You want to get from point A to point B.
Pretty much sums up life, business, and your personal journey, right?
Where to start?
A question I ponder when I consult with real estate agents, mortgage professionals, entrepreneurs, or anyone trying to grow their business, career, personal life, etc.
Because that’s the proverbial million-dollar question.
Where should I start?
It’s a difficult question.
Because the “correct” answer is variable and nuanced by the personal situation at hand.
The difficulty of this basic question is often why people choose to “not start” at all.
They “start” by “not starting.” Yeah, it doesn’t make much sense, I know.
So, in my book, the first thing you must decide if you want to get from point A to point B is simple – it’s to start!
Next comes the hard part – what should I do first?
Well, the good news is that there is a basket of “right things” that will get you on the road to progress, but the sequence matters too.
From my experience, (including my very own!), people often start with the wrong thing(s), get frustrated, stressed, and then give up too soon…
…ending up exactly where they “started.”
And while persistence is a noble virtue, it’s only effective when you’re doing the right things, otherwise, you’re stuck in the same doom loop.
That’s why I’m a huge proponent of…
…THINK…
…then DO.
A concept exposed in Napoleon Hill’s seminal classic “Think and Grow Rich.”
Too many of us are impatient and want to get moving fast on whatever journey we’re on in life – but it pays (money, time, energy, effort, and eventual yield) to spend the appropriate time to first understand the “rules of the game” and the fundamentals so you can travel in a straight line and reach your destination quicker.
Peter Drucker sums it perfectly:
“There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.”
You could unpack a master’s degree in business strategy with that one quote alone.
Let’s face it – the business world is a tough place, and it’s getting harder every day…
…because today’s world is filled with too many choices, too many offers, too many shiny objects, too much noise, too much social distortion, and too much misinformation.
The result – ambivalence, uncertainty, and sheer overwhelm.
So, we choose to not start – or, if we do start – we grasp at straws at what to do next and hope for the best.
But this keeps us stuck, as we start doing what should not be done in the first place.
We waste precious time, energy, focus, effort, and resources.
And worst of all, we seldom get to where we want to go…
…because you can’t get there from here.
Know what I’m saying?
“Okay,” you say, so where should I start?
Start with a clear understanding of your “point B,” your desired destination or outcome, and reverse engineer from there.
Sure, there are plenty of ways to get there, but why take the long and windy road when you can shorten the distance and eliminate unnecessary obstacles, constraints, and stress along the way?
Think in terms of straight lines.
Focus on activity versus outcome…
…make sure that activity is consistent and frequent…
…because activity creates forward movement…
…and forward movement creates momentum…
…and momentum self-perpetuates and creates a multiplier effect.
But wait, ‘you still haven’t answered the question of where to start, Warren!’ – you ask.
Why?
Because to answer it would imply the answer would be the same for everyone – and that’s precisely the wrong place to start.
And beware the smartie pants ‘go-roos’ out there…
…only idiots, charlatans, self-appointed experts, and misguided sales buzzards prescribe the same antidote for everything…
…while trusted advisors do the opposite.
They seek to understand the problem you’re trying to solve first and foremost, and then engineer and architect the path forward from there.
But, to give you an example, let’s say you’re a real estate agent.
The first thing I would ask you is to describe the “current state” of your business and then describe the “desired state” – where exactly do you want to go?
Because I’d want to know how you define success in the first place.
Is it more time off, more money, less stress, building a big business?
Again, lots of nuances to uncover first so we can reverse engineer from there.
Once we understand “where we’re going,” we’ll start to outline the “activity” required to get us moving on the right path forward.
The good news, the fundamentals for growth don’t change.
Because, if you’re trying to create “motion” – you’ll need accelerants.
Like consistent activity that is focused on the specific levers that activate growth.
Then we’ll look for force multipliers that use the power of leverage to “do more and require less.”
Next, we’ll apply the 80/20 rule for optimization.
And then we’ll put it in a simple business plan that you can follow.
A personalized plan that is filled with purposeful activity that you can do every day, every week, month after month.
And now that you have a plan and navigational map that is leading you to your intended destination, you’ll be less stressed, more excited, and passionate about your journey – because that’s where success happens…
…in the journey.
If you’re a real estate agent, mortgage professional, small business owner, or anyone who needs help getting to your “desired state” – I would love to be of service.
Drop me a comment and we’ll find the best way to get in touch.
In the meantime, stay unruly out there.
