Ah, motivation. I'm sure I'm not alone in having gone to seminars where the goal seems to be getting everyone hyped up to the max, ready to go out and conquer the world.
Trouble is, when you get home again, there's still bills to pay, a boss you can't stand, and the cat needs to be fed. Life goes on. And that hyped up feeling of being on top of the world? Disappears completely after being up at 3am with a child who threw up all over their bed.
The personal development guru, Mel Robbins, has it covered. Her belief? Motivation is garbage. Or at least, the idea we're sold by so many, of needing to be in some kind of manic, hugely pumped-up motivated state in order to get anything done, is garbage.
The good news is that the secret to getting things done is much simpler, and it's a trait Mega Successful Property Developers have in abundance.
So what's the trait you need? It's self-motivation. Now, I can already hear you complaining. "Wait a minute! You just said motivation was garbage! All you've done is add the word 'self' in front of it and suddenly it's okay?"
Hear me out on this one. For starters, let's look at a definition of the word motivation: 'a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way'. Read that definition a few times and let it sink in.
It's talking about WHY you're doing something. It doesn't say getting hyped up, then jumping up and down on a couch in enthusiasm (sorry Tom Cruise). The problem isn't that motivation is garbage - it's the interpretation of the word that's at fault.
And look, I get it. There are gurus around the world making squillions out of hyping people up. Sometimes it even works, although for how long is debatable. There's a whole industry devoted to perpetuating this type of motivation.
It makes sense really. We spend the earlier part of our lives having other people telling us what to do and when to do it. We go to school between certain hours every day. Our parents organise after-school activities and playdates for us. They tell us when we have a family party to go to.
This pattern continues on through teenage years, even into university - when's that homework or paper due? What time are our classes? As we move into young adulthood we do gain some control, although for too many people our time just starts getting controlled by an employer instead of a school.
The problem is, the things we really want to do, for example becoming a Property Developer - nobody's telling us when and where to do those things. Nobody says your suburb analysis needs to be completed this week, or you must call five agents today or you won't get paid.
Basically, nobody's going to crack a whip over your head and demand you do something. You have to do that for yourself. And we've been trained all our lives to respond to the demands and deadlines of other people, instead of setting them for ourselves.
And that's why developing the trait of self-motivation is such a crucial part of becoming a Mega Successful Property Developer. You have to crystallise your own reason WHY you want to achieve certain things, then make it happen. Nobody else is going to do that for you - you need to kick yourself in the bum. Successful property developers rely on discipline, consistency and accountability far more than temporary bursts of motivation.
Self-motivated people are more inclined to trust the process. They know the answer to the question "how do you eat an elephant?" They recognise that if they just do the work, the results will happen. They set goals, they break the work down into manageable chunks and then allocate time to complete each one.
But they take it one step further - they make it happen. For example, you know you're not at your best late at night, so you decide it makes more sense to go to bed earlier and get up before everyone else in the morning to give yourself an hour to do suburb research.
When that alarm goes off, what do you do? If you're self-motivated, you get up and go and do exactly what you planned to do. If you're not, you hit the snooze button and go back to sleep.
It's been a busy day at work, you've just had dinner and you're now flaked out on the couch. The episode you're watching finishes and... if you're self-motivated, you turn it off and go and work on becoming an Area Expert. In fact, you use watching an episode of your favourite show as a reward for achieving the goals you set yourself.
One of the fastest ways to build momentum in property development is to create small daily habits that move your goals forward consistently.
Self-motivated property developers also keep their eye on their WHY. They know they've got to keep doing the work to get the results, because the cost of not doing so is too great.
Look, I'm not saying any of this is easy. It takes discipline and practice. Many people find having an accountability partner makes it easier to be self-motivated. This is someone you check in with on a regular basis to review your progress.
Personally, I think accountability is a great tool. It's why we include regular coaching sessions in our Property Development Formula course. Having to show up in front of a group of people and admit you've done nothing since you last saw them sucks, to put it mildly. Accountability and coaching can dramatically improve consistency when learning property development.
Now, of course life gets in the way sometimes. That's inevitable. But I know I'd really hate to admit I haven't progressed because I've been doing the Netflix and chill thing when I should have been preparing letters for vendors. Ouch.
So if you want to become a master of self-motivation, then make this well-known saying your own: "If it is to be, it is up to me" (William Johnsen). Then give yourself a good kick up the bum and start taking action.
