Will You Succeed? Three Ways To Know

I love real estate. It's an industry with no glass ceilings and no limitations. Its very entrepreneurial. In an industry with so much potential, why are 80% of the people who enter the industry today not expected to still be in the industry several years later? Well, my personal opinion is that the people who failed lacked 3 key characteristics. I believe to succeed in any entrepreneurial endeavor and in most areas of life, these three things must be present.

1. The drive to succeed. You have to not only hope for success but you must exhibit the internal, burning fire to succeed. How do you know if you have that drive? Are you driven to get out of bed every day because you have important things to do related to your goals? Do you truly SEE your goals in your mind's eye? I vividly remember when we opened our first start up office, that I would actually go to bed each night and walk through the floor plan for our new office in my mind. I was so excited that I could not wait to get out of bed and get started on the activities for the day. My mind was not occupied by the fear of failure or the things that could go wrong. There was no room for those thoughts. It was too full of the vision of the future.

2. Unwavering Perseverance.  This is the solid commitment that no matter how hard it gets or how many obstacles appear, you have no intention of quitting. It's not a question of "if obstacles will appear" but only "when". The most successful people I know have encountered incredible obstacles and have over come them. The difference is they rarely sat around and lamented about the obstacles but they moved forward in spite of the obstacles.  Often those around them were completely unaware that they were dealing with obstacles. In fact to others, their lives and success look easy. Let me assure you, that it was no easier for those succeeding than for those failing.  We all face the same obstacles. The successful individuals don't really talk about them a lot but they just continue to work through them and move forward.  Are you ready to face yours with "unwavering perseverance"?

3. Ability to bounce. I would never suggest that it's easy when you are persevering through the obstacles. Sometimes you are going to find yourself down. The question is how quickly can you bounce back? Will you allow life's challenges to keep you down for the count or will you recover and move forward? Will you have the tenacity to bounce towards your next opportunity?

When thinking of a simple way to describe what I believe makes people successful, one word comes to mind...grit. I think our forefathers understood grit. Hardships were part of life. My ancestors settled in Texas in the mid 1800's. If you have not visited North Texas in August, you may not fully appreciate what weeks of 100+ temperatures can feel like. I can not imagine the grit it took to endure summers in Texas with no air conditioning. Our evenings often don't fall below high 80's and 90's so there was no relief for weeks on end, even at night fall. Yes, grit helped them settle an area that now is a wonderful place to live.

While searching for an image to utilize regarding grit, I came across a fabulous Ted Talk  by Angela Lee Duckworth on the subject. She also spends time sharing the concept that "talent" and "intelligence" don't necessarily relate to academic success. Her insights are in the arena of education, but, in my opinion, they apply beautifully to the world of business. I believe that the drive to succeed with unwavering perseverance, including the ability to bounce back, can be summed up in one little four letter word, grit.

https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit#t-259216