Welcome to episode 271 of Monday Morning Pep Talk. Today, we’re diving into one of the most misunderstood aspects of high-performance real estate—the battle between vision and ego.

Vision vs. Ego: The Real Battle
Your vision is the promise you’ve made to yourself—the life you want, the impact you seek. Your ego is the external fuel—rankings, recognition, competition—that pushes you forward.

📌 When ego leads, you lose sight of your purpose.
📌 When vision lacks drive, you struggle to take action.

I’ve lived both sides—from my real estate heart attack in 2008 to rebuilding my career and redefining success. Today, I’ll show you how to turn ego into fuel and ensure every step aligns with your true purpose.

Are You Letting Ego Lead?
Many advisors fall into ego-driven thoughts:
🔹 I need to be #1 to feel successful.
🔹 If I don’t beat my competitor, I’ve failed.
🔹 I must prove something to others.
🔹 I have to dominate at my age.
🔹 I need a comeback to silence doubters.
🔹 I’ll just grind—I don’t need a vision.

If these thoughts drive you, you’re chasing an empty scoreboard. The game changes when ego fuels vision—not the other way around.

Winning the Internal Battle
Ask yourself:
❓ Are you focused on your progress or distracted by others?
❓ Are you making daily commitments or searching for excuses?
❓ Are you surrounding yourself with people who elevate you?

Your mindset, habits, and strategy determine your results. If you wake up chasing external validation, you’re in a losing game. But if you’re committed to becoming the highest version of yourself, you’re on the right path.

The Commitment to You vs. You
This is why I created Take Flight—to help advisors win their battle. But here’s the truth:

➡️ The commitment must come from YOU.

If you don’t commit to competing against yourself, you’ll eventually hit your own version of a real estate heart attack.

💡 The battle is won in your mind. It lasts years, not weeks.
💡 When you push past doubt and distraction, your life transforms.

Lifting Others as You Climb
As real estate award season begins, achievements are recognized, rankings are posted. But true success isn’t just about winning your battle—it’s about helping others win theirs.

➡️ Be the mentor.
➡️ Be the encouragement.
➡️ Be the inspiration.

Take Flight: Your Next Level
At Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, 50 advisors are beginning their Take Flight journey—the coaching program I created to help advisors reach new heights.

Personal and professional growth is a continuous journey. Now is the time to commit to your next level.

🏡 That house I thought I built in 2008? Looking back, I realize the truth—That house built me.

Team, have a great week. I’ll talk to you next Monday.

🚀 Stay Connected with Jim Miller
📩 Join My Monday Morning Pep Talk Weekly Email → www.askjimmiller.com
📺 Subscribe on YouTube → www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3o0Wp1nE8dV_r1TFRb_Uw
📲 Follow on Instagram → www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
🔗 Connect on LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago

The Journey to 'You vs You' | Monday Morning Pep Talk #271

✔️ The Basics Work Every Time | Monday Morning Pep Talk #273

In this episode, I walk you through one of the most powerful stories I’ve ever heard about mastery, consistency, and elite performance — told by keynote speaker and performance coach Alan Stein Jr.

Alan was invited to the first-ever Kobe Bryant Skills Academy in 2007. What he witnessed at 4:00 a.m. in a quiet Los Angeles gym changed his view of high performance forever. Kobe wasn’t doing anything flashy — he was locked in on the basics. Footwork. Jab steps. Pivots. The kind of drills most athletes leave behind early in their career. But true masters? They repeat what works.

That’s the essence of this message: Success lives in the fundamentals.

✔️ What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why basic ≠ easy — and why most people confuse the two
What separates elite performers from average ones
Why the shiny new tactic is often a distraction
How to apply the principle that “success leaves clues”
A weekly challenge to double down on your fundamentals
🔁 Key Takeaways:

Success leaves clues. Study those who’ve done what you want to do.
Mastery lives in the basics. Complexity is not a requirement.
Discipline and repetition are your competitive edge.
Shortcuts feel good now but cost you later.
If the best in the world aren’t bored with the fundamentals, you shouldn’t be either.
🛠️ This Week’s Challenge:

Look around your business, your market, your industry. Who is doing what you want to do — and doing it at a high level?

What do their daily habits look like? What are they committed to doing behind the scenes that no one sees?

Pick 2–3 core fundamentals in your business. Then commit to them. Not just when it’s convenient — every single day. The blueprint is out there. It’s waiting for those who are willing to put in the work.

👉 Subscribe & turn on notifications so you never miss a Monday Morning Pep Talk or The Weekly Flight Path!

