"Don't Think! Just Do."

There comes a moment in every professional's career when they intuitively know what to do.

They've read all the books and attended all the seminars. They may have a suite of qualifications behind them but usually its an accumulation of years of experience.

They know.

Ask them how they know and very often they can't put it into words. They just do.

But frequently, those same professionals with decades of expertise and a knowing smile, stumble when it comes to working with situations that fall slightly outside of the norm.

Rather than the confident, almost fearless action they take when dealing with the familiar, they revert to a younger, more inexperienced version of themselves that either says "it won't work", or they have to do more research. In short, they tie themselves up in knots.

A case in point. Take Gerry, an expert conveyancer. He's been doing the job 30 years and has sold hundreds (if not thousands) of properties in his local area between him and his team. There's not much he hasn't seen.

Any conveyancing challenge that presents itself is swiftly brushed aside by his expertise.

But ask Gerry to put up his fees?

Panic. More research. A cover for procrastination.

And even though Gerry's business is being squeezed by rising PI costs and a Legal Ombudsman judgement that went against him after a former client used ChatGPT to draft a complaint about the level of service he'd received, he still maintains the status quo. Frozen in inaction and terrified people will use someone else if they're cheaper.

As an outsider, we can all see what's going on. Courage in one area doesn't necessarily translate well elsewhere.

But I actually think it goes deeper than that.

In the film Top Gun: Maverick, there's a tense scene between Maverick and Rooster (the son of Maverick's co-pilot, Goose, who was tragically killed by a plane malfunction in the original movie). Rooster has been trained to the highest level as a 'Top Gun' in the United States air force, but Maverick knows Rooster isn't ready.

The problem isn't knowledge. It's overthinking.

In a heated exchange - Maverick fires the immortal words to Rooster - "Don't Think! Just Do" - words that eventually come back to haunt Maverick towards the end of the movie when he faces what looks like a certain death situation.

Maverick can see the limitation. It's one of the things I love most about the Top Gun: Maverick philosophy. Maverick recognises something most people miss.

The greatest obstacle for all of us isn't usually a lack of ability. It's thinking too much.

The pilots have already been trained. Their instincts are there. They have years of experience. They're more than capable.

The challenge is learning to trust it.

The same is true in business. Especially in the property world.

I've met estate agents with thirty years of experience who procrastinate for a long time before changing the way they work.

I've met conveyancers who know exactly what frustrates their clients, yet continue following processes they stopped believing in years ago.

I've met mortgage advisers with extraordinary knowledge who still undercharge because they're worried about what the competition might do.

I want to be clear - business owners who fail to make positive changes they desire often aren't doing so because they're incapable. It's because they're trapped inside their own thinking. And its thinking that creates (self-imposed) limitation.

Here's the uncomfortable truth. Most property professionals don't need another qualification. They simply need to make a firm decision, backed by the courage to act.

The courage to be different. The courage to stop asking for permission from people hell bent on never changing.

Every breakthrough in every peron's life starts with someone doing something that usually feels uncomfortable. Just as the alcoholic is comfortable with drinking - not drinking becomes uncomfortable. But its a necessary change to avert disaster.

Just as the obese person who starts managing calorie intake starts feeling the discomfort of hunger knows they must overcome it if they're to get the results they want.

Often, this discomfort is all in the mind - backed up by a constant cycle of habitual thoughts (you might want to read that sentence again).

In a similar vein - every innovation begins as an unpopular idea. Every Maverick is criticised first, before they're celebrated. That's the price of leadership - which is why so few people actually choose to lead.

The British property industry doesn't have a knowledge problem. It has an action problem.

We already know that transactions take too long. We already know that consumers are frustrated. We already know that consumer trust has been eroded. We already know that competing on price is a race nobody wins.

So why are we still doing it?

Because changing systems is difficult. BUT changing habits is even harder.

And changing your identity? Well, that's harder still.

The Maverick Movement isn't asking people to become someone they're not. It's asking them to become the professional they already know they could be. The one who charges according to value, not fear. The one who tells clients the truth, even when it's uncomfortable. The one who challenges outdated systems instead of defending them. The one who leaves the profession stronger than they found it.

That's what being a Maverick really means. Not rebellion for the sake of it. Courage in the service of something greater.

So today, I don't want you to simply read this newsletter.

I want you to do something.

Just one thing. Something you've been putting off.

Maybe that's charging the fee you've been afraid to quote. Perhaps its challenging the process everyone else accepts as just the way it is. Or having the tough conversation you've been avoiding - at work or at home.

Share the idea you've kept to yourself. Take the first step you've been repeatedly overthinking. Because confidence rarely comes before action. It is only in the act of doing that the confidence comes afterwards.

The British property market won't change because people have good ideas. It will change because someone like you decides to act.

So here's this week's Maverick Challenge.

Stop waiting. Stop overthinking. Stop asking whether the time is right.

Choose one single action that your future self will thank you for. Then simply do it.

Because the professionals who change the world aren't always the smartest. They're the ones who stop overthinking long enough to become the people they were always capable of being all along. And when the mind gets out of the way, it gives space for the true inner essence to step forward. The true you - not the stressed out, fractured, over-worried you - but the heart and soul of who you really are.

Finally, I know some of you are sitting on the sidelines watching this "whole Maverick thing" unfold whilst wondering what its all about, if you'd make the grade or even if its going to succeed. Classic signs you're overthinking!

(Notice how your mind instantly jumps to your defence with one excuse or another - you may have heard the phrase "the mind is a great servant but a terrible master").

If you're ready to stop waiting on the future of property and want to claim your place as a leader and start building it, we'd love to welcome you.

Join the founder members waitlist for The Maverick Movement and let us help show you how you can lead the change:

Find out more at: https://themaverickmovement.co.uk