Constant Improvement – A Hero’s Vital Trait

And there she is, saving the day again! She always turns the toughest situations into a winning situation. How does she do it?

We all have someone we look up to. Our hero! I try hard everyday to be that for my kids, my friends, others that look up to me. To be a hero, you must have certain traits. Luckily for us, these are all traits that you can learn and implement over time. We are not born a hero; we develop into one. Constant improvement is one vital trait of a hero. I think we all know that, but do we live it?

 

There are several benefits to being a constant learner:

  • It is a fun and rewarding way to live.
  • You can fulfill your abilities and reach your potential.
  • By sharpening your mind, you will become a more original thinker.
  • Others will see you as wise and will follow you, making you a more productive leader, and helping to increase your income.
  • You will write your own story and accomplish what you want.
  • You will be able to make better decisions, which again means you will make more money.

So, what are the ways the most successful people constantly improve?

Read:  I was recently asked on a panel what my daily routine is. One thing I do hands down, no question, even when I don’t feel well, is read something. I read both business books as well as fiction. I also listen to books in my car. Obviously reading is a great way to learn and might be one of the easiest to implement. Something as small as 15 minutes a day will change your life, with some consistency.

 

Talk To Someone:  Another great way to learn is to talk to people. Some of the most well-known CEOs say they manage by walking. This just means that they go out on the floor and talk to their team. They ask questions and learn from the bottom up. I think about this in my life and business. I don’t need to walk around to talk to my team, because the ones that are local are all in the same room. I do implement the strategy of bottom up, and we do talk about real estate every day. I may have more experience, but they still have more knowledge in many areas of this business, and I love extracting that. I also think about this as a real estate investor. You don’t need to have an office and a team to implement this strategy. What about walking your job site and talking to contractors? I love meeting with and talking to building inspectors. They are a wealth of knowledge, and they love to share how much they know. (And they like me when I take the time to learn from them, which might make it easier to pass some inspections : ) ) You can take time to visit with tenants, or go to networking groups and learn from other investors, agents, lenders, appraisers, accountants, attorneys and so many more. The idea is to talk less and listen more. I know it is hard… Are you getting out and learning from others?

 

Emulate Someone:  I recently had a meeting with a pretty prolific real estate investor in Denver. He owns several parking lots, a self-storage brand, two shared work office buildings and two hotels in the heart of the city. All of his down payments have been self-funded. I want to be where this guy is. He was generous enough to give me some of his time, so I took advantage. “I want to
know what makes you tick?” “How do you manage your team? How do you find your projects? How do you over come your obstacles?” I just kept going, and he did too. I want to know his routines, and habits, where he learns, and how he hires. I want to emulate! He gave me some great advice and some material I should study. He made an introduction to a group of several other successful entrepreneurs. This was a fantastic meeting that I am excited about.

When you find someone, you want to emulate be sure you know that is where you want to be. Follow their lead by copying what they say and watching what they do. If they are open to it, take them out to coffee, lunch, or for a drink. If you do go the direction of taking them out, be sure to watch Travis’s video on this. It gives some good pointers on having a successful meeting with someone you want to emulate.  And please hit subscribe to channel while you are there!!!

 

Mistakes:  This is hands down the best way to improve. In fact, in my opinion, you will never be successful without mistakes. You need them to move forward. Because you need to fail to be successful, you should not be afraid of it. If you are concerned with mistakes, I would challenge you to find just one self-made success story that has not gone through a tough time or made mistakes. Often times, they were large mistakes that would take the average person out. It is the tenacity to push through and the willingness to make the mistakes that separate those that are successful to those that will never be. The only mistake you will likely regret is not making more mistakes.