I recently shared with you five of my favourite quotes that inspired me as a property investor. But, over the years I have also come across a lot of successful people outside of the property world, and many teachings that have motivated me to get where I am today.
I’m an advocate of continued learning and development, no matter what stage of your life or sector you operate in. Personal and professional development in tandem can equate to great success and help you to achieve your financial and lifestyle goals.
Some of the following quotes have played a pivotal role in changing my perspective on life and could do the same for you.
1. ‘We remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we see and 90% of what we experience’ Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience
The more actively engaged our senses are, the more likely we are to remember something. Don’t underestimate the value in physically going out there and working alongside other successful entrepreneurs and business people. Theory is great – it is the actual doing that gets results. The entire PPP business model was based on this principle of enabling people to learn in real-time (over a minimum of five years), with real mentors by their side and get real results.
2. ‘Your network equals your net worth’ Mark Victor Hansen
By surrounding yourself with successful people, you’ll find that by adopting their attitude and approach, and following their core business principles, you’ll start to become more successful yourself. This statement can be further added to with the quote by the legendary Jim Rohn – ‘You become like the five people you spend most time with’. Choose carefully! Having a team and a community of like-minded and supportive people around you is critical. There are great communities on the internet these days but in my experience, nothing is as powerful as real-time face to face contact, mentoring and mutually aligned and long-term relationships. However, it is not an either/or situation – I would encourage both.
3.‘Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching’
This is a quote that has been attributed to both best-selling author C.S. Lewis and American Olympic weightlifter, Jim Stovall. They are both right - it’s true! Success in life and any business is about more than just treating others with respect and being personable, it’s about integrity. If you lack integrity, you may win in the very short term, but it won’t last long. In his widely acclaimed book, ‘The Millionaire Mind’, Thomas J. Stanley discussed the results of a survey of US millionaires, which showed part of their psychological profile was: “We became rich without compromising our integrity. In fact, we credit our integrity with significantly contributing to our success”.
4. ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’
We are all, to a greater or lesser degree, ‘unconsciously incompetent’ in certain areas of business and life. That’s why you should never stop learning, no matter how much you think you know about a subject. The questions you don’t even know to ask are the ones that can lead you into making the biggest mistakes but also giving you the greatest break-through. Continual learning and taking action is critical.
5. ‘Life is a daring adventure or it is nothing at all’ Helen Keller
It’s always important to remember that life is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but a ride that you should embrace. To have a positive outlook on life can encourage you to be a greater version of yourself. Zig Ziglar once said ‘Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will’, and he was right. Don’t let challenges prevent you from moving forward – Helen Keller didn’t. The American author and political activist was the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree and overcame such adversity so she could make a real difference.
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These quotes, among others, inspired my vision to attract several hundred highly capable, professional and like-minded people to come together through Platinum Property Partners (PPP) and form a unique and very valuable community. The PPP community – or family as it is most commonly described these days - is something that our Partners tell us regularly is one of the top three major points of difference and value to the business.
