The Three Beliefs That Separate Winners from Everyone Else

Why 75,000 hours of coaching revealed the exact mindset that makes some people kick ass while others stay stuck.

THE DISCOVERY THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING

Tom Ferry has spent 75,000 hours in one-on-one coaching sessions. That's more face-to-face coaching time than most people accumulate in multiple lifetimes.

After building Ferry International into a global empire, coaching thousands of successful agents across four countries, and being ranked the #1 real estate coach for 12+ consecutive years, he's seen every type of person imaginable.

Brilliant people who fail. Average people who dominate. Talented individuals who never launch. Ordinary folks who build extraordinary businesses.

When I asked him what separates the top 1% from everyone else, his answer was immediate: "They don't get stuck. They keep making decisions. They keep moving forward."

But then he went deeper. After all those coaching hours, he's identified exactly three beliefs that have to be intact for someone to truly kick ass. When all three are present, people succeed. When even one is missing, they stay stuck.

This framework stopped me cold because I recognized myself in it. I've been that person who had the capability and saw the opportunity, but didn't believe the effort would be worth it.

BELIEF #1: THERE'S MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR YOU

"If an agent believes there is more than enough for you in your marketplace, then you'll go find it. But if you don't believe that there's enough, you won't do anything."

Tom's seen this across every market condition imaginable. During the 2021 real estate boom—what he jokingly calls "the champagne and cocaine of real estate"—there were still agents who didn't believe there were enough transactions for them.

Now, with transaction volume down from 6.9 million to 4.2 million annually, even more people have convinced themselves there isn't enough to go around.

But here's what the top performers understand: abundance isn't about market conditions. It's about mindset.

If you genuinely believe there's enough opportunity in your market, you'll take action to find it. You'll make calls, build relationships, solve problems, and create value. If you don't believe it exists, you'll find reasons why it doesn't.

The scarcity-minded person sees every competitor as a threat. The abundance-minded person sees a market big enough for everyone to win.

BELIEF #2: YOU'RE CAPABLE OF DOING IT

"Do they believe they're capable of doing it? I remember talking to you about taking on this role. One thing that was very apparent to me is you knew you could do it."

This isn't fake confidence or delusional thinking. It's a genuine belief that you understand what needs to be done and can execute on it.

Tom referenced my decision to become CEO of my eXp. Whether it was true or not at the time, I acted as if I had the capability. I understood the business, the unit economics, what needed to happen for success.

But here's what's interesting: capability belief isn't about having all the skills. It's about believing you can develop the skills, make the right decisions, and learn what you need to learn.

The person with capability belief says, "I may not know everything, but I know I can figure it out."

The person without it says, "I'm not qualified" or "I need more experience first" or "I'll wait until I'm ready."

BELIEF #3: IT'LL BE WORTH THE EFFORT

"The third belief you have to have is that it'll be worth the effort. Most people just quit on themselves."

This is where most people break.

Tom explained it perfectly: "How many people do we know that have these unbelievable ambitions, but when it comes to that time where you got to just go all in and work your face off and go through all the mud and all the muck and all the hard and all the decisions, most people just don't believe it's worth the effort."

They want the results, but they don't believe the grind will pay off. They get to that moment where success requires everything—working your face off, making tough decisions, pushing through uncertainty—and they quit on themselves.

This belief separates dreamers from achievers. Everyone has ambitions. Very few people believe deeply enough that the effort required will be worth the outcome.

WHY THIS FRAMEWORK MATTERS NOW

When I think about my own career trajectory, I can trace every major success and failure back to these three beliefs.

Taking the CEO role? I believed there was opportunity (abundance), I believed I could do it (capability), and I believed it would be worth the massive effort required (worth it).

Times when I've stayed stuck or played small? I can identify which belief was missing.

The beautiful thing about this framework is its simplicity. You don't need to guess why you're not moving forward. You can diagnose exactly which belief needs strengthening.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALL THREE ALIGN

Tom put it simply: "When those three beliefs are intact, a person kicks ass."

They don't wait for perfect conditions. They don't make excuses about market timing. They don't second-guess their ability to execute.

They see opportunity everywhere, know they can capture it, and believe the work will pay off. So they take action while others are still debating whether it's possible.

THE DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS

Ask yourself these three questions right now:

Do I genuinely believe there's more than enough opportunity in my market for me to succeed? If you're looking at competitors as threats rather than proof that opportunity exists, you've identified your problem.

Do I believe I'm capable of executing what needs to be done? Not "Am I perfect?" but "Can I figure this out and make it work?" If you're waiting to feel "ready," you've found your limiting belief.

Do I believe the effort required will be worth the outcome? If you're not willing to go all-in because you're not sure it'll pay off, you've located your roadblock.

Most people fail because they never honestly assess which beliefs are missing. They keep trying harder instead of examining why they're not fully committed.

THE COMMITMENT TEST

Here's how you know if you truly have all three beliefs intact: you stop making backup plans.

When you genuinely believe there's enough opportunity, that you can capture it, and that the work will be worth it, you commit fully. You don't hedge your bets or keep escape routes open.

Tom's been coaching long enough to see the pattern. The people who succeed completely aren't necessarily the most talented. They're the ones who believe deeply enough to commit fully.

BEYOND THE THREE BELIEFS

This conversation with Tom covered incredible ground—his David Bowie approach to reinvention, why AI is still at the "MySpace stage," the coming premium on human connection, and what actually makes top real estate professionals successful today.

But the three beliefs framework is where everything starts. Because once you identify which belief is missing, you can focus your energy on strengthening it instead of just working harder in the wrong direction.

Which belief do you need to examine this week?

Here's to getting unstuck and kicking ass,

Leo