A while back, Tom Ferry published an article I occasionally refer back to when I lack motivation towards completing the tasks I know I should be doing. The article lists 26 activities that make being a real estate agent hard. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it helps the reader get a clear picture of the activities needed to be successful. To no one’s surprise, this list contains a lot of hard things that most agents don’t enjoy doing. They’re hard to initiate, hard to find time to do, and hard to follow-through on. On the flip side—if these things are not done, there are consequences. And those consequences are hard too. The consequences include a lack of income, feeling stuck, and disappointing those who depend on you. Faced with this reality, an agent either chooses to do the things on the first list, or they’ll be stuck with the difficulties on the second list. Recruiting follows the same pattern. Hiring managers who carve out time for recruiting activities, proactively prospect, work referrals, set appointments, and consistently follow-up reap the rewards of hiring great agents. Those who don’t make this commitment, either don’t reach their recruiting goals or they’re stuck hiring mediocre performers and cultural misfits. As Tom recommends: Commit to yourself to accept the difficulties of the first list, so you never have to deal with the difficulties of the second one.