Maximizing Your Potential!

“I am only one. But still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” — Helen Keller, 1880-1968
American Writer and Lecturer

Helen was a very gifted person. On the outside, one might say she had limitations but on the inside, it would appear, her spirit soared.

Each of us is a unique spiritual being with many gifts and talents. Oft times, we have a tendency to hold ourselves back, perhaps for fear of failure or worry that we may be criticized by a small minded person.

Honestly, it is not fair to the world or ourselves, this holding back, as there is so much that needs to be done to make this world a better place.

For the last two months I have had fitness goals for myself. I decided to keep them small and achievable. I was able to exercise 15 days last month and this month I set a goal to exercise 20 days. I am proud to say that I did it.

I have a new goal this month. To exercise 20 times again but to increase the length of time by another 4 minutes. This will be a great accomplishment for me.

Set goals for your self this month and then make sure you achieve them.

Right now it seems that achieving your goals is harder than it’s ever been. But there is what is apparent and what is real or actual.

Let’s look at a definition here. Apparent has a number of different meanings but the 2nd one is the appropriate one in the above example. It means, “seeming real or true, but not necessarily so.” from the Oxford English Dictionary.

Now, let’s look at the definition of actual: “existing in fact; typically contrasted with what was intended, expected, or believed.”

So, let’s go back up to that top line, that it seems harder than ever to achieve our goals and purposes.

The fact is that all stops or barriers get their power from us. We feed them. If we ignore them and charge forward they cease to be or become insignificant.

Now, one of the things which can sap us of our strength or power is the current news media. They are there to stir up trouble but we do NOT have to go the effect of it. I am NOT advocating that one bury their head in the sand and ignore everything only that you are very selective about what you pay attention to and when something does cause you to get upset that you find something to do about it.

Let’s say you are concerned about the possibility of forced vaccinations, then write your congressional representative and then go to Google and look up good news. Tops on the list is The Good News Network. Funny, I had this idea years ago and someone is actually doing it. Their were hundreds of articles and info on good news all over the world.

You can also call a friend and ask them to share a story or win. Pass on good news and do your best to ignore the rest!

“Thumbs Up!” The Courageous Symbol of a True Champion.

Mike Utley’s short professional football career for the Detroit Lions had been riddled with injuries. He shattered his right leg his rookie season. His second year saw two fractured ribs and a dislocated shoulder. But this was different…

On November 17, 1991, while protecting his quarterback, Mike threw a block late in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams. He hit the turf headfirst. He stopped moving, instantly. Utley’s first thought was, “here we go again.” Another frustrating injury. He always played 100% until something was broken… physically forcing him to stop. He was angry at himself for getting hurt… again.

But Mike soon began to realize this injury was much more serious than any he had suffered in the past. “I had dealt with stingers before where I lost feeling in my arms or fingers or hamstrings or things like that, but I never lost muscle control,” he said. “This time I knew it was a big-time injury. When Kent Falb, the head trainer for the Lions, came out, I told him I couldn’t get my mouthpiece out. Right then and there I needed help and I needed the doctors badly.”

Real Courage

When Mike was stretchered off the field—he flashed the “thumbs up” sign to teammates and the crowd. A sign that would soon come to mean much more than anyone imagined…

At the hospital, Mike learned he had a broken neck. When his head hit the turf, he had fractured the 6th and 7th vertebrae in his neck. After surgery was performed to save his life, Mike’s doctors told him he was paralyzed from the mid-chest down and he would never walk again. The doctors may have gone to a lot of schools and read a lot of books but they obviously didn’t know whom they were dealing with. Mike Utley had different plans, very different indeed.

On a Sunday afternoon shortly after surgery, Mike wanted to relax, watch a football game and have a beer. So, he left the rehab center, went down to the local store, brought back a bottle of beer and turned on the game. It took Mike a full hour to open that bottle of beer. Mike attacked his rehab with the same determination, one grueling session after the next. And Mike’s hard work paid off.

