Mike Browning

Tag: Personal Development

  • Punctuality = Integrity

    Punctuality = Integrity

    It’s built fifteen minutes at a time.

    Last week I talked about the majority reliably being wrong, and how that teaches you what not to do. You just quietly stop doing what everyone else does, and let the results show up later. No need to announce it.

    Here’s another one almost nobody will notice. Which is exactly why it works.

    Everybody’s in a hurry. We’ve got a supercomputer in our pocket that’s supposed to make everything faster, so naturally we’ve filled it up with optimizing and multitasking. But of course we all still feel behind.

    Behind enough that most people have decided that showing up when you said you would is optional. Fifteen minutes late isn’t really late anymore. It’s just how it is.

    When your whole day depends on other people doing things at the time they said they’d do them, one person running late doesn’t just cost you fifteen minutes. It costs you the next three things you had lined up behind it too.

    The thing we forget is that it’s not just us who has too much to do. It’s everyone else as well.

    That anxiety that wells up when somebody throws off your day by being late? Other people feel it when you’re late too.

    So here’s the move.

    Be on time. Every time.

    Not most of the time. Not “on time for me.” On time by the clock, the way you agreed to it.

    Don’t make a thing out of it. That’s its own kind of annoying, and it puts people on notice to check. Just show up when you said you would, do what you said you’d do, and let it sit there.

    Your counterpart notices. Maybe not out loud. Probably not even consciously most of the time. But somewhere in the back of their head, a little file gets updated.

    This guy does what he says he’s going to do.

    And when they’re dealing with you, they feel a little less anxious about things. They may not even be able to tell you why.

    Deals get done with people you don’t have to manage. Repeat business goes to whoever didn’t make the first transaction a headache. None of that gets decided in a meeting. It gets decided quietly, the way most real decisions do, based on a pattern somebody noticed and never mentioned.

    Showing up on time isn’t dramatic. Most people aren’t going to thank you for it in the moment. That’s kind of the point.

    It’s boring, it’s free, and enough people don’t do it that it’s still one of the cheapest ways to stand out.

    This is the same math as The Slight Edge, the Jeff Olson book I mentioned a couple weeks back. Small, easy actions that are just as easy to skip, done consistently long enough that the compounding takes over and does the rest.

    Being fifteen minutes late doesn’t feel like it costs anything.

    Being on time doesn’t feel like it earns anything.

    Neither one shows up on a scoreboard today.

    Check the scoreboard again in a year.

    Get it Here

    P.S. That link goes through Amazon, and I’m an affiliate. Doesn’t cost you a dime more, but if you click through and buy the book, or anything else while you’re there, I get a small commission.

  • The Pyramid Doesn’t Change

    The Pyramid Doesn’t Change

    You can only change your spot in it.

    Most people have heard of the 80/20 rule, where in any business or endeavor a relatively small percentage of the people involved are responsible for a disproportionately large percentage of the output.

    It’s not exact, of course, but it works pretty well as a rule of thumb.

    In a business, a relatively small group of customers will often account for most of the revenue. A relatively small group can account for most of the complaints too. Usually not the same group, unfortunately.

    Real estate works that way too. A minority of brokers do a very large percentage of the transactions.

    And so forth.

    What’s interesting is that you can often see the same thing inside the successful group. Some of the top performers substantially outperform the rest of the top performers.

    The pyramid keeps getting narrower as you go up.

    You can complain about that if you want, but unequal results show up just about everywhere people are producing, competing, creating or accumulating something.

    You probably aren’t going to change the shape of the pyramid.

    You can change your spot in it.

    Part of that is making sure you’re in a field where you have a reasonable chance of being one of the better performers. We’re all good at different things. Find what you’re good at and start there.

    Aside from that, operate in a way that makes success more likely.

    Contrary to what many people think, success usually isn’t a matter of doing one big thing at exactly the right time. More often it’s doing a lot of little things right for a long time.

    There’s a book called The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson that explains this a lot better than I do.

    The basic idea is that you arrange your life so you’re doing things just a little better than average, often by such a small amount that an observer wouldn’t notice much difference from one day to the next.

    But those little differences compound.

    And eventually the difference isn’t little anymore.

    The best part is there’s no name-it-and-claim-it or manifest-the-life-you-want mumbo jumbo.

    Just actionable advice you can actually implement in your life.

    You can buy it here.

    P.S. That link goes through Amazon, and I’m an affiliate. Doesn’t cost you a dime more, but if you click through and buy the book, or anything else while you’re there, I get a small commission.

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  • Shouldn’t This Be Kept Secret?

    Shouldn’t This Be Kept Secret?

    The answer may surprise you.

    I’ve been writing the last few weeks about Jim Camp’s negotiation masterpiece, Start With No. Along with occasionally trying to talk you into buying a copy and reading it yourself.

