A” for Attitude

How your attitude affects your business

by Brian Buffini Buffini & Company, Chairman and Founder

Whether dealing with a difficult client, helping someone who is losing his or her home, or simply being exposed to the negativity swirling about in the media, this business can drain you from time to time. While some of these things are out of our control, how we react to them is most certainly not. I believe that to fuel and maintain a positive outlook there are three things we must examine:

Philosophy. Attitude. Energy.

1. PHILOSOPHY

Literally, the “love of wisdom” philosophy is what you believe about yourself and the world around you.

What do you believe about yourself?

How do you feel about yourself? How do you feel about your business? Do you think you’re a winner or are you tougher on yourself than you should be? If you’ve experienced a shift in income, has that impacted how you feel about your abilities? Are you “only good because the market is hot,” or do you believe you are a professional who brings value to their clients? What we believe about who we are is critical to our daily attitude. As my mentor, Zig Ziglar says: “You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.”

Positive thinking will help you be a better business owner, wife, brother, daughter, friend – especially when you put what you learn into practice – go do it, share it and be it.

What do you believe about the industry?

What do you believe about your industry? What do you believe about Royal LePage – about the support and skills you have at your disposal? Do you believe it’s a good time to buy? Are you getting that across to your clients? Examine what you feel about your industry and make sure you are as positive as you’re trying to get your clients to be!

What do you believe about the future?

Listening to bad news about the economy can impact your optimism and leave you cynical and worried about the future – almost without you knowing it. What do you believe about the future? Are our best days behind us or do you see opportunity ahead? Author Norman Vincent Peale tells us: “Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude towards it, for that determines our success or failure.” The way you think about something can defeat you before you begin so learn to be aware of this and stay positive about where we’re headed. Canada is a great country with an abundance of ambition and drive. Keep that in mind instead of the pundits’ predictions!

2. ATTITUDE

The key to a positive attitude is a good mental diet and then exercising what you learn.

Mental Diet

Reading is key because it demands a level of commitment and concentration. If you’re not reading, you might as well be illiterate so take time to read and put the good stuff into your head. We maintain a booklist on our website of great titles to immerse yourself in. This stuff works so what are you waiting for? Turn off the TV; turn on the reading lamp!

Exercise

Zig Ziglar tells us that “Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” If I’m thinking positively while engaging in an activity I’m going to do it better than if I’m thinking negatively about it. Positive thinking will help you be a better business owner, wife, brother, daughter, friend – especially when you put what you learn into practice – go do it, share it and be it.

Gratitude

I believe gratitude is missing from our society today. More and more we seem to be developing a sense of entitlement. This is very apparent at restaurants where instead of thanking their servers, diners barely even acknowledge them. Well if you Work by Referral you know that it’s all about gratitude and being thankful. During one of the worst recessions the U.S. has ever seen, our American Members still managed to make, on average, $168,000 last year. They did it by providing great service with an attitude of gratitude. This is a non-negotiable. Royal LePage provides you with everything you need to succeed. It’s time to be thankful!

3. ENERGY

This industry never sleeps but if you are never really off can you ever be fully on and engaged? Without a scheduled break it’s impossible to maintain a high level of execution but when we know there’s a rest on the horizon we can work that much harder in the short-term. There’s a powerful yet simple formula for energy I learned from my good friend Tony Schwartz:

Run Hard. Rest and Recover. Run Hard Again.

Based on studies of top athletes and achievers, the idea is that for high performance you go hard, then stop and recover. Buffini & Company has designed three annual Blitz programs for our Members so they can utilize this natural flow: work hard with specific activities, rest and recover, then work hard again to get the great results in their business. But remember, the recovery is just as important to get off the treadmill and refuel.

I believe that attitude is not an accident; it’s a choice. I believe we can cultivate an awesome attitude and wear it every day by making sure we align our philosophy, direct our attitude and replenish our energy. Clients are looking to you for reassurance. With all the tools and resources Royal LePage provides, you have everything you need to maintain a winning attitude and succeed!

Brian Buffini is the Chairman/Founder of Buffini & Company. Headquartered in San Diego, Buffini & Company is the largest real estate training and coaching company in North America.