How do you work hard?

Question

I read an amazing article today by a 22 year old millionaire named Tucker Hughes-https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/276134 It inspired me to dive deep and examine my daily productivity, clarity for my goals, and how I plan to accomplish them.

Im learning every day how to transition into the grueling schedule associated with becoming a millionaire in real estate. Many of these things required for success are things that I was not taught growing up, even when I talk to my dad about things like waking up at 4am to work, or going to the gym everyday, or meditating, he acknowledges that even he could never do that, but knows that many successful people do that and that it's vital.

Anyways, I just want to find out how you might be organizing your day to maximize productivity & success, and how you made the transition into this schedule?

Mackal Smith · Answer

After reading the "Miracle Morning", i have incorporated it into my life. Every day I wake up between 4:30 and 5:30 and spend 10 minutes in guided meditation, 10 minutes reading and saying my personal affirmations, 10 minutes of visualizing the biggest things I want in life, 10 minutes of reading (plus and hour of audio books while I drive in), 10 minutes writing, 20 minutes exercising (most days anyway), and finally 15 minutes looking at my yearly goals and aligning my monthly goals to meet that, then aligning my weekly goals to achieve my monthlies, then setting the day's goals to achieve the weekly goals.

i do this for 4 key areas:

• Spiritual - what am i doing to make myself a better person?
• Real Estate - what am I doing to make myself a better investor?
• business - what am I doing to make sure I'm hitting my best potential at work?
• Personal - what am i doing to make sure I am the best husband, father, and mentor?
• Giving back - what am i doing to pay my many blessings forward to others.

Account Closed · Answer

I'm going to say something that may seem hokey, or far-fetched.  Maybe not.To solve this challenge is very, very easy.  You can do it with almost no effort.  (I'm referring to the challenge of becoming more disciplined and consistent).

Go to Youtube.  Do a search for hypnosis and discipline.  Here's an example of one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BunTAFdAH0Here's the thing.  I've been working on myself for almost two decades.  I'm very driven and outcome-oriented.  I always, without fail, get what I want.

Before hypnosis, this was a challenge for me (getting what I want).  I had to push through, sometimes using sheer willpower.

After hypnosis, it's like I don't even try.  I just do it.  No joke.  I strongly believe, based on my own experience, that hypnosis reprograms your brain in some manner.

My other recommendation, if you do choose to utilize this free manner of self-improvement is to do it consistently (listen to one session every day for 30 days).

And, do not listen to JUST hypnosis on discipline.  Listen to hypnosis on all different subjects (exercise, clearing negativity, becoming your ideal self, self-confidence (even if you're already confident), public speaking, etc., etc., etc.)

You will become a better person, effortlessly, quicker than you ever could by just using your willpower.

Pandu Chimata · Answer

Account Closed - Great ! I will work on it, starting tomorrow morning..

Account Closed · Answer

@Mackal Smith I'm glad to know there are other MM'ers here.@Cedric Moore I also follow the Miracle Morning, waking at 4:15 daily.  It sets me on a path of productivity every single day, no matter what.  I work as long as I can every day, usually until between 6 and 8:30, depending on the day and what I am doing.  (I don't work straight through like the guy in the article.  I've got a family and don't particularly like divorce.  However, a 10 hour day, 7 days a week, is not unusual for me).My objective is to spend the next 10 years outworking everybody I know; everybody in my sphere of influence.  Why?  So, after that, I won't ever have to work again, unless I choose to.  (Of course I will still work, but it will totally be my choice when, where, what type and with whom I work).

Mackal Smith · Answer

@Pandu Chimata

In response Pandu, it is working amazingly well. I have only been doing it a couple of months, but I have not missed a single day. I read all the hype about the Miracle Morning. There is a lot of "magical thinking" going on out there. I'm not one to believe that opportunities just "pop out of the ether" because you visualize yourself rich, or some of the other crazy stuff people have written about it. What I do believe is that I start the day centered and focused. I think it gives me an edge over people who start their morning jumping out of bed the last minute and rushing through the day without a thought for where they are heading for the week/month/year or even that day. I truly believe that it leaves my mind open and alert and I think my subconscious mind comes into play when an opportunity does avail itself. I think it helps me see opportunities that I may have missed before.

I can tell you that on a professional level, it has helped me hit goals at my day job that I thought I wouldn't hit for 6 months. In my real estate investments, I have acquired 2 duplexes and a 4 plex since January, I'm closing on another duplex next week, and I am partnering with another investor on an 8 unit apartment building we are closing on in July. That will get me to a total of 23 units in about a year and a half. This has exceeded all goals I set for myself.

On a personal level, I am truly a more loving husband, and a better Father because I stop and think every day about how my wife and children have enriched my life and how much I owe them. It makes me treat them with a level of  love and respect that I used to forget to do. I also get a great deal of personal satisfaction meeting others and helping any way I can. My whole day is made when I can meet with and inspire someone.