    Thanks to those who bought through my link. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. If anything, you’ll probably be surprised how quickly you start seeing opportunities to apply the basics.

    One question comes up pretty often when people hear about systems like this.

    If it’s really that effective, why would you tell anyone about it?

    Wouldn’t you be better off keeping it to yourself?

    It’s a fair question.

    Camp actually addresses it in the book. He said he wished more of his counterparts used the same system he did. Negotiations would be smoother, less emotional, and far more productive.

    Instead of spending days playing games, the cards would get on the table faster. You’d either make the right deal sooner or discover there was never a deal to be made in the first place.

    Both outcomes are wins.

    Obviously getting an agreement is great. But finding out in a day that there’s no deal instead of spending a week chasing one isn’t exactly a loss. It frees both sides to move on to something more productive.

    The difference comes down to principles versus tactics.

    If a finance manager at a car dealership has figured out a handful of tricks that pressure people into buying an overpriced warranty, he doesn’t want those tricks publicized. Once the person across the table understands the game, the game stops working.

    Tactics depend on the other side not knowing what’s happening.

    Principles don’t.

    If you’re asking honest questions, trying to understand what’s really going on, and looking for a deal that makes sense for everyone involved, it doesn’t hurt when the other side understands what you’re doing. In some cases it actually helps.

    Beyond that, I don’t spend much time worrying about other people learning what I know.

    Most people won’t put it into practice anyway.

    And the few who do often become easier to work with, not harder.

    One of the things I like most about Camp’s approach is that it removes much of the tension people normally associate with negotiation. Less pressure. Less posturing. Less pretending.

    Just figuring out whether there’s a deal to be had and, if so, what it looks like.

    Once you learn it, it really does feel like you’re playing a different game than before.

    In a good way.

    And since almost every situation you encounter involves negotiation, getting better at it is one of the highest-leverage investments you can make in yourself.

    It won’t happen overnight.

    But you’ll probably see results faster than you expect.

    Get It Here

    P.S. That link goes through Amazon and I’m an affiliate. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but if you buy the book—or anything else while you’re there—I get a small commission.

  • What’s Good For The Goose…

    What’s Good For The Goose…

    It’s easy to say the right things. We all have trouble getting off the couch sometimes.

    Sometimes I need to remember to follow my own advice.

    If you’ve been reading here any length of time, you know I like to talk about how putting things off isn’t smart. It’s understandable why we do it. We’re avoiding something we think will be unpleasant. But usually we’re better off facing it now, because the unpleasantness doesn’t shrink while we wait. It grows. And half the time you find out the thing you were dreading wasn’t worth the dread.

    We all know it’s a bad idea. We all do it anyway. That includes me.

    I run another site called hiswordtogether.com. It helps people stay on a Bible reading plan that gets you through the whole thing once a year. If you’re interested, you can check it out at the link.

    When I started the site late last year, I also reserved the .net and .org versions of the name. Ever since then, up until last week, there was an item on my to-do list to point those addresses to the main site.

    It had been there so long I stopped noticing it most of the time. When I did see it, I’d think about how I needed to get it done, then immediately start getting nervous about doing it. I’m not the most tech-savvy guy around, and I’d start picturing what happens if I click the wrong spot and take all my sites and my email offline.

    Again.

    That’s happened before. Inconvenient doesn’t cover it. Support got me through it, but when you don’t know how to explain what you did, it’s not exactly fun.

    So I kept trading the low-key annoyance of seeing it on my to-do list for the sharper worry of “what if.”

    Last week I finally did it. Logged into my registrar, four clicks, done. I spent something like a hundred times more effort avoiding it than it took to just do it.

    Nothing in my life is visibly different now, except I feel a little silly.

    I bring this up because I see the same thing happen with landowners, just about a different kind of click.

    You know it’s smart to have a read on what your land is worth and what’s happening around it. You’re probably not selling anytime soon, maybe not ever. But you also know that not knowing is its own kind of risk, the kind where you find out too late that something changed.

    What stops people isn’t the info. It’s what they think asking for it will cost them. Call an agent for “just some information” and a lot of them hear that as an invitation to start walking you toward a listing appointment, whether you asked for one or not. So people skip it. Same as I skipped four clicks for months.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. It gives you real market data, a heads up on what’s happening nearby, and whatever else might be relevant for your property.

    All without pressure to list, or having to sit through a buzzword-filled presentation. And it can be requested in a couple of minutes, or less time than it took me to fix my domain issue.

    Here’s the link.

    PS – if you’re not ready for the MBR Land Reality Check but like reading these articles, you can sign up below to receive them via email:

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  • Your Favorite Self-Help Guru Won’t Like This One

    Your Favorite Self-Help Guru Won’t Like This One

    Positive thinking is a must. But there have to be reasons for it.

