Follow Through

This is Action Principle #4 – Follow Through

Follow through is that wonderful quality of the successful person – that says

I not only promise

But I DELIVER

You can count on me

As a parent, as a teacher, as a businessperson

I will be there

Even if later I find that I have to work a little harder than I thought or take a little less –

You don’t have to worry –

I will be there

Let me tell you a little story about Vivian – one of the greatest real estate brokers that I ever met –

Vivian was an old lady –

She had a small one room real estate office –

the walls were lined with file cabinets –

she had another old lady who answered her phone

And she had her husband Al – who was also old and had arthritis and was kind of bent over –

Two old ladies and an old man in a one room office –

and they made MORE money in the real estate business – thenTWO dozen – average real estate agents – over a million dollars every year

In those file cabinets, was personal information on all of her clients – names, and names of children and birthdays and anniversaries

Here is what Vivian did –

For every occasion, Vivian sent a card

she specialized in the sale of waterfront properties in two towns on Cape Cod in Massachusetts –

no more than a few hundred homes –

She knew EVERYTHING there was to know about those homes –

Who owned them – when they bought them – what they paid –

She went out of HER way to meet every one of those owners and to pledge personal service to them –

Almost all of those people – owning waterfront homes – were wealthy – some only using the homes for a few vacation weeks a year –

The rest of the year –

should they worry? – NO –

Vivian was on the lookout for any problems

over the years – Vivian developed such trust with them – she had keys for most of the homes –

before the owners arrived for vacation –

Vivian would check the houses and put milk and juice in the refrigerator –

If work had to be done on the house, contractors could get the keys from Vivian –

If you needed to be picked up at the airport – call Vivian and she’ll send Al

There was never any charge for these services –

Today, when I teach real estate agents about selling real estate – I will tell them the Vivian story – and you can see their eyes glaze over –

File cabinets? What are they? Today’s agents have automated contact management programs – who needs file cabinets?

Today, in those two towns on Cape Cod – there are at least six offices trying to do what that one little old lady used to do with her old secretary and her old husband.

Write a Personal Mission Statement

Write a Personal Mission Statement - This is Action Principle #3

A mission statement is your grand vision of the person you aspire to become -

who are your heroes?

Who are the people who have done or are doing what you want to do -

study them -

In business, I like Richard Branson and Jack Welch

In real estate, William Zeckendorf and, of course, Donald Trump

In the martial arts Bruce Lee and Morehi Ueshiba

In religion, Bishop Sheen, Thomas Merton, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II

There are many books BY and ABOUT all of my heroes -

I don't have to listen to anyone tell me what I can or can't do -

I choose my heroes as my own life teachers - examples on how I want to behave

I have one life to live and for me

all things are possible.

What others have done, I can do

How lucky I am to have this optimism

Take your quiet time - write your goals - divide and conquer - and start studying your heroes -

I mentioned famous people but if you choose to look, there are many wonderful role models all around you

You see and you think ...

Wow, Bob really is a great father

Susan is a remarkable investor

Tom is in top shape

Mary really has really wonderful sense of style

As time goes by -

and as you think and as you act like your heroes -

a wonderful thing will happen -

you will become more and more like them -

Divide and Conquer

Divide and Conquer

This is Action Principle #2 -

As Action Principle Champions -

We aren't average -

we think BIG

Take each BIG goal and divide it into a series of manageable steps -

White belt to black belt - there are10 steps,

white, orange, purple, blue, blue with a green stripe, green, green with a brown stipe, three degrees of brown and you are ready to test for your black belt

You want to become a Hollywood agent - you start in the mail room - you observe and you go for coffee - you listen - you learn and move up

You want to become a multi-millionaire in real estate - you need six properties - you buy one - fix it up - flip it - buy two - keep one - flip one - in a short period of time - you have 6

You want to run a marathon - week one - you WALK around the block, week two - you RUN around the block - week three - you run around TWO blocks - then, you join a track club - then you run five miles and then ten and on to 26.1

You are a person committed to action - step by step by step - you divide and you conquer.

Success.org

Success.org on Success – One Day at a Time 

This is an entry on my sister blog about "Success - One Day at a Time." Success.org is such a valuable tool that it simply cannot go unnoticed. Check it out and while you're at it please subscribe to Success - One Day at a Time. Thanks, Tom

Set Goals

Set Goals - The Action Principles®

The first of the Action Principles and perhaps the most understated and misunderstood. I know I have often poo-poo'd this concept as every success and motivational teacher tells us this is the first step to success. Gee! I wonder why? Maybe because it works?

Let's get started and make this work in all that we do whether financial, spiritual or physical. Remember they all work together for a fully successful life.