There are two disciplines that will yield amazing results when applied daily. They will help you overcome any obstacles or challenges that are put in your path. If you can master these two disciplines there is nothing you can't accomplish.

The first is the development of faith in yourself, which can produce staggering results. I am talking about the faith and the determination never to quit. Have the faith to repeat the right disciplines and actions long enough and with enough intensity to win.

Your self-image is housed in your subconscious mind. Your subconscious doesn't evaluate the information you put in it. It only tries to create reality out of what you put into it. If you are allowing the negative to enter your subconscious mind unfiltered, you will begin to focus your self-image on the negative that you allow into your subconscious mind.

To create a strong self-image or self-faith you must work diligently to feed your subconscious mind with positive thoughts, ideas, and goals to achieve. You can do this through books, audiocassettes, experiences, coaching, affirmations, and seminars. The world will gladly fill your mental make-up with negatives. Work to combat the negatives by placing positive thoughts and images in your mind every day.

As Zig Ziglar says, let's do a "check up from the neck up." How often are you reading great books? Are you listening to audiocassettes in the car daily? Do you have affirmations that you are pounding into your subconscious mind daily? Do you have a real estate or personal success coach? If you aren't doing these activities regularly you are probably not reaching your peak performance.

To increase your belief in yourself you need to fill your subconscious mind with the positive thoughts and experiences of success. You can't neglect to do this even for one day or you will fall behind. Don't put yourself in the position to play catch-up with your self-confidence.

The second is development of focus. Focus is one of the most powerful tools a person can possess. Even if you have a positive faith in yourself you must have focus to achieve greatness and success.

Al Ries wrote a great book simply called Focus. Al used a laser beam as one of his examples. The amount of energy a laser beam has is very small. Most laser beams only have a few watts worth of energy. It is the process of focusing those few watts onto a very small area which generates the power. It is because the energy is condensed to the size of the head of a pin that amazing things can happen, such as eye surgery without making incisions, the removal of cancer cells, and the cutting through metal.

You can be like that laser through focus. You can accomplish more in less time by staying in the moment and being completely focused on the task at hand. Here is a technique to improve your focus. Break your day into smaller increments of time. You may only be able to stay focused for 20 minutes now. So break your day into 20-minute increments with five to ten minutes in between. Do the activities in the outline in 20-minute increments of time.

Don't allow distractions to creep into those 20-minute increments. Only do the activities outlined in those increments of time. Think only of the moment and work to focus in on the moment and the specific activity you are to do in that moment. Don't allow anyone to distract you during your 20 minutes of focused time.

As you get better and more skilled at focusing you will be able to increase the focus time and decrease the break time. When most people evaluate their time, there is very little of an eight-hour work day that is focused time. The lack of focus time is why agents often work seven days a week. It is because there is little focus time invested daily.

By having a positive faith in yourself you will be able to climb the mountains of life. Being highly skilled at focusing will enable you to do it with efficiency. If you learn to focus on what is most important to you, you will create the abundant life you desire and deserve.

Published: April 25, 2000

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Dirk Zeller is a sought out speaker, celebrated author and CEO of Real Estate Champions. His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters. The Real Estate community has embraced and praised his six best-selling books; Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, The Champion Real Estate Agent, The Champion Real Estate Team, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, Successful Time Management for Dummies®, and over 300 articles in print. To learn more regarding this article, please visit www.realestatechampions.com.