    Anyone who has spent time around personal development books has heard of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

    The advice is pretty simple. Be pleasant to be around. Smile. Show interest in other people. Most people’s favorite subject is themselves, so if you let them talk about it you can make a friend fairly quickly.

    That’s not bad advice as far as it goes.

    Another major figure in that world is Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote The Power of Positive Thinking. His argument was that if you focus on what you can do instead of constantly worrying about what might go wrong, your results tend to improve. People who expect good outcomes generally perform better than people who assume everything will fail.

    There’s truth in that too.

    But somewhere along the line a lot of people took the wrong lesson from it. They started believing that thinking positive is the work. If they visualize success, say the right affirmations, or keep a good attitude long enough, things will somehow fall into place.

    That’s not really how it works.

    I remember hearing Donald Trump say years ago that Peale had a big influence on him. This was around 2017. At the time, you could hardly find anyone willing to say a good word about Trump publicly. Even people who quietly supported him usually kept it to themselves to avoid the argument.

    Yet here was someone who had built a massive real estate empire and had just been elected President of the United States.

    My thought at the time was simple: there is probably something to the mindset he learned.

    And there is.

    But smiling and thinking positive by itself doesn’t get you all the way there. You have to be smiling and thinking positive for good reason.

    Those reasons usually come from work that was done long before the moment arrives.

    Over the years I’ve built systems around land brokerage. I spend a lot of time studying land values, watching who is buying what, and paying attention to what kinds of properties different builders and investors actually want. When a landowner calls to talk about selling, I can usually tell them what to expect before the process even starts.

    If a tract shows up that’s a good investment, I can often recognize it quickly and know who it might fit.

    If waiting is the better move, I can tell someone that too.

    When you have that kind of experience and preparation behind you, it’s a lot easier to be friendly and positive. Not because you’re forcing yourself to think happy thoughts, but because there are good reasons to believe things will work out.

    Positive thinking works best when it’s supported by preparation. Confidence is a lot easier when you’ve already done the work that makes confidence reasonable.

    P.S. If you own land, you’re probably not ready to sell today. And that’s great. But being prepared with current info is smart. Is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for.

    It’s a straightforward Broker Opinion of Value based on current listings, real sales, development activity and the buyers actually active in North Texas land today.

    And it’s free (for now). No obligation, no pressure to sell.

    Get Yours Here.

    P.P.S. If you don’t want or need the Reality Check today but enjoy this kind of thinking, you can get posts like this in your inbox whenever I publish them (usually daily).

    Sign up here.

  • This One Easy Rule Will Get Rid of (Almost All) of Your Stress

    This One Easy Rule Will Get Rid of (Almost All) of Your Stress

    Make the Decision, Then Stop Thinking About It

    Much of the stress people carry around isn’t caused by big problems.

    It’s caused by small decisions that never get closed.

    You’ve probably experienced it: You make a plan, put something on the calendar, set an appointment, but as it gets closer, you start thinking about moving it.

    Not because anything serious changed. Just because the idea of dealing with it feels inconvenient. Or you don’t want to disappoint someone else who asked for something.

    From my observations, a high percentage of people live this way.

    They “keep their options open” right up until the moment something can’t be avoided anymore. Then they scramble, apologize, reschedule, and wonder why everything feels disorganized.

    And wonder why they seem to have a harder time of things.

    There’s a simple rule that will clean up your life faster than almost anything else:

    Once you make a commitment, keep it — unless reality forces you to change.

    Not feelings. Not inconvenience. Not “I’m just not feeling it today.”

    Reality.

    There’s a huge difference.

    You don’t have to be rigid, Life happens.

    Kids get sick.

    A flat tire is a legitimate reason to adjust. (real flat tires, not ‘flat tires.’)

    A genuine emergency deserves a real change of plans.

    But most of the time, people don’t reschedule because of emergencies. They reschedule because the idea of sticking to the plan creates a little bit of friction. And they want to avoid that momentary discomfort.

    Here’s the problem:

    Every time you revisit a decision, you multiply the mental load.

    The appointment still exists.

    The work still needs to be done.

    The responsibility is still waiting.

    But now you’ve added a layer of:

    • indecision
    • guilt
    • clutter
    • extra logistics
    • and more future inconvenience

    You didn’t save yourself trouble. You just kicked it down the road and made it heavier.

    There’s real power in closing a decision once and leaving it closed.

    It builds confidence. It sharpens your thinking. It simplifies your schedule.

    It reduces the noise in your head.

    And it quietly teaches everyone around you that your word means something.

    People with chaotic lives almost always have one thing in common: Their decisions don’t stay decided.

    People with cleaner, calmer, more productive lives do something different:

    They make a choice, commit, and execute — even when they don’t feel like it in the moment.

    It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being consistent.

    If you can build the habit of sticking to what you said you’d do, your life gets dramatically easier — not because the world changes, but because you stop reopening the door every time something tugs at your attention.

