Posted by So, you’ve got your BHAG, you know what you want out of life, and now you’re in a hurry to get there.
But just because you know where you’re going, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should put your foot on the accelerator. Sometimes, slowing down is exactly the right thing to do and could mean that you actually arrive at your destination faster.
So, this week I want to take a look at why, just sometimes, slowing down is the perfect way to speed up.
Hidden opportunities
Opportunity is everywhere – you never know when you’re going to find a brilliant deal, and you’re definitely not going to find something when you’re charging ahead looking 5, 10 or 15 years down the line.
You have to be continually on the lookout for opportunities, and many agents and entrepreneurs miss out on great deals because they’re too focused on reaching a specific market condition or goal. Don’t forget, even if the market looks terrible, you could have the best opportunity of your life drop in your lap at any time.
You don’t know what you don’t know
If you’re a novice investor, or (without wanting to be ageist) quite young, then it’s important to remember that you don’t know what you don’t know!
You might have set your BHAG and be working towards it, but, in line with my previous point, you could be missing out on some great opportunities because you don’t know how to look out for them.
As well as that, you might find that if you don’t 100% know what you’re doing, but you’re speeding ahead, you could be skipping over some really important parts of your process.
Slow down and work through each step of your plan methodically. Better yet, find yourself a mentor, or invest in some training, and learn from the people who’ve made all their mistakes already, so you don’t have to!
Don’t get FOMO
Scarcity mindset can make you think you’re missing out, and can make you rush into deals that, if you were looking at them rationally, you wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.
A scarcity mindset puts you at a distinct disadvantage in terms of your clarity of thought. Don’t forget that the market moves in cycles. What’s happened before, will happen again (both in good and bad ways!). So if you’re able to get over the FOMO, do some research about what’s happened to the market historically, you might find that in the long run you’ve ended up with a better outcome.
That said, don’t get paralysis by analysis! As I’ve said in the past, whether your natural inclination is to be a Gambler or an Analyst, the key is to find the sweet spot midway between both.
Do you already know all the people you need to know?
Don’t create work for yourself just for the sake of it, when you’re going full steam ahead trying to get things done! Most likely, you already know all the people you need to know.
So you need people who can do X, Y and Z? It might feel like you’re being more efficient by finding them yourself, but rather than putting your trust in a Google search, wouldn’t it be better to tap into your network and see if any of your contacts have exactly the right person in their little black book?
That way, you’ve also got the added bonus of a kind of quality assurance – you’ve got a personal recommendation rather than taking a risk on an unknown quantity who could turn out to be a cowboy.
Outside of real estate, when it comes down to finding customers, it’s a lot easier to work with an existing client than it is to try and find a new one. If someone already knows, likes and trusts you, it’s a lot easier to get business from them, than it is to spend time and money trying to get a stranger to trust you.
If you don’t have a great network, slowing down and really concentrating on building good relationships is by far one of the best things you can do, rather than just cannoning off and risking upsetting people.
Stop, look and listen
A lot of the time (especially when it comes to negotiation), the person that you’re dealing with primarily want to know that their needs and motivations have been understood, which could lead to tension, and the resulting fight or flight makes you go at 100 mph when in reality, if you slow down, you can make sure you fully understand every part of what an opposite party might be saying.
So, just pausing things, slowing it down and working with someone rather than trying to bulldoze them into doing what you want them to do, not only speeds up processes, but takes out a lot of friction as well.
Understand your own motivation
Slowing down gives you the time to reflect on your own motivations and definition of success. Don’t forget that our priorities often change as we grow older. What motivated you at 25 might not be the same as what drives you at 40 or 50.
Rather than determinedly soldiering on until you achieve whatever your end-goal is, take time every now and then to check in with yourself and see if you need a course correction.
What’s important to you right now, might not be important forever, and sometimes it’s only when you pause that you get that clarity.
At the end of the day, slowing down lets you pay attention to the things going on around you – you might find an opportunity hiding away that you would have missed if you’d been so laser-focused on your end goal that you’d been blinkered to everything else. It also gives you a bit of time to make sure you’ve fully understood every aspect of where you’re going. That said, never stop looking for good deals, and never stop learning! If you’re thinking about investing in some training in the property business, take a look at the programs I have on offer, and if you’ve found this topic interesting, check out Episode 186 of the podcast, where my guest Jason Cannon and I take a deep dive on the subject.