💬 Drop a comment — I’d love to hear your thoughts!

📩 Get More Coaching & Resources

📬 Join My Weekly Email List: www.askjimmiller.com
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🔗 Connect on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago



✔️ The Basics Work Every Time | Monday Morning Pep Talk #273

Burnout is not a rite of passage. It is a warning light—and this week’s Monday Morning Pep Talk is here to make sure you never ignore it again.

In Episode 274, Jim Miller gets personal and tactical. He unpacks the real reason most real estate advisors and entrepreneurs crash: they don’t schedule rest—they collapse into it. This episode outlines how to prevent burnout before it starts, with a business and life strategy that is both practical and sustainable.

If you’ve ever promised yourself, “this year will be different” but found yourself right back in the grind by April, this episode will show you how to finally break that cycle.


💡 Key Takeaway:
If you do not control your time, your business will control your life. The best advisors don’t just plan their work—they plan their recovery.

🧭 Your Mission
Start planning your business around your life—not the other way around. Be honest about your capacity. Build SOPs. Hire below your pay grade. Protect your downtime.

Because burnout doesn’t just cost you professionally.
It will cost you your joy, your health, your relationships, and your ability to lead.

"This industry will take everything you’re willing to give—and then it will ask for more." – Jim Miller
📲 Stay Connected

📩 Join My Weekly Email List:
www.askjimmiller.com

📲 Instagram:
www.instagram.com/askjimmiller

🔗 LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago

📺 Subscribe on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/@askjimmiller


🔥 Avoid Burnout at All Costs | Monday Morning Pep Talk #274

Welcome to Episode 275 of Monday Morning Pep Talk.

This week, we are going deep on a word that gets tossed around a lot in real estate—but rarely lived out: fiduciary.
FIDUCIARY: What It Really Means

It sounds powerful. It sounds professional. But most advisors using the word aren’t actually showing up that way in their day-to-day business.

Too many agents are functioning as facilitators—not fiduciaries. They’re taking orders, moving people from step to step, doing what’s easy—not what’s right. And clients? They can feel it.
📌 A facilitator helps.
📌 A fiduciary leads.

A true fiduciary puts the client’s interest first—even when it’s inconvenient, uncomfortable, or costly. Especially then.
In this episode, I break down:
✅ Why most agents default to “suitability” thinking—and why that’s not enough
✅ The subtle ways clients know when you’re faking it
✅ What separates a true advisor from an order-taker
✅ Why trust—not likability—is the real currency that compounds
✅ How to build a business around referrals by earning trust daily

Ask Yourself This:

If you got paid nothing on a deal, would your advice change?
If the answer is yes, you’re not advising. You’re selling.
That’s the hard truth—and the standard we all need to hold ourselves to if we want to build something long-term.
This episode is your invitation to shift from transactional thinking to transformational service—to be a fiduciary not just in name, but in action.

Are You Earning Trust Every Day?

🔹 Do your clients feel safe, or sold to?
🔹 Are you showing up to impress—or to guide?
🔹 Are you willing to lose a deal to protect your client’s future?
Trust is built through behavior. It’s earned in quiet moments—when no one is watching, and there’s no commission on the line.

In real estate, your legacy is not built on sales. It’s built on service.

The Standard Has Been Raised. If you want to stand out in this market, it won’t come from louder marketing. It will come from deeper relationships and a higher level of professionalism. Lead with integrity. Advise with clarity. And put the client first—every single time.

Have a great week, team. I’ll talk to you next Monday.

🚀 Stay Connected with Jim Miller
📩 Join My Monday Morning Pep Talk Weekly Email → www.askjimmiller.com
📺 Subscribe on YouTube → www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3o0Wp1nE8dV_r1TFRb_Uw
📲 Follow on Instagram → www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
🔗 Connect on LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago

FIDUCIARY: What It Really Means | Monday Morning Pep Talk Episode 275

Welcome to Episode 277 of Monday Morning Pep Talk. This week is about clarity — how to find it faster and use it with purpose.

For over a decade, I’ve been disciplined about planning and goal setting. But even with structure, I sometimes struggled to lock into clarity during my daily and weekly sessions. I was asking good questions — but not the right one.

👉 Then I found it — a question that now anchors my daily, weekly, and quarterly rhythm.

🧠 The Power of the Right Question:
📌 “If I were looking back on today/week/quarter, what would have to have happened — personally and professionally — for me to feel like I made meaningful progress?”

Simple. Practical. A sledgehammer for focus.

