December 2018 Newsletter: Play the Percentages in 2019

If you’re like most goal-oriented people, you are looking forward to the new year. You are getting excited about making 2019 THE YEAR for you personally and for your career. Want to get there faster? You can do it by playing the percentages. In order to do this successfully, you will have to be 100% honest with yourself.

Having a discipline is the bridge between setting goals and accomplishing them

On your way home from work tomorrow, ask yourself how much effort you put forth that day. Remember, be honest! Then do the same thing the next day and the next day and so on until you have five days’ worth of self-analyzed numbers. Maybe on Monday you gave 75% of your maximum potential effort, Tuesday 60%, Wednesday 80%, and so on. Figure out your average percentage for those five days. Now ask yourself what you could have accomplished if you had given 5, 10, 15, or 20% more effort.

Reaching your goals in 2019 will become much easier if you gradually increase the amount of effort you put forth. If you discipline yourself to add 5% to your normal efforts in January, 10% in February, 15% in March, and so on, you will become much more productive and have a more positive attitude about your abilities.

Challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone in 2019 by exploring new, fun ways to achieve your goals

Staying on track will be easier if you share your commitment with your significant other, children, parents, coworkers, employees, manager, and so on. However, even if you choose not to tell anybody what you are doing, you can still use these percentages to hold yourself accountable.

Here’s how to make a to-do list for playing the percentages:

Buy a white board and write at the top: “My percentages for 2019.”
Make columns for the first four months of 2019, write the name of each month and underline it, and leave some space below the name of the month. Now make two more rows with blank space underneath for the remaining eight months of 2019.
Right below each month, write down the percentage of additional effort you plan to give.
Below each percentage, list two items that you can add or subtract in your daily life to reach your percentage.

The top part of your 2019 to-do list should look like this:

My percentages for 2019

January	February	March	April
5%	10%	12%	15%
1. Start my workday 30 minutes earlier	1. Self-improvement: Work out 3 days a week	1. Speak only positive statements to everyone	1. Spend more time with like-minded people who have goals like I do
2. Make 5 more calls 3 days a week	2. Eliminate time-wasting involvements	2. Avoid negative people and situations	2. Be bolder in going after what I want in life

Making a to-do list does not take the place of goal setting; instead, it will make you more aware of the percentage of potential effort you are leaving on the table and the fact that you are not being fair to yourself if you don’t make some changes in your life.

We should continually look for new ways to not only make ourselves better but ultimately empower others to do the same. How will you play the percentages in 2019?

What People in the Audience are Saying…

With Van's passion, humor and experience you can be assured of one thing- your audience is going to get fired-up, built-up, and fully charged –up. As an entrepreneur at the top of his game Van is in the unique position of being able to "talk the talk" because he has "walked the walk". Over the years he has been a great inspiration to me and my staff. Van is a speaker with charisma, humility and impact and he's a difference maker in the lives of the people he touches…"

—George Akers // President, First Mortgage Corp.

I wanted to thank you for coming and speaking with our company today. I thought your presentation was awesome! I was really motivated and inspired by your thoughts and ideas. I will use this motivation to grow my business and my personal life.”

—Justin Pauls // Realtor, Tampa, Florida

We are delighted you will be accepting the award for Omaha’s Top 25 fastest growing companies. Congratulations on your outstanding growth and we wish you continued success.”

—Tracey Fortina // Omaha Chamber of Commerce

Thank you for running such a class act company. It is an honor and a pleasure to be associated with someone such as yourself. I know you are probably one of the most respected businessmen in the region.”

—Dustin Talacko // Realtor, Omaha, Nebraska

Congratulations on writing “Selling from the heart” and thank you for sharing a copy with me. Your class has been one of the most enjoyable classes I’ve ever taken. Your enthusiasm and passion for your work are awesome. But the most refreshing part of the class was your delightful sense of humor. Thank you again for being a fantastic teacher.”

—Linda Reismeiler // Student at Randall School of Real Estate, Omaha, Nebraska

Kudos to you, Van, for reaching a major goal. But more than that...For successfully building one of Omaha’s best companies from scratch and making it thrive even in less than ideal market conditions. You have realized the American Dream...And brought it home to many, many others. My best to you!”

—Todd Andrews, Anchor and Producer, KETV Omaha

Having you here again was such a blessing to so many! As I looked at the pictures, I could see just how interested each and every person was in what you had to say!

This has been such a gift to our agents when they need it the most. The fact that you come, you are so genuine and caring, you are so honest, you are not trying to sell anything and your passion to help each and every person believe in themselves and become the best they can be is HUGE! The timing is perfect for us all helping and caring about each other, so, thank YOU from the bottom of my heart for giving of yourself to help all of us!”

—Carolyn Summerton // First Mortgage Company of Idaho

I enjoyed your seminar and its focus. I was on the fence whether or not to attend and decided why not? I could have sat through an all day session if there was one, usually I end up at the seminars that start with a focus and quickly go astray. I found with yours time flew by too fast and it was already time to go but I wasn’t ready to go.”

—Scott Asbill, CDPE // Associate Broker, Realtor