“What’s your mission?” I asked my client, Annette, a realtor who was disappointed that she was starting her third coaching session without a new client for her business.

I could sense from her silence on the phone that she was puzzled by my question.  “My mission?” she finally asked.

“If you want to attract clients quickly,”  I continued, “You need to be on a mission.”

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill posited that nothing happens unless the individual who wants to be successful has a “burning desire” to succeed–a desire that is very specific and is shared with everyone.  I have seen this same principal at work with many professionals and business owners.  The ones with a burning desire to accomplish something–a mission–usually attract all of the business they need.  People know what they stand for and where they’re going and are, as a result, attracted to them.

For some, the mission is to make a lot of money using their particular skills and expertise.  The people who hire them just sense that they’re going to get expert advice and great service.  For others, the mission is to use their skills and expertise to help as many people as possible.  It’s interesting how either way, the financial rewards and success in their profession come to the people who are on a mission.

For too many professionals, however, especially the newer ones, the burning desire–if there is one–is to survive, and all someone in this situation can attract is survival.

“Annette, if you were already successful at this and you were a hundred percent sure this was the career for you, what would you be doing differently than you are doing now?” I asked her.

Annette thought for a moment and responded, “A lot of things, I think, but mostly I’d just be a lot bolder about talking to people about what I do.”

It turned out that Annette’s mission is to develop a reputation in her community as the realtor who, above all others, fights to give her ‘buyer’ clients the home they want at a fair price.  We’ve already identified and implemented more than a dozen things that distinguish her approach from her competitors’; and a new client told her this week that she was impressed with her incredible service.

If you’re not sure about your mission, ask yourself this question:  “If I was absolutely sure that I was in this career for life, how would I be handling this client situation?”  If you’re not handling a situation that way,  make the change.  If  you want to get to work on your mission today, contact me to see how I can help.  In the meantime, keep REACHING…