How a 6-Year-Old Changed My Thinking
All through life, we’re always asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? All through school, we’re asked by our parents, teachers, relatives, and even strangers. Yet, what if it’s the wrong question?
I remember when my son was in first grade, the class was assigned an exercise to draw a picture about what they wanted to be when they grew up. My son froze. He couldn’t do it. He sat there thinking, “I’m just six years old. I’m supposed to pick what I want to be when I grow up now and then be committed to that forever?” At the time, I thought, Oh, come on, kid, it’s just an exercise. It’s to have fun. It’s not a commitment. But as the many years have passed since that incident, the more I think, no, my son is right. We spend way too much time focused on what do you want to be when you grow up.
The real question is: what do you want to accomplish?
Desired Accomplishment Drives Your What
What do you want to accomplish really drives everything. Think about this. Do you want to buy a three-bedroom, two-bath house in the suburbs? Or perhaps you want a condo right on the beach? Do you want to have a big mansion on the outskirts of town? Are you the type of person who wants to have a small place to live so you have lots of money to travel? Or are you the kind of person who wants to have a big mansion that is a travel destination unto itself? Maybe you’re thinking, I want to make a lot of money so that I can spend the rest of my life helping children in a third-world country. Or maybe you’re thinking, I want to make lots of money so I can donate to a charity that supports children in a third-world country.
If you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, then how you do it or what you do is not really as important. This is why so many of us drift from career to career and job to job. Even once we start our business, we just drift from client to client. We’re so focused on what we’re going to be or what we are doing that we don’t think about what we’re trying to accomplish. When you start realizing what you want to accomplish, what you do becomes much easier.
Let’s face it, whether you’re a real estate agent, small business owner, or simply working your way up the corporate ladder, there are going to be days that are difficult. There are going to be days that are going to make you think, “I don’t want to do this anymore. Why am I doing this to myself?” But if you’re focused on what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s much easier to push through those dark days. When you’re focused on what you’re trying to accomplish, problems become just things to go around instead of stoppers to your career.
This is one of the key things I cover in my book, Build a Real Estate Career That Fits You, is what are you trying to accomplish? Once you know what you’re trying to accomplish, the how suddenly becomes much easier.
