strategies that will have you playing on offense each day - the morning routine. Since I've started my journey 15 years ago, I can honestly say that my commitment to a Morning Routine is absolutely in the Top 3 things I've discovered that had an immediate , positive impact on my performance. Last week, I laid out the Top 10 Systems, Processes, Habits and Routines used by ELPs and super achievers. Playing on offense or better known to most as a Morning Routine was first on that list for a reason. I stumbled across this routine in 2008 when I couldn't sleep past 4:00 a.m. because of the effects of stress that would wake me up that early. At the time, I had no idea what a huge impact those early hours would have on my comeback.

On this 188th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will continue Take Flight V4.0 by starting the modules in Section 2 of this training program. 2 weeks ago, we wrapped up the modules that covered the areas like "The Mind", "Mindset", "Elimination", "Creating Your 3 Vision", "Developing a Planning Strategy" and "Daily Review of Your Vision". We referred to this as the "Cockpit" of your aircraft. In Section 2, we'll talk about areas that make up the "Tail". The tail of the aircraft provides that stability and lift needed to "Take Flight" and get to 30,000 feet. This second section of the course will take us through the majority of Q2 where you'll see tops discussed on Systems, Processes, Habits and Routines used by ELP's and super achievers to create businesses and lives that are predictable and enjoyable. They will help you stabilize your business so you can see the consistent growth in your business that you desire and take away the emotional peaks and valleys the 97% see regularly.

On today's 187th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will review the highlights of the first section of Take Flight V4.0: The Cockpit. The cockpit is where your mindset, your vision and your life and business planning resides. Over the last 5 MMPT's, we've gone deep into these topics. Each week, I introduced one or multiple GUIDING PRINCIPLES into the conversation. Guiding Principles" are defined by the BUSINESS DICTIONARY as any principles or precepts that guide an organization or business owner throughout its life in all circumstances, irrespective of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work. (If "Guiding Principles" is too serious of a phrase, you can also look at they as your "Guard Rails" that "keep the wheels on the road" ). Over this episode, I will do a quick review of the past 5 episodes that covered topics designed to help you better understand "The Cockpit". Each episode review will point out the GUIDING PRINCIPLES discussed on that call.

On this week's episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will take you through the process of choosing a daily strategy to stay focused on your destination, an essential part of Take Flight. Creating a "12 Week Year" tracking method displaying the different parts of your vision is a critical step in any goal attainment strategy. Personally, I like my goals stated in written word. I know a lot of people that are more visual. On today's episode, we'll explore the reasons why it's so important, how best to go about choosing and creating the right method for you and putting it into daily practice in your lives.

On this 185th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss the planning and action steps needed to make your "destination" a reality. If you commit to the planning process I am teaching today, it's not a matter of "if but when" you reach your 3YV (3 Year Vision). I'll cover the "periodization", the process of breaking goals down into smaller chunks, outlined in the book "The 12 Week Year" written by Brian Moran, the book that has become my goal attainment operations manual. Before we get into the details of today's episode, I want to review the last few weeks of content. On our tour through the "cockpit of the aircraft", we covered: 1. "The Mind" and the crucial need to understand how it works and impacts your life and business. If you've not listened to this episode, it's a must listen. Episode # 182 2. The need to go through an elimination process prior to any detailed focus of on your life and business. Go back and listen to Episode #183 if you've not already. 3. Vision. You have to have a destination for your "flight". If you don't know where you are going, what's the point. I covered that last week in Episode #184. Take Flight builds on itself each week. I try to write to present so that each session is a simple 20 minute episode. I'm using these MMPTs to show you the process, step by step how to build your business and improve your life. It's common for a broker/entrepreneur to want to skip these 3 areas and jump right into action but I have case study after case study of major personal and professional breakthroughs occurring in one's life by focusing on the areas covered throughout this set of episodes. So what is the “The 12 Week Year”? Listen to this episode for details.

On today's 184th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, we'll continue our tour through the cockpit as part of me leading you through Take Flight V4.0. As a reminder, the cockpit is the control center of your "aircraft" (business) and today I am going to teach you how best to "Chart Your Destination." Not sure any pilot moves an aircraft to the runway for takeoff without knowing the destination. Unfortunately, that's what most real estate brokers attempt to do in their business and life resulting in waves of peaks and valleys. In Take Flight V4.0, we refer to your destination as your 3 Year Vision. To have a "3YV" means you know what you want to happen in your life and business in 3 years. Napoleon Hill refers to it as “definite of purpose” in his epic book "Think and Grow Rich”. It describes the need to know what you want, how you want to feel and how you are going to obtain it and by what date. If you are not clear on THAT one thing, you most definitely will not get it. Most people, the 97%, naturally default to “pay the bills” to maintain survival mode. That’s the one thing everyone understands, the need to survive. It’s built into your brain as the natural default.

On today's 183rd episode of my MMPT and the 5th week of bringing you Take Flight V4.0, I will compare the actual physics behind AIR FLIGHT and how it compares to building a life and business that is in flow. There are elements of your life and business that must be considered and require attention and preparation before you can get truly serious about building your dream business. “The weight of the airplane determines how much lift and thrust it takes to get it off the ground”. As we move through Take Flight V4.0, I would compare "weight on an aircraft" to "stagnant, negative energy" we have in our mind and our environment. The less stagnant, negative energy you have in your mind and environment, the easier it is to get lift, gain altitude and create speed in our business. Your engines (lead generation and referral strategies) will have to provide less power to gain altitude.

