Too many people get caught up in the how of reaching their goal. They spend little time focusing on the clarity of the why. Why we want something is clearly the power source. If the why is large enough, the how becomes easy. We often focus on the wrong end of the equation. Why do you want to be financially independent? Why do you want to build a real estate sales business to a large scale?

I don't think there are hundreds of whys is our life. I think we have a handful of whys that interconnect our goals and dreams. This small handful of whys creates the power source in our life to become a Champion Agent, Champion Parent, Champion Spouse and creates a Champion Legacy for our life.

I have become known worldwide from my sales career – being able to sell 150 plus homes a year while only working Monday through Thursday and taking Friday through Sunday off. That outcome of success in sales and quality of life was born out of a big why in my life. It was the why of creating an environment for myself and my family that I grew up in. My father, as a dentist, only worked those days.

He was always around on Fridays when I came home from school. The biggest benefit to this was in the summer when we left Portland every Thursday afternoon to spend three days at a second home on a lake that was a quarter of a mile from the Oregon Coast. Some of my fondest memories as a child and youth were swimming, sailing, water skiing, walking the beach, and playing at our family lake house. I wanted to replicate that life exactly. It was a huge why as I built my real estate business. It drove my production, business skills, and time management skills. It caused me to build a vacation home in Bend, Oregon where Joan and I spent three days a week for over five years.

A why can come from a past experience; positive or negative. There are thousands of stories of successful people who grew up in abject poverty, and that fuelled their why. There are stories like my own where I grew up more privileged, and that also fueled the why. There is really no difference between the two pathways to the result. Each person tapped into their unique why to power themselves to the Champion level in life. The why can come from a desire to achieve the highest level of personal performance. Some people are motivated to excel, but the question is always why. Why do some have a passion for improvement and others don't?

No one else can give you your why; you must discover it for yourself. As a coach, I can ask questions and guide a client to their unique set of whys. I can't give them their why, though. That is one big value to having a coach in the early stages of your career; they have the ability to help you draw out the whys buried inside of you. Your why can come from your envisioned future of your life and business. Your why can come from your love of another and the devotion and commitment you have for them in areas of your life.

I knew that my father's why was born out of his love for my mother. The reason for his financial success was the challenge of Multiple Sclerosis that they faced together. My mother was diagnosed with MS when I was three years old. By the time I was in the second grade, she never took another step. The last years of her life were spent without the use of her arms, legs, hands or feet. My father's big why for wealth was to provide her with the most extraordinary life possible during each stage of her disease; to be able to travel with three sons and a wheelchair bound wife to Mexico, Asia, Hawaii, and many other locations. But mostly, he wanted to be able to care for her in her aged years in their home with the use of full-time caregivers, so she could live in the home she raised her children in; to have the best quality of life imaginable for someone in her condition. That was his why. What's yours?

Published: April 8, 2011

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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.