Five Lessons You Should Know If You Want To Be A Winner

Recently, we all watched as college basketball teams vied to become the country's best in the annual March Madness tournament. And in April, pro baseball teams are beginning their season to see who ends up as the World Series champ.
Isn't that one reason sports are so popular - after the dust settles, after the tournaments - the winner is always plain to see?
Here's another reason: we like to watch people face adversity and difficulties and then overcome them with skill, grace and determination.
Real estate agents can learn a lot from sports. Here are a few real lessons you should always remember if you seriously want to be a winner.
Lesson 1:
 Becoming the best takes hard work, time and dedication. The winning team that lifted the trophy at the end of March Madness had to go through seven other teams - all of which wanted desperately to send them home. Seven grueling games -- one after another - each team arguably better than the last. Think of the stamina needed just to stay in contention, much less to win. Don't expect your rise to the top to be any easier in real estate. You have to fight, claw and scratch.
Lesson 2:
 You have to know your stuff. Again, the team that makes it to the finish line can't be a fake. It has to prove itself game after game. If the team is a phony, it'll show up in the face of stiff competition. One of the most important things you can bring to the table is your real-life market knowledge and expertise. As you increase your market knowledge, your confidence will grow and you'll win the trust of your clients.
Lesson 3:
 You must be flexible when things get tough. The one thing I can say with all the certainty I can muster is that some days things will not go as planned. It's the same in sports. Good teams face other good teams that sometimes throw them off their game - temporarily. And the word temporarily is key. Winners never get so ruffled that they can't perform. In fact, when they face really tough fights, they're able to take their game to new and better levels. They're always willing to bend and be open-minded to find solutions instead of wallowing in self-pity.
Lesson 4:
 Learn from your mistakes. This is a close cousin to lesson 3. We know there will be mistakes. That's a given for all humans. Most of us make them every day. But what sets the winners apart is that they're not afraid to look at their mistakes under a microscope, dissect them and learn from them. You can bet after a hard fought battle on the court, good coaches point out mistakes and then help players draw lessons from them. Learn to squeeze out the positives from every mistake.
Lesson 5:
  You must have a sense of direction. Winners always know where they're going. The winning team looked at the empty champion slot listed on the tournament bracket and said, "This is where we're going. This is what we want more than anything." What's your empty slot - your destination for 2014? Is it the Top 50 listings? 100? 300? Pick it and lift your sail and maneuver it as needed. Never be caught just going where the wind blows and hope things work out. Take control of your destiny.
Commit to become the best, and you'll be the one lifting the trophy at the end of a record-breaking year.
Let me hear from you. Which of the lessons stands out and speaks to you? Where can you improve so that you're more likely to achieve your goals this year? Are you taking time to think about how you can be a better agent day after day?