On this 182nd episode of my MMPT, I will start a 7 week series on all things Mindset, Vision, Goals and Execution Strategy. In Take Flight V4.0, we refer to this as the "Cockpit" of the plane, the section of the plane that controls where you are going and how fast. You do not have a successful life and business, as you define it, unless you understand what I will discuss about "the mind" on this call. I think you'll understand by the end of it that this topic is not up for discussion or that you can simply decide to opt out. "Quantum Physics" is essentially the study of how energy moves its way through nature at the most fundamental level. Just like "gravity", you don't get to choose if it applies to you or not. It's nature. It's a law. This episode will be different from my normal style. I will take you through concepts that you need to know, first and foremost, as a human being. Further on in Take Flight V4.0, we'll talk more specifically about habits and rituals you can use to implement today's content. Obviously, I am not an expert on quantum physics but I understand them enough to know that I need to use them in my life as a strategy to become the best version of myself

On today's MMPT episode and Module #3 of Take Flight V4.0, I will compare CONSISTENCY in your business to FUEL for an aircraft. I'll make the point that if you do not create consistent effort in your life and business, you will not produce the needed momentum to get to 30,000 feet. It is at this point of Take Flight V4.0, that I ask for your commitment to implement the proven habits, rituals, systems and processes that I will teach in this course. Simply to be interested will result in the same reality you are experiencing today. What I will teach over the coming weeks and months, will not matter if you do not commit to the level of consistent effort to build your dream life and business.

On today's 2nd module of Take Flight V4.0, I will follow up last week's call where I defined TAKE FLIGHT as your basic operating system and today will take you through the 5 Sections of Your Business. For a business to fly at 30,000 feet (flow), all 5 of these sections need to be built for success and operating together in sync. During our time together during "Take Flight V4.0”, I will compare these 5 sections of a consumer based business to 5 different sections of a commercial aircraft. They are: Section 1: Mindset, Vision, Goals, Execution Strategy. Let's compare that to the Cockpit of your plane. Section 2: Habits, Rituals, Systems and Routines. Let's use this section as the tail of your plane. Section 3: Database and Relationship Management. This is the body of your plane that carries all of your relationships. Section 4: Lead Generation or your 3 Rocks of Marketing. This is wing #1. This wing and its engine is key in getting your business off the ground. Section 5: Deliver and Leverage. These are the systems and processes that create the experience during a transaction that result in introductions. This is wing/engine #2. The FUEL, needed to get your plane to 30,000 feet, should be likened to the consistent effort and skill executed in your business each day. Without consistent effort and skill, you will not achieve 30,000 feet, that feeling of flow where your business is working for you. Few will ever see 30,000 feet because they don't fully understand the foundational principles of building a business. Enter Take Flight 4.0, an updated multi week/month walk through all of these sections of your business. If you combine what I will teach over the coming weeks and months with consistent effort and skill, you will get to 30,000 feet.

On today's episode on my MMPT, I will start a series of calls that will take you through the most updated content of Take Flight, a course I've been teaching and coaching at Jameson Sotheby's International Realty for over 11 years which has been through multiple iterations. Today, I starting rolling out the 4th version (Take Flight 4.0). My goal has always been to take what I've discovered building and running my own businesses and what I've witnessed other using successfully to build their businesses. I will not teach anything that hasn't been proven to be successful in one form or another. Take Flight is not meant to replace any other training program. I created over the years to be the basic operating system that all other programs can "plug into". If you've listened to my MMPT's or been within my brokerage, some of this content will be familiar but it will updated. If so, you'll either be able to validate what is working for you or you can use these episodes as a reminder to take action. The term "Take Flight" was created in the spring of 2016 when I was on the tarmac in a plane headed to Grand Cayman with my family. It hit me that events that occur to get a jet to 30,000+ feet are incredibly similar to what it takes to get a business off the ground and in flow. Because of that epiphany, I named my course Take Flight and in 2020, I trademarked it. This course will benefit those in any industry that supports a client base made up of individual consumers

On this 178th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will give you the results of my most recent "thinking sessions" on the top of TIME. This topic comes up a lot this time of year as we start to execute the business plans we create for our 3 Year Visions, annual themes and quarterly initiatives. This episode will be based on questions I've asked myself and those that have been asked of me by others. My recommendation for this call is, that if you are not listening live, you make sure to listen to the audio. I will definitely expand on my thoughts on the call. First, I think we set the stage for how we look at time. You cannot manage time. You have to value time. The reason is that when time is gone, it's gone so therefore you cannot manage it. You can manage money because you can lose all of your money and make it all back and then some. With time, when it's gone, it's gone. So, we should change our language around it. I'm guilty of using Time Management as a description of the topic. We need to value time. It has equity.

On this first Monday Morning Pep Talk of 2023, I will discuss the importance of reviewing and documenting what the turbulent year of 2022 taught you . I did the exercise and I'll share with you what I experienced that was "validating" and what I hope to explore more in 2023. Explore means that I will "stress test" some philosophies further and others I will recommit to or fully implement into my execution strategy. My advice to you is, and I'm sure many of you have already done it, but is take 30 minutes to an hour, review your transactions and calendar and ask yourself the following questions: 1. What did I already know that was "Validated" in 2022? 2. What Am I Taking Into 2023 and that I will explore more? 3. What is the one thing that I will leave in 2022? You will glean a lot of insight taking this time to review.

On this 176th episode of my MMPT, I'll turn the lights off on 2022 with a list of helpful, simple yet productive tips you can use to end 2022 on the right note. Just like you'd give a client feedback after a showing of their property, you need to look at each day, week, quarter and year the same way. For the sake of this call, I'll give you some tips on what your focus should be as you wrap up 2022.