I have some really big goals. I started out with my "big number" thinking it was more than I could realistically achieve in 5 years. I have doubled that number now (not saying I have made that number, but my realistic potential to get there has very much materialized).

So, after all that... Yes, it is working for me. I think there is a plethora of reasons why (none of it magical) but it is a ritual I have incorporated into my daily life and made personal. I have really combined concepts from "The Miracle Morning" and "The One Thing" and even added some of my own "Mackal Juice" in there.

I hope this post inspires you or anyone else that reads it to give it a shot. If it does let me know... you'll make my day!!

Cedric Moore · Answer

Watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BunTAFdAH0 this morning in complete peach for 30 mins. Changed my perspective, and gave me great energy. Will try and do this every morning now! Thanks so so much for the share!

Cedric Moore · Answer

Hello David! Thanks too for your input I love the interaction I am receiving on BP, its giving me like minded people, and accountability I have not had in my short RE life. Today I woke up at 4:15 for the first time in a LOONG time. After learning about basic meditation yesterday I got right to it today meditating in front of a candle for 15 mins. I am now working online for the next 10 mins then reading for 30 / showering and headed into work by 7. This type of schedule is vital and I feel remarkably better each and everyday, not just physically but also better off because i'm simply accomplishing more. "Think and Grow Rich" has just been added to my "to read" list. I am currently listening to "The 4 Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss and wow is that changing perception. Thanks for the input, keep in touch. :)

David Faulkner · Answer

My opinion is that this hypnosis approach is not so different than the miracle morning techniques. There are several good reasons for first thing in the morning ... not only does it set the stage for the rest of your day, but also when you first wake up in the morning your conscious mind is not yet fully awake. This means that the path to reach the subconscious mind is clearer without your conscious mind blocking it. Hypnosis is similar in that it is a different method to bypass the conscious reach and program the subconscious. It is the same reason why you have some of your best ideas in the shower or commuting on the freeway when you are not directly/consciously thinking about anything ... your subconscious at work. Another classic and perhaps the grand-daddy of all these techniques is "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill ... that book is over 50 years old and will blow your mind.

Cedric Moore · Answer

Account Closed Wow, never thought of hypnosis to be honest. Doesn't seem far fetched at all. I started my meditation routine this morning and have already felt an improvement in my day! Thanks for the input! Will watch tonight :)

JD Martin · Answer

OK, I'll be the dude that rains on the parade :D

1. Don't listen to gurus. The smartest people in the room generally won't have anything to say unless you ask them. Everyone else (myself included!) like to hear themselves talk. That's not to mean that no one has anything to offer unless asked; I occasionally write blog posts and, of course, respond to posts, with my own personal opinion/facts/insight on things, but if I wanted to be completely honest this really more feeds my own personal need for community and validation than offering ground-breaking insight, as I'm no genius when it comes to this stuff - just a guy who's done reasonably well seeing and taking advantage of opportunities. Take in case Mr. Entrepreneur, who may be the nicest guy on the planet, but is 22 years old. I've taken more dumps than he has taken breaths, and while there's always the possibility of learning something from everyone from babies to the dead, I'm unlikely to take many life-leading lessons from a guy that barely walked out of college. You did notice that he has a "family commercial real-estate business", meaning that Mama and Papa have propped him up. Kudos for him if he's a good salesman; he should spend more of that 15 1/2 hours selling stuff than writing how-to's on Entrepreneur.

2. Do what works for you. Trying to follow someone else's keys for success is a waste of time. You have to define what success means. If that means being retired at 30, then reverse engineer the problem - how long will you live? How much do you need to live, annually, in the way you want to live? How much will your investments pay over time, and how much money will you have to amass in that period?

3. Want what you want. Lots of people on BP say they want stuff, but are unwilling to do the hard work necessary to get it. Hint: hard work doesn't mean 15 1/2 hours (I don't buy that he works that much for a second, that's 22 year old boasting), it means working on the things that matter. For example, if you decide you want to buy and hold rental property, hard work might mean a second job to save for a down payment or an all-cash purchase, or maybe it means beating the streets looking for financing, or maybe it means mucking around in a crawl space fixing a sewer pipe so that your tenants are kept happy. If you don't really want something, that's OK, just be honest about it so you can move on to what it is you do want. I always say I "want" to lose a few pounds, but I'm too disinterested to do the hard work involved, so I lug some extra weight around (lucky I'm old and married :D).

As far as organizing my day and being productive, the best advice I ever heard was spend as much of your time as possible on things that make money and as little as possible on things that don't. Working a 2 hour a day part-time job for 48 weeks a year at $10/hr will gain you almost 5 grand, which is probably more worthwhile than visualizations and other feel-good theory. (I don't discount the value of meditation, exercise, etc, which are part of your mental/physical health).

How do you work hard?

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