He began to get more and more strength in his arms and hands. Pretty soon, Mike was skiing, scuba diving, riding Seadoos, shooting guns at the range and training martial arts. Mike’s martial arts instructor said he was the best student he ever had. He never complained and worked the hardest. He was doing black belt level techniques in just a few months. All this is impressive to say the least, but pales in comparison to what Mike did next…

On February 15, 1999, after eight years of grueling rehab, Mike stood up in a hotel in Phoenix and took his first steps since his accident. Those steps came with massive struggle, unlike the grace he once had as a professional football player, but they meant much more to anyone in a wheelchair wondering if they could ever walk again. Those steps touched the lives of countless people in a way that a football game never could.

They Provided Instant Hope

“What that showed was that hard work gets you further,” he offered. “I’m not saying walking was the end-all be-all, but I never stopped pushing and trying. Productivity comes from within. You have to be able to get up every day and make things happen. Nothing is going to be handed to you. Everything I have ever gotten I have earned.”

And it’s not over yet. One of Mike’s ultimate goals is to go back to a Detroit Lions game, stand up and walk out to the middle of the field. From his unwavering determination and what he has accomplished already there are few left who have doubts he will achieve his goal and any other goal he sets his mind to.

Some final words from Mike… “If you don’t have a positive and constructive attitude from the very beginning, as tough as it was, you will never reach your full potential. You have to reach for the top or you will never get there. I did that as a ball player and nothing has changed that. I just can’t play football anymore. I’ve worked through adversity and I’ve worked through tough times. Tough times don’t last, tough people do!”

For more information on the Mike Utley Foundation and how you can help, please visit www.mikeutley.org.

Let’s face it, we don’t close every deal. Well, maybe you do, but I sure don’t!

We can LEARN from those failed attempts if we work smart. Below is a tool to assist you in closing even more opportunities.

Look it over when you get back in the office after a failed listing or prospect interview to determine where you lost control, then role play the appropriate scenario with a coach like myself or a fellow agent or broker.

Do this and you’ll win!

1. Did I talk to the decision maker?

2. Was the prospect well qualified?

3. Was the meeting well prepared?

4. What was my tone level before the meeting?

5. What was my prospects tone level?

6. What was the prospects specific objection?

7. Did I handle all their objections?

8. How did I handle the objection?

9. Did I use the 5 steps of ACCORD?

10. How did the prospect react to the close?

11. When did I start to lose control?

12. Did I establish good ARC with the prospect?

13. Was my prospect sold on Me? Company?
Product/Service? Price? Timing?

14. Did I get strong agreement on my prospects personal reason WHY to buy?

15. Was the prospect convinced by my arguments?

Good Luck in the Future!

So, let’s talk about Number 1 in our last post, ‘How you think is everything.’

How many times have you gotten up out of bed, you had some bad dreams, you skipped breakfast because you were late getting up having hit snooze one too many times. You notice a run in your stockings or you nicked yourself with the razor. You feel like hell. How does that day go? Pretty bad, I would imagine.

OK. Is there anything you could have done to change the outcome right from the start?

Actually there is.

You could have acknowledged the fact that those were some pretty dismal dreams, perhaps chalk it up to having eaten ice cream at 10:30 at night and then going right to bed. Decide not to eat ice cream just before bed in the hopes that that will never happen again.

Don’t sleep in, instead pop out of bed and start thinking of all the things you hope to accomplish that day and when you hope to have them completed, while you are taking your shower or shaving.

Slow down, take your time and definitely eat breakfast, even if it’s a glass of orange juice and some string cheese.

When you get into the office focus on what you can get done immediately, because production is the basis of morale.

Find 5 things you can accomplish immediately.

Throw 5 things away and then clear voice mail and answer messages.

Ah, you feel better already and those dreams are now a distant memory.

Now, you know you have a big project you have been putting off for 3 or 4 days and you really should focus on that so you do and what you thought would take you 2-3 hours winds up taking 45 minutes.

You’ve earned some loafing time.

So, next time things aren’t going quite the way you envisioned, slow down and decide what you will do next, not what others want you to do. Be in control. You’ll feel much better.