On today's 175th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss the difference between "service" and "hospitality" and how this topic could be the shift needed in your business in 2023 to increase client advocacy of your business. Super achievers in the world of real estate brokerage will tell you that 90% + of their business comes from one form of introduction or another. As you look at the word "service" it should be attached to a "transactional" business strategy. One who attempts to provide the highest level "hospitality" is thinking long term. They are running a "relationship" based business model.

On this 174th episode on my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I intend to fully define another "basic" needed to run a brilliant business and live a happy life: Guiding Principles. A GUIDING PRINCIPAL is born out a corporate philosophy are any principles or precepts that guide an organization throughout it life in all circumstances, irrespective of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work or the top management. So in a nutshell, guiding principles are guides. I've gone on to use them in my life as Action Statements, Challenges, Reminders and Decision Filters to "guide" myself and those of you listening to my content

On this episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss the necessity to commit to productive HABITS and RITUALS. One must realize, what the majority of super achievers have figured out, that massive action is not what makes them successful. What makes a super achiever successful is the tiny, daily, weekly habits and rituals, executed consistently over a long period of time. As James Clear states in his best selling book "Atomic Habits", "Habits are the compound interest of self -improvement" and he goes on to say that "getting just 1% better every day for a year will result in a 37.78 times improvement". This is why habits and rituals are a "basic" ingredient for success. Mix all of these ingredients together and you've got yourself a masterpiece. Habits and rituals have a key role in the recipe of success. They are the flour in cake recipe. If you do not implement productive and consistent habits and rituals, you will plateau and over time you'll take a step back.

On this episode, I will present my annual Thanksgiving week MMPT on the topic of GRATITUDE. Yes, and being GRATEFUL is a high performance BASIC. It's important for anyone, in any stage of growth to be grateful for where they are in that moment. High achievers measure and are grateful for their growth in the moment (Book Recommendation: The Gap and The Gain by ) instead of always delaying happiness to a future date. This industry has a way of programming us to only be happy if "we are #1". Super achievers practice GRATITUDE as a strategy.

On this 171st episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I’ll continue my series on “the basics” of what is required to perform at a high level; being an ELP/ super achiever. Last week, I talked about the need to create and maintain a MINDSET needed to navigate in and perform at a high level. On that call, I reiterated the need for a vision/goal to act as your NORTHSTAR to get you where you want to go in your life and business. Today, I will follow up with the next topic in the series and discuss EXECUTION. Execution is a really broad topic and to be successful, we have to execute. If you don’t wake up in the morning and get to work, you won’t survive. So yes, EXECUTION is everything and today I will talk about the 7 areas that I feel are pivotal if you want to play big. I’ll speak high level on these 7 areas and give you my book recommendations on each topic and which MMPT podcast episodes to go back and listen to for review in greater detail.

On this episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will start begin my series of topics I discussed on last week’s call that revolves around "the basics". Today, we tackle the topic of MINDSET. It should always be at the top of your area of focus but MINDSET is extra important during times of transition and change. I've presented on this topic consistently over the years but felt it was the topic I wanted to start with as I tackle the basics. It's important to consistently remind you how important it is to create and stay in the right mindset. As difficult as life and running a business can become, we have to set expectations with ourselves mentally in order to maintain a sense of productive flow. I will outline my strategies I've used to stay at a "frequency" that is in line with my personal and professional vision and goals.

On today's episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, my goal will be to remind you the importance of maintaining your focus on the "basics". Kobe Bryant said that "the best don't get bored with the basics". I was reminded of his quote listening to a Rory Vaden instagram reel this past week on my way to Day 2 of my first Ninja Installation. Having studied high performance daily, in one form or another, over the past decade plus, it sunk in that best of the best, the "super achievers", the ELPs are brilliant at the basics and they execute them with precise consistency. Meanwhile, many of you are searching for that next new thing that will motivate you or give you the edge. Trust me, it doesn't exist. The only thing that will give you the edge or motivate you stared at you in the mirror this morning. Like I mentioned earlier, I participated in my first Ninja Installation last week and as I watched Melanie Frank brilliantly teach the class. As I listened to her present the Ninja 9 and other Ninja principles, I wished I had experienced those 4 days in 2008 because it would have saved me a decade having to learn many of those basic principles on my own. Many of you listening have attended a Ninja Installation and I want to ask you a question: On a scale of 1-10, how consistent have you been with the Ninja 9 since you took the course; 10 being a master NINJA, 1 being that there is a layer of dust on your course materials? Ninja is the epitome of "the basics" needed to be successful in the world of real estate brokerage. That next new thing, for some of you, might be dusting your Ninja planner, reinstall your NINJA mindset and get to work.

On episode of my MMPT, the problem I want to help you solve is to assist you in creating a plan when you are struggling to find or re-find your "WHY". I was recently on a call with a broker who has seen good growth in her business, she feels good about where she is at in life but is struggling with that "blah" feeling. We agreed that she has not re-stablished a "North Star" after her latest round of personal and professional progress. I am personally passionate about this topic because I went through this process in 2021. I was in deep need of revising my life plan and my goals to find that extra gear that I knew I was missing. I subscribed to the 12WY model in 2021 and established my 3 year vision with a vision cycle that started in January of this year. Never have I achieved more is less time than I have already in 2022. Unfortunately, most high achievers want to grind it out and hope to land in an acceptable position robbing themselves with the satisfaction of setting a goal/vision and achieving it.

