with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 62:

Don't Make it Worse

with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 62:

Don't Make it Worse

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I have noticed that so many agents have been ghosting on their marketing. They are totally gone. They have forgotten the things that got them to where they are today. Are you hiding in the corner, wondering when this will all be over? Will you stop moving forward because of the noise that is going on all around you? I challenge you to get up and begin again. Get back to your routines, your marketing, and your targets. Don't be part of the masses that has nothing to show for this time. Be the leader that you have trained to be and realize this is the prime time to strike.
Prime Time for Prime 3
  • ​I am here with you, overcoming obstacles with you. Today's topic is, “ Don't Make Things Worse!” I have been thinking this week about how I have been able to access my power—being able to access a better mindset and mind-frame that allows me to continue to show up daily. 
  • ​What has changed about how I operate daily? Very little has changed. We can make things worse for ourselves during a crisis when we stop doing the things that put us in power, the things that make everything better when they are done. Whether it is a personal crisis, or a health and economic crisis, we tend to be distracted by the pains and ills that are happening to others. It can directly or indirectly affect us as business owners. I am thankful that our business can continue to function normally when complete industries have been shut down.
  • ​We can get caught up in the emotion of how things used to be, that we forget people are feeling more considerable pains than us. That is something they have to deal with, and it isn't our fight to fight. Our job is to work and operate within the parameters that have been set forth. You can do your job, but you have to respect the parameters around it. You can continue to market, but you now have to lead. You can continue to show, but you have to take precautions. 
  • ​When we look at how we are changing, many of us stop doing what got us here, to begin with. When we get into a crisis, the worst thing we can do is make things worse. How do we do that? By stopping the operation. If you are in the mindset that the only way your business functions is to be in front of a client, you are mistaken, and you don't really have a business. This is the prime time for you to take a step back and realize that your business has many functions within it. I need to be a better marketer and be able to generate a better lead source. I need to put the systems in place; this is the time I need to understand the operations. Not just keep basing it on my hustle and hard work. 
  • ​As I thought about how we make things worse during a crisis, I thought about what we stop doing in crisis. I want you to analyze that today. When I get up in the morning, I know I need to access my power. My energy is at different levels, at different times, on different days. The most effective days for me are the days that I do things that I hate the most. When I challenge myself in ways that I hate the most, it breaks me down and psychologically triggers me the most. 
  • ​The four-mile runs I have been doing four days a week have been a blessing for me. I am taking myself into a deeper pain than anything inside of me can do. There is nothing more mentally challenging than me trying to better myself each time I am out there. My body is hurting, and that is a greater pain than anything happening on the outside. I am trying to really push myself on these runs, to do things that I have never done in my life—pushing myself to these sub-seven-minute-miles. 
  • ​It's hard, and it does something to me; even when I push myself to that level, those days are my most effective. My marketing is on point, my communication is on point, and I am more connected at home. On the days where my workouts aren't that good, I am half-listening to a podcast but not entirely there; those days are not that great. The days I decide to take it easy are not very effective.
Going Through the Motions
  • Many agents in our industry right now are merely taking it easy. They aren't taking it to the level I am going or even a mid-level that you are going to. They are making things worse for themselves. If you haven't done anything to better yourself during this process, you are going to regret it. When you see individuals making strides beyond you, that is the worst feeling in the world. When you realize that you could have kept up, you could have taken the lead, and you decided not to do those things. Now you feel left behind when looking at others that have passed you by. 
  • ​One of the things that I wrote in my 12-week target book was, “Sometimes going through the motions is all I have.” We always use that as a negative thing. During this time, sometimes going through the motions is the best that you have. When you don't do anything, not put your body or mind into motion; that is the most considerable deficit to your company.
  • ​I finished it by saying, “Going through the motions will allow you to stay in motion.” I want you to begin to think about that; we have a choice right now. We have a choice to continue to do the things that we know will allow us to access power and put us in a better position once this crisis subsides. We, as agents, are essential to this industry, and some of you are not embracing that. You are not doing things to position yourself for success. Not everyone is feeling the pinch right now, but we will; it's only a matter of time. 
