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How a ‘can-do attitude’ can make 2012 a record year
By Bob Corcoran

On May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister did what practically everyone said couldn’t be done: that a human could run a mile in less than four minutes. His time: 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.

What’s interesting about this story is that since that date, more than a dozen men have gone on to run the sub-four-minute mile. In fact, just 46 days after Bannister broke the four-minute barrier, on 21 June in Finland, John Landy of Australia broke Bannister’s record by a second and a half. Today, the record stands at 3:43.13 minutes – nearly 18 seconds have been shaved off the record.

There two lessons I’d like you to take from Bannister’s story:

  1. Bannister turned a deaf ear to the naysayers. It took him nine years of hard work with plenty of defeats and setbacks, but he kept putting one foot in front of the other until he did it. In fact, it was failure at the 1952 Olympics (where he finished a dismal fourth) that spurred Bannister to break the four-minute barrier. Are you giving too much credence to those around you who say you can’t do something? Think about it.
  2. I want you to actually write down and keep this second lesson on or near your desk: Your whole life changes once you make a commitment. After that failure at the Olympics, Bannister did one simple thing that put him on the path to breaking the four-minute barrier: He made a commitment. He committed to what he needed to do reach his goal.

Is it easy? Bannister admitted it wasn’t for him. Here’s what he shared about the process: “Those who can drive themselves further once the effort gets painful are the people who will win.”

But he also added this after breaking the four-minute mile: “No longer conscious of my movement, I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never dreamt existed.”

I’ve seen this time and time again with my clients after they truly commit to their real estate goals. Good things start happening, “a new source of power” appears.

For 2012, I invite you to define your own sub-four-minute-mile – the goal that might seem impossible but that if you reached it, could change your life. Is it to sell 100 homes? 200? More? Less? You choose. Make it a good one. But don’t forget the most important part – make the commitment to put all – and I mean all – of your energy into achieving the goal.

I have an article I’m happy to send you free of charge called, “Changing breakdowns into breakthroughs” that gets to the heart of achieving more success in real estate sales. Just shoot me an e-mail at article@CorcoranCoaching.com and I’ll send it along to you.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Bannister: “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle–when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

Let me hear from you. Have you defined your own four-minute mile – that goal that people might snicker at if they heard you talk about it? What hurdle is keeping you from reaching your sub-four-minute mile? Is it your own beliefs? Is it what others say? What actions (or inactions) have been keeping you from achieving your potential? What actions might you start taking today that will put you closer to your goals in real estate?  Please send any comments or questions you have to Article@CorcoranCoaching.com or http://www.facebook.com/CorcoranCoaching.

Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker and author who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc. (CorcoranCoaching.com, 800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the residential or commercial broker or agent’s existing practice.

We look forward to hearing from you. Sign up TODAY for your complimentary business consultation. http://www.CorcoranCoaching.com/bpw.php.