On today's Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will challenge you to prepare your mind and ready your habits, rituals, systems and processes for 2023. A year which will require an elevated version of you to hold serve or sustain continued growth. I am getting a lot of requests for private discussions concerning the state of the market and fears about next year and my message is consistent. The reality is that it will most likely be a challenging year for those who have not prepared properly. There will be headwinds, no doubt but that does not mean everyone will struggle. Many of you will have breakout years because of the effort put in during previous years. I personally love markets like this because they tend to highlight the true industry professionals. Hobbyists, looking for the easy and quick money, get exposed. So expect me as your leader, mentor, coach to put out a lot of "real talk" during this period of time. These markets are not for the faint of heart and require me to not sugar coat what it is going to take to survive and thrive

On this episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will be talking to those of you that came into Q4 2022 knowing that you need to some organization, that you need a plan and a renewed sense of commitment now that you stare down what is an obvious shift in the market. If your 12 Week Year vision is created, you've got your quarterly initiatives created and you've got momentum heading into the quarter, you can skip this call. Unfortunately, a lot of salespeople and entrepreneurs don't take the time to create a plan. Many of those that do take the time to plan, don't execute on that same plan that they created. If you fall into one of those two camps, it's time to "clear the calculator" back to zero. There is so much noise out there in the business planning arena that many don't even start. Personally, I remember downloading these 10 to 20 page annual business plan templates and never got past page #2. I struggled with the same challenge of getting focused. I just found a way to grind it out but now looking back, I wasted so much time. The key is to create intentional and strategic ACTION. I don't care what kind of action you create, just get moving. That action will create momentum and momentum is the goal. In the early stages of your planning, just focus on creating momentum. This is why the "sprint and celebrate" concept the 12WY process creates speaks to me. It keeps me focused on a deadline just 90 days out. If you subscribe to an annualized plan, change that language to "annualized theme" and break it down into quarters.

On this week's Monday Morning Pep Talk, we'll officially start the process of transitioning from Q3 2022 to Q4 2022. This week, the final week of September, is a "Week 13". In the 12 Week Year business planning model, you take this final week of the quarter to wrap up any loose ends towards your Q3 2022 plan and finalize your top initiatives for Q4. Your Q4 execution plan will be vital to how successful your 2023 will play out. On this call, I'll take you through the entire roadmap that you can use on every "Week 13". It's proven. It's simple

On this week's Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss exactly what I mean by "Happy Brokers Sell More Real Estate" and when I say "happy", I mean happy with their businesses and how it impacts the rest of their lives. Don't think for a minute that "Happy Brokers" are passive. They are not. They are incredibly intentional and strategic as to how the execute their life and business. They live a life and run a business through guiding principles. Guiding principles are a set of rules, boundaries and decision making filters that eliminate inefficiencies and bad choices. Can a broker get rid of all of the stress that comes from being in real estate brokerage? Absolutely not but they can insulate themselves from some of the unneeded and self inflicted stress. Being a real estate broker is stressful. It's tough. It's emotionally draining and that is the exact reason "why" we are still in business. It takes human, emotional intelligence to get a transaction between 2 principles across the finish line. If it was easy, we'd already be out of business looking for a different career. If it was easy there would be more than 10% success rate with agents after the first year. The other 90% quit because making a living in this business is incredibly difficult. Saying all of that, does a broker have to give their whole soul to the business to "earn" their commissions? NO. I've had the pleasure to have a front row seat to watch successful brokers completely flip this narrative. I've seen them increase their production and their profitability by making their happiness and the authentic success of their clients their top 2 priorities. Okay, so you're asking yourself, "yeah, Jim, that would be great but I just don't see it". Well, let me give you a few areas that these brokers have improved which has allowed them to optimize their income while being able to put more focus on living their lives. That's how I define "Happiness" in real estate brokerage. It's finding a way to fit your business into your life, not trying to fit your life into your business.

On this version of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will take you through how to use the "change in seasons" as a catalyst for productive change in your life and business. When the pumpkin lattes are back on the menu, the leaves start to fall and you start to add layers of clothing, it is a perfect time to take nature's queue to take time to rewind, review and prepare yourself to repeat what works in the coming months. It's also a time to improve your skills so you can better navigate to the normal/stable market we are trending towards. I've taken the last couple of weeks to take a break from writing but it didn't stop me from taking my own time to rewind and review. I thought deeply about the "season" we are entering. Many of you are anxious with all of the change in the market and I understand that but it is my goal to show you that if you get your mind right and execute directly into the changes, you will have a much more enjoyable, predictable and profitable business. As I took the last couple of weeks to "think", I journaled recurring thoughts, new ideas and concepts and strategies that will continue to be vital to navigate any market. In today's call, I will bring them to you. So bear with me as I give you a "brain dump" or better yet, let's call it "Fall Clean Up":

On this episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I want to start to put a wrap on the Summer 2022 real estate market and review what we've experienced over the last few months. The market has shifted dramatically and will move into a new chapter of the shift over the coming fall months creating opportunity for the prepared, focused and consistent real estate brokers. For those that have been in the industry for several of these real estate cycles, we know that "Shifts Happen" and we also realize that opportunity exists. Let's focus today on the opportunities.