  • ​We all know this; we have the frontal cortex that is the keeper of our capabilities. It's a part of the brain that allows us to reason, analyze, communicate, problem solves, and prioritize. It is singularly the most critical tool we have as humans. It is what separates us from other mammals. Many of us right now are being triggered by the amygdala, which is the prehistoric brain. It's the part of the brain that tells us if we will fight or flight. It's ancient and deep within our skull, but it is still within us. 
  • ​This amygdala cannot analyze; they don't communicate or prioritize; it's either going to trigger your fight or flight response. Many of us are operating in that place. The whole point of the 12-week Targets and everything we have put down here is for you to access that frontal cortex. So you can communicate, analyze, and reason better. Nothing outside of you is greater than the power that you possess within you. If it is all fear-based, and you aren't putting your body in action, you're not taking care of your health; you're overeating, and you will be stuck in the amygdala. You will be the same as any other animal. 
  • ​You're going to be frightened every day, shut down, and put your business into the big sea of oblivion. Realize that we have the tools for you to access that reasoning; that analytical, problem-solving mind. You have to position yourself there, and Prime 3 is precisely that. 
  • ​I am listening to all types of motivational speakers, and there isn't anything they are saying that is different from what we have here. If you stick to the Prime 3 and access power for your body, and do things for your mind, through purpose, and stick to what has worked for your profits; marketing, sales, systems. We have the tools within us.
Be a Leader
  • I was listening to John Maxwell. He does a phenomenal job of putting out messages that resonate with the public. He is in this business for business but does it in a way where he truly cares. He wants to see people succeed. He talks about being grateful for this situation and understanding we need to make ourselves memorably. The easiest way to separate yourself from any competition is to beat them out with your consistency and outlast them. 
  • ​When things were good, your messages were not seen as often; since most have shut down, this is your prime opportunity if you see it like that. It's hard to see those opportunities if we don't position ourselves in a place of power. I will keep reminding you of this; it is not a time to take it easy. The consequences will be dire, and you will be left behind. There is no feeling worse than being left behind. 
  • ​You have all had the opportunities to be leaders, but our fears, thoughts, amygdala, did not allow us to position ourselves as that person fully. This is a burden for all of us, and when we get caught in this place, it can seem like it is outside of us. Your business right now relies solely on you, not on the economy or this crisis. What will you decide to do today? 
  • ​If you operate from a place of fear, you will be able to problem-solve or analyze. The game is not to stay stagnant or make things worse for ourselves. The distraction right now is that everyone is going to die, and there is an invisible enemy that you can't see. Honestly, I don't think we can escape; there is nothing you can do really. You can quarantine yourself, which I agree with, but what about the random day you decide to go to the grocery store? You accidentally touched the gas pump handle, and now you're sick. It's an invisible enemy. 
  • ​I was reading an article about a 30-year-old that died, but they didn't mention his pre-existing health conditions. Everyone focuses on if you're thirty or forty, you are going to die also. It's the same as if you are in the Real Estate industry; you should be suffering. I know a lot of agents that are not, and that are putting up contracts to this very day. This is where we need to adjust. It's not the big numbers we wanted for the second quarter, but there are still points we need to put up on the board. You still need to have prospects and pre-qualifications. You still need to go after escrows and listings. There is no shame in that because there are still people who need to buy and sell. 
  • ​Start looking at what has changed in your process because right now, we are essential. Right now, you have been given the green light to run your business. If you are deciding not to, that is on you. I am so thankful; our worries are far less than those businesses that have been told they cannot operate. They don't have a choice; you have a choice, and so do I. I am here every day doing the things that allow me to access power. I refuse to make things worse.
  • ​Today will be a day of analyzing your actions, and you will come out of it with a simple response. Yes, I am making things worse, or no, I am on my game. If you are making things worse, you are going to change them. Identify what you stopped doing and start doing it. Some of you have completed ghosted on social media; you are gone. What if that is a glimpse of your future in this industry? What a shame, right? 
