Reclaim Your Game to Get Back On Top

Whether you’re building a country or a sales team, there’s a kind of magic that comes with being young, scrappy, and hungry. And yet, with a couple years’ experience, it’s so easy to become old, proficient, and cranky.

So how do you get back that start-up magic? Think of the 12 on your watch face as your starting point as a broker or agent. You’re enthusiastic. You’ve just taken a leap of faith and launched your new venture. You pursue coaching and support from others because you know you know nothing.

As you move from twelve to three, you’re riding high. You’re coaching your new team of agents, enjoying the journey, and actively pursuing the next challenge. But as you approach three, your good ideas start solidifying into policies and procedures. As you transition into the three-to-six zone, you stop looking for ways to grow yourself and your team and instead focus on maintaining the status quo. 

Eventually you hit the bottom of the dial. Even though your passion is gone, you have all this experience and success behind you. But instead of this being your greatest season, the six on the clock face is characterized by a falsely inflated view of self.

In fact, six represents the lowest point in your life as a broker. This is when comfort turns to complacency and you let your foot off the gas. You struggle to find meaning and feel as if you can’t possibly succeed. From here, you’ll either throw in the towel (quit, sell your agency, or explore other options) or have a defining moment and realize you need to do whatever it takes to recapture the zeal, energy, and simplicity you had at twelve on the dial.

If you find yourself at a six on the clock, you can still get back on track by moving up the dial. Try these steps to help get back to the peak of your game:

1. Check your ego so you can be coachable and open to new ideas. This six-to-nine zone feels like a major grind — but at the same time it’s motivating as you start to recapture the vision that inspired you to build your own dream team.
2. Set a goal of where you want to be in your business and how much time you’re going to give yourself to achieve it. This can reignite some of the passion that propelled you to jump in wholeheartedly at the beginning.
3. Find a mentor (someone who has been where you are whose experience you can benefit from) and a coach (someone who doesn’t have skin in the game and will give you needed objectivity). Recognize that you cannot grow without objective support.
4. Review your progress with your coach and mentor monthly. As you start to improve, you’ll hit nine on the clock — clearly on the uptick.
5. Consider your plan and compare your progress to your goal. Set markers to hold yourself accountable. Continue to check in with your mentor and coach on a monthly basis to review your progress.
6. When you get back on track and start succeeding again, go back to step one. No matter how successful you get, you need to check your ego — again and again.

So, what time is it? If you’re far from 12, take heart. There is a way back. And once you’ve traveled it, you’ll have some terrific and humbling life lessons that will keep you from getting stuck, circling the dial again and again.