📆 Daily | 🗓 Weekly | 📊 Quarterly
This mindset — rooted in the 3-Year Vision philosophy from Strategic Coach — creates clarity that compounds over time. I break it all down in this episode and show you how to apply it across your entire business.

💼 For You, the Advisor: • Your outreach feels scattered
• You're not sure where to start reconnecting
• Your pipeline needs energy — and momentum

You don’t need to do more. You need to start with better questions — to yourself and to your clients.

🔁 Your Reconnection Strategy: 
✅ Leave a message or text: “I have a quick market update I think you’ll want to hear. Call me when you have a minute.”
✅ When they call back, say: “It’s been five years since COVID shifted the market. Based on the data, your home is likely worth between X and Y.”
✅ Then ask: “How is your home performing for you?”

That single question opens the door to meaningful conversations — without sounding like a salesperson. Listen for life changes, log notes, follow up. Repeat across your Top 100.

🧘‍♂️ Composure isn’t passive. It’s practiced.

🛠️ This Episode Will Help You:
✅ Ask the right questions to unlock clarity
✅ Build a repeatable reconnection framework
✅ Turn small daily wins into quarterly momentum
✅ Reset your mindset with one powerful question
✅ Strengthen consistency — even during busy seasons

💬 Ask Yourself:
Are you taking time to plan with intention?
Are you clear on what “progress” looks like today?
Are you showing up strong — or stuck in the noise?

📈 The momentum you want is on the other side of better questions.
.
🔗 Stay Connected with Jim Miller:
📩 Join My Weekly Email → www.askjimmiller.com
📺 Subscribe on YouTube → www.youtube.com/@AskJimMiller
📲 Follow on Instagram → www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
🔗 Connect on LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago

Ask The Right Questions | Monday Morning Pep Talk Episode # 277


Better Way to Track Your Production | Monday Morning Pep Talk Episode #278

Welcome to Episode 278 of Monday Morning Pep Talk.

This week’s episode is all about how to track your production in real estate — and more importantly, how to use your numbers to drive consistent, predictable growth.

Top-performing advisors and elite entrepreneurs do not guess. They track, forecast, and hold themselves accountable to clear production targets. In this episode, I break down exactly how to do the same so you can scale your business, keep your pipeline healthy, and stop leaving your results up to chance.

👉 What You Will Learn in This Real Estate Productivity Training:

📌 12-Month Rolling Production:
Understand how to calculate your real production pace and spot trends before it is too late. This method gives you a real-time view of your business health.

📌 The Proper Size of a Real Estate Pipeline:
Learn why your active pipeline must be 1.5x your goal to avoid coming up short. I explain the math and mindset behind pipeline management for success.

📌 Creating Urgency in Prospecting:
Avoid complacency. Discover how visualizing lost opportunities (literally) can push you to prospect daily and stay committed to your income goals.

📌 Gamify Your Prospecting to Stay Consistent:
Borrowed from Atomic Habits, this simple trick turns outbound prospecting into a measurable and rewarding daily habit.

📌 Build a Massive Warm List:
Future deals come from future relationships. I share why warm leads deserve more attention and how staying top-of-mind prevents pipeline gaps.

📌 Know Your Numbers Cold:
Forecast like a CEO, not a salesperson. Use my framework to calculate exactly how many deals and leads you need — and track your production like a pro.

👉 This Episode Will Help You:
✅ Build a reliable and predictable real estate production system
✅ Stay accountable through visual tracking methods
✅ Eliminate dry spells with a deep, engaged warm list
✅ Reverse engineer your annual income goal into weekly and daily targets
✅ Take full ownership of your pipeline and sales process

💬 Ask Yourself:
• Am I truly tracking my real estate business — or guessing?
• Do I have enough in my pipeline to hit my income targets?
• Am I creating urgency around prospecting every single day?

📌 If your answers are uncertain, this episode will shift how you run your business.

🔗 Stay Connected with Jim Miller — Real Estate Coaching for Advisors:

📩 Join My Weekly Email → www.askjimmiller.com
📺 Subscribe on YouTube → www.youtube.com/@AskJimMiller
📲 Follow on Instagram → www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
🔗 Connect on LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-jim-miller/id1490481207



A Better Way to Track Your Production | Monday Morning Pep Talk Episode #278

Welcome to Episode 279 of Monday Morning Pep Talk.

In this episode, we are talking about time optimization — and why the best way to manage your time is the way that actually works for you.

There is no universal perfect system. True optimization is about building a rhythm that matches your style, protects your time, and ensures you stay productive and consistent without burning out. Elite advisors do not waste time chasing perfection — they simplify, eliminate, automate, and protect their most valuable resource.

