A change in mindset

My latest ah-ha moment was a pretty obvious ah-ha but one I hadn't really taken to heart.  For most people shopping for a property means shopping for their home, that they will live in.  There is a tremendous difference in the criteria between a primary home and a rental home.  This is pretty obvious.  Up until this point the only home I have ever bought I found using conventional methods, such as the MLS, and I was shopping retail prices.  My ah-ha moment was when I realized that I can't use the same methods to find investment properties.  I mean I can, but I have to employ other methods as well to find enough properties to make enough offers to do enough deals to meet my goals.  I have to change my mindset.  I am no longer a retail shopper.  I'm an investor.  It's common sense but if it isn't an active part of my investment strategy, then how do I expect to get it done.  Marketing, driving for dollars, all the methods that they talk about here on BP need to be used or at least some of them to find the really good deals that will help me grow.  And it's good in many other aspects because it helps familiarize yourself with your market, find new ones, and build relationships.  Like I said this isn't big news, and everyone who has done any amount of investigation into what it takes to be a successful real estate investor knows these methods, but whats funny is not all real estate "investors" do it...why?  Fear? Effort? Time?  It has to be built into the strategy.  Just as it as important to say I will analyze 3 buildings a day, it is just as important to say I will drive this neighborhood today, or I will contact this agent today, or I will call up this owner/potential seller today because I like their building.  The more podcasts I listen to and the more posts I read, reveal that a large chunk of investing isn't just about closing a deal, its about all the activities that lead up to that deal that made that deal happen.  I'm hoping to by my first investment property soon so I can actually call myself an investor.  It's been an eye opening and exciting experience so far and I can't wait to get started.