Converting Time into Money

Money is not the end result; it is a measurement of the progress you are making. Money measures how well you use your time. As you are starting your real estate business, you will need to learn how to convert time into money. Although money can be used to measure your achievements, money itself is not the ultimate goal here. Quality of life is more important than the quantity of money. Yes, money can help improve the quality of your life but only if you manage your time correctly. If you work 12 hours a day, miss your kid’s soccer games and never have time to enjoy time, what good is the money? Are you happy? If we develop good time and money management, relationship-building will be converting time into money.

Time Can Only Change Your Pursuit

The Declaration of Independence lists life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as three of the most important inalienable rights enjoyed by all human beings. While life and freedom are obviously needed for success, the pursuit of happiness is equally vital. We need an environment of liberty in order to be able to dream, grow, achieve and increase in prosperity. However, happiness is not entirely tied to money. You can be happy without prosperity, and in fact, some great heroes have proven that it is possible to be happy even without freedom. But when you have money problems, it nearly always negatively influences the feeling of happiness.

As you will learn in your real estate course, you are an independent contractor. You are your own boss. You are an entrepreneur. If you are coming in from the corporate world, you need to understand that an employee thinks about time differently than an entrepreneur. As an employee, you get your paycheck the same time every month. Every hour of every day worked is recorded, and you are paid for that. You are simply trading time for money. But, as an entrepreneur, there is a major shift. You are no longer trading time for money, but converting time into money. Top agents know how to convert time. Every hour spent in their business converts to income. 

What is Your Why?

Have you ever written out your why or your vision? Every plan you make should somehow be connected to this ultimate goal. Every decision you make should point you in the direction of your dream. 

Time is money. You need to decide how much you are worth per hour. Someone who believes they are worth $60 per hour is going to do things differently than someone who believes their time is worth $8 per hour. Do you think the person who believes they are worth $60 per hour will pay the next-door neighbor $20 to mow his lawn or rather take two hours off his day to mow it himself? If he delegates such tasks to others, he can invest his time in an income-producing activity such as focusing on his salesperson course so he can start collecting commissions sooner, or prospecting, setting appointments, networking and building relationships.

How to Buy More Time

There are hundreds of time management tools out there. From CRM (customer relationship manager), calendars, to-do lists, planners and software programs. But before you dive into finding the tool, you should evaluate the way you think about time. The way you view time determines the way you use time. Using time correctly will result in an increase in productivity, and when you increase productivity, you increase income. 

As you face your business building and income-producing activities, it’s okay to feel defeated at times. However, it’s not okay to stay that way. By clearly identifying and writing down your important tasks, reading them in the morning and at night to keep them always present in your mind and making smaller decisions and plans with your vision in mind, you’ve already built important habits that will help you succeed. 

How to Increase Your Momentum

First, as Steven Covey taught in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, begin with the end in mind. How much money do you need to be free? Meaning that your passive income is enough to live on and you can work full-time on building your business and fulfill your purpose.

Second, do not fall into the trap of just wanting as much money as possible. You want to put the greatest effort into attaining your dream, and you want to have the necessary resources to effectively realize your vision.

Third, stay hungry and focus on learning, build your business around your mastery and increase your mastery of your business. Too many people make the mistake of gaining mastery in one area and then assuming that it will apply to other things, so they put their money into things they don’t understand and lose it. For example, Michael Jordan wasn’t all that spectacular at baseball, but he may have been the greatest basketball player ever.

In short, put your time and money into what you know, and your mastery and influence will continually increase. Choose focus over diversity in your business. Be really good at one thing, not mediocre at many things. Andrew Carnegie taught that good investors put their eggs in one basket. Converting time into money is your best bet!