Agent Advice

Agent Advice: Mental health tips for real estate (part 2)

Andrew Duncan

Nov 4, 2020 — 6 min read

It was rewarding to learn that last week's advice guide on mental health resonated with many of you. In case you missed it, here's the link:

A few of you even reached out and spoke with me about your personal situation. We discussed life, dreams for the future, how to find meaning in what you do, and how to keep our energy levels up in a career which is highly rewarding and all-consuming at the same time.

How did we get here?

When we launch into a career in real estate, the first step is to survive. That first year or two can be challenging to say the least, as we fight to secure our piece of the pie. From there, we try to grow a sustainable business that can earn us a decent income.

But what happens next?

Some of you will choose to pursue award success: Number 1 in your office, or your city, or your company, or your country! Those achievements can be satisfying. Real estate often attracts people with a competitive fire burning inside.

But what if awards aren't what drives you? Or what if you have become bored of being no.1 in your office but don't want to sacrifice your entire life to become no.1 in your city? (Or whatever the next tier up is).

How do you find meaning in what you do? How do you find purpose to drive your day to day activities?

I firmly believe the answer lies in pondering the right questions.

You will find my favourite questions below. Don't try to answer them all right now. Ponder them and let them sit with you for a few days, possibly a week. Then, after letting your subconscious do it's thing, when you have an hour to spare, find a quiet space to sit, turn your phone off and write down the answers.

Note: Keep in mind your answers may change over the coming months / years and that's totally ok. You can keep developing your ideas to get clear on what success looks like to you.

Questions to consider:

What do you want your life to look like in 5 years time? What about 10 years time?

What will you need to do between now and then to make that life a reality? Break it down into 6 month, 1 year and 3 year goals. Don't just consider financial goals either. Think: What do you want your family life to be like? Where will you be living? What hobbies will you be pursuing? What causes will you be supporting?

What adventures do you want to build into your life over the next 5 years?

What holidays do you want to go on? Are you going to take all the kids to Disneyland in 2 years time? What sabbaticals will you take? How much money will you need to make for those to happen?

What are you chasing? How do you define success?

Are you looking for recognition? Security? Freedom? Step past financial goals and get clear on what's actually driving you.

What parts of your life / business are not intentional enough?

Often exercise falls by the wayside when we achieve success in real estate. How can you put a plan in place to look after your personal health?

What causes are you most passionate about? How can you use your ongoing success to support these?

This is where you can find purpose in what you do.

Many of us are generous people. But our generosity is often delivered without intention or focus. We give money to whoever calls us up on the phone because we are too nice to say no.

What if you had a dedicated budget for community contributions (perhaps a percentage of each commission). Now set up a separate bank account and plan how you are going to spend the money. Would you like to support a local food bank? Or maybe provide a scholarship for an under-privileged kid to attend a great local school? Or join in with local sports? Think creatively here.

If you focus your giving back efforts, the results will be more rewarding and you will build relationships along the way that will add more meaning to what you do in your day to day career.

Where to from here...

If you are feeling burned out or lacking in energy, it could mean that you haven't spent enough time focussing on what you want from this career.

Once you have answered the questions above, the next step is to take those goals and break them down into smaller, achievable chunks.

If your 5 year goal is to be a business owner earning $500k per year, then what do you need to start doing now to move towards that goal?

Do you need to start working on a higher real estate qualification?
You could consider taking correspondence classes on business management.
Maybe there are books you could read on the subject.
Is there someone in that position already you could ask to mentor you? Or at least interview for ideas on how to emulate their success?

If you want to be retired in 5 years time, what is your F.I.R.E number?

How much do you need to save and invest over the next 5 years to get there?

Chasing financial success will only take you so far. Once your basic needs are met (shelter, food, clothing), more money will give you more toys and a nicer car, but it won't answer the bigger questions for you.