On this coaching episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will take you through a concept that you can use to continue to shape your business while re-framing how to look at your Top 100, your warm list, your hot list and your referral partner list. It's in a line of MMPT's that focuses on questions around your marketing and operational strategies such as "Are You For Business?" (157) and "How Many People Are In Your Top 100?" (159) Today's MMPT starts with another question I have for you: "How many salespeople do you have in your business, that person or persons that actively promote you and your business?" Most entrepreneurs would scratch their head when asked this question, but at a minimum, there should be at least one, the owner of the business or in the world of real estate brokerage, the lead broker. Truly successful businesses have an army of "salespeople" that constantly promote the positive attributes of the business and actively refer and introduce.

On this episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will discuss the moment that I realized that consistent action would be my competitive advantage. In 2010, Darren Hardy published a book, "The Compound Effect" which has had a seismic impact on my life and business. In the early stages of teaching "Take Flight", I made it a mandatory reading assignment. In 2010, I was still deep in my "rebuild" and "The Compound Effect" outlined the philosophy of creating consistent effort over a long period of time which I immediately connected with primarily because I understood it an it was low cost, high impact and easy to implement. I was used to getting up and going to work every day. You will find in your self development and life journey that there are "mile markers", those moments that you remember vividly. The mile markers might be when you have a business breakthrough or a breakdown, maybe you received a meaningful piece of advice from a mentor or a read a book that impacted how you think. On this call, I will read an excerpt from "The Compound Effect" that was a mile marker for me. Hardy uses the "Pump Well" analogy to describe what can happen if you stay consistent and also what happens when you don't. This analogy really hit home for me because I grew up in a rural area and I experienced in real time the "pump well" .

On today's episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will fully define "Top 100" and why this collection of relationships is the only thing with long standing value in your business. It should be treated like an investment and managed like a long term financial asset. I will show you, if managed properly, how it will give you a predictable return on your time year in and year out. The Top 100 concept also perfectly addresses the "Law of Compensation" which states that your compensation equals the value you provide in your business x the number of people you provide that value. The stronger a Top 100 along with providing a continued higher level of service, one's compensation will increase. This "law" provides a spigot mechanism. You can turn the spigot higher or lower based on your life style choices and desires.

On the this episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will give you the basis for a business strategy for the coming weeks where most of society will be checked out during the heart of the summer. Normally the last 2 weeks of August are a "no fly zone" but that time frame could be extended this year. This collective reset is happening in every market, even the hottest markets like South Florida, Texas, Nashville and North Carolina. Transactions are still happening but at a much slower pace than we've seen over the last 18-24 months. My prediction is that velocity will pick up mid -September when most people get back to some form of a routine. So, the question is how do we navigate until then? What should be our focus? What should we be focused on during this extended "no fly zone"? 3 words: Protect The Downside Honestly it doesn't really matter what type of market we are experiencing, this strategy, "Protect The Downside", is a legitimate approach to operate your business. Let me explain, "Protecting The Downside" means simply avoiding taking a step back. We talk about getting 1% better every day which is a simple, balanced and effective approach to growth. The key is that you don't want to take a 1% step back. To stay on a consistent growth path, if you take 1% step back means that you need to make the 1% up the next day to get back to even. August 2022 could be a trap month if you don't intentionally execute. For example, 30 days straight of going 1% backwards mostly like will be lost never be caught up.

On this episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk (MMPT), I will challenge you to answer the question: "Are You Open For Business?". Most entrepreneurs will answer the question "YES!" without hesitation but with some deeper thought and analysis after today's call, some might change their answer. You know you are open for business, but do your clients and potential clients answer that question about you in the same way? During a coaching session this past week, an agent who is in the early stages of "re-imagining her business", said to me "I'm not sure that doing that level of transactions and volume can be done in my market." I went on do the math, compared her current business to what is possible if she implemented what we discussed, and then went back into my archives of "stories and metaphors" and explained my thoughts using my "Are You Open for Business?" metaphor. She commented after my explanation how much this "reframing" changed her view. I explained to her that "Sometimes you have to get out of your own way and look at your life and business in a different way". Because it had such an impact on her, I want to share it will all of you today.

On this episode, I will discuss why "Words Matter". Having had time over the last 2 weeks for Mus-ing: (noun: a period of reflection or thought), I've collected my thoughts and will bring you today what I've been thinking about and some consistent questions I've been answering. Musing, not a word I use a lot but will more in the future now that I've researched the true meaning, is the first of 10 words that I will explore today, explain their meaning in context or give the relevancy of these words in discussions I've been having with many of you.

On this episode, I will lay out the importance of building time into your schedule to rewind, review and relax. The next 2 weeks, because of the 4th of July holiday, might just be the best time in recent memory to review your business, your life and what you've learned over the last 2 years. Some of you just completed my Take Flight course and came away with strategies that can be implemented to take advantage of the opportunities that will present themselves in this shifting market. We are starting Week 13 of the 2022 Q2, 12 Week Year cycle which suggests that we should be reviewing our results of the previous 12 weeks, celebrate our accomplishments over that period of time and prepare to launch into 2022, Q3.

On this MMPT, I will take the time to editorialize what I am seeing in today's shifting market based on conversations I am having with agents locally and with agents and leaders throughout in the US and Canada. I also have several trusted news sources that I value their research on all things housing economics and I'll share some of their thoughts and predictions as well. I can only talk about that which is based on what we know today, what we think we know and give you a game plan on how to navigate the remainder of this month and Q3. At a minimum, you should come away with some talking points that you can use with your buyers and sellers.

