with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 4:

Agony of Defeat

with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 4:

Agony of Defeat

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
Believing you are well prepared can make small defeats take you by surprise; depleting your confidence and causing you to shelter in place. When we retract we don't tap into the power that is behind us resulting in our inability to overcome quickly and begin again. Claim your small victories by moving forward and not comparing yourself to everyone around you. You're in this business to sell homes, build relationships and to make a great living at it; let's get after it.
Straight Out of Kansas City
  • ​Coming Live to you I am in Kansas City, Missouri. Flying in on Friday evening, my body had not felt the full effect of the cold weather. Going out to dinner that night, I decided to walk back to my hotel which was only four blocks away. 
  • ​Just like most of us when we go into this industry, I thought I was well prepared. Two blocks into my walk, I went into a literal panic attack, I have never experienced 11 degrees before; my mind was on the polar vortex that was going across the country. Shivering and thinking that something significant was going to happen to me. 
  • ​When we are in a place of discomfort it is hard to push forward; holding your first open house, and the results aren't what you thought, and you lose confidence. I looked ahead, and I could see my hotel, still 2 ½ blocks away, I could go on, or I could retract and return to the restaurant. 
  • ​I wish I could say I persevered, but I turned back; it was too much, too intense. We tend to do this a lot in business when things aren't what we planned them out to be. Sometimes we retract when it becomes too difficult. I could see other people walking down the street, but I hadn't built the capacity to handle the cold. When we try something different, the first thing we do is compare ourselves to how others are doing it.
  • ​There is always a parallel to how we handle certain things and when we retract we go to a place of comfort. Over the last three days, I have gone outside, probably two or three, to get into my Uber ride. I have been very comfortable in my hotel room watching others do what I thought I could do.
  • ​When we venture off and try something new like texting somebody or cold calling someone, and we don't get the results we want, we sit back and wonder how others are doing it. That's what happens to our confidence when we don't try it again. We end up becoming a spectator; just like I have been spectating how others are managing the bitter cold.
The Power Behind You
  • My experience was too much for me to handle mentally, and physically. You need to understand that the agony of defeat has lasting effects; shutting you down and getting you into an uncomfortable place. You tried the Facebook Live videos but didn't get the likes that you wanted. Your message wasn't on point like you thought it would be. So you stop and get into a comfortable place as a spectator watching others do that. 
  • ​I have seen most of you try that; you are gung ho to do something with your marketing, but when you don't get the results you want, you shut down. I am sitting in the hotel watching others go out into the cold, just doing it. Where are you just sitting back? Is it that painful? How will you continue to move forward?
  • ​I had spoken with agents who had lost a client that was going to be the biggest transaction of their lives and when it didn't happen they went back to their comfort zone. It was too mentally tough to deal with, emotionally draining because that client should have been theirs.
  • ​With every defeat, there is also the thrill of victory if we try again. These opportunities would have never presented themselves if you weren't out there, to begin with. That big deal you lost wasn't the only deal; it was A deal. Your job is to go out and get another one regardless of the outcome of the previous one. That's how the game works, and it is challenging for us.
  • ​You aren't the only one going through it, we all face it regardless of how long you have been in this industry. I have been in this industry for over 15 years, and I still go through it. I am getting overwhelmed, losing the confidence and underestimating my power; hesitating and taking precautions, even shutting down.
  • ​There is a quote, “The obstacle in front of you will never be greater than the power behind you.” The power behind you is your convictions, your relentless pursuit of going after what you want; no obstacle can stop you unless we start to get into our head, panic and begin to question ourselves. Every time we feel defeated it's because we forget how great we are.
Big Success, Big Challenges
  • The game of real estate is tough, and it's becoming more challenging for a lot of you. Those at the top of their game last year begin to lose their confidence because they only had two transactions in the previous quarter after killing it all year. They begin to question themselves.
  • ​In this business, you need to realize that there will always be ups and downs. When you think it is still going to be down, that's when we are doing a more significant injustice to our business. That client that you lost wasn't yours; because the reality is they aren't yours. You can convince yourself or others that because you had a conversation with that client, answered some phone calls and got them pre-qualified; you now deserve a $9000 check? 
  • ​The point of defeat is to understand what you can do better; I witnessed defeat first hand just trying to walk through the cold. Watching my daughter and her team of girls who are playing volleyball, feel defeated because they are questioning their skill set, their confidence. Everything is good when everything is good. My daughter's team went 3-0 on Saturday; when you continue to win and grow there will be an opposite reaction, and the obstacles are going to get bigger. 
  • ​Sunday was radically different because now they were entering new levels. My daughter and her team went 0-3. We are the same as agents; on fire one week and the next completely lost. To go from 3-0 to 0-3 does something to you. I saw more mistakes being made, panic setting in. A lot of the girls lost themselves and began to question themselves; are we as good as the other team? Yes, some teams are far superior but when you fall into the trap of believing that we are inferior, more mistakes occur, and the challenges become greater and more prominent.
  • ​We stop doing the things we are supposed to do; the thousands of reps behind us are now lost. So, welcome to the world of real estate whether you have been here a week or 15 years; this game is brutal sometimes. We don't have average problems because we continue to push for bigger things. So don't get discouraged when the big things occur, understanding that big challenges come with that.
  • ​We all have big ambitions and know what we need to do; it is a matter of getting out of our comfort zone. Proclaim to yourself; if you have stopped your marketing, start again. If you have stopped making the phone calls or texting, make that proclamation to yourself to start again.
What is YOUR Mt. Everest?
  • I’m going to do something very simple here today; I have on a light sweater, I am not going to put on my heavy jacket. This will be a small victory to understand my mind is greater than any challenge that comes before me; I'm not climbing Mt. Everest, but for now, it feels like it. I am going to walk across the field next to my hotel, and I am going to change what I thought I couldn't do.
  • ​The thing that stopped me in my tracks a few days ago that made me retract, causing me to panic and seek shelter in my room over the last three days. I will face that today. These are the same things you are going to face today; it's time to get yourself out there; Out there unapologetically. It's time for you to go on Facebook, Instagram and reach out to your clients. It's time to proclaim you are the authority because that defeat you just faced was only a stepping stone to the next level. It's not your demise.
  • ​Crossing that field is a small victory for me because someone else can do it in a t-shirt, but that's if I compare myself to someone else; I simply need to do. You need to do, and someone else will be better at Facebook posts, someone will have greater skill sets on the phone, sending texts, more effective on Open Houses; but that's if you compare. Or you can just simply do and get better every time you do; that's what I am going for today. I refuse to be that tourist on the local news about how something went wrong.
  • ​I hope you continue to build your confidence instead of it eroding. I'm not more confident hiding in my comfortable hotel room; it's the little victories. If we compare ourselves, it appears minuscule. Remind yourself that you are not average; you are the exception of. Your challenges will not be ordinary or simple; you need to go after the small win. 
  • ​You're in this business to sell homes, build relationships and to make a great living at it; let's get after it.

