3 Things You Can Do That Your Future Self Will Thank You For

I asked an interesting question on facebook recently that generated a lot of response. My question was, “What is something that you will do today that your future self will thank you for?”

As you can imagine the responses were many and varied from prospecting to spending more time with their spouse. There are obviously a multitude of things that you could do that would make your future self happy but I wanted to give three very specific suggestions that can get you on the right track all around.

1. Take control over your morning – I have found that too many people are so busy being busy that they don’t have enough time to be productive. If you don’t take control over your day and have a plan for your life and business you are going to find out rather quickly that you will end up fitting into someone else’s plan for your life in no time. To avoid this I want you to start blocking off the first hour of your work day every single morning. Whenever your first hour is, I want it to belong to you.

For that first hour I want you to do one thing and one thing only; prospect in some way. You can call past clients, knock on doors of home sellers who were not able to sell in the last 2-3 years and may be able to sell now or use this time to connect with people who visited one of your open houses 6-12 months ago. Just do something for your business at the start of every single day, because that time if yours and is going to be used to potentially create business for you.

2. Begin the routine of working out – Not only do I want you to start working out or running… or both… but I want you to figure out why you are doing it. I happen to have two young boys and I work out because I still want to be able to keep up with them when they are in high school. I have to be in shape to do this. You may want to be around for your grandkids or just want to feel better about your appearance. Whatever it is, figure it out. There is something that happens to yourself psychologically and emotionally when you take care of yourself. You just feel better. Period.

3. Spend time alone – Sometimes we look back on our lives and we wonder how we ever got to where we are. That usually happens when we are surrounded by too much “noise.” Your future self will thank you 12 months from now if you take time every day to get away by yourself, even for a short time, and take stock of where you are and where you are going and make the necessary adjustments.

Remember, there is a difference between activity and achievement. One just keeps you busy while the other brings reward. Be intentional. You will thank yourself later.

Jared James is the CEO and Founder of Jared James Enterprises, and an internationally sought-after speaker and trainer. James built one of the fastest-growing real estate teams in the country, was inducted into the International Hall of Fame for one of the world’s largest real estate companies and wrote a best-selling book—all before the age of 28. As an acclaimed speaker, James keynotes events for major real estate organizations and conducts regular webinars and training for nationally known organizations like NAR, CRS, Yahoo Real Estate, Trulia and Zillow Academy and blogs regularly for RISMedia.