**College of Real Estate Graduates June 2017**

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Graduation Days are always very exciting for us here at The College of Real Estate. While the course may only be 15 weeks, it takes a courageous person to add an additional task to their already busy plate.

These days, people are at the busiest time of their lives because of more personal commitments, growing “life admin” and ever-demanding social media. Greater family commitments, work patterns and personal administration tasks were the main reasons most people feel overstretched these days, which makes their commitment even greater.

What’s the difference between those who rise in the crucial moment and those who fall? Often times, it is mental toughness. A quality as nebulous as the momentum it creates, being mentally tough is something that nearly everyone can agree is important. And yet, for something so important, we often overlook the “How?” and “Why?” of where it chooses to show up, instead assigning mental toughness the same aura as serendipitous luck.

There are, in fact, ways to improve mental toughness as a Real Estate Agent or any type of Entrepreneur for that matter. Not all are within your control, none are easy, but all can make the difference.

Here are ten ways to increase your mental toughness.

1. Accomplish a major fitness goal.

Success breeds success. The more you can find ways to experience “winning,” the more likely you’ll accomplish your goals in the critical moments.

Start with something where you control the variables and can accomplish. Set a fitness goal, something that will require a lot of effort over an extended period of time. This is the key: months of hard work paying off will train both your body and your brain not only to become more physically prepared, but to have the consistency in effort to overcome hardships and achieve goals.

Here are a few fitness goal ideas that will not only make you more athletic, but can also increase your mental toughness through the effort working towards them (and eventually accomplishing them):

Run a mile in under 5 minutes
Finish 100 pushups in under 5 minutes
Bench press 75%-100% your body weight
Squat 1.5 times your bodyweight
Increase your vertical jump 10%
Improve your 40-yard dash 10%
Improve your agility cone time 10%

Even doing something simple — like completing 10 pullups in a row for the first time — will give your body and brain renewed strength.

2. Experience a major life event.

Perspective can be extremely useful, especially in critical moments.

Major life events can be both good and bad. On the good side, they can be serious checks off your ten-year plan or scratches through the bucket list. On the bad side, they can be the serious struggles that we must overcome personally to realize the gravity of individual situations. Overcoming a fear in a big way can also be a major life experience that has extremely powerful mental implications.

Some life events to experience that can provide valuable perspective:

Visit one of the wonders of the world
Buy a house
Work for, request, and receive a promotion or raise
Complete a major challenge like a marathon, triathlon, or cross-fit challenge
Go scuba diving
Move across the country
Study abroad
Go sky diving/bungee jumping
Swim with the sharks
Increase your education

3. Overcome long odds.

No underdog is more dangerous than the one that has had the odds stacked against them and lived to tell the tale. A team that knows it can still win when it’s down is a team that is never out of any contest. Likewise, any Entrepreneur that refuses to quit in any situation will thrive on the high-pressure situation, when expectations and eyes are focusing in.

The more experience you have in competing — really competing — against high-quality Real Estate Agents, the better. Take pride in hearing, “Well, we will be interviewing more than one Agent.” When this is the case, be sure to treat it as an opportunity to practice mental toughness rather than assuming a loss.

4. Take a risk.

Risks, by definition, imply a need for guts. Always doing everything the safe (and even smart), won’t necessarily prepare you for the unpredictability of working with your dream client. If there is a particular neighborhood or clientele that you want to work with-just do it. It’s easy to get intimidated when approaching your “dream client.”

There are many ways to take a risk that can increase your confidence and help you gain a mental edge. Asking a person out for the first time, signing up for a big course or job, or going for a risky goal can all give you the fortitude to try things in uncertain times. Taking a risk and succeeding can train your brain to continue that same pattern.

5. Change your mindset.

Along with taking risks, changing things up in drastic ways can keep your body and mind on its toes. Increasing flexibility will again help in those unknown critical situations of the future, especially in places or moments that you haven’t experienced before.

Ideas for change of mindset:

Get a mental or life coach to teach you something new
Try something new in your personal life
Change your training style in the gym
Imitate your Mentor’s strategy

6. Band together.

Ship captains with unruly or restless crews used to pray for a battle or a storm, some point of crisis where the group could rally together rather than mutiny. A team is only as strong as its weakest links. People who are not involved in your industry do not know what you are going through-yet outsiders LOVE offering their advice or opinions. Spend time with the Students, Real Estate Agents, or Entrepreneurs who have not only survived what you are going through but are thriving!

Try to:

Find people who have survived what you are going through
Spend time with people who are positive-not negative.
Spend time with people who are motivated-not lazy.

7. Go through hard times.

Almost as good as a team succeeding together is a team suffering together. Overcoming a terrible streak, gritting through a difficult class or course, or rebounding from a tough loss can be very good for growing together.

Some Life Coaches will specifically try to give their clients hell in the early parts of their coaching process for this very reason, knowing that if they all hate him or her, they will soon come to care and work for each other.

8. Be (near) perfect.

Imagine that you just did something incredible: perhaps had an unstoppable streak of client consultations or closed transactions that led to a financially prosperous month. Such victories feel good, not just because of the winning, but because of the way the success was achieved. They raise sights and expectations. They make you realize they are possible.

9. Vindicate expectations.

The very best success comes when someone else thinks (and says) that it won’t happen. Vindicating yourself means winning when everyone else (or someone specific) is doubting you. Put extra efforts into any activities that can be turned into bulletin board material, when you or your team can purposefully show the talkers against you that they are wrong.

10. Experience Heartbreak

It’s nearly impossible to replicate — and why would you want to? — but the very best source of mental toughness is experiencing a heartbreak moment. Losing when it matters most, having something terribly unexpected go wrong, failing to live up to the pressure… these are all terrible things, but the memory of them can drive you to push yourself twice as hard to be ready for next time.

In some instances the most mentally tough people are those that have lost before and refuse to do it again. If you experience heartbreak, grit your teeth, get mentally tough, and show that toughness at the very next opportunity.