I was searching the internet for something inspirational to share with agents and found this fantastic video from Zig Ziglar.

Your attitude makes all the difference to your real estate career & if you are in need of some inspiration or need help with what Zig Ziglar often calls ‘A Check-Up from the Neck-Up’ then this video could be just what you need right now.

I hope it helps you succeed.

PS: It reminded me of the saying that “It’s hard to see the picture while you’re in the frame.”

Last night I was watching this inspirational video from Honda called Failure: The Secret to Success Video – Honda – the Power of Dreams

It was great to see them referring to Thomas Edison and his famous statement about overcoming failure while trying to invent the light bulb…“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.”

Then whilst writing this article I remembered some of the phrases I had memorised years ago from real estate trainer Tom Hopkins regarding his ‘Attitudes Toward Failure and Rejection’.

I never see failure as failure, but only as a learning experience.

I never see failure as failure, but only as the feedback I need to change course in my direction.

I never see failure as failure, but only as an opportunity to improve my sense of humor.

I never see failure as failure, but only as an opportunity to practice my techniques and perfect my performance.

I never see failure as failure, but only as the game I must play to win!

A great friend of mine Tom Gaskey mentioned to me that “Failure is not falling down. Failure is refusing to get up!”

There are lots of ways that you can address failure & use your failures in life to help you succeed, but one of the greatest sayings I’ve ever heard about failure is:-

‘There is no such thing as failure in life, only the failure to participate.’

Participation is such an important characteristic for success and enjoying life.

Being a spectator throughout your life & not trying new things through fear of failure can paralyse people into missing out on some of the most wonderful feelings of self-fulfilment and achievement.

We all know that change is inevitable, yet so many people stay bogged down within their comfort zone or aren’t prepared to think outside the box. Whilst, others will think of a fantastic idea in the shower but then get out of the shower and do nothing about the idea.

Participation means taking action on your thoughts and ideas.

You only have to look at people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Einstein to see that the people who really make a difference in this world are the ones who are prepared to take a chance, take action and try new things. I call them the ‘The Innovators’.

In life you can either be :-

1. The Innovator
2. The Immitator
3. The Spectator

Spectators miss out on so much and ‘The Immitators’ follow like sheep and only do things once someone else has paved the way.

Let me assure you, there is an amazing world of opportunity available to ‘The Innovators’ of this world and there are so many new doors that open that you may have never thought possible. Life also becomes so much more exhilarating & exciting as an innovator.

By making the decision to become an innovative real estate agent, you’ll find that you will quickly leave your competitors so far behind that most of them will simply become ‘The Spectators’ of your success.

Dare to dream. Take chances. Fail Forward. Embrace change. PLUS become seen as ‘The Innovator’ and you will quickly become the stand out real estate agent within your area.

Leadership is one of the greatest skills required by anyone who aspires to be successful.

Colin Powell’s Leadership Presentation below, provides a number of lessons & insights into what makes a good leader in today’s world.

I must admit that whilst I was reading through each lesson, I felt stronger & stronger about some of the decisions I’ve made & it has reassured me that I’m definitely on the right track.

It’s like Colin Powell wrote some of these lessons especially for the Area Monopoly Strategy & to help guide the way forward for real estate agents in this ever changing world, .

Here’s one of the quotes from Powell’s presentation that stood out for me… “Spare me the grim litany of the ‘realist’, give me the unrealistic aspirations of the optimist any day.”

I know we will all get something different from this presentation. I’d be interested to know which lesson or quote had the greatest impact on you?

Every person has a different idea of what being successful means.

Goals are a very personal thing & it’s important that you don’t let others destroy your vision & feelings surrounding your goals.

Goal achievement should be measured based on your best not someone else’s best.

Whenever you set a goal it’s important if you really want to achieve the specific goal, that it is visualised, it evokes an emotional feeling & that there’s a deadline attached to the achievement of that goal.

Like once you’ve saved $30,000 by the end of 2010 you’ll go out & buy your 3 BR Villa with a new kitchen & double garage that’s located within walking distance of the lake or 10 mins drive from family or work, etc, etc.

Or once you’ve reached a certain target in sales you’ll take 2 weeks off & have a holiday in Thailand, Bali, Fiji, with your partner & see the Tiger Temple in Bangkok or other places of interest, etc.

