Have you ever heard yourself say: “I don’t have the time,” “I don’t have the money,” or “I’m not tech-y?” I’ve certainly said at least two of these, multiple times. Many, if not most of us, say one of these three phrases daily.
So what do all of these have in common? They are excuses. They are all lies we tell ourselves that we end up believing to be true. Here are the three most common excuses in real estate:
‘I don’t have the time’
I don’t have the time to (insert important thing here). But I do have the time to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones. I do have the time to keep up with the latest movies. I do have the time to scroll Facebook 13 times a day. I do have the time to engage in the raise-the-bar debates, and the list goes on.
The reality is you have the time to do whatever you want.
Every minute of your time spent is your choice — 100 percent. Most of us, however, profess we don’t have the time, and we feel stressed from our busyness.
Why? We don’t have any idea what we actually want from our lives, let alone our days, and because of that, we don’t control (or know how to control) our calendar.
We don’t say “no.” We don’t prioritize. We allow other people’s emergencies to dictate our own. We allow our clients to control our daily schedule. We allow ourselves to be dragged along in our lives rather than being in the pilot seat.
What’s the biggest problem? When we fill our days with the minutia — the 80 percent — and don’t open up our calendar (and our minds) for the 20 percent that will actually change our business and our lives.
We don’t make time to become masters at lead generation; instead, we become masters at piddling away time on Facebook or in front of the TV, or going through broker’s open after broker’s open.
Don’t get caught up in saying, “I’m too busy doing real estate to spend any focused time and effort in learning effective lead generation methods.”
‘I don’t have the money’
I don’t have the money to (insert important thing here). But I do have the money to buy the latest phone model, stop at Starbucks, go out to lunch with my buddies, stay in style with the latest designer purse, shoes and makeup, and buy a new car.
Let’s just be real with each other here. You have the money to do things you want, regardless of how big or small your income is. This issue is the exact same thing as time, except time is finite, and money is not.
If you don’t have yourself on a budget and stick to that budget, you are absolutely going to believe the lie you tell yourself that you don’t have the money.
Let’s put it this way: if something is important to you or you want it badly enough, you always find a way. Always. You basically have two options available to you, and you should be implementing both in your business and your life.
First of all, get on a budget, and stop tossing away money on Starbucks, meals out, wasted food in your fridge, happy hour drinks, etc.
Want a different life? Want more money to invest in your business? Get control of your money. Break through any money mindset issues you have; we all have them.
Your second option is to find a way to make more money. Clean out your house, and sell stuff. Figure out something you can create and sell quickly. Get a second job to get you through the slump. Be resourceful.
‘I’m not good at tech’
“I’m not tech-y, so I can’t (insert important thing here).” But I did get my master’s degree in history. I learned how to DIY the tile in my bathroom. I learned how to keep my lawn the greenest in the neighborhood — or whatever other thing you didn’t know how to do but figured out.
Let me tell you something. No one is born a tech expert. Not even millennials. Every single one of us has to learn. Anything we want to do, we have to learn. The beauty of now is that we have Google and YouTube — two amazing resources that teach us how to do just about anything. We can find and learn within minutes.
We should all focus on this: “Always be learning.” If you aren’t focused on always learning and you aren’t willing to learn and grow, you will not succeed. You will remain where you are right now.
I hosted an episode of The #RIBBIT Show recently where I go in-depth on the “I’m not tech-y” plague that is spreading among real estate agents. Check it out.
These are the three main excuses I hear real estate agents making every single day. Have you heard others? Please share in the comments section below.
Christina Ethridge is the founder of LeadsAndLeverage.com, helping real estate agents capture, convert, and close Facebook leads.
