Peter Fletcher

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How I pack more into my day and increase my tempo

April 8, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

After a full day of presenting, writing is the last thing I feel like doing right now. All I want to do is relax and wind down.

Instead, I’m writing.

I’m writing, not because I want to write but because I want to go to sleep. If I don’t keep tapping away on these little black squares I’ll still be here at midnight.

And as much as that sounds like some sort of self-flagellation, it’s not. Instead, it’s how I pack more into my day and increase my tempo.

I want to do more, not less.

I use deadlines as the motivation to do more and work faster. That sense of urgency gets me out of my head and into production mode. It denies me the time in which I’d mull things over and feel sorry for myself.

With a deadline approaching there’s no choice but to do that which is important and to get things done.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: daily blog, deadlines, motivation, writing

Stop plucking the eyebrows of your business

March 16, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

 

A cat with one white eyebrow

Stop obsessing over details that don’t make a difference to your business. Image: Minarae http://www.flickr.com/photos/melindarae/2552300305/

Obsessing over words on a brochure, fonts on your website and the line spacing of your sales letters is like plucking your eyebrows. After a while, the difference you make makes no difference at all to what happens at the party. 

And if obsessing over the eyebrows of your business is stopping you from calling a prospect or knocking on a door then it’s time to stop and take your business out even though it’s not perfect. 

Print a brochure, even when you know the copy could be better.

Ask for the business, even when you’re sure the words will come out wrong.

Send an email to your database, even when you’re not quite happy with how it looks.

Favour action over perfection because the people who have the most fun at the party are those who make the best of what they have. 

 

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: action, motivation

Did you wring everything out of today?

February 20, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

A tired rider

Will tomorrow make you happy with exhaustion? Image: Phil and Pam http://www.flickr.com/photos/philandpam/169485895

Did you squeeze everything out of today?

Did you make that extra call or write that final word? Did you do every rep that you possibly could?

Tonight, will you fall into bed exhausted and spent?

If you won’t, what’s your resolve for tomorrow? Is it to just get through to the weekend? Or is it to dig a little deeper and to extract more, do more, learn more and contribute more?

Instead of resolving to do better this year or next how about just doing better tomorrow? Before your eyes close tonight plan to make tomorrow a day that you’ll be proud of, a day that will contribute to your big goals, a day where your discipline and commitment to your processes will shine through.

Do that now and smile through the exhaustion tomorrow.

Filed Under: Motivation Tagged With: motivation, planning, process

The question that defined my career

February 17, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

A 1970 XY Falcon

A simple question about a car defined my career. Image: Sicnag http://www.flickr.com/photos/42220226@N07/


At 21 I craved freedom and a better than decent living. I was already bored with nine-to-five and the predictable income that came with it.

I wanted more. Real estate would help me get it.

My third interview was with Brown James and Associates in Kalgoorlie. Graham Brown and David James were the rising stars of the property market in the Goldfields.

Their offices dripped with the accoutrements of success. Dark jarrah panelled desks matched the dark wood panelled office partitions.

It felt like Wall Street had landed in the desert.

The interview began. I was offered a coffee. None of this instant stuff mind. This was the real deal – percolated and made fresh.

I ordered a white with one. The secretary brought it in. I sipped, careful not to burn my lip or spill any on my clean white shirt.

“So Peter, where are you working now?” the big boss asked.

I responded coherently as I looked with fascination at how grey his hair was.

“He doesn’t seem that old but man he’s almost white,” I thought.

I sipped more coffee and tried to focus again.

The questions continued. Why are you leaving your current job? What are your goals? Where do you hope to be in 5 years?

With each question and each answer my confidence grew. That jarrah desk would soon be mine.

Inevitably they wanted to know how I’d deal with having no income for the first few months. I was as broke as a two bob watch but I handled their questions deftly. Paraphrasing Paul J. Meyer I explained that I knew what I wanted and that I was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen.

Nothing would stand in my way.

The bosses were impressed. They smiled and nodded approvingly.

I thought I had it in the bag. They could ask me no harder question – or so I thought.

“Of course you’ll need to take buyers out in your car,” said the moustachioed David James. “What are you driving?”

