The second foundational way the Millionaire Real Estate Agent thinks is to Think Big Goals and Big Models. In working with top real estate salespeople, we discovered that any time they tried to separate Big Goals and Big Models into two categories, it just didn’t work. It turns out they are like the yin and yang of Chinese philosophy. One cannot exist without the other. If you have Big Goals, then to reach them you will inevitably begin a quest for Big Models. Likewise, Big Models will drive you toward the achievement of Big Goals, even if that was not your intention. If anything, the power behind having Big Goals is really about the power of acquiring Big Habits by beginning with the end in mind. The professional habits you build will either empower or restrict you. What you must understand is that your habits will either serve as an empowering platform for the next level of your success or as a restricting box trapping you inside your current level. Big Goals are about reaching for your true potential. By focusing on Big Goals, you will be focusing on developing Big Habits that will always be appropriate to achieving your highest levels of success. And in taking this approach, you’ll find as you grow that your Big Habits never hold you back. Small goals tend to facilitate small habits. Big Goals tend to facilitate Big Habits. Big Goals require Big Habits to drive Big Models.
quire Big Habits to drive Big Models. Think of it this way. Why do we tell our children to sit up straight at the dinner table? Is it just about respect or manners? No. One reason we want them to sit straight is because we know that bad posture can inhibit the ability to be successful in sports and, later, can lead to serious back problems. When you look at your child slouching at the dinner table and think, “If he keeps that up, he won’t be able to swing a golf club when he’s fifty, much less pick up a bag of groceries without clutching his back” . . . you Think Big Goals for your child. You then show him a Big Model: You sit up straight, pull your shoulders back, and tuck your chin. That is the kind of Big posture Habit that will not limit your child’s potential.
It really is that simple. Your task is to internalize this concept: that in order to become your very best, you will have to Think Big and have Big Models. The habits that you create will either help you reach your goals or hamper your attempts. Warren Buffett points out that most people discover too late that “the chains of habits are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” When you begin with a Big Goal in mind, you consciously build the kinds of Big Habits that will serve as key building blocks for your entire career. What is amazing is that Big Goals and Big Models also have a powerful magnetic effect. They pull us through all the smaller goals along the way. First-time marathoners understand this principle well. A marathon is 26.2 miles, yet nonrunners, people who are often not even all that fit, regularly adopt proven training programs and manage to finish the full marathon. For a runner, 26.2 miles is a Big Goal. Now, after years of study and experimentation, Big Models are readily available to help anyone pursue a marathon.
I love watching the evening news after one big marathon and listening to the interviews with some of the first-time marathoners. They say things like, “Before this race, I’d never run more than three miles! I can’t believe I finished. I never would have thought it possible.” It is a powerful thing to witness.