  • ​That is what you are telling the world and telling yourself; you can only perform when the parameters are exactly like they need to be. When things are good, you can operate in full integrity, but at the first sign of crisis, I am going to shut down. You need to have zero shame when putting yourself out there. Those that choose to show up daily will realize benefits, results that many are not prepared for. 
  • ​Anytime I have been able to overcome my amygdala instincts, I have come up farther ahead than I could ever imagine. It's not that difficult or beyond what you have proven that you can do; it's all within your grasp. If you need to begin again, then start again. The 12-week Target Book is available.
In Closing
  • We need to inundate the platforms that your clients are all on right now. Your clients have nothing but time; they are on social media and their emails. They are on their phones, and this is the perfect storm for us. Now we have more eyes on our content. Become that content creator, and if you don't know what to communicate, start in your book. 
  • ​You will never run out of content, and these books are still available. Invest in yourself by doing the work. I am excited about what's to come. Last week, we unveiled a new brand, a new logo, and software that has been months in the works. I loved it for one reason; the excitement I got from everyone. We were showcasing to the marketplace that we will not slow down, stop, or tuck our tails between our legs and call it a day. We will continue to work and expand. 
  • ​So many people reached out to me, excited about our excitement. It is now your time to declare that and be excited about your business. Be leaders right now; you have been primed for it. We have a Sales Meeting coming up this Thursday, and we will be recognizing our first quarter Top Producers but will be going over a market trend that I believe is going to happen. I want you to be a part of this because we aren't riding on anyone else's coattails; we are leading the charge.
  • ​Thank you for joining me here so we can stay focused and recalibrate our brains. We need to access that frontal cortex and realize that is where our power will come from. We will be better communicators, problem solvers, and when we get to the point of fight or flight, it will be strategic. When I fight, I don't fight out of fear, and that is the whole point. 
  • ​If you haven't accessed our new software, do that today. Put out content today. I have seen people use it to put out their quotes, announcing their just closed and listed properties. It is a great software that we are continually going to improve. You have it for free by being an agent here at A.Z. & Associates. 
  • ​After making all of these announcements, I had three days where I didn't put anything down in my 12-week Target Book. I wasn't going to allow that to stop my progression. I had to open my book and realize that I have been off of my game. But I begin again and come out stronger. Do not be afraid to start again because we all are going to screw up. Having that courage to start again is where the game will change for all of us. 
  • ​Being in that place where our amygdala is telling us to shut down and hide, and seeing all of this negativity, it can be hard to be optimistic. Are we out of place for being optimistic? I don't think so. We don't have to feel like everyone else is feeling, and part of that is realizing we may be against the current. 
  • ​This is a storm, and a lot of us are waiting for it to pass. There is a flip side to it, though. You have wanted eyes and attention. Maybe you were overwhelmed before because everyone was marketing and putting out their successes and selfies. Not anymore; this is our prime time to strike.
  • ​We are never going to put our clients in a place where it is a bad deal for them. Sometimes though, we are so focused on the wrongs that we don't see the rights; the opportunities. When have interest rates been in the high twos, and low threes? That is where they are at. We are so focused on the outside that we don't see the opportunities that are still there. It is up to us to continue to showcase that to our clients. They are tired of feeling fearful and not knowing what is going to happen. They are scared and need your ray of light to shine on them.
  • ​As I was growing up, I only had one quote that was in my head. I didn't know about motivational speakers like Tony Robbins until I was in college. I remember having one quote above my doorway that said, “I am the master of my destiny.” Last night I took a picture in my daughter's room, and she has quotes up as well. One of them says, “ I am a leader, not a follower.” These are things that we need to imbed in our minds consistently. We have to see it time and again to be able to enforce that. You are the master of your destiny just as I am. If we come out of this in a worse situation, that is because of us. That is not because of the economy, or the pandemic. It's because we decided to make it worse. There will be people who come out on top, and those are the people who accessed their power and decided to put out positive content. We all have a choice.
  • ​You all need to stay committed, continue to remain within this community, use the tools that are there for you, and let's get after it.