I was completely unprepared for the question. Being able to live on the smell of an oily rag was one thing but stumping up thousands to buy new wheels was another all together.

And there was no doubt I needed a new vehicle.

In the car park out the back, right next to the big boss’s gleaming new Commodore, was my rusty 1971 XY Falcon. It had a column shift and vinyl bench seats that burned your bum in the summer sun.

I paused for what felt like an eternity.

Right there I had a choice and it would define me forever. I could make excuses about my lack of preparation and hope for an interview once I got my financial act together or I could step up to the plate and deliver right now.

I chose the latter.

“I’ve got an old bomb in the car park but if I get the job I’ll be going to Perth to get something nicer,” I explained.

“Sounds great,” said David. “When can you start?”

I was in.

But now I had a problem – a big one.

With nothing in the fridge and less in the bank, where was I going to get the coin to buy new wheels?

And if that wasn’t enough Rita and I were planning to get engaged. I had a ring to pay for, a sales reps registration course to fund, and I had to survive the next few months without a regular income.

To be continued.

Filed Under: Motivation Tagged With: David James, determination, job interview, motivation, persistence, planning

How a conversation about a car led me into real estate

February 16, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

BMW 320i 1979

A conversation about a BMW changed the arc of my life. Image: FreddyHi http://www.flickr.com/photos/50917563@N08/

I was in year 11. As a boarder at the Esperance High School Hostel I’d make the long trip back home to the farm every couple of weeks.

On Monday morning, after a weekend at home, Mum and Dad would drive me the 160 kms back to Esperance so I could start another school week.

On one of those trips there was a newspaper in the car. It contained a full page ad for the then-new BMW 3-series.

I couldn’t stop reading and re-reading it. The car was a technological masterpiece.

It’s big claim to fame was an electronic engine management system that meant it would use little or no fuel when going downhill.

Whether or not it was true, I was hooked. I wanted one.

I said as much to Dad.

“One day I’ll have one of these,” I blurted out.

“No you won’t,” he retorted.

I said nothing.

That exchange stuck with me. It gnawed away inside me. I wanted to prove him wrong.

From that point forward I went looking for any opportunity to leverage my time. As a wool presser I busted my gut to get on contract where I was paid for every bail rather than on a day rate. Then, as an office worker in an engineering firm, I grabbed the chance to supplement my income working as a trades assistant at night and on the weekends.

But even these jobs didn’t give me what I was chasing. I was still working for someone.

One day I was kidding around in the workshop with one of the project managers when the big boss came past.

“You’re paid to work, not talk,” he snapped.

Right there and then I thought to myself that I needed to get a job where I was paid to talk, not work.

So I redoubled my search efforts. Soon I came across a motivational tape by Paul J. Myer from the Success Motivation Institute. Myer’s message was simple: “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.”

The message struck a powerful chord. It spurred me to start applying for jobs where I was in charge of how much I would earn.

I wanted to be run my own show, to be the captain of my ship.

I applied for just three jobs.

The first would-be boss said I was too young, the next said I wouldn’t stick around but the third took a punt that I’d be able to sell real estate, despite that I was only 21 and all the other reps were 41.

A couple of weeks after I started, dad rang. He asked me why I thought I’d be able to sell real estate even though I’d never sold anything in my life before.

I said simply: “I will because I’ll make it happen.”

I did and I never looked back.

And yes, I did buy a BMW – a 325i Executive.

Filed Under: Motivation Tagged With: life stories, motivation, Paul J. Meyer, real estate

7 ways to handle rejection like a pro

February 8, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

12 Cookham Road Lathlain

A Lathlain sales rep shows how to deal with rejection like a pro. Image: Grange Realty Group


Paul Brookes is a fighter. He’s one of the regulars at Lindley’s Boxing Gym in Carlisle. There he pounds a bag until the floor around him is soaked with sweat.

Brookesy, as he’s known to his friends, is a nuggety, barrel chested man. In the gym he gives off the impression that he’s not one to be trifled with.

But Paul is also a real estate consultant. As a consultant, he’s likeable and friendly, and a polished communicator.

Put the two together and you have a competitive, determined property professional who doesn’t give in easily.

