💰 How I Earned Over 1 Million Dollars in my First Year as an Agent
Happy Monday!
Here is an Idea, an Action, and a Question to consider this week.
Idea
Just a handful of years ago, I was medically discharged from the Air Force. I was diagnosed with Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
After undergoing a painful heart surgery and completing chemo, the Air Force determined that I was unable to fly fighter jets anymore. I received a 10-day notice of my medical discharge via email, and then I was on my own.
I had $2,000 in my bank account. I had four children and a wife to provide for.
I knew I had to act fast. Luckily, I was used to moving fast.
The year of my retirement (my first partial year as a full-time real estate investor-agent), I was able to triple the income I’d made as in the military. The following year (my first full year as a full-time real estate investor-agent), I achieved over seven figures in gross commission earned. And I was blessed to repeat that again the next year.
I don’t say this to brag or say that I’m the best in any of these areas of sales or investing, but to illustrate what’s POSSIBLE. Because it’s entirely possible to earn six figures in real estate in your first year. And it’s entirely possible to earn a million-dollar income very early in your career.
I’m not going to pretend that it was easy. And I’m not going to pretend that I have the perfect roadmap, and if you just follow it, you, too, will earn millions.
But I do have strategies that work across the board. And here’s three that work:
You have to actually believe that big change is possible. If you have a fixed mindset (the belief that abilities and intelligence are innate and unchangeable traits) then you will always be tied to the mast of your current situation. If you have a growth mindset (the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and a love for learning) then you have no ceiling. Anything is possible.
One of the ways you can tell which mindset you have is to start listening to yourself speak when you talk about other people’s achievements.
If you often say things like, “He’s just a born leader” or “Some people just have that innate competitive drive,” you might be someone who has a fixed mindset.
Conversely, if you often say things like, “She worked really hard to earn that skill” or “You can be good at math, too, if you dedicate lots of time to the practice,” you might be someone who has a growth mindset.
So…which mindset do you have?
A work-life balance––in the beginning––isn’t possible. It’s unrealistic to think that you can have a perfect relationship, perfect social life, perfect self-care regimen and build a business from scratch. The secret is to actually do the opposite. Intentionally unbalance your life and temporarily and deliberately put your career work above all else.
Down the road, you can (and should!) do the opposite. After you achieve your desired altitude of success, you can put family and friends first. But to grow a successful business, you have to be obsessed about it.
Feel good about being obsessed! Enjoy being obsessed! Slow and steady will not win the race.
So…are you obsessed with your business?
If you’re not a problem-solver, you’re not going to make millions. I can attest firsthand to the experience of going from being on top of the world (accepted to the Air Force’s Fighter Weapon School for the F-35) to being completely humbled by the surprises that life can throw at you (surprise cancer and forced removal from a ‘secure’ job in the military).
Trust me, life will definitely put hurdles in your way––especially when it comes to sales and investing. But if you’re known as the investor-agent who can solve any problem, your value becomes immense. The more problems you know how to solve, the more deals you can make happen. And, as you know: more deals, more money.
So…are you known as “the problem-solver?”
Action
Look above. Choose which strategy (mindset shift, temporary unbalance, or problem-solving) is lacking most in your business. Attack it! Dive in! Fix the problem that’s holding you back from earning the millions you could be earning.
Question
Two parts:
Do you actually want to earn seven figures?
If yes: are you willing to shift 90% of your focus to your business?
See you next week,
Matt “Roar” Gardner
Real estate investor-agent, Author of Supersonic Real Estate: Light Your Afterburner to Accelerate Your Investor-Agent Career (Coming Soon!), and keynote speaker.
