Becoming an NBA Star

“Show me your habits, I’ll show you your future.” - Mark Batterson

I have a theory about goals… My wife and kids were setting goals the other day. We follow a very, very simple version of goal setting to the now. We asked them what they wanted to do or achieve as they grew up. Then we worked that into what they should do this year. With a yearly goal, we then wrote out habits they need to have to get there.

The goals weren’t very specific. The coach in me wanted them to change them, but I let them continue with goals like “being a better basketball player” for one reason: they set very specific habits. If they do their habits, I don’t need them to have a measurable goal, because they will get better.

So here is my theory. I think that people don’t work towards their goals because it is boring. When you get through January at the gym, the excitement runs out. You might have small results that keep you going into February. Then it gets hard to keep the new year excitement going especially if you don’t see results in February. And by March you are done. You never formed a habit. You were focused on the outcome and not just building the habits.

Last year there were identical twins who both were drafted in the top 5 in the NBA - Amen and Ausar Thompson. When they were nine they decided they set some goals. Here is what they wrote out and committed to when they were 9:

They ended up being 6’7 so the “6’9 dream” never happened but they had the skills to take them to number 4 and 5 in the draft. It will be interesting to see if they get a shoe company (being in the NBA makes that easier) or become multi-billionaires.

Think back to when you were 9. If you did these same things every day, do you think you could have made it to the NBA? I bet I would have made my high school team and probably got a scholarship somewhere but then being 6 foot flat would have made it hard to make it to the NBA.

What if you did the same thing that these 9-year-olds did? Label the habits you need to do every day to run the best real estate business ever. You could write it out just the same as they did and commit to yourself.

I challenge you to look at the goals you set for the year and write out what habits you would need to do for each of them. Then focus on those habits. Everything else will fall into place unless one of those goals is to be 6’9”.