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Posted over 8 years ago

Confidence: The First Step to Success

Make no mistake: I am a fledgling when it comes to real estate investing.  I do not know much today, but definitely know more than I did yesterday. So why would I write about confidence when I am such a “newbie?”  Because I am growing in confidence, and such confidence has prompted me to take small actions that lead me towards my goals.  Bigger Pockets is a huge part of my growing confidence.  Through BP, I experienced learning every day, networking in the local area, and build up enough confidence to take action.  I am so glad I enjoy learning because learning is fundamental to success.

I learned about passive income in Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Unfair Advantage: The Power of Financial Education” in November 2014.  Robert mentioned different ways to create Cash Flow with a big emphasis on real estate.  I explored passive income and kept returning to real estate.  There are other ways to achieve passive income but everything I’ve read about real estate made a lot of sense to me.  I googled real estate investing and BP was at the top of the list.  I narrowed my focus to Buy and Hold strategies. BP was at the top again.I became a part of the BP community in June 2015 and immediately did a couple of things to help me along the way.

  • I created a separate email account for investment related activities. I am busy as a musician and music instructor. It made sense to dedicate an email account to real estate and keep the other account for music.
  • I created a Twitter account (linked to the new email account) specifically to follow and interact with others in the REI community.  My first Twitter account is heavily populated with friends and artists I follow.  I did not want the REI info to get lost in the Twitter mix.

  • I will eventually set up a separate business account, most likely with a different bank, for REI dollars only.  I’ll add this account in Quick Books too.

The above actions (small actions but actions all the same) were prompted by the things I learned while reading BP blogs and forum entries & responses.  A random act of spontaneity broke out during one my BP learning sessions.

I came across a peer who lives in the local area.  Call it “old school” but I still like to interact with people in the physical world.  I sent him a colleague request and asked if we could meet for lunch.  I was curious about the road he’s traveled to get to where he is at now.  He was quick to respond and receptive to meeting for lunch.  Our lunch was an enjoyable experience.  We shared our backgrounds… he was very inquisitive about my recent activities and plans.  I mentioned that I am looking for a good lender who understands real estate and investing.  He was quick to share the name of the broker he relies on.  I contacted the broker and we’re now working the pre qualification and pre approval.  All that off a lunch!  We could’ve communicated via BP and email.  There is so much lost when relying on the written word.  Lunch was a small price to pay to hear another person’s ideas and see his or her response to my ideas.  All the learning and the small amount of networking thus far has built my confidence up enough to keep taking small actions.

I am steadily working on building systems that will work for me.The email and twitter account were two small steps but there is a lot more to take.  Ben Leybovich, the BP guest on “Podcast 014: Cash Flow, Creative Finance, and Life with Ben Leybovich” mentioned he manages all the properties he owns.  I love his rationale behind his actions.  He builds systems that work best for his properties, THEN brings in people and trains them to operate his systems.  I like his approach because he is both the composer and conductor of his symphony.  Ben only wants those who are willing to follow his score and play in his symphony, and he’s willing to train those people.  So where is confidence found in all this?

First, learning leads to understanding this world of real estate investing.  It reduces my ignorance and builds my confidence as I knock down targets and achieve goals.  Then there is networking… whether through BP and other sites or in person.  Real estate is a business of relationships.  Networking is a tried-and-true way of building those relationships.  It is the way to test ideas and receive insight and guidance when plotting the course for the future.  However, all this is for naught when there is no action.  Little things like new email and Twitter accounts are part of building my system.  Networking is an action in itself that grows the network.  I didn’t expect to find a lender when we sat down for lunch but I am very glad I had contact information when I walked away.  I’ve been searching for property too.  A new target (an action to complete) pops up on the horizon each time I knock a target down.  Confidence grows as each target falls.

So why would I write about confidence when I am such a “newbie?”  Simply because learning, networking, and taking small actions lead to success… and success can be very, very addicting.  Success builds confidence… enough confidence to inspire this “newbie” to write about confidence.

That’s my rumor, and I’m sticking to it!



Comments (5)

  1. @Heath Lester

    Thank you much... find your goal, and then focus on knocking down one target at a time until you reach that goal.

    It's been a fun ride for me thus far!!!!


  2. Inspiring post Eric. I am a newbie as well and it is good to read such a relatable story. Thanks and good luck!


  3. @Michael

    Thank you much for the kind words.  Please let me know if the new email account help you out.  I know it makes a world of difference for me.

    @Anthony

    You are 110% on the mark!


  4. Great post Eric. Confidence is a game changer!!!


  5. @Eric Anderson

    Great post Eric. I'd definitely try one of your strategies to create a new email to be able to focus on a new venture or idea. I agree that success builds confidence and this is something I am still trying to build on.