On this MMPT, I will take the time to editorialize what I am seeing in today's shifting market based on conversations I am having with agents locally and with agents and leaders throughout in the US and Canada. I also have several trusted news sources that I value their research on all things housing economics and I'll share some of their thoughts and predictions as well. I can only talk about that which is based on what we know today, what we think we know and give you a game plan on how to navigate the remainder of this month and Q3. At a minimum, you should come away with some talking points that you can use with your buyers and sellers.

On this episode, I want to teach you how to use simple, easy to access and cost effective tools to build an automated, highly functioning and efficient life and business. Many times, you waste opportunities or create unnecessary issues simply because you forget, or a follow up slips your mind or you get distracted and miss an opportunity. You can easily fix the vast majority of these issues and lost opportunities if you simply take the time to build in systems of reminders into your daily planning method. A characteristic of Elite Level Producers (ELPs) is that they understand their weaknesses and are good a delegating out tasks below their PPH (profit per hour) and automate anything that can be automated. I will paint a picture of what is possible if the time, focus and effort is put towards 4 distinct areas of your life and business: 1. Transaction Management and Business Processes 2. Relationship and Database Management 3. Personal Finance 4. Household Logistics As you contemplate your quarterly initiatives within the "12 Week Year" process, most of the ideas I present you today would be high impact, easy to execute and low cost opportunities that you could focus on in upcoming quarters. If implemented, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor for months and years to come.

On this episode, I want to go a little bit deeper into the most underutilized, powerful asset we have at our disposal to live an amazing life and build an enjoyable and predictable business - the mind. The mind, just like software, is programmable. It is up to the individual to consciously program their mind and it can be programmed through the books we read (or don't read), the people we have in our immediate circle and the types of media we consume on a daily basis. There is no easy path to reach our vision and it takes intentional effort and a plan to achieve it. Studies (Harvard MBA study of 1979) have shown that 84% of people have no goals and no plans of action, 13% have goals but no documented plans, only 3% have goals and written plans of action to live the life they want to live and become the person they want to become. This study demonstrated 10 years later that the 3% made 10x more in revenue than that of the remaining 97% combined. The 3% we refer to as an ELP (elite level producer). This is why I beat the drum so loud for a planning process like the #12weekyear process. What does the plan of an ELP consist of? It's starts a commitment and a shift in mindset. As an ELP chases a goal/vision with a plan of action, it learns things along the way that are crucial to the long term trajectory of the ELP's life and business. For today, let's refer to it as the 3% mind. The 3% mind layers in philosophies and actions, unrelenting execution and seeks out others with experience and mentorship. On this episode, I'll give you some of those characteristics I've uncovered that makes the 3% mind unique

On this episode, I will discuss how to make the best decisions for you, your business and how to create the most effective and efficient ACTION to meet your goals and vision. There's a lot of pressure on your time so you need to make the most of the hours that you have on a daily basis. I will lay out several decision making formulas that will help you analyze which projects should take priority. First, you need to understand that you are the only one that will ever be motivated to grow YOUR business. To grow your business, you have to get really good at knowing which initiatives and tasks to eliminate and then you need to evaluate what can be automated and delegated. Those remaining tasks, projects and initiatives will be on your personal job description. The longer I'm around, I have realized that the ability to make good decisions might just be the most underrated skill an entrepreneur can possess especially as it relates to your time. Time is the only commodity that you cannot replace. When it's gone, it's gone. Choose wisely.

On this episode, I will make my case that being disciplined in your systems, processes, habits and routines is the key to all sustained success in every aspect of your life both professionally and personally. I will compare it to motivation, based in emotion, that comes and goes and does not create the needed consistency to play at a high level with the least amount of effort. I talk to agents all day long. My role is that of a problem solver whether it be having to be a "deal doctor", a business coach and in many situations, a life coach. I hear it all. So, I come to you today with a lot of data points both from my personal experience and from being in a front row seat as I observe others go from struggle to a success. Here's what I have learned about the transformation process: The initial stage of disciplined action creates sprouts of success. One repeats what works, so the actions that created the success are continued. The consistent repetition of the successful actions become an "addiction" out of fear of losing momentum. Once one is "addicted to the process" that creates the desired result, the body (bio rhythms) and the subconscious take over. At this point, one is naturally motivated and doesn't need the daily dopamine drips of the social feeds of thought leaders, podcasts and audiobooks to "get fired up" for the day. I don't mean that one should throw the self- development to the side, quite the opposite actually. In fact it's crucial to learn from the thought leaders, podcasts and audiobooks to improve your skills and gain insight so you can add more value. You need to rely on discipline because motivation comes and goes. Motivation is based in emotion. If you don't "feel it" that day, you don't execute. 1 day becomes 2, 2 days becomes a week and before you know it, it's been six months since you created the necessary action to "plant seeds". Three to six months after that, there is no harvest because you didn't plant the seeds. At this point, you get nervous/anxious and you go plant a bunch of seeds hoping that some of them will be ready for harvest immediately. It doesn't work like that. To even out the peaks and valleys in your business, you need a disciplined approach.

