Are You Ready to Rock? Well…Start Pushing

Monday Morning Match is a short post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.

Nobody likes a struggle, whether it’s a business challenge or a personal obstacle. But no one is immune to difficulties in life, so how you handle adversity is a true key to success.

I have been trying to get back into a habit of daily exercise, especially running. I completed The Columbus Marathon back in 2006 and have finished several half marathons as well. Then, a needed knee surgery for a torn meniscus in 2008 set me back for about 9 months.

I got back in to running on and off and then last May, I really tried to re-commit myself to this form of exercise. I challenged myself with an “Every Day in May” campaign where I ran every single day that month – compiling over 100 miles while running each of the 31 days. It was difficult to skip because I promoted my campaign on Facebook and Twitter each day so all of my friends and followers were there to hold me accountable.

I continued running throughout the year but never actually signed up to run in a planned event until the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. Once the cold weather sets in here in Columbus, I am sort of like a bear going into hibernation. I know that not having that “big event” to look forward to really holds me back from committing to my efforts.

Now that spring is upon us, it’s time to get to work on that mid-section that has returned with a vengeance. And so my focus and effort has been to get back into a habit of running, exercising and eating a bit more healthy diet, so I can hopefully shed some pounds and gain energy throughout the day.

As many of you know, one day does not a habit make.

#PushThatRock

It’s easy to work out one day or maybe two in a row, but to maintain the efforts long enough to create a habit experts will usually agree, it takes around 21 days of consistent effort.

The other day as I was seeking to get motivated, I used a mythological reference in a tweet on Twitter to my buddy Mike Randall, a top producing agent and partner with the Coldwell Banker Pinnacle Properties brokerage in Florence, Alabama about Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a King who betrayed the Gods and was condemned to rolling a rock up a hill for eternity. Each time he would get the rock to the top of the hill, it would roll back down, making him begin his efforts anew.

Sometimes I feel that my exercise routine is like that of Sisyphus. I get on a roll then fall back, only to have to begin anew. So Mike and I have teamed up to create some personal accountability and each day when we have completed our exercise for the day, we tweet the hashtag #PushThatRock to each other with a description of what we accomplished. Usually Mike is done before me and he’s on Central time.

Today I didn’t want to #PushThatRock because it was cold, windy and there was a steady mixture of sleet and rain falling here in Central Ohio. But I know if I didn’t get out there and run it wasn’t going to get any easier tomorrow and I would literally have to start back at the bottom of that mountain. So I bundled up and hit the road. Not surprisingly to anyone reading this who runs, I ended up feeling great and enjoying a great run.

• Are you ready to Push That Rock in Real Estate?
• Have you dreaded making those daily business development calls today? #PushThatRock
• Been a while since you have contacted all of your Sellers to discuss a price repositioning? #PushThatRock
• Don’t want to hold that Open House on a sunny Sunday afternoon? #PushThatRock
• When was the last time you followed up with your clients from the last few years to see how they’re doing and seek any referrals they may have? #PushThatRock
• Have you completed your 2010 taxes yet? #PushThatRock

You all know that the longer you wait to make something happen, the heavier the rock will be and the steeper the hill will appear. It’s no surprise that most Realtor’s income follows their activity – up and down and up and down and up and down…just like Sisyphus’s rock.

It’s time for you to figure out what your “rock” is and where you need to be pushing it. There’s no need to wait. It’s almost March and we won’t get these last two months back to start over.

I even invite you to join me and Mike with your burden. Each day when you have a challenge or obstacle ahead that you have identified as your rock for the day (or week, month or year), share an email, a tweet or a Facebook message with me and/or Mike and be sure to add in the hashtag #PushThatRock. (You can follow me on Twitter at @SeanCarp and Mike at @mikerandall72)

Who knows? Maybe we’ll create a small group of people who will gain strength each day when they start pushing, knowing that they will have the power of group accountability helping them move that rock.

Just think…maybe we’ll begin a movement, one rock at a time.

Are you ready to rock? Well, start pushing.