Oh, and if you're still wondering about the elephant on your dinner plate, the answer is that you eat an elephant one mouthful at a time - metaphorically, anyway!
Trouble is, when you get home again, there's still bills to pay, a boss you can't stand, and the cat needs to be fed. Life goes on. And that hyped up feeling of being on top of the world? Disappears completely after being up at 3am with a child who threw up all over their bed.
The personal development guru, Mel Robbins, has it covered. Her belief? Motivation is garbage. Or at least, the idea we're sold by so many, of needing to be in some kind of manic, hugely pumped-up motivated state in order to get anything done, is garbage.
The good news is that the secret to getting things done is much simpler, and it's a trait Mega Successful Property Developers have in abundance.
So what's the trait you need? It's self-motivation. Now, I can already hear you complaining. "Wait a minute! You just said motivation was garbage! All you've done is add the word 'self' in front of it and suddenly it's okay?"
Hear me out on this one. For starters, let's look at a definition of the word motivation: 'a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way'. Read that definition a few times and let it sink in.
It's talking about WHY you're doing something. It doesn't say getting hyped up, then jumping up and down on a couch in enthusiasm (sorry Tom Cruise). The problem isn't that motivation is garbage - it's the interpretation of the word that's at fault.
And look, I get it. There are gurus around the world making squillions out of hyping people up. Sometimes it even works, although for how long is debatable. There's a whole industry devoted to perpetuating this type of motivation.
It makes sense really. We spend the earlier part of our lives having other people telling us what to do and when to do it. We go to school between certain hours every day. Our parents organise after-school activities and playdates for us. They tell us when we have a family party to go to.
This pattern continues on through teenage years, even into university - when's that homework or paper due? What time are our classes? As we move into young adulthood we do gain some control, although for too many people our time just starts getting controlled by an employer instead of a school.
The problem is, the things we really want to do, for example becoming a Property Developer - nobody's telling us when and where to do those things. Nobody says your suburb analysis needs to be completed this week, or you must call five agents today or you won't get paid.
Basically, nobody's going to crack a whip over your head and demand you do something. You have to do that for yourself. And we've been trained all our lives to respond to the demands and deadlines of other people, instead of setting them for ourselves.
And that's why developing the trait of self-motivation is such a crucial part of becoming a Mega Successful Property Developer. You have to crystallise your own reason WHY you want to achieve certain things, then make it happen. Nobody else is going to do that for you - you need to kick yourself in the bum. Successful property developers rely on discipline, consistency and accountability far more than temporary bursts of motivation.
Self-motivated people are more inclined to trust the process. They know the answer to the question "how do you eat an elephant?" They recognise that if they just do the work, the results will happen. They set goals, they break the work down into manageable chunks and then allocate time to complete each one.
But they take it one step further - they make it happen. For example, you know you're not at your best late at night, so you decide it makes more sense to go to bed earlier and get up before everyone else in the morning to give yourself an hour to do suburb research.
When that alarm goes off, what do you do? If you're self-motivated, you get up and go and do exactly what you planned to do. If you're not, you hit the snooze button and go back to sleep.
It's been a busy day at work, you've just had dinner and you're now flaked out on the couch. The episode you're watching finishes and... if you're self-motivated, you turn it off and go and work on becoming an Area Expert. In fact, you use watching an episode of your favourite show as a reward for achieving the goals you set yourself.One of the fastest ways to build momentum in property development is to create small daily habits that move your goals forward consistently.
Self-motivated property developers also keep their eye on their WHY. They know they've got to keep doing the work to get the results, because the cost of not doing so is too great.
Look, I'm not saying any of this is easy. It takes discipline and practice. Many people find having an accountability partner makes it easier to be self-motivated. This is someone you check in with on a regular basis to review your progress.
Personally, I think accountability is a great tool. It's why we include regular coaching sessions in our Property Development Formula course. Having to show up in front of a group of people and admit you've done nothing since you last saw them sucks, to put it mildly. Accountability and coaching can dramatically improve consistency when learning property development.
Now, of course life gets in the way sometimes. That's inevitable. But I know I'd really hate to admit I haven't progressed because I've been doing the Netflix and chill thing when I should have been preparing letters for vendors. Ouch.
So if you want to become a master of self-motivation, then make this well-known saying your own: "If it is to be, it is up to me" (William Johnsen). Then give yourself a good kick up the bum and start taking action.
Oh, and if you're still wondering about the elephant on your dinner plate, the answer is that you eat an elephant one mouthful at a time - metaphorically, anyway!