More Episodes

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I have noticed that so many agents have been ghosting on their marketing. They are totally gone. They have forgotten the things that got them to where they are today. Are you hiding in the corner, wondering when this will all be over? Will you stop moving forward because of the noise that is going on all around you? I challenge you to get up and begin again. Get back to your routines, your marketing, and your targets. Don't be part of the masses that has nothing to show for this time. Be the leader that you have trained to be and realize this is the prime time to strike.
Prime Time for Prime 3
  • ​I am here with you, overcoming obstacles with you. Today's topic is, “ Don't Make Things Worse!” I have been thinking this week about how I have been able to access my power—being able to access a better mindset and mind-frame that allows me to continue to show up daily. 
  • ​What has changed about how I operate daily? Very little has changed. We can make things worse for ourselves during a crisis when we stop doing the things that put us in power, the things that make everything better when they are done. Whether it is a personal crisis, or a health and economic crisis, we tend to be distracted by the pains and ills that are happening to others. It can directly or indirectly affect us as business owners. I am thankful that our business can continue to function normally when complete industries have been shut down.
  • ​We can get caught up in the emotion of how things used to be, that we forget people are feeling more considerable pains than us. That is something they have to deal with, and it isn't our fight to fight. Our job is to work and operate within the parameters that have been set forth. You can do your job, but you have to respect the parameters around it. You can continue to market, but you now have to lead. You can continue to show, but you have to take precautions. 
  • ​When we look at how we are changing, many of us stop doing what got us here, to begin with. When we get into a crisis, the worst thing we can do is make things worse. How do we do that? By stopping the operation. If you are in the mindset that the only way your business functions is to be in front of a client, you are mistaken, and you don't really have a business. This is the prime time for you to take a step back and realize that your business has many functions within it. I need to be a better marketer and be able to generate a better lead source. I need to put the systems in place; this is the time I need to understand the operations. Not just keep basing it on my hustle and hard work. 
  • ​As I thought about how we make things worse during a crisis, I thought about what we stop doing in crisis. I want you to analyze that today. When I get up in the morning, I know I need to access my power. My energy is at different levels, at different times, on different days. The most effective days for me are the days that I do things that I hate the most. When I challenge myself in ways that I hate the most, it breaks me down and psychologically triggers me the most. 
  • ​The four-mile runs I have been doing four days a week have been a blessing for me. I am taking myself into a deeper pain than anything inside of me can do. There is nothing more mentally challenging than me trying to better myself each time I am out there. My body is hurting, and that is a greater pain than anything happening on the outside. I am trying to really push myself on these runs, to do things that I have never done in my life—pushing myself to these sub-seven-minute-miles. 
  • ​It's hard, and it does something to me; even when I push myself to that level, those days are my most effective. My marketing is on point, my communication is on point, and I am more connected at home. On the days where my workouts aren't that good, I am half-listening to a podcast but not entirely there; those days are not that great. The days I decide to take it easy are not very effective.
Going Through the Motions
  • Many agents in our industry right now are merely taking it easy. They aren't taking it to the level I am going or even a mid-level that you are going to. They are making things worse for themselves. If you haven't done anything to better yourself during this process, you are going to regret it. When you see individuals making strides beyond you, that is the worst feeling in the world. When you realize that you could have kept up, you could have taken the lead, and you decided not to do those things. Now you feel left behind when looking at others that have passed you by. 
  • ​One of the things that I wrote in my 12-week target book was, “Sometimes going through the motions is all I have.” We always use that as a negative thing. During this time, sometimes going through the motions is the best that you have. When you don't do anything, not put your body or mind into motion; that is the most considerable deficit to your company.
  • ​I finished it by saying, “Going through the motions will allow you to stay in motion.” I want you to begin to think about that; we have a choice right now. We have a choice to continue to do the things that we know will allow us to access power and put us in a better position once this crisis subsides. We, as agents, are essential to this industry, and some of you are not embracing that. You are not doing things to position yourself for success. Not everyone is feeling the pinch right now, but we will; it's only a matter of time. 