More Episodes

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
Believing you are well prepared can make small defeats take you by surprise; depleting your confidence and causing you to shelter in place. When we retract we don't tap into the power that is behind us resulting in our inability to overcome quickly and begin again. Claim your small victories by moving forward and not comparing yourself to everyone around you. You're in this business to sell homes, build relationships and to make a great living at it; let's get after it.
Straight Out of Kansas City
  • ​Coming Live to you I am in Kansas City, Missouri. Flying in on Friday evening, my body had not felt the full effect of the cold weather. Going out to dinner that night, I decided to walk back to my hotel which was only four blocks away. 
  • ​Just like most of us when we go into this industry, I thought I was well prepared. Two blocks into my walk, I went into a literal panic attack, I have never experienced 11 degrees before; my mind was on the polar vortex that was going across the country. Shivering and thinking that something significant was going to happen to me. 
  • ​When we are in a place of discomfort it is hard to push forward; holding your first open house, and the results aren't what you thought, and you lose confidence. I looked ahead, and I could see my hotel, still 2 ½ blocks away, I could go on, or I could retract and return to the restaurant. 
  • ​I wish I could say I persevered, but I turned back; it was too much, too intense. We tend to do this a lot in business when things aren't what we planned them out to be. Sometimes we retract when it becomes too difficult. I could see other people walking down the street, but I hadn't built the capacity to handle the cold. When we try something different, the first thing we do is compare ourselves to how others are doing it.
  • ​There is always a parallel to how we handle certain things and when we retract we go to a place of comfort. Over the last three days, I have gone outside, probably two or three, to get into my Uber ride. I have been very comfortable in my hotel room watching others do what I thought I could do.
  • ​When we venture off and try something new like texting somebody or cold calling someone, and we don't get the results we want, we sit back and wonder how others are doing it. That's what happens to our confidence when we don't try it again. We end up becoming a spectator; just like I have been spectating how others are managing the bitter cold.
The Power Behind You
  • My experience was too much for me to handle mentally, and physically. You need to understand that the agony of defeat has lasting effects; shutting you down and getting you into an uncomfortable place. You tried the Facebook Live videos but didn't get the likes that you wanted. Your message wasn't on point like you thought it would be. So you stop and get into a comfortable place as a spectator watching others do that. 
  • ​I have seen most of you try that; you are gung ho to do something with your marketing, but when you don't get the results you want, you shut down. I am sitting in the hotel watching others go out into the cold, just doing it. Where are you just sitting back? Is it that painful? How will you continue to move forward?
  • ​I had spoken with agents who had lost a client that was going to be the biggest transaction of their lives and when it didn't happen they went back to their comfort zone. It was too mentally tough to deal with, emotionally draining because that client should have been theirs.
  • ​With every defeat, there is also the thrill of victory if we try again. These opportunities would have never presented themselves if you weren't out there, to begin with. That big deal you lost wasn't the only deal; it was A deal. Your job is to go out and get another one regardless of the outcome of the previous one. That's how the game works, and it is challenging for us.
  • ​You aren't the only one going through it, we all face it regardless of how long you have been in this industry. I have been in this industry for over 15 years, and I still go through it. I am getting overwhelmed, losing the confidence and underestimating my power; hesitating and taking precautions, even shutting down.
  • ​There is a quote, “The obstacle in front of you will never be greater than the power behind you.” The power behind you is your convictions, your relentless pursuit of going after what you want; no obstacle can stop you unless we start to get into our head, panic and begin to question ourselves. Every time we feel defeated it's because we forget how great we are.