👉 What You Will Learn in This Real Estate Productivity Training:

📌 The Myth of the Perfect System:
Success comes from consistency, not complexity. Learn why your approach should fit your natural workflow — not someone else’s formula.

📌 10 Essential Time Optimization Strategies:
From eliminating low-value activities to upgrading tech, automating tasks, and delegating wisely — these principles keep you in control of your time.

📌 Analog Meets Digital:
Hear why even top producers use simple, analog tools to execute their daily plans — and why this balance helps maintain focus.

📌 Breaking the Scroll and Setting Boundaries:
Social media, streaming, and interruptions can hijack your focus. Learn how to stop distractions and guard your calendar.

📌 The Power of AI and Delegation:
Use AI and smart delegation to eliminate tasks below your profit per hour — buying back time to focus on what matters most.

📌 Reinvesting Saved Time:
Understand how to take the time you save and pour it back into your personal well-being and high-value business activities.

👉 This Episode Will Help You:

✅ Stop chasing rigid routines and do what works for you
✅ Build a sustainable, repeatable rhythm for your day and week
✅ Eliminate busywork and increase time for revenue-generating activities
✅ Avoid burnout and maintain control of your time and priorities
✅ Reinforce that consistency — not perfection — is the key to scaling your business

💬 Ask Yourself:

• Am I forcing a time management system that does not fit how I work?
• Am I protecting my time — or letting distractions control my day?
• Am I reinvesting saved time into what matters most?

📌 If you are uncertain, this episode will give you a better way forward.

🔗 Stay Connected with Jim Miller — Real Estate Coaching for Advisors:

📩 Join My Weekly Email → www.askjimmiller.com
📺 Subscribe on YouTube → www.youtube.com/@AskJimMiller
📲 Follow on Instagram → www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
🔗 Connect on LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago

Time Optimization — Do What Works For You | Monday Morning Pep Talk Episode #279

Summer is a transitional season—routines shift, energy changes, and the structure of your week gets looser. But for top real estate advisors, summer is not a slowdown—it’s a reset. In this episode of Monday Morning Pep Talk, Jim Miller lays out a focused, tactical plan to make this your most intentional, productive summer yet.

Whether you’re closing deals or catching sunsets, this episode is your guide to blending growth with enjoyment—because a purposeful summer builds a sharper fall.

🧠 What You Will Learn in This Episode:
• 5 Essential Books – Curated titles to reshape how you think, lead, and operate.
• 3 Podcasts – Weekly listening to strengthen skills and shift perspective.
• Weekly Check-In Ritual – A Sunday/Monday habit to reset your week with clarity and intention.
• Morning Routine Framework – A 60-minute template to activate your body, mind, and business.
• AI Growth Challenge – Commit to 10 hours of learning and stay ahead of the industry curve.

This is your opportunity to design your growth. Self-development is not about doing more—it’s about becoming more. Let this be the season you upgrade your inputs, sharpen your tools, and build a business that reflects the best version of you.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR WEEKLY COACHING CONTENT
New episodes every week with real estate strategies, systems, and insights to help you grow, lead, and Take Flight.
• Weekly Coaching Email → https://askjimmiller.com/contact/

📚 RESOURCES
• Reading List → https://askjimmiller.com/my-reading-list-2024/
• About Jim + Useful Docs → https://askjimmiller.com/take-flight-2/

📲 CONNECT WITH JIM
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@AskJimMiller

📘 Your Summer 2025 Self Development Syllabus | Monday Morning Pep Talk #282

In this 292nd episode of Take Flight Weekly, we’re digging into the real drivers of elite performance. Not theories. Not motivational fluff. We’re talking about the psychology, systems, habits, and feedback loops that keep top producers at the top — and why “waiting to feel motivated” is one of the fastest ways to stall your business.

Here’s the truth: money may get you started, but it rarely keeps you going. Once your financial base is secure, the real fuel comes from clarity, recognition, purpose, and the environment you operate in. Elite producers know this — and they intentionally build those triggers into their daily routine.

🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
• Why Q4 preparation starts with how you manage motivation now
• The difference between chasing closings and pursuing mastery
• The 5 motivation triggers that show up in every top producer’s playbook
• How to build motivation as a system instead of a feeling
• Why boundaries, environment, and clarity drive consistent execution
• How to finish 2025 strong and start 2026 with momentum

🧠 The 5 Motivation Triggers for Elite Performance:
1. Recognition is a Catalyst – 69% of people say they’d work harder if their efforts were better recognized. Celebrate wins privately and publicly. Build a culture where acknowledgment is normal.
2. Clear Goals Outperform Vague Ambitions – Salespeople with specific goals are 33% more likely to be elite performers. Break quarterly targets into weekly and daily actions. Precision creates power.
3. Money Matters… Until It Doesn’t – Once the bills are paid, purpose, autonomy, and mastery take over. Focus shifts from income to impact — and fulfillment becomes the driver.
4. Progress = Momentum – Advisors who have regular coaching are twice as likely to outperform their peers. Track small wins daily. Accountability compounds results.
5. Vision Is the Anchor – Top 1% producers are 42% more likely to write down and review their goals regularly. Your 3-Year Vision is your compass in a noisy, distracted world.

📌 Why This Matters
Motivation is not fixed. You don’t “find” it — you build it. If you’re not reviewing your goals weekly, tracking your wins daily, and surrounding yourself with people who push you to improve, you’re leaving your future to chance. Activity alone won’t get you there. Motivation without direction is just a sugar high — it spikes, then crashes.

💼 For Advisors and Entrepreneurs Who Want to Lead with Intention
The top 1% don’t leave motivation to chance. They engineer it. They set clear goals, create the right environment, and build habits that feed their own momentum. If you haven’t committed to the systems, habits, and accountability that will carry you into 2026, now is the time.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR WEEKLY COACHING CONTENT
New episodes every week with real estate strategies, systems, and mindset coaching to help you grow, lead, and Take Flight.
• Weekly Coaching Email → https://askjimmiller.com/contact/

📲 CONNECT WITH ME
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@AskJimMiller

📚 RESOURCES
• My 2024 Reading List → https://askjimmiller.com/my-reading-list-2024/
• Business Planning Docs + About Me → https://askjimmiller.com/take-flight-2/

✈️ Take Flight Weekly Episode #292: Motivation Will Not Find You. You Need to Find It.

What if the only thing separating you from the business and life you want isn’t money, the market, or your competition—but you? In Episode 296 of Take Flight Weekly, I dive into the uncomfortable truth that success often comes down to one thing: your willingness to execute consistently on the basics.

This is not theory. This is practical coaching designed to give you a mirror. I will walk you through a series of questions that, if you answer honestly and commit to acting on them, could change the trajectory of your business and your life. These are habits and strategies that cost almost nothing—yet they can transform everything.

• We are closing out Q3 2025, and now is the time to get honest with yourself:
• Are you further ahead today than you were at the end of Q2?
• Have you built sustainable daily, weekly, and quarterly planning habits?
• Are you connecting with 10 clients or prospects every single week?
• Have you created cloud-based systems and standard operating procedures to streamline your business?
• Are you converting clients from low-cost lead sources consistently?

If you could answer “yes” to those questions by the end of 2026, would you celebrate? The truth is, none of those results require massive spending. They require commitment, discipline, and focus. The difference between finishing another year frustrated or finally building a predictable, enjoyable business comes down to you.

I share my personal story of what I call my “real estate heart attack” in 2008, when stress and uncertainty forced me to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to work on my business. Those early mornings, spent learning, planning, and improving myself, built the foundation of everything I teach today. The lesson? You don’t have to spend money to get results. You just have to invest in yourself.

By early Q4 2025, your 2026 business plan should be written and in motion. That plan is not about doing more—it’s about becoming more. Consistency. Execution. The boring, unsexy work that compounds over time into extraordinary results.

This episode is your one-on-one coaching session. Listen carefully, take notes, and then take action. Because at the end of the day, the only thing standing between you and success is you.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR WEEKLY REAL ESTATE COACHING
New episodes every week with strategies, systems, and mindset coaching to help real estate advisors and entrepreneurs build predictable, enjoyable businesses.
• Weekly Coaching Email → https://askjimmiller.com/contact/

📲 CONNECT WITH ME
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@AskJimMiller

📚 RESOURCES FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS
• My 2024 Real Estate Reading List → https://askjimmiller.com/my-reading-list-2024/
• Business Planning Docs + About Me → https://askjimmiller.com/take-flight-2/

Take Flight Weekly EP #296: The Only Thing Standing Between You and Success is You

Jim Miller is a success mentor and life coach who guides top real estate brokers from around the country while managing 2.3B+ in sales production as Designated Managing Broker with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty in Chicago, Illinois.  He is also recognized as a top real estate coach to top Sotheby's International Realty brokers in 35 luxury markets.

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