  • ​We all know this; we have the frontal cortex that is the keeper of our capabilities. It's a part of the brain that allows us to reason, analyze, communicate, problem solves, and prioritize. It is singularly the most critical tool we have as humans. It is what separates us from other mammals. Many of us right now are being triggered by the amygdala, which is the prehistoric brain. It's the part of the brain that tells us if we will fight or flight. It's ancient and deep within our skull, but it is still within us. 
  • ​This amygdala cannot analyze; they don't communicate or prioritize; it's either going to trigger your fight or flight response. Many of us are operating in that place. The whole point of the 12-week Targets and everything we have put down here is for you to access that frontal cortex. So you can communicate, analyze, and reason better. Nothing outside of you is greater than the power that you possess within you. If it is all fear-based, and you aren't putting your body in action, you're not taking care of your health; you're overeating, and you will be stuck in the amygdala. You will be the same as any other animal. 
  • ​You're going to be frightened every day, shut down, and put your business into the big sea of oblivion. Realize that we have the tools for you to access that reasoning; that analytical, problem-solving mind. You have to position yourself there, and Prime 3 is precisely that. 
  • ​I am listening to all types of motivational speakers, and there isn't anything they are saying that is different from what we have here. If you stick to the Prime 3 and access power for your body, and do things for your mind, through purpose, and stick to what has worked for your profits; marketing, sales, systems. We have the tools within us.
Be a Leader
  • I was listening to John Maxwell. He does a phenomenal job of putting out messages that resonate with the public. He is in this business for business but does it in a way where he truly cares. He wants to see people succeed. He talks about being grateful for this situation and understanding we need to make ourselves memorably. The easiest way to separate yourself from any competition is to beat them out with your consistency and outlast them. 
  • ​When things were good, your messages were not seen as often; since most have shut down, this is your prime opportunity if you see it like that. It's hard to see those opportunities if we don't position ourselves in a place of power. I will keep reminding you of this; it is not a time to take it easy. The consequences will be dire, and you will be left behind. There is no feeling worse than being left behind. 
  • ​You have all had the opportunities to be leaders, but our fears, thoughts, amygdala, did not allow us to position ourselves as that person fully. This is a burden for all of us, and when we get caught in this place, it can seem like it is outside of us. Your business right now relies solely on you, not on the economy or this crisis. What will you decide to do today? 
  • ​If you operate from a place of fear, you will be able to problem-solve or analyze. The game is not to stay stagnant or make things worse for ourselves. The distraction right now is that everyone is going to die, and there is an invisible enemy that you can't see. Honestly, I don't think we can escape; there is nothing you can do really. You can quarantine yourself, which I agree with, but what about the random day you decide to go to the grocery store? You accidentally touched the gas pump handle, and now you're sick. It's an invisible enemy. 
  • ​I was reading an article about a 30-year-old that died, but they didn't mention his pre-existing health conditions. Everyone focuses on if you're thirty or forty, you are going to die also. It's the same as if you are in the Real Estate industry; you should be suffering. I know a lot of agents that are not, and that are putting up contracts to this very day. This is where we need to adjust. It's not the big numbers we wanted for the second quarter, but there are still points we need to put up on the board. You still need to have prospects and pre-qualifications. You still need to go after escrows and listings. There is no shame in that because there are still people who need to buy and sell. 
  • ​Start looking at what has changed in your process because right now, we are essential. Right now, you have been given the green light to run your business. If you are deciding not to, that is on you. I am so thankful; our worries are far less than those businesses that have been told they cannot operate. They don't have a choice; you have a choice, and so do I. I am here every day doing the things that allow me to access power. I refuse to make things worse.
  • ​Today will be a day of analyzing your actions, and you will come out of it with a simple response. Yes, I am making things worse, or no, I am on my game. If you are making things worse, you are going to change them. Identify what you stopped doing and start doing it. Some of you have completed ghosted on social media; you are gone. What if that is a glimpse of your future in this industry? What a shame, right? 
