By Michael Kline
 
The most popular acronym to help remember he rules of goal setting, is S.M.A.R.T. (Usually taught as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed). It’s time to rethink some of this for a powerful twist.
 
S stands for specific. Nothing new here, but are you really being specific? Vague is saying “I want to earn a living”. Specific might sound like “I want to earn $100,000”. Really specific might be “I want to earn $100,000, as a buyer’s agent, working an average of no more than 35 hours per week and taking at least 3 weeks of vacation”. Unusual clarity of goals is one of the most common attributes of the most successful people in business. If you think you are specific enough, get a little more specific anyway and ignore the voices in your head telling you otherwise; we’ll get to them later.
 
M stands for Measurable. As you dive deeper into the example above, we see we can measure the dollars, and the work hours and the vacation time. If we added that the work should be enjoyable and stress-free, how would you measure that? We might set a separate goal in our personal life area, around managing stress – practice yoga 3 times per week, or walk 45 minutes 4 times a week, etc. Think of ways you can measure the things that will produce the outcome you want. Maybe you set a goal to hire a part-time assistant by Feb 28, 2017, or to refuse listings that you don’t really want to take. Yes, refusing some listings, will help you make more money, but that another article.
 
A stands for Attainable (or achievable). Here’s what is new: If you know how you will attain it, it is too small!  That means you should set a goal that feels a little bit UN-attainable! Set the goal that would be a stretch to attain it. If you know how to make $40,000 a year, making $50,000 is not a stretch – that is just hoping for the same amount of work you did this year and a little good luck. To double your income is a stretch – yet totally doable – have other people in your position done that? Yes, many have. In fact, nearly everyone who makes that income, once earned your income. There is overwhelming evidence that it is attainable, and the only challenge is you do not yet know how you will do it. This is goal setting, not strategy setting, so set the big goal. If you wait to know how first, you will never do it and you will never get to know the strategy. The GPS in your car or phone will not give you directions to get across the state until you program in the destination. The same holds true for setting a goal. The directions for getting there come after you program in the destination.
 
Advanced students only: The A could stand for Actionable. You could abandon the entire discussion of attainable, throw caution to the wind and just go for it. All that matters is the goal is actionable – meaning it is something you control – don’t set a goal for your spouse, child, or boss, to be something different. If it is something you can take action on, go for it!
 
R stands for Relevant.  I have always heard other trainers teach that R stands for realistic or reachable – this makes no sense to me, since reachable is a lot like achievable. Redundant, don’t you think? Relevant to what though, you may ask. Relevant to your life purpose, passion and legacy. Relevant to your other goals – are your career goals compatible with your health, relationship, spiritual and personal goals? Who are you? Who do you want to be? What kind of person do you want to have been when your life is over? Are your goals relevant to what really matters and to what is really worth doing in the grand scheme of things? Every time I teach a passion tester life purpose workshop, even the most successful people discover opportunities to bring more joy and meaning into their lives. Relevant may not be the first thing that impresses short-term thinkers, but it is the most sustainable and impactful in the long term.
 
T stands for Timed. This is similar to measurable. Quite simple to apply, and the more detailed you get, the better. Instead of saying “earn $100,000 this year” say “by 5pm, December 20, 2017 or sooner”. If you have a vision of  taking off the rest of the year to enjoy family time, so you will need to create a clear vision of going home to celebrate exceeding your goal by 5pm on the 20th. When you create a clear vision and tie it to the emotions of creating that vision, the goal is even more powerful.
 
So what about things that are not in your control? Market conditions will either make life easier, the same or more difficult. Ever wonder how some people excel during difficult times? Watch less news and spend more time focused on your goals. For example, spending an hour meditating every day may bring the inspiration or idea that allows you to double your income in a down market. This happens all the time. Have you ever spent weeks seeking an answer to something, then all of a sudden out of nowhere, when you are quiet for a moment, the answer just comes to you?
 