On this episode, I will discuss how you need avoid "the noise" that occurs during a shifting market and how to create the action needed to set up your business for a productive Q3 and Q4 2022 and build momentum going into 2023. There is no doubt that you've started to see the signs of a shifting market. In Chicago it's not been as obvious as in other parts of the country because we were somewhat late to the party. Some markets have seen a 75%-100% increase in prices over the last year and buyers in those markets are starting to "sit it out" and will wait for a more normalized market. These markets I'm talking about are resort and second home markets. In primary home markets, there is still a lot of demand and velocity. With home prices and rental prices both increasing in primary markets, there is no good exit strategy out of the housing market for those buyers. Either way, the shift has started in 2nd home and resort markets will make it to other markets in the next 6-12 months. In a way, this is actually good news. For top, skilled brokers, we need a more efficient market to allow for transactions for all of our clients. A better flow of inventory allows for "right sizing" buyers to enter the fray who can't or won't pay cash and waive all contingencies. With all of this being said, I cannot remember a better time to educate and set expectations with your clients. You need to stay ahead of the narrative. The media, in needs of "clicks" are going to be pounding the drum of the pending doom for the housing market. So this is how the "noise" is generated. Advertisers pay networks and media outlets when someone pays or clicks on their ad or an article that hosts their ad. My favorite: "Surging Interest Rates push mortgage demand down more than 40% from a year ago" (CNBC, April 6, 2022). This headline disregarded the fact that most of that mortgage demand was with refinances and that an increasing amount of purchase transactions were cash. The 40% implied wrongly that the housing market was struggling. Not true. Jameson is up 36% in volume year over year.

On this episode of my MMPT, my goal is to prove to you that your next big breakthrough is a just a decision and some inspired action away from becoming a reality. In the grandparent of all self development books, "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, Hill was charged with interviewing and investigating the success methods 500 of the most successful business people, politicians, inventors, writers and leaders of industry of his time. In the book, he writes about his findings and tells short parables on examples of how these people became successful. One of my favorite stories is when he describes what has been termed "3 Feet from Gold". This story is about the uncle of R.U. Darby, who went to Colorado to dig and get rich. He hit a gold vein and decided to go back east and raise money from family and friends to extend his mining operation. Once the money was raised, he went back to the mine, started back up his mining operation only for the vein of gold to disappear before the profits could pay back his debt. Darby decided to quit and sold the mining equipment to a junk man for a few hundred dollars. The "junk man" hired a mining engineer to come in and evaluate his investment and provide advice. The engineer said that the mine had failed because the owners were not familiar with fault lines. His calculations showed that the vein could be re-found just 3 feet from where Darby had stopped drilling. That is exactly where the vein was found. The junk man took millions of dollars of gold ore out of the mine. Darby learned his lesson never again to give up. After learning that lesson, he became one of the most successful insurance salespeople of that time and paid all of his debt back to his friends and family. Lesson learned: Never give up. Your breakthrough is right in front of you.

Today, I want to remind you how important it is to create and stay in the right mindset. As difficult as life and running a business can become, we have to set expectations with ourselves mentally in order to maintain a sense of productive flow. I will give you a glimpse into the strategies I've chosen to stay at a "frequency" that is in line with my personal and professional goals. I realized in 2010 after listening to an interview that Joe Stumpf, with By Referral Only, had with John Assaraf. John is a successful entrepreneur and author who started in real estate brokerage at age 18 and over the years built 5 multi-million dollar companies. He was featured on the movie, "The Secret" and now runs a company named "Neurogym", a digital education company focused on helping people create a high performance mindset. It was during that interview that I realized how important the mind was to "winning". I've been a student of the "inner game" since that day and credit my ability to stay at a frequency in line with my goals as the main reason I am where I am at this stage of my life after a getting a late start. I don't worry about the future. I truly feel and know that if I execute on my goals and plan, it's not a matter of "if " but a matter of "when" that I will reach them. It requires a calm and focused mind to maintain that type of commitment to yourself.

In this episode, I will discuss the importance of the clear, educated mind needed to really navigate this market and win. Not just for your clients but for you the broker. Any confusion or lack of understanding will create hesitation, regret and inaction. 3 traits you want to avoid at all times. "The CONFUSED MIND SAYS NO." 2 weeks ago, one of our original founders of Jameson, Harry Huzenis joined our commercial meeting. Harry has been in real estate brokerage, development and investments for over 4 decades and has transacted in the billions. He was discussing the current state of the real estate market and made an incredibly eloquent comment as it relates to the current mindset of our clients. He said "A confused mind says no" and went on to explain that if you do not educate your clients on the market "in the moment" in a way that they understand it, the will not have the right information to make a good decision. The market conditions are getting more difficult for buyers due to lack of inventory, rising interest rates and a broader increase in inflation. You and your clients will start to hear the clickable, drum beat of an impending housing crash and so it is imperative to explain what is truly happening in your micro market in the moment

On today's episode, I want to redefine my definition of what it means to "Sprint and Celebrate". In essence, "Sprint" means that you have a defined period of time when you execute with intention. "Celebrate" means that you commit to taking a period of time to power down and enjoy after a "Sprint" to celebrate your accomplishments, rewind, review and plan the next sprint. I will unpack this definition and show you the importance of how you use this strategy to get the most out of your days, weeks, quarters and your year. We know if you win each quarter, your 3 year vision is almost mathematically impossible not to achieve. I write this for all of you that just feel at the end of your rope after being constantly pulled a million directions. Some of you are the primary bread winner, chef, driver and COO for your family. Outside of your immediate family, you've got your extended family and friends that need attention. Oh, and that pipeline of clients that need to buy something and there is nothing currently available to show them. They are looking for you to be the solution to their needs. It's a lot. (You're not alone) I'm just calling it like I see it because I get the 911 calls. "Jim, there has to be a better way?" Yes, there is! but step 1 is committing to doing things different. You've got to scrap the entire playbook and start over. For some, this is a scary proposition. I'm going to discuss a specific playbook today that I've seen work wonders for that person I just described a few seconds ago but also for that agent that has been in brokerage for a while and hasn't consistently met their goals. You might be new to the business and want to get it right from the beginning. Do I have your attention? For 15 minutes, I want you to mute the outside pressures, take a deep breath and just listen intently to what I have to say. I'll send you the notes and you can go back and listen. Today, I'm going to teach you how to "Plan, Sprint and Celebrate". I use this daily, weekly, quarterly strategy in my own life and it works.