  • ​That is what you are telling the world and telling yourself; you can only perform when the parameters are exactly like they need to be. When things are good, you can operate in full integrity, but at the first sign of crisis, I am going to shut down. You need to have zero shame when putting yourself out there. Those that choose to show up daily will realize benefits, results that many are not prepared for. 
  • ​Anytime I have been able to overcome my amygdala instincts, I have come up farther ahead than I could ever imagine. It's not that difficult or beyond what you have proven that you can do; it's all within your grasp. If you need to begin again, then start again. The 12-week Target Book is available.
In Closing
  • We need to inundate the platforms that your clients are all on right now. Your clients have nothing but time; they are on social media and their emails. They are on their phones, and this is the perfect storm for us. Now we have more eyes on our content. Become that content creator, and if you don't know what to communicate, start in your book. 
  • ​You will never run out of content, and these books are still available. Invest in yourself by doing the work. I am excited about what's to come. Last week, we unveiled a new brand, a new logo, and software that has been months in the works. I loved it for one reason; the excitement I got from everyone. We were showcasing to the marketplace that we will not slow down, stop, or tuck our tails between our legs and call it a day. We will continue to work and expand. 
  • ​So many people reached out to me, excited about our excitement. It is now your time to declare that and be excited about your business. Be leaders right now; you have been primed for it. We have a Sales Meeting coming up this Thursday, and we will be recognizing our first quarter Top Producers but will be going over a market trend that I believe is going to happen. I want you to be a part of this because we aren't riding on anyone else's coattails; we are leading the charge.
  • ​Thank you for joining me here so we can stay focused and recalibrate our brains. We need to access that frontal cortex and realize that is where our power will come from. We will be better communicators, problem solvers, and when we get to the point of fight or flight, it will be strategic. When I fight, I don't fight out of fear, and that is the whole point. 
  • ​If you haven't accessed our new software, do that today. Put out content today. I have seen people use it to put out their quotes, announcing their just closed and listed properties. It is a great software that we are continually going to improve. You have it for free by being an agent here at A.Z. & Associates. 
  • ​After making all of these announcements, I had three days where I didn't put anything down in my 12-week Target Book. I wasn't going to allow that to stop my progression. I had to open my book and realize that I have been off of my game. But I begin again and come out stronger. Do not be afraid to start again because we all are going to screw up. Having that courage to start again is where the game will change for all of us. 
  • ​Being in that place where our amygdala is telling us to shut down and hide, and seeing all of this negativity, it can be hard to be optimistic. Are we out of place for being optimistic? I don't think so. We don't have to feel like everyone else is feeling, and part of that is realizing we may be against the current. 
  • ​This is a storm, and a lot of us are waiting for it to pass. There is a flip side to it, though. You have wanted eyes and attention. Maybe you were overwhelmed before because everyone was marketing and putting out their successes and selfies. Not anymore; this is our prime time to strike.
  • ​We are never going to put our clients in a place where it is a bad deal for them. Sometimes though, we are so focused on the wrongs that we don't see the rights; the opportunities. When have interest rates been in the high twos, and low threes? That is where they are at. We are so focused on the outside that we don't see the opportunities that are still there. It is up to us to continue to showcase that to our clients. They are tired of feeling fearful and not knowing what is going to happen. They are scared and need your ray of light to shine on them.
  • ​As I was growing up, I only had one quote that was in my head. I didn't know about motivational speakers like Tony Robbins until I was in college. I remember having one quote above my doorway that said, “I am the master of my destiny.” Last night I took a picture in my daughter's room, and she has quotes up as well. One of them says, “ I am a leader, not a follower.” These are things that we need to imbed in our minds consistently. We have to see it time and again to be able to enforce that. You are the master of your destiny just as I am. If we come out of this in a worse situation, that is because of us. That is not because of the economy, or the pandemic. It's because we decided to make it worse. There will be people who come out on top, and those are the people who accessed their power and decided to put out positive content. We all have a choice.
  • ​You all need to stay committed, continue to remain within this community, use the tools that are there for you, and let's get after it.

More Episodes

A.Z. & Associates Real Estate Group - 2019