Greetings from the metropolis of Cedar Crest, New Mexico!

I just got back from a fun filled week with my youth group in Durango, CO. I (and three other adult sponsors) took twenty one high schoolers to a C.I.Y. conference hosted at the Fort Lewis College campus. We joined over a thousand other kids for a fun filled week of God, music, learning and shenanigans. It was a blast. I love young adults….their energy…their boldness….their idealism….and yes…their practical jokes.

The events included river rafting, ultimate frisbee, basketball and games that encouraged projectile vomit. Entertainment at it’s best! My guess is that BiggerPockets.com will not allow me to show the vomit pictures…but below is a river rafting picture with me and some of the gang. I am the old guy…but not the real old guy (the guide at the back of the raft)

Anyway….

Overcoming the Moron Label

When I write….I try to have a deeper meaning with my topics and I try to go beyond the “how to…..” articles. Not because those articles are not important, they are. But because I feel that being an entrepreneur is more of an art than a “how to.” Like being an artist….being an entrepreneur usually looks/sounds silly to others until you are successful….then everyone calls you a genius and wants to know your secret. But…until you are labeled a genius….you are labeled a moron. If you never become a success….chances are the “moron” label will stick.

When I first started investing in real estate….like many of you, it started with a book. Then I went to a boot camp. Three or four day of intense instruction, a certificate and a hug at the end….and off I went…into the harsh reality of real estate investing.

When I came back from the boot camp, I told friends and family with bursting excitement of my new career as a real estate investor. As you can imagine….it was received as if I had told them “I was abducted by aliens….an oh…by the way…I am now an Amway distributer.” If that was not enough….having to explain to them that I did not need any money to buy real estate because I learned how to buy with no money down….gave me the label of MORON.

Now….years later….I no longer wear the label “moron” (ex-girlfriends and in-laws excluded)….well…at least I think. After accumulating residential real estate and then commercial real estate….the “moron” label dropped and now I was being asked “Rob…what is your secret.” Well….here is the secret(s)….

1) Don’t buy the book The Secret….it’s crap and you know it (let the hate mail begin). Blasting the book, The Secret, gave me tons of traffic on my blog…so I like to throw it in there every now and then.

2) Go deaf! Yes….hopefully you are still reading after my #1 secret. But the ability to not listen to your critics (friends and family especially) is by far the most important. For some reason, I did not give the words of my critics any value. I was so convinced that I was doing the right thing that…I became “verbally bullet proof.” Which is a blessing. My mind was on a mission….and nothing could distract me. I am not sure how I was able to do that….but the “burning why” (I did not want to get a job) was there and I ignored everyone….except my mentors.

3) Wear Blinders. Most entrepreneurs have A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder). I am not sure if that is a fact…but I heard it somewhere (credibility at it’s best). So….I am going to assume that most entrepreneurs have a hard time staying focused. Whew….I sure did. When I started investing, I was approached by so many different opportunities that I tried to do it all. From real estate software to international investing to multi-level marketing. All good opportunities…but they were not in my business plan….so I said no to temptation and continued on. What a great decision. Staying focused and being blind to other opportunities kept me in the game.

I think business plans are a requirement not just for goals and objectives…but to help screen out opportunities that may take you away from what you are trying to accomplish.

So…..here is to all the geniuses out there….wear your label well!

Until Next time…..rob

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for our real estate social network. Thanks for visiting!

Tags: business plan, goal-setting, real estate, real estate business plan, real estate goals, real estate investing

Many people want to invest in real estate but have one small problem – they have a full-time job. While they may prefer to be a full-time real estate investor, they need the income from a job to survive. While real estate investing may provide a great income, it is difficult to make enough to live on right away. The obvious solution is to start part-time while continuing to work.

It should be noted that part-time does not mean spare time. Who among us has any spare time? Our free time always seems to be consumed by this, that and the other thing. Investing part-time requires that we set aside specific hours to pursue our real estate ambitions. If you took a second job working somewhere a few hours a week you would be expected to be there at specified times. Part-time investing is no different. Set specific hours that will be devoted to your investment business.