    Decide once.

    Follow through.

    Everything else starts falling into place.

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    PS- This one doesn’t tie directly to real estate.

    If I had to shoehorn it in, I’d ask the following:

    Is it a crazy idea to want to work with someone who understands the value of doing what they say?

    But aside from that, this is a small change a person can make that will result in huge positive changes down the road.

    Success really isn’t the result of one great action, it comes from lots of small actions repeated daily (or often). This is the main principle offered in Jeff Olson’s book The Slight Edge.

    If you’re looking for a personal development book that’s realistic and doesn’t veer into a bunch of “woo-woo” manifestation type stuff, I can’t think of a better one.

    You can buy it here.

    (Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Clicking that link may earn me a small commission, at no extra cost to you.)

  • Repetition Is the Point

    Repetition Is the Point

    Your kids aren’t the only ones who benefit from being told something repeatedly.

    I recently read something that said there’s usually one thought or chapter in any business book that’s worth reading. I think that probably applies to personal development books too.

    It’s an interesting thought, but not the whole story. If you only read one book, you’ll probably take away quite a bit from it.

    Assuming you read a good one (look here).

    But once you’ve read several, you’ll notice they cover a lot of the same ground. You might not find much new in any single book.

    Although you still need to read it cover to cover to find out what it is.

    Still, that doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time. In fact, it’s the opposite — you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t.

    If you’ve got kids, you already know that people often have to be told something more than once before it sticks. Even when they’re well-behaved, it can take patience to steer them the right way.

    And where do you think they got that from?

    Even if these books share the same ideas, each approaches them from a different angle — and that’s what helps. Sometimes one phrasing or example hits differently and gives you insight you missed elsewhere.

    (This might be that one “thought or chapter” the person was talking about.)

    As a quick example, take goal setting:

    In his various books, Scott Adams says systems > goals.

    In Start With No, Jim Camp says the only valid goals are those you have near 100% control over.

    In The Slight Edge, Jeff Olson says your small daily habits deserve more focus than your larger goals.

    All slightly different — all pointing to the same idea. Focus on the process, not the outcome.

    If you want to lose weight, don’t obsess over what the scale says every morning. Commit to eating a certain way every day and exercising regularly. Those are daily actions you can actually complete — and feel good about.

    Then check occasionally to see if those habits are getting you closer to the result you want. If so, great. If not, you’re still succeeding by completing the process — just make adjustments and keep going until you get there.

    So keep reading, it pays off.

    Even if a lot of it seems redundant.

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    PS — This one didn’t have much to do with real estate directly. But if you’re the kind of person who values learning and improvement, is it really that crazy to think you’d want to deal with similar people in life and business?

    You’re probably not ready to buy or sell land today. I don’t deal in pressure — but is it ever a bad idea to get ahead of things? Especially something consequential like this?

    I offer a free, no-obligation opinion of value on any lots or land you own. Even if you’re not ready to sell, can it hurt to know where things stand?

    There’s also free analysis and thoughts like these posted frequently.

    Just click below:

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

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  • Stop Manifesting, Start Doing

    Stop Manifesting, Start Doing

    To get the results, you have to actually do the things

    A few weeks ago, I talked a little about goals from a couple of different angles.

    Most people do a terrible job setting them.

    Some don’t set any at all, just drift through life and wonder why they never get anywhere. Others set them so high they give up before they start. Most set them too low, hiding behind the excuse of being “realistic.”

    And almost everyone sets the wrong goals. They try to control results instead of process.

    But none of that is really the point today. Here’s the thing:

    By itself a goal is worthless. You have to have action.

    Spend five minutes online and you’ll find someone preaching that you can “manifest” success. Write your goals down. Stare at them. Think really hard. The “universe” will do the rest.

    Bull.

    Yes, you need to know what you’re aiming at. Writing it down matters. And yes, your subconscious mind is powerful, and it can help move you along.

    But if you don’t actually take the steps, nothing happens. The goal isn’t magic. The work is.

    When you’ve got a valid goal, work backward from it. Figure out what steps might get you there. Break those into small, simple actions you can take every day.

    Then do something. Every day.

    It doesn’t have to be huge. Some days it’s a phone call. Some days it’s a handwritten note or a follow-up email. Other days, it’s a meeting. Some days it’s more than others.

    And sometimes you’ll get it wrong. That’s fine. Adjust and keep moving. Momentum comes from motion.

    My goal is simple: build a brokerage where buyers and sellers have a great experience getting where they need to be — which also puts me where I need to be. There’s a lot packed into that one sentence, but most of it comes down to showing up and doing small things consistently. And being honest.

    I do them. They add up. And it pays off for everyone involved.

    As you know, I don’t deal in pressure. But is it really a bad time to just start a conversation?

    Click below when you’re ready:

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

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