On today's episode, I will discuss how important your reputation is in your overall ability to execute at a high level for your clients. I will also define the word influence : a nuanced approach to procuring more opportunities. These topics are not discussed nearly enough in our industry. I'll make my best attempt to address it today. Let's start with reputation. In today's market, it's widely understood that most listings priced right and marketed correctly, will have multiple offers. In many cases, the terms are similar and the differentiating factor becomes the agent and in some cases, their brokerage. If an agent has a reputation of being difficult and untrustworthy, that will 100% factor into seller's decision, as it should. If you have a reputation of being fair, easy to work with, collaborative, responsive and skilled, those traits will benefit you.

On this episode of my MMPT, I will discuss the advice I've been giving agents on how to position themselves for our "new normal" in the real estate market . The market has shifted. You know it. I know it but now what? What tools and skills are needed? What mindset is needed? How do you navigate this market while keeping your sanity? Today, I will give you my thoughts and help you lay out the basic groundwork to build your quarterly business plans around for the foreseeable future.

On this call, I want to take you through the documented, economic factors that are impacting today's real estate market and give you some "Talk Tracks" to use use in your conversations with your clients. These talk tracks will allow you to set expectations with your buyers and sellers which will make the process as manageable as possible for you and them. It's an extremely competitive market which is really difficult to navigate. It will be much more difficult if you and your clients don't fully understand the economic factors driving the craziness.

Today, I want to further explain this metaphor "Plant in the Spring. Harvest in the Fall" in a way you've never heard me explain it. Within this explanation, I will give you techniques to pivot to the new normal in real estate brokerage. That new normal is "low inventory" and because of this new normal, I want to make sure you are "planting the right seeds"? I've used the metaphor "Plant in the Spring. Harvest in the Fall" to explain the Law of Gestation for your business. Gestation is defined as a set time, incubation or gestation, for every seed (physical or spiritual) - a specific span of time it needs to follow to come into a physical form. The Law of Gestation is needed to explain the importance of patience, which is a mindset that we as brokers/entrepreneurs struggle with consistently. We want things NOW especially in this instant gratification world we live in. Today, I am going take you through this metaphor in great detail in hopes that you have some major take aways from it.

If there was ever a call that represents my purpose, it's this week’s MMPT. I want to introduce to you a "Life Hack" I’ve recently added that will help you survive the craziness of this industry you undoubtedly experience throughout the year. This simple , annual planning process can provide you the necessary downtime required to thrive personally and professionally. I wish I would have used it earlier in my life.

On this episode, I will answer the question: "Jim, how do I get out of this rut?" This week I want to make a final attempt to give you some simple steps to create momentum needed to build a business that is predictable and enjoyable and I want to prove it to you using a simple mathematical equation

On this call, I want to define for you the difference between having a real estate business vs. a hobby. It starts with a mindset shift. Recently, I re-read the book, "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber where he "walks you through the steps in the life of a business, from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to a mature entrepreneurial perspective......" If you struggle with where you are on this continuum, I highly recommend you read this book. It re-emphasizes the need for what I do as a coach, mentor and leader. It also pushed me to cover with you again my opinion on where a real estate broker crosses the line from a hobby into the realm of running a real estate business.

Team, on today’s call, I will lay out "My 15 Minute Daily Planning Method" that has helped me stayed organized and consistent as my span of control/responsibilities have grown. This planning method will help you stay in touch with your clients on a regular basis, remind you of the tasks that you do regularly, schedule your day in advance and limit your need to “think” about what you need to do to stay on top of your life and business. This planning method requires preparation up front (we call this "multiplication method") and effort for it to work as efficiently as I have it set up. If set up properly, it will save you hours upon hours of time over the long haul and will make your daily planning efficient and complete. It also requires a different mindset. If you want to reach a new level in your life and business, you've got to change between the ears first and foremost.

Today, I want to discuss a concept I use to stay focused on my current initiatives and give you the tools that I use to stay consistent in my efforts to run my brokerage offices and coaching business while making my family a priority. If you know me well, you know I like "simple", I like "boutique" and down deep, I just want to live a peaceful yet productive life. I've put in a lot of boundaries that protect that type of lifestyle and I say "hell no" way more than I say "hell yes".

Today, I want to explain the difference between brokers who are consistent in their effort and those who are not. Those that are consistent execute specifically designed systems, processes, habits and routines. The reality is that I've seen brokers with less "talent" produce at a high level because they are consistent in their efforts. In every case, that consistency is supported by a system, process, habit or routine. They don't necessarily work harder than others , in fact, in most cases they don't. They put the time in up front and built their systems, processes, habits and routines and they execute them every day. These systems, processes, habits and routines support the most important parts of their business especially as it relates to business development. They don't make client contact just when their pipeline is low and they need to drum up business. They have a process that keeps that flow of activity pulsing through their business. The powerful thing about being consistent is that it creates an aura around you and your business that you can be trusted, that you will be there when needed and can relied on to handle a transaction. For you, the broker, it takes away stress. When you have systems, processes, habits and routines to support your business, you sleep better at night. You know down deep that if you just execute, the business will be there. You don't worry about the how and if. Getting up and hoping the phone will ring is not a process. Remember, "Hope is not an action plan".