In our most
recent Peak Producers training class, we talked about “The
Attitude of a Peak Producer,” and Brian Buffini encouraged everyone
to focus on a positive, consistent attitude to help us through the potential
snares and pits of the real estate business. His comments reminded me, once
again, of Gino Blefari’s presentation at our Annual Business
Conference last year and again when many of us got to see him last week.
At our
conference, Gino focused on time management and attitudes, and he made the
point that in order for us to perform and live at our best, it’s crucial
that, every day, we make sure we get our M.E.D.S. No, not those little pills or powders or
essential oils we my take, but an overall way of living to promote our health
and wellbeing so we can be at our best. Here are Gino’s M.E.D.S:
M is for meditation
or prayer. Gino carries his rosary beads in his pocket but his
point is that we should ideally begin our day with some form of introspection
and centering so that we ground ourselves before we plunge into that whirlwind
of family and business and life in the 21st century. If you can find
even just five minutes of quiet practice to attend to your inner, spiritual,
self each day, you’ll feel the difference.
E is for exercise.
Yes, exercise can fatigue us, especially if we’ve been out
of the habit, but if practiced regularly, it will not only improve our strength
and conditioning, but it can also energize us. No matter where you are in your
age or physical conditioning, you can find improvements in your wellbeing and
your attitude by starting or enhancing an exercise program. Even just getting
out and walking a bit can be a great way to get your E!
D is for diet. Of course, we all know this is
important and we’ve all tried to “diet” in the
sense of the word as a nasty verb for eating nothing but rice cakes and iceberg
lettuce with no dressing! Yuck! The D in Gino’s M.E.D.S.
really applies to what we eat over the long term and is reflected in changing
our eating habits and behavior so that healthy eating becomes our norm, not
torture. By the way, when we have a healthy diet, that occasional, rare, treat
tastes far better than it ever did when we indulged on a daily basis! In his
Peak Producers class, Brian Buffini notes that in our culture we actually don’t have an
idiom for this positive approach to diet or business but we do have one for the
opposite: Garbage in, garbage out! Plus, Buffini suggests this axiom also
applies to our mental diet as well! We are what we watch, read, and experience
among the ten people we hang out with most, so choose wisely. One usually doesn’t become a better person watching “The Real Housewives of . . .” whatever!!
S is for sleep. Have you ever told your sick child
that sleep is the best medicine? We know it’s
absolutely true and we really hope that youngster will get a good rest and feel
better in the morning. And yet, even though this “medicine”
is
free for all of us, all too often we forget to take a proper dose! Early to bed
. . . you know the rest, right? Yet even if we turn out the lights fairly
early, if we’ve just been watching an exciting TV show or playing a video
game, chances are we won’t get a restful sleep since we’re still
chasing those terrorists or wondering what will happen in next week’s show
(thank goodness Downton Abbey is now finished at last!) Sleep is truly the best
medicine and if you rise early you’ll also give yourself an extra hour or
two for the M. and E. so you can focus on what’s most
important to making your business—and your life—a success
and a joy. Several brokers in our Peak Producers class have set goals for early
to bed/early to rise and they’re sharing their results with their
accountability partners!
Spring is
on the way—even though it snowed a day or two ago—and that
whirlwind of serving our clients will reach gale force. Make sure you get your
M.E.D.S. so you can enjoy the ride!
David M. Hassler
VP, Professional Development
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