Set Goals

Determine what form of real estate investing you want to do. After you have made your selection be sure to set specific goals. Set a time by which you intend to achieve those goals. In his book, The One-Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard laid out a method for goal setting that he called the SMART system.

S-Specific

M-Meaningful

A-Attainable

R-Realistic

T-Trackable

Specific in that they are detailed. Meaningful in that they are important to you. Attainable means that they can be achieved with effort. Realistic in the sense that your life situation will allow you to work towards them. Trackable in that you can measure or track your progress. There are several versions of this system but they are all basically the same.

Be Patient

Many people have a need for instant gratification. They start something new and expect to see immediate results. Real estate, like most things, does not work that way. You need to take the time to educate yourself and learn the various aspects of the business. You need to get your own financial house in order (article) before taking on additional obligations. Very few real estate investors become wealthy overnight, it takes years of consistent effort.

Make a Commitment

Not only is it important that you make a commitment to your real estate goals, but you need to make a commitment to yourself. Outside of those close to you, who really cares if you succeed or fail? It is up to you to make things happen, others will not do it for you. While the hours may only be part-time, the effort needs to be full-time and consistent. If you are truly commited, you can make it happen.

Tags: goal-setting, investor, real estate, real estate goals, real estate investing

We’ve all heard about the importance of setting goals, but how many actually do it — I mean, how many actually organize their goals in achievable steps that all lead toward successful accomplishment? I do it better than I did, gaining more discipline as time goes on — through practice.

I have a fairly large capacity for being able to keep things in my head, so I have to force myself to formalize all that’s in my head by creating a system. I have learned to write things down even though I’m confident at the time I’ll remember. Too, many times, I thought I’d remember, but things slipped my mind when unexpected information piled up. I’ve found that for myself the simplest system works best, and I am using a combination of Google tools.

But my point goes beyond setting up a system and using it. I never realized how not using a system of goal achievement affected my attitude. Even though I can keep a lot of information in my head, it expends a lot of energy and weighs me down at times to the point that working on a project is not fun. By getting things down on paper, or down on the computer, it relieves my mind and I have something I can look at that shows progression toward my goals. The difference in my attitude was significant and I wasn’t near as overwhelmed as before.

Maintaining a positive attitude is hard enough in these times of constant negative news, but it makes it easier if you don’t overload yourself with poor habits and disorganization. By systematically accomplishing interim goals on the way to the big goal, the process is constantly relieving pressure and you are giving yourself little rewards along the way.

Anything to do with real estate is a people business, so maintaining a good attitude by relieving stress along the way also helps when you have to deal with people you hope to influence. Influencing people with a positive attitude can go a long ways toward achieving goals. As long as you can stay on the positive, goal-oriented side of things, even if you meet people along the way who are negative, YOUR postive attitude can make the difference — it’s sometimes infectious, and when others are ready to give up or bog it all down in petty differences, maintaining a positive attitude and being the goal-oriented leader can change the atmosphere and direction of the deal. The people I gravitate towards and want to do business with are strong, positive people who listen and understand and help work out difficulties with energy and good spirit.

Being known as a positive person who is a problem-solver makes it easier to find good deals once word-of-mouth gets out. Building a network of people who you’ve influenced in a positive way leads to good results. No one wants to work with, or help, someone who is always negative and a pain-in-the-butt to deal with. Once a positive attitude starts yielding positive results, self-confidence is boosted, which is another good trait to have.

So, it all starts with creating a good systematic means of accomplishing little goals on the way to the big goal, relieving stress by being organized and goal-oriented, thereby freeing yourself to develop a dynamic, positive attitude that attracts and influences people and gets results. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It’s not — that’s why not all investors are successful.

Note From the Editor: BiggerPockets has set up a discussion thread to keep up with your monthly real estate goals - check out the April Goals Thread. Share your goals and keep yourself accountable!

Tags: goal-setting, investing with a positive attitude, real estate goals, real estate investing