Mike Browning

Tag: Momentum

  • But What Are You Going To Do For An Encore?

    But What Are You Going To Do For An Encore?

    Recent success is just past success. Don’t rest on it.

    A lot of people in business and in life declare victory too soon.

    I saw a commercial recently where a guy was in a job interview. They told him they couldn’t hire him right now, but they’d keep him in mind for later.

    He walked out saying, “Keep me in mind,” and immediately went out to celebrate.

    I don’t even remember what the commercial was for — which probably tells you everything about how ineffective most advertising is these days.

    But the point stuck.

    People get a job, or a listing, or a small win, and they act like that’s the finish line. They relax. They stop pushing. They assume the rest will just work itself out. That momentum will carry them.

    In real estate, that shows up when an agent gets a listing, drops it into the MLS as a “list and hope,” and mentally checks the box. The celebration happens up front. Then it’s mostly waiting.

    That’s not how I look at it — and not how I try to operate.

    For me, victory isn’t getting the listing. Victory is when someone is so satisfied with how I handled their situation that they wouldn’t consider working with anyone else. They come back when they need help again. They tell people they know to call me.

    You don’t get there by stopping early.

    I don’t stop at the listing. I’ve built marketing tools and processes specifically to keep things moving. Pricing is handled aggressively and honestly, which sometimes means it takes time. But the work doesn’t stop just because the sign is up.

    We’ve all heard the saying that success is a journey, not a destination. I’m not big on clichés, but sometimes they’re true.

    The goal isn’t something you reach once and then relax. You keep pushing. That’s the mindset I try to bring to everything.

    It’s the only way to get anywhere worth going.

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  • Luck Isn’t a Plan — Showing Up Is

    Luck Isn’t a Plan — Showing Up Is

    Strange how preparation looks like fortune to everyone else.

    Phil Hellmuth wrote in one of his books that you’re always in the right place at the right time.

    Which is a comforting thought… unless you’re sitting in your truck eating gas-station beef jerky and avoiding the phone calls you know you should be making.

    Then it just feels personal.

    And I’m guessing he didn’t write that line right after getting slow-rolled and going full Poker Brat on ESPN.

    Scott Adams put it a different way:
    “Position yourself where luck is likely to run into you.”

    Which is really just the same idea with fewer affirmations and more sarcasm.

    If you sit in your living room waiting for opportunity to show up like the Amazon guy, good luck.

    Opportunity doesn’t knock — it just kind of wanders around hoping to bump into someone who’s not asleep.

    In real estate, “luck” looks suspiciously like:

    • Checking zoning agendas
    • Noticing when a water district suddenly gets busy
    • Paying attention to which road the county is widening
    • Getting your marketing out before everyone else decides it’s a good idea

    People will tell you, “Wow, that was great timing.”

    Yeah.

    Amazing coincidence that I was “coincidentally” paying attention, asking questions, and doing the boring work while everyone else was scrolling TikTok.

    Funny how that works.

    The truth is simple:

    Luck happens way more often when you’re actually looking for it.

    You don’t have to be perfect. Half the game is just being awake, consistent, and willing to act before something is 100% figured out.

    A lot of big wins start with, “I’m not totally sure what I’m doing, but let’s try.”

    And then — weeks or months later — someone says,

    “Man, must be nice… you’re lucky.”

    Sure. Lucky.

    Let’s go with that — it sounds nicer than “I out-worked you.”

    Get More Like This In Your Inbox Here!

    PS- You’re probably not looking to buy or sell real estate today. But you know the time to start preparing is well before you’re actually planning to do something.

    I offer a free, no obligation value analysis of any non-residential property. It includes nearby comparable sales (with actual prices), info about nearby development activity, utility info, market trends, etc.

    With that in hand you’re ahead of the game, and ready to move when our friend luck shows up. Which seems to happen more often when you’re proactive.

    Would it be a bad idea to make yourself luckier?

    Click below to get started:

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  • Just Start (Even If You Don’t Want To)

    Just Start (Even If You Don’t Want To)

    Motivation shows up after the first step, not before.

    If you’re like me, you have to make a list of the day’s tasks or things get missed.

    Even the small stuff — returning a call, reaching out to a broker, updating a client — goes on the list.

    It works. Nothing slips through the cracks.

    But there’s a tradeoff: at the beginning of the day, that list can look like a mountain.

    Even when you know most of the items only take a few minutes, seeing all of them at once can make you want to freeze.

    And if there’s one task on there that’s bigger — something you don’t fully know how to do, or something with tech you haven’t figured out yet — it’s even worse. Suddenly, the whole list feels heavier than it really is.

    But the funny thing is: it’s almost never as bad as it looks.

    Most people think the difficulty is the task itself.

    It’s not.

    The hardest part is going from not moving to moving.

    Once you’re already in motion — whether it’s the workout, the cleanup, the writing, or the business task — it’s rarely as bad as the version of it that existed in your head five minutes earlier. But when you’re sitting still, everything feels bigger than it is.

    You start thinking things like:

    • I don’t have the energy.
    • I don’t know where to start.
    • I’ll do it later when I’m ready.
    • It’ll take forever.

    But here’s the truth:

    You don’t need readiness.
    You need momentum.

    And momentum doesn’t show up before you start — momentum shows up because you start.

    A good trick is to make the first step stupidly small — so easy your brain can’t argue with it.

    Want to go to the gym but don’t feel like it?
    Tell yourself: I’m just driving there and walking inside. If I want to leave right after, I can.

    Trying to clean up the house and it feels overwhelming?
    Tell yourself: Pick up five things. Just five.
    Once you grab those five, you’ll probably keep going.

    Staring at a work project you’ve been avoiding?
    Tell yourself: I’m just going to look at it. Not fix it. Not solve it. Just open it.

    It sounds ridiculous, but it works — not because the task changes, but because you shift from idle to forward motion.

    Your brain handles doing a lot better than it handles anticipating.

    Most of the dread lives in the waiting.
    Most of the stress lives in the buildup.

    But once you start?

    You think, Why was I avoiding this? This isn’t that bad.

    Starting small isn’t weakness.
    It’s strategy.

    Because once you’re in motion — even a tiny bit — finishing becomes easier than quitting.

    So next time you’re stuck, don’t wait for motivation.
    Just lower the bar until momentum has no choice but to show up.

    After that, the rest takes care of itself.

    Subscribe here for more!

    PS — You may have seen Sunday’s post introducing HisWordTogether.com.

    Reading the entire Bible is something a lot of people say they want to do — or feel like they should do — but it can feel intimidating because it’s a big undertaking.

    Just like in business, the key is the same: start small and let momentum do the heavy lifting.

    The site breaks the readings into small, daily pieces — usually 5–20 minutes a day — which makes it manageable for anyone. And if you sign up, you’ll get the weekly readings in your email, so you don’t have to remember to go find them.

    It’s free of charge. No commitment. No pressure.

    If reading through the Bible has been on your mind, this may be the easiest way to finally start.

    HisWordTogether.com