The stronger the feeling that you can visualise & create in your mind for what will happen at the end of the journey towards your goal, the more likely you are to stay focused & ultimately achieve your goal.

Also, with goals it’s important to share your goals only with people who can help you achieve your goal. And, when you do achieve your goal, don’t be disappointed when others don’t share in your success celebrations. They only tend to if they have been involved in some way or if they benefit in some way.

Unfortunately, it’s just human nature.

For example, I have friend of mine who just achieved a goal that he had set out to achieve prior to Christmas. I am extremely proud of what they’d achieved & so was he.

Yet, others within the real estate industry saw his celebration as an opportunity to say that they could have done even better.

I think everyone could do better. Even the best performers within our industry will admit that they could’ve done better or achieved more.

But if you have actually achieved what you set out to achieve ahead of your deadline, then the fact is that you have succeeded. Which means that it’s time to celebrate.

I wish goal achievement was celebrated a lot more & more people would simply give people like my friend the pat on the back that they really deserve, rather than criticism or advice on how to do things better next time.

It’s about this time of year that I always made sure I finished strong by focusing on the one deadline that can be extremely important to property sellers & that deadline is Christmas.

Over the years, I’ve found that there are some sellers who definitely want to have their property sold & moved prior to Christmas so they can celebrate Christmas in their new home.

If you need confirmation that Christmas is an important deadline to home sellers, just ask the new home Builders & Conveyancers who frantically work like crazy in the last few weeks leading up to Christmas to either get the home built or get the transaction settled.

I also know first hand that Christmas is an important deadline for home sellers, because I remember as a young child the builders let us move into our brand new home on Christmas Eve. Our whole family was really excited.

We’d been watching for months as our new home was being built & we were all so keen to spend Christmas in our new home that we ended up sleeping on mattresses on the floor waiting for Santa. All the while, hoping & praying that Santa knew that we had moved.

Then, there are other sellers who just want to have the peace of mind of knowing that they have the sold sticker on their property prior to Christmas & don’t have to worry about keeping the place tidy just in case a buyer turns up.

These sellers can start packing & getting ready for their move over the holidays & be comfortably settled into their new home just in time for the first term of school to start.

Moving prior to the start of the first term of school can be extremely important to some sellers, especially if their children are moving to a new school.

And, then there are other sellers who don’t really care & will be happy to sell when they get their price sometime in 2010 (or in some cases 2011).

So, all you need to do now to finish the year off strong is identify who amongst your existing home sellers wants to be sold by Christmas & set a plan to help them achieve this goal before this very important deadline.

Also, if you want some inspiration about finishing strong in 2009, here’s one of the most inspirational videos I’ve ever seen.

I just read a quote that said, “Pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever.”

It reminded me of Lance Armstrong’s amazing comeback story.

Today is Stage 17 of 21 of The Tour de France. 37 year old, Lance Armstrong began today in second place behind his team mate Alberto Contador.

In 1996, Armstrong was 25 (the No. 1 ranked cyclist in the world) when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer that subsequently spread to his abdomen, lungs, and brain. Doctors gave him a slim chance of survival.

Two years later, after a miraculous recovery, he got back on a bike but then quit a race in Paris when he realized he wasn’t ready to race yet.

The following year (and the next 6), he won the Tour de France and retired as the only person to win this gruelling event seven times.

It was amazing to see Lance Armstrong in Australia earlier this year after his announcement that he was going after another Tour de France title in an effort to help promote cancer awareness globally.

There are so many superlatives that come to mind whenever someone mentions Lance Armstrong.

He is truly inspirational & his ‘Live Strong’ message is something that we should all aspire to in any of life’s endeavours.

If you’re in need of some inspiration check out Lance Armstrong’s site or follow him on Twitter

Bring it home Lance, the world is riding with you.

Smile & Move: It’s all about your attitude & actions…PLUS…Mattering to the world all with a smile.

Here’s a great one minute video from Jack Canfield reminding us all that most of the time we create our own imaginary fears. Fears like these can actually hold you back from achieving your goals.

Conquer your fears & you will succeed. Remember FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.

Don’t let you fears hold you back. Understand that they exist & tackle them head on.

For more information from Jack Canfield check out the summary of his book The Power of Focus