My first discovery of this was way back in the recession of 1992. I was managing a travel agency, selling to small corporate accounts in Orlando. The travel business was down, and four nearby travel agencies closed their doors that year. We grew by over $1,000,000 in sales and merged one of the closing offices into ours. While our neighbors were watching the news and anguishing over dropping sales, I was cold calling on businesses who were looking to spend less on travel. They did spend less, and they spent it with me. Subsequently, I have bought and sold twelve homes as a side-line. In recent years, masses of amateur “flippers” watched too much HGTV and with dollar signs in their eyes, paid more than renovation projects were worth. This may or may not help you sell homes. It certainly makes it harder for you and other clients to find quality investments. In a down market, everything changes. In an up market, everything changes again. In business, change is not good or bad, it just is. Change is always an opportunity to the calm mind with a clarity of specific goals.
 
Michael Kline – A Certified Jack Canfield Success Trainer, Speaker & Coach. You can reach him through his website www.intus.life, or e-mail, mike@intus.life

By Michael Kline

It’s that time of year when Real Estate agents should be thinking about bigger goals for 2017. Most agents will set goals for a ten or twenty percent increase. What would it mean to you if you set a goal to DOUBLE your sales and your days off and what if you ACHIEVED your goal? Sixty-five percent of agents who completed The Success Principles Training, doubled their income AND their time off, in one year! What would that do for your lifestyle? Your family? Your health and wellness? Why don’t more agents set and achieve bigger goals?

Let’s take a look at the big three:

3. Not taking the right action to achieve their goal. Most agents waste too much time doing work that seems urgent, but not as important as they think it is. They take listings they shouldn’t (at least not as-is). They are too aggressive, too passive or both, depending on the circumstances. They’re convinced they need another certification, a better website, and more marketing support. When we lean into action and use the feedback it provides, we get to our goals faster. Most agents don’t know what action to take because they don’t have a clear and committed vision of their goal in the first place.

2. Lacking a clear vision of what’s possible. The most successful people have unusual clarity of vision and purpose. While most agents think it would be impossible to double their income and time off, they can look around and even complain that they work twice as hard as some agents and they make half the money. That is proof that it is possible, because others are already doing it! They just don’t believe it is possible for them, or that the other agent has super-powers or dark secrets we don’t know about. To believe and hold a vision of the dream realtor lifestyle, to double their income and their time off, to pursue what matters most in their lives and enjoying the work along the way is just too fantastical for most people to hold for very long. Learning to take the right action is critical, knowing what action to take requires knowing your goals. Having a clear goal requires believing it’s possible and that it’s possible for you.

1. Not setting big enough goals. We know that our achievements seldom exceed our vision, so we need a bigger vision. With self-limiting beliefs firmly planted in our sub-conscious, most of us only set goals for what we know we can achieve. Most agents love reading market trends and predictions from experts on the future. High achievers take complete responsibility for creating their own future regardless of the competition, new technology and the economy. Successful agents set goals that are a stretch above what they know how to achieve. If you limit your goals to what you know how to achieve, you’re setting your goals too low. The how always shows up. If you are planning a trip, you program the destination into your GPS before it will give you the directions on how to get to your destination. The same is true with goals. Set your destination, and as you take action, you are rewarded with insights, feedback and opportunities you never could have planned if you tried.

Successful people stop the little voices in their head that tell lies about the limits of their aspirations. They take action and quickly learn to adjust for what works and what doesn’t. Achievers learn to reject rejection, overcome fears, tap into their intuition, and use the power of visualization and proper goal setting. The Success Principles have helped countless people all over the world, and we can help you you’re your team get from where you are, to where you want to be.

Michael Kline is a six-time successful entrepreneur, a Certified Jack Canfield Success Principles trainer, Master Rim Facilitator and Success Coach. He is introducing the Jack Canfield’s Success principles to Realtors in Sarasota/Manatee area with a variety of workshops now and into 2017. He can be reached at mike@intus.life or through his website www.intus.life