Chris Prefontaine argues the real prize in real estate is not deals or income but the personal transformation underneath. He breaks this into three pillars: mindset, skillset, and systems. Stacking disciplined habits and consistency compounds over time to produce results that survive market shifts.
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Most people think they're building a real estate business. What they're actually building in reality is something entirely different. What they're building is themselves. What you'd be building is you. And that's why some people succeed long before the money shows up. Just no one knows it yet. Hey, welcome back to Motivational Monday. Today I want to talk about something that Literally took me years to understand, and it came up again literally last week in our Deal Lab. The deal isn't the prize. The person you become is the prize. Now, I know that sounds a bit strange coming from me, who spent decades talking about deals and deals and deals. But hear me out. Most people get into real estate because of freedom, right? That's one of the things, right? The money, the flexibility. Options and lifestyle. Nothing wrong with all that. Nothing at all. But something interesting happens along this journey. I promise you, if it hasn't happened to you yet, you start changing. You start evolving, or at least you should. It's almost unavoidable. Do the calls you make to sellers make you better? Sure. From a skillset standpoint, do the negotiations make you stronger? Sure. From a skillset standpoint. Do the setbacks make you more resilient? Sure. It's more mindset, character building. Do the failures make you wiser? Sure. Mine did in the 2008 crash. I can go back and give you many lessons. And guess what? Eventually through all this, you realize, well, wait a minute, the business wasn't just building income for me or for you in this case, it was building you. Regardless of where you are right now, think about the person you were, say, 5 years ago. Last week, Allison in Deal Lab brought this up. It's like, man, I am so far ahead. I can't wait to see where I'll be in a year or two. That's a cool statement. She had that, that light bulb go off and it made me want to talk to you guys about it this week. So would that version of you be capable of handling everything you handle today? That version of you 5 years ago? Probably not in a few different ways, or maybe your whole life. That's growth. The challenge is that most people focus only on the scoreboard, like deals. We call it takings in our world, but something goes under contract, it's called a take. Or, you know, revenue or actual closings or solds or income in general. And while that, while that's going on, I would pay attention to that. They missed the transformation that's happening kind of underneath the surface. It's like that duck paddle underneath the water. You don't see it. So many people, you know, that are successful have this stuff going on behind the scenes that you don't know. Confidence, discipline, leadership, communication, decision-making. Those are real assets. I could have kept going because once you become the person capable of producing results predictably, profitably, guess what? You can do it again and again and again with predictability and profitability. Ah, that's the gold, right? Money can disappear. Markets can change. Deals can can and will fall apart. But the person you become, nobody could take it from you. I tell everybody in our community, look, once you learn creative real estate, nobody could take that skillset. Well, nobody can certainly take the person you become. That's why I always tell people, don't judge your progress only by your income or your metrics. Judge it by who you're becoming along the way. At the same time, don't ignore the other stuff. Side note, this is why we have what we call the Genius Model, right? Where one of our 3 pillars is mindset. Because that develops you. The other 2 are skillset and systems, but that the mindset piece develops you. And it's part of our Genius Model. It takes us like 3 years to go through that with you when you become part of the community. Now, are you more disciplined? Are you more accountable? More capable? More consistent? Because those things end up compounding. I call it stacking. And eventually they produce results. Like in all areas of your life, literally. So again, the deal isn't the prize. The deal's fun. The deal's nice. The deal's profitable, but it's not your prize. The person you become while building the business is your prize. That's what lasts. That's what creates long-term success. And honestly, that's what creates a life that you get to design and then get to look back and be so proud of. It's your choice if you decide to do it. Not sure where to get started? Go to smartrealestatecoach.com/ Get going for free books, strategy calls, and a whole bunch more. We're going to help you get going the wicked smart way. We've been after this for over a decade doing exactly that. Are you serious about becoming the type of person who can build a real business? Is that you? You, it's a simple decision, right? If that's you, I'm assuming it is, then take a look at our apprentice program. No better way than to hang out with us as an apprentice. Go to 3, the number 3, 3paydaysapprentice.com/youtube. Because remember, success isn't about finding that perfect deal. You'll have fun doing that. It's about becoming the person capable of creating them at will. Let's get after it. I look forward to seeing you next week.
