On this edition of “Keeping It Real,” a recurring series on Inman, Peter Lorimer talks through conquering the overwhelming feelings that go along with a career in which you need to wear many hats simultaneously such as real estate.
We all get overwhelmed. It’s natural. As real estate agents, we have many facets to our business — it can feel like you are standing in front of a mountain. Or an elephant.
How does one consume an elephant? One bite at a time.
My approach to kicking overwhelm where it hurts starts with understanding what success means. To me, success is more about being of service to those in my sphere and contributing something to their lives.
Once you wrap your head around what success means to you, it’s time to start eating that elephant.
Break your day into digestible chunks of time. For example:
- For the first hour, focus only on emails.
- For the next hour, set a goal, and send out a certain number of listings to clients.
- After that, spend one hour on marketing.
- And so on …
The idea here is to not focus on what you’re doing later in the day. The idea is to focus on exactly what you are supposed to do for the next hour. Nothing more, nothing less.
When you’re in action, work — and work hard. You might start off without a clue as to what you’re doing. If you feel like I just described you, my late father offered some sage advice that you might find helpful: “Immerse yourself in your industry completely, and then you will receive the education you want.”
Focusing on service and immersing yourself in your industry will become immensely helpful in warding off the ugly monster of mediocrity. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you want to steer clear from becoming mediocre. If that’s true, I urge listeners to give everything you have, to run as fast as possible toward your real estate career. Give it everything for 12 months.
Run hard.
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed (and really, who doesn’t feel that way sometimes?), my podcast surrounding how to move past “I can’t do this” and into “How can I help?” is a great listen. Tune in above for more on tackling can’t-do feelings.
How do you stay ahead in a changing market? Inman Connect Las Vegas — Featuring 250+ experts from across the industry sharing insight and tactics to navigate threat and seize opportunity in tomorrow’s real estate. Join over 4,000 top producers, brokers and industry leaders to network and discover what’s next, July 23-26 at the Aria Resort. Hurry! Tickets are going fast, register today!
Thinking of bringing your team? There are special onsite perks and discounts when you buy tickets together. Contact us to find out more.
Peter Lorimer is the CEO of Beverly Hills, California-based PLG Estates.
