We hear so often about the tremendous impact that having a positive mental attitude can have on your real estate career. I'm a firm believer in this concept. Being able to constantly put the short-term disappointments of this business behind you immediately and move forward with a mindset that you're about to uncover a huge opportunity for yourself can do wonders for both your short- and long-term success in this business.

But here's the problem I see with so many agents. They have a positive mental attitude, but it's completely wrapped around a game plan of day-to-day activities that are doomed for failure.

If you're working a particular game plan for success in this business -- whether you've identified what the game plan is or whether you're completely doing it on your own unconsciously -- and you haven't seen an improvement in your results for 90 days or more, it may be time to revise the game plan.

Typically I see agents who are struggling or under-performing become so attached to the routine that they are constantly working day-to-day in their real estate careers. They become convinced that the only problem is that they haven't been working this routine long enough. Or they become convinced that they just need a little more luck. But both of these assumptions are solidly doomed for disaster.

Top-producing agents have become so successful because they've constantly been willing to try new approaches throughout their real estate careers. Agents who struggle, on the other hand, usually fall into a routine they learned within their first 2-3 years in the business, and they then spend years repeating that same day-to-day routine over and over again. They feel that they're working just as hard as the top earners in the office, but they don't recognize that the top earners are working a different game plan than they are.

This lack of recognition can then be reinforced when these agents see other agents working in the office. When agents are in the office along with other agents, everyone looks busy. And everyone can look like they're busy doing similar activities, too. Based upon this observation, it can then be easy for a struggling agent to conclude that they're doing the exact same things that the top-producing agents are doing. But this assumption could not be further from the truth.

With this in mind, when it's time for you to take your real estate business to the next level, recognize that it's very difficult for you to do it completely on your own. Of all the game plans you could be working in your real estate business, your mind has settled on the one you're working right now, with all things considered, as the one that's best for you. When you add to this how easily you may find yourself going back to your old habits whenever you try to change your day-to-day routine to a more successful one, you may soon find yourself back in your old routine very, very quickly. Perhaps you've already experienced this.

If you're looking for improved results in your real estate business, it may be time to get input from someone who knows the best way to get you to where you want to be. Some of the people you may want to talk to include your manager, a top-producing real estate agent, or a real estate coach.

While a positive mental attitude is great to have as a real estate agent, when you combine it with working a day-to-day routine in your real estate business that's doomed for failure, you'll continually experience a lot of frustration. And sometimes it's easy to erroneously conclude in these situations that what you need to do is just keep a positive mental attitude and keep working the same old routine.

When you instead combine the positive mental attitude with continually reinventing yourself as a real estate agent, updating your day-to-day routine to a more effective one, and seeking out experts who will make certain you're continually on the right track, you'll be met with the success you've always wanted to achieve in this business very, very quickly.

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Published: December 8, 2003

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Jim Gillespie, Ph.D., is America's Premier Real Estate Coach℠. He has over 20 years of experience in real estate sales and is a past president of three different real estate companies. His FREE real estate E-newsletter with tips and creative ideas to help agents make more money is now read by over 35,000 agents nationwide. You can subscribe to his FREE E-newsletter by visiting RealEstateSalesCoach.com or contact him at Jim@RealEstateSalesCoach.com.