Motivation
Mind Over Bodyby Joeann Fossland
Some days, going to work as a real estate agent feels like running a marathon. On the other hand, there are some REALTORS® who really run marathons or participate in other incredible physical events, while having successful practices.
Running for the Gold
Last year, I committed to a mini-triathlon that consisted of a five-mile run, three-mile hike and five-mile bike in Panama. At age 54, I had never run more than a mile in my life. I learned many lessons from this adventure, some not so obviously connected to the physical challenge.
My undertaking was small potatoes compared to the 26-mile Boston Marathon that Sherrie Cartinella, LTG, of CENTURY 21 A.A. Active Realty in Sparks, NV, ran. Or the 60-mile-long Avon Breast Cancer Walk that Marilyn Urso, CRB, CRS, GRI, LTG, of Long Island Village Realty in Syosset, NY, walked in three days. Or the year of biking averaging 80 miles a day, riding through 47 countries on six continents, that Kristal Kraft, ABR, CRS, GRI, of RE/MAX Alliance DTC in Englewood, CO, undertook at age 50.
For these women, the events were incredible experiences, but the big payoff was the lessons learned – from what motivated us through blood, sweat and tears to the finish line. I wondered: What makes Sherrie run? Or Krystal pedal? And Marilyn walk? Does taking on a big physical challenge give us lessons for being more effective in our business life? Does it make what we face each day on the job take on a new perspective? Or does it simply teach us something about the difference between facing life, willing to get through each day versus living a life, as Helen Keller phrased it, that’s a “daring adventure?” I’ve identified five recurring themes that emerged.
#1 Have A Big Dream
You know how it is with these kinds of things…..in the beginning, it sounds like a good idea. The sheer inspiration and passion are exciting and the possibility that you might emerge healthier (and thinner) help with the motivation.
In the book, Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer wrote: “Attempting to climb Everest is an irrational act – a triumph of desire over sensibility.” Although none of us climbed Everest, for each of us, the challenge undertaken looked like an impossible, irrational feat. Certainly, that’s what many told us. “I set out to test my mettle,” Kraft said, “and to see the world from a ‘real’ perspective, not from the seat of a tour bus.”
Cartinella says she is not a natural athlete. “I was always the last picked in school for anything athletic,” she said. “This time, the accomplishment is the reward.”
The first step to attempting something like this is to choose something beyond your capabilities, but something that truly sings to your soul and or recalls how you saw yourself at, maybe, age six.
#2 Believe in Yourself
As author Rebecca West wrote: “Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul.” Being foolishly confident helps! Those who go for it and those who don’t are separated by a willingness to leave behind limiting self-perceptions
Cartinella once had a great run in a marathon with a time of 3:38. “I only needed a 3:55 to qualify for the Boston Marathon,” she said, “so I thought it would be a breeze. Ha!” Through her struggles, she found that “anyone can do anything if they are willing to invest the time and listen to their body,” she said. “And you can eat chocolate at the end!”
Envisioning the end result and the emotions that surround the accomplishment are important because, as the challenges materialize, a rock-solid belief in yourself is critical. In day-to-day business, this theme emerges when standing your ground with an intimidating person or solving a problem in a deal that looks like it won’t come together. If you believe in yourself, the circumstances are just challenges with which to be dealt.
#3 The Planning is Critical
In all probability, none of us could have accomplished what we did without preparation and planning. Four years passed between Kraft’s first seeing an ad for an organized bike trip around the world and her actual trip. Urso started training in January for her walk in the fall, beginning with five-mile walks and gradually increasing to 20 miles.
Cartinella ran 12 marathons prior to Boston. Basic training takes 20 weeks with up to 45 miles a week, building to runs of 18 to 20 miles once a week. Three months before my mini-marathon, I was only able to run about five minutes without stopping. By January, I could run five miles in about one hour and 15 minutes without stopping, which is quite still slow. But I didn’t plan to win, only to finish honorably.
The training and preparation will get you ready, just like practicing your first PowerPoint listing presentation. But there is no substitute for the actual event. “I rode 80 miles a day on the trip,” Kraft said. “That level of exercise is hard to achieve without actually doing it.” As Cartinella says, “it is one thing to run 26 miles, but it’s quite another to run them as fast as you can.”
Preparation allows you to dance brilliantly with the unexpected.
#4 Take Your Dreams ‘Public’
When you’ve told everyone what you are going to accomplish, you have invaluable support. You put yourself between a rock and a hard place and make it nearly impossible to shrink away from your stated goal. And, believe me, the day will come when it doesn’t sound like such a good idea after all!
Maybe, in the office, you’ve shared a big monthly goal for production, and halfway through the month you have put nothing in escrow. Do you just give up, or do you find a way to make it happen?
Halfway through my training, I developed a foot injury. I could hardly walk, much less run. If I hadn’t collected $6,000 in sponsorships and told so many people I was doing the triathlon, it would have been easy to quit. I went to the doctor, continued lower impact training and focused on accomplishing the vision. I focused on what I could do, not the reasons why I should give up.
Kraft went public during her trip by developing a Web site, www.biketracks.net, that took on a life of its own. “At first it was my way of journaling my activities,” she said. “Then it became a link for folks and their families who were on the ride with me and other riders in spirit who rode in the ‘arm chair.’”
In North Canton, OH, Pat King, ABR, of Motts REALTORS®, went public by converting her goal to lose weight into a personal fundraising program. “I have asked people to sponsor me for a chosen amount per pound lost,” King said. All the money collected is donated to a local domestic violence program.
#5 Tackling The Tough Times Takes Determination
We’ve all experienced that trauma on our journey to our goals when we feel we cannot take another step. In these times, it’s good to have your “cheerleaders” to lean on. Cartinella’s son ran with her and supported her through the most grueling steps of the marathon. “He said to me, somewhere between mile 24 and 26: ‘Mother, you have to want it more than your body wants to give it to you,’" she recalled.
On a difficult turn in my triathlon, I was guided by two native children who joined me on the rainforest hike, when I felt that I could barely take another step. Though they didn’t speak English, they led me out of the rainforest by gently encouraging me up 90-degree slopes.
Kraft also quickly learned to count on her fellow cyclists. “We had an incident in Costa Rica on the ‘Mountain of Death’ (our nickname for it) in which 80 percent of the group got into serious trouble,” she said. “We were left without support on top of a cold dark mountain. The group banned together and procured an empty school bus and a flat bed truck to carry us to safety.”
Urso’s journey has brought her to a new perspective. The walk that Urso participated in was held in New York and was postponed after the tragedies of September 11, which made the event more emotional for many of its participants. “I learned to trust my instincts, listen to others and communicate without using a common language,” she said. “I learned that it's important to get on with life and take what comes your way.”
In interviewing these incredible women, there were some common themes and lessons that emerged that give us some insight into what separates the ordinary from the extraordinary. As a personal coach, I find the most successful people have very little compartmentalization between who they are professionally and who they are in business. Their core values shine through in both arenas. In fact, they bring passion to everything because of the alignment of who they are with what they do. What do you love? How can you express your passion? In the word’s of Nike “Life is short, Play Hard!” And, this relates to the way you play The Real Estate Game!
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Joeann Fossland. All right reserved. For information contact Frog Pond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@frogpond.com.
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