Typically, the same behavior creates the same outcome. Remember what Einstein said about insanity? It is “doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”

 

At Ansley, our agents recognize on average a 50% gain in their business in just their first year of joining us. And we always have several who double their business. Why? Because we work hard to change their habits. We listen to them, dive into a marketing and action plan, reinvent their technological resources, and teach them a better way to sell. We alter their mindset, making the abnormal normal for them. We change their habits to increase their productivity. And it works, for them and for us. It is our special sauce so to speak, habits we engrain into each of our agents. These aren’t practices you regularly see at other brokerage houses. In our opinion, the competition often subscribes to an outdated set of practices, while we look to break the trends and really do something extraordinary.

 

Part of the trick to obtaining super-charged growth is to operate in that energy from the second you hit the ground in the morning. I work with all of my current team members to have the same vision and clear path and goal to get to where they want to go. I use this phrase a lot, “Are your habits on par with your dreams for tomorrow?” “Are you taking the steps today to set yourself up for where you want to go tomorrow?” That’s vision, baby. Burning the path before you even start walking it.

 

We start by clearly defining the goal. If you don’t know what you are working for, you’ll never find the clarity to get there. Reaching a new level of growth is like cooking a great meal. You start by deciding what you want to eat. Then you consider all the ingredients you need to make the dish. Then you go to the store and buy them. Once you return home with your groceries, you have to lay out or find the tools you need to cook. And then, and only then, can you actually begin cooking. Success and growth are the same way. Decide what you want. Consider the ingredients or steps you need to take you there. Then you can start putting your plan into action.

 

As you reverse engineer or deconstruct the knowledge you need to reach your target, you absolutely have to become obsessed with doubling up. It’s an aspect of hyperfocus, and you need it to make any significant change in your life. Sure, sometimes one meeting will change a habit for you. But for many, it is not easy to change the way you have done something for most of your life. However, the more you obsess or pay attention to it, the more aware you’ll be. In fact, this practice will increase your ability to reach your goals.

 

As a kid, I couldn’t focus on damn near anything. Why? Because not only was I dyslexic and had ADHD, I was habitually uninterested in what was in front of me. Now, life doesn’t always allow you the opportunity to pick and choose what you want to learn, especially as a kid, but as you grow, you get to choose your journey and pursue your own interests. I will never forget the first time I felt a true obsession with something.

 

 

It was during that first class in real estate at the University of Georgia, taught by Dr. David Downs, that I first began to feel an obsession with something I might want to pursue. He spoke about how to take a contaminated property with no functional use, known as a brownfield, and clean it thoroughly, figure out its highest and best use to achieve its maximum value and turn it into a development. Dr. Downs walked us through the process of working with architects, developers, contractors, and bankers in a fully collaborative effort to take the property to market. For the first time in my very lackluster academic career, I felt a sense of purpose and connection. I found myself fascinated, spellbound. Dr. Downs talked about making all this money on the project, and it was remarkably invigorating. While I didn’t realize it at the time, this obsession would become my career. I was not just forming a habit - I was discovering a passion, even an infatuation. I remember how much I loved the honeymoon stage, truly connecting with real estate in what would become a totally personal way.

 

I would say that in my business, I’m 100% hyperfocused on selling houses and doing it better than anybody else. When you become one-pointed and super-charged, you will inevitably form habits that support your direction and your dreams. So, if we are going to reverse-engineer good habits, we need to start by setting goals, and then be completely focused, even obsessed, with those goals. You then have to put in the work. It doesn’t happen overnight and it won’t happen unless you actually work at it. Set goals. Become obsessed with them. And then do the work. That is the recipe to reverse-engineer habits that support super-charged growth.