4 STEPS TO BREAKING THROUGH A CEILING OF ACHIEVEMENT

Author

Kashif Riaz
February 16, 2024

Throughout our career, we’re going to hit things called Ceilings of Achievement.

The reason we hit them is because when we get into our careers, we have certain entrepreneurial skills and knowledge and abilities that we bring with us. Some natural abilities are higher than others, but we still have these limits or ceilings that we run up against based on that knowledge or experience. No matter where you were when you got into your career, eventually you will hit a ceiling of achievement. And it’s going to happen many times throughout your career.

When I got in real estate business, I didn’t have a lot of outside experience. I was 23 years old, I had not had lots of jobs, and the ones I did have were mostly service based. They weren’t anything that gave me knowledge that would help me in real estate. So I very quickly hit a real estate ceiling of achievement.

In the following video, I outline 4 steps to break through a ceiling of achievement, which I’ll expand upon below.

Recognizing When You’ve Hit A Ceiling of Achievement

The best thing we can do is learn to recognize it when it happens, and not stay stuck below those ceilings for very long.

“You know, I’ve done the same production for about three or four or five years.”

When someone I’m talking to or helping tells me that, right off the bat I know that they’ve hit a ceiling of achievement and they have no idea how to break through.

Any time you feel stuck at your current level of achievement, any time you seem to have plateaued in your output or in whatever role you are in, you are butting up against that ceiling. As we try to achieve a higher and higher level of success, it’s pretty much guaranteed that we will hit a ceiling of achievement.

A lot of times, what we tend to do is we tend to go chase the bunny trail or the new shiny object. That or we give up entirely. If you’re in real estate, you get out of the that part of the business and go be a loan officer or a title person.

So how do you break through? Below, I’ll outline four steps in breaking through that ceiling.

1. Get Focused

First, we have to get focused. But how do you know what to focus on? to answer this, ask yourself:

What is my big goal?
What am I after?
What am I trying to accomplish?
Questions to Ask When You’ve Hit a Ceiling of Achievement

Answering these questions will let you know what you need to focus on.

Ultimately, you need to look at and know where you want to be when you break through that ceiling. Having that goal in mind gives you a target to shoot for, and the more focused you get, the easier that focus can start to crack the glass holding you back. The more you chip away at that one specific spot, eventually cracks will form and a hole will develop.

As Zig Ziglar says, “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”

Focusing on what you wish to achieve can help light a new fire within you that can get you to there. But it’s only the first step.

2. Explore Your Options

Next, look at your options. There are always lots of different options and lots of different ways you can build your business. You have to look up and say, Based on what I want to achieve, what are those options and which one best fits me?

I think a great place to start is a good old-fashioned brainstorm. Write your goal at the top of a page or a whiteboard, then list all the strategies, tactics, tasks, etc. that you already are doing. From there, expand to include anything and everything (don’t hold back because you think an idea might be dumb or because you don’t think you’d enjoy doing it) you can think of.

The more you put down on the page or board, the more you can start to see what new things might work.

Next, put together a few categories. I recommend having three different groupings. The first group is of things you are already doing that are successful. Next is the list of things you might enjoy doing. Finally, list everything new that you think might be worth trying.

Brainstorms are great ways to get the creative juices flowing, but approaching the task with an open mind and in a structured way can allow you to think outside the box. And that’s all a ceiling of achievement is: a box that’s holding you back a little from getting where you want to go.

3. Explore Systems & Models

The third step is to get some systems and models. If you can follow a model, it takes out all the guesswork of everything. It makes it simple and easy.

Models need to come from someone who’s actually accomplished what it is that you you want to accomplish. And so if we can find that model and just plug ourselves into it, it’ll save us a lot of time and energy in creating what that model needs to look like. Build your success off systems and models that are proven to work!

Say you are wanting to generate more leads but have come up against a roadblock on how to get them. Looking at models and systems other top companies or individuals are using in your industry can give you a framework or template to mimic and build into your plan.

4. Get Accountability

One of the best things you can do is to plan a way to get accountability. A lot of times, we know what we need to do and we know how to do it. We just don’t do it.

I have this funny saying that I say:

If I was going to do it, I would have already done it by now.

A good example is working out with weights.

If I was going to work out with weights by myself, I would already done it. So since I won’t, and I know it’s important for the life I want to live, I pay someone to hold me accountable. And so she shows up, or she schedules a time with me to show up and because she’s holding me accountable, I know there’s a great chance (or even a 100% chance, unless I’m just physically sick and can’t do it) that I’m going to do those weights!

I just won’t do them without the accountability.

The same thing goes with our real estate businesses or in our chosen careers. Having accountability works.

Reaching New Heights

Being aware that I have hit ceiling of achievement has really helped me move through my career and move to bigger and better goals faster. Because I recognize when I’ve hit one, I know real quick that I have to get focused on what I want to accomplish. I need look ask What are my options? What are the models and systems I want to follow to accomplish what I want to accomplish with the options I’ve chosen? And finally then who’s going to hold me accountable?

When it comes down to it, 80% of whether we do anything or not is the accountability we put around it. The things that are easy and natural don’t need any accountability. But if it’s super important to reach your goals and to to build your life as big as you want it, then you got to figure out what accountability you can put around it?

Following these four steps really is a winning formula for anybody who hits a ceiling of achievement. I know because I have hit many, many ceilings in my real estate career and it’s the path I always follow.

If you’re someone who’s sitting out there wondering which direction to go, I hope this helps inspire you to put together a plan and break on through!

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