Big Success, Big Challenges
  • The game of real estate is tough, and it's becoming more challenging for a lot of you. Those at the top of their game last year begin to lose their confidence because they only had two transactions in the previous quarter after killing it all year. They begin to question themselves.
  • ​In this business, you need to realize that there will always be ups and downs. When you think it is still going to be down, that's when we are doing a more significant injustice to our business. That client that you lost wasn't yours; because the reality is they aren't yours. You can convince yourself or others that because you had a conversation with that client, answered some phone calls and got them pre-qualified; you now deserve a $9000 check? 
  • ​The point of defeat is to understand what you can do better; I witnessed defeat first hand just trying to walk through the cold. Watching my daughter and her team of girls who are playing volleyball, feel defeated because they are questioning their skill set, their confidence. Everything is good when everything is good. My daughter's team went 3-0 on Saturday; when you continue to win and grow there will be an opposite reaction, and the obstacles are going to get bigger. 
  • ​Sunday was radically different because now they were entering new levels. My daughter and her team went 0-3. We are the same as agents; on fire one week and the next completely lost. To go from 3-0 to 0-3 does something to you. I saw more mistakes being made, panic setting in. A lot of the girls lost themselves and began to question themselves; are we as good as the other team? Yes, some teams are far superior but when you fall into the trap of believing that we are inferior, more mistakes occur, and the challenges become greater and more prominent.
  • ​We stop doing the things we are supposed to do; the thousands of reps behind us are now lost. So, welcome to the world of real estate whether you have been here a week or 15 years; this game is brutal sometimes. We don't have average problems because we continue to push for bigger things. So don't get discouraged when the big things occur, understanding that big challenges come with that.
  • ​We all have big ambitions and know what we need to do; it is a matter of getting out of our comfort zone. Proclaim to yourself; if you have stopped your marketing, start again. If you have stopped making the phone calls or texting, make that proclamation to yourself to start again.
What is YOUR Mt. Everest?
  • I’m going to do something very simple here today; I have on a light sweater, I am not going to put on my heavy jacket. This will be a small victory to understand my mind is greater than any challenge that comes before me; I'm not climbing Mt. Everest, but for now, it feels like it. I am going to walk across the field next to my hotel, and I am going to change what I thought I couldn't do.
  • ​The thing that stopped me in my tracks a few days ago that made me retract, causing me to panic and seek shelter in my room over the last three days. I will face that today. These are the same things you are going to face today; it's time to get yourself out there; Out there unapologetically. It's time for you to go on Facebook, Instagram and reach out to your clients. It's time to proclaim you are the authority because that defeat you just faced was only a stepping stone to the next level. It's not your demise.
  • ​Crossing that field is a small victory for me because someone else can do it in a t-shirt, but that's if I compare myself to someone else; I simply need to do. You need to do, and someone else will be better at Facebook posts, someone will have greater skill sets on the phone, sending texts, more effective on Open Houses; but that's if you compare. Or you can just simply do and get better every time you do; that's what I am going for today. I refuse to be that tourist on the local news about how something went wrong.
  • ​I hope you continue to build your confidence instead of it eroding. I'm not more confident hiding in my comfortable hotel room; it's the little victories. If we compare ourselves, it appears minuscule. Remind yourself that you are not average; you are the exception of. Your challenges will not be ordinary or simple; you need to go after the small win. 
  • ​You're in this business to sell homes, build relationships and to make a great living at it; let's get after it.

More Episodes



A.Z. & Associates Real Estate Group - 2019