One of his good mates is also one of mine. Steve owns the Doghouse café in Lathlain. He makes the best hotdogs and doughnuts in the state and he too is a likeable guy. As the proprietor of a popular local fast food outlet it’s no surprise that Steve knows a lot of people, including a lot of agents.

They stop by at the Doghouse for a coffee and doughnut and pretty soon they’re talking about the property market.

So when Steve decided to list one of his rental properties for sale he had a dilemma. Who should he choose? Should it be his mate Paul, another agent he bought a property from, or yet another agent who had the most properties for sale in the area?

For Steve it was a tough decision. In the end he chose the agent he’d bought another property from.

I saw Paul at an auction just hours after he’d been delivered the news. Despite that it was a stinking hot day he never once let on that he’d been hit.

I turned up to the auction with Steve. Knowing what had happened I thought that things might have been tense between them.

But no, Paul greeted Steve professionally, shook his hand, then excused himself to help out with the auction day proceedings. It was a classy thing to do.

As an ex-agent I knew he was hurting. I could see in his eyes that he was feeling let down, dazed and confused. For agents, what happened to Paul makes you question if you’ve still got what it takes or if you can handle the rejection.

He could have ignored Steve and pretended he didn’t see him. He could’ve been snarky or sarcastic. Instead he was polite and professional and dignified.

In short he acted like a true pro.

Over the course of the next couple of months Paul stayed in touch with Steve. They drank beer together at the boxing gym Christmas function. He dropped into the Doghouse for coffee and a chat.

He wasn’t about to let the setback get to him.

Then a couple of days ago the other agent’s listing expired. Paul was back in the game.

Like a true pro he hadn’t let rejection cause him to react emotionally. He stuck to his processes and stayed committed to the relationship.

Next week his for sale sign will go up. I’m sure it won’t be too long before the sold sign follows.

What lessons can we learn from the way Paul handled rejection? Here are 7 lessons I take from his story?

  1. Take responsibility for the setback. Blaming the client, the market or the competition is rarely helpful, especially if you want to grow from the experience.
  2. Recognise that “no” is not the same as never. Often it simply means “not right now.” Paul Brookes recognised this and kept himself in the game until “no” became “yes.”
  3. Acknowledge your feelings. There’s no point pretending that rejection doesn’t hurt – it does. Sometimes it’ll make you feel like a failure or that you’re worthless but with time and perspective these feelings will transform into valuable life lessons.
  4. Acknowledge that you’re not going to achieve 100% of your goals. The current setback has delayed the success train not derailed it all together.
  5. Recognise that any worthwhile undertaking exposes you to failure. Before Roger Bannister ran a sub-4 minute mile thousands of other runners had tried and failed. That didn’t make them failures, it made them runners who helped push the bar a little higher with each unsuccessful attempt. If you’re up to achieving big things in life you’re going to do a lot of failing.
  6. Acknowledge your achievements. Unless you’ve been wrapped in cotton wool this won’t be your first setback. You’ll have had other obstacles that you’ve overcome. Take stock of these and recognise that you’ve had your wins.
  7. Use the setback as a learning experience. Ask yourself what you could have done better? This can be difficult to do when you’re hurting but gets easier as time passes. Harness the pain you’re feeling as the motivation for self-improvement.

What are yours? Please share your tips for coping with rejection in the comments below.

Filed Under: Motivation Tagged With: goals, motivation, Paul Brookes, persistence, rejection

4 videos that will inspire you to get off the couch and do more

February 5, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

Barstarzz

Gets me motivated to hit the bar every time.

Super Human Strength Pullups

Holy cow these guys are strong. And abs? Whoa. Impressive. After watching this I’m always pumped to get out and do a few more pullups.

People Are Awesome Women’s Edition

Just an amazing group of women doing amazing things.

Best of Web 4 – HD – Zapatou

Watch this in HD. Bet you can’t turn it off, even though it’s 8 minutes long.

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME 2013 (THE BEST)

Yep, this is plain awesome. How people can even conceive of doing stunts like this is beyond me.

Filed Under: Motivation Tagged With: exercise, motivation, pullups

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About Peter

Speaker, trainer and coach. I write about living, loving and working better. Love a challenge. More...

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5/170 Burswood Road
Burswood WA 6100

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