{"id":76232,"date":"2018-11-01T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T18:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=76232"},"modified":"2023-08-11T13:47:04","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T19:47:04","slug":"2015-12-28-4-toxic-habits-sabotage-promising-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2015-12-28-4-toxic-habits-sabotage-promising-investors","title":{"rendered":"4 Toxic Habits That Sabotage Even the Most Promising New Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n      <iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=BIGPOC4309250655\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\r\n  \n\n\n\n<p>As we approach the new year, I&#8217;ve come to realize that in my own life, there have been several things throughout my past that have been extremely toxic to my health and well-being\u2014and to the health of my business.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s in my heart to share some of these because I know a lot of the readers here on BiggerPockets are new, and I want you to be able to spot these things a mile away!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s my desire to help you avoid the many mistakes that I\u2019ve made because I want you to be far more successful than I have been. What good is life experience if I can\u2019t share it with those who need it most?<\/p>\n<h2>4 Toxic Habits That Sabotage Even the Most Promising New Investors<\/h2>\n<p>The following are 4 toxic things that you want to avoid at all costs. These things will choke the life right out of you and your business, so please pay close attention!<\/p>\n<h3>1. Comparing Yourself to Others<\/h3>\n<p>Have any of you seen the new Rocky movie called <em>Creed<\/em>? Last week as a Christmas present, I took my whole team out to see it. It was awesome!<\/p>\n<p>Now, I\u2019m not going to be a spoiler, but there is a part of the movie that really stood out to me that will help me make my point here.<\/p>\n<p>When Rocky was coaching the main character inside the ring for the last fight, he said something pretty profound.<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cListen! When you&#8217;re in the ring, you&#8217;re not fighting the guy in front of you. You just need to get him out of the way. Who you\u2019re fighting is the guy right here.&#8221; (And he points to his forehead.)<\/p>\n<p>Think about that for a moment.<\/p>\n<p>When you&#8217;re fighting, you\u2019re not fighting the person in front of you, you&#8217;re fighting the person inside your mind\u2014you are fighting you!<\/p>\n<p>This is a great analogy for people in real estate!<\/p>\n<p>In your business, and in your life in general, success is won not by beating your competition or by comparing yourself to others, but by finding what it takes to overcome the limitations within yourself.<\/p>\n<p>If you get caught up in the comparison game, thinking that this investor or that investor is far more superior to you because of their level of success, you\u2019ll find yourself spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is most people put up a front in this business, making it seem as though they are bigger than they truly are.&nbsp;And with the rise and use of social media, it\u2019s very easy to create the perspective that you are a bigger deal than you really are. Most people like to use or at least think that famous phrase in the movie <em>Anchorman<\/em>, when Ron Burgundy says, \u201cI\u2019m kind of a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But even if you know of other investors that are truly more successful than you, who cares?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not about them. This is your life, and your business\u2014what do they have to do with anything?<\/p>\n<p>The only thing that matters is beating yourself.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2015\/11\/23\/habits-sabotage-ambitious-millennials\/\" target=\"_blank\">10 Seemingly Harmless Habits That Sabotage Ambitious Millennials<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>What did you accomplish last year, and how can you accomplish more this year? What are the things you\u2019re going to do to beat your all-time best score?<\/p>\n<p>If you think this way, and you gamify your business and your life as a race against your past scores, this is how you\u2019ll find true success.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not about your opponent in the ring; it\u2019s about what\u2019s happening right between your ears.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-90878\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tax-strategist-cpa.jpg\" alt=\"tax-strategist-cpa\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tax-strategist-cpa.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tax-strategist-cpa-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>2. Being Around Too Many Naysayers<\/h3>\n<p>Okay, so it\u2019s the holidays, and everyone has that negative relative who&nbsp;seems to find the downside to everything!<\/p>\n<p>Even if you were to tell them, \u201cOh wow, you look great!\u201d They would reply in some somber fashion, \u201cOh no, you\u2019re just saying that because it\u2019s socially unacceptable to tell me I\u2019ve gained weight and look like I\u2019ve been run over by a truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard for me to stand people like that, and more importantly, it\u2019s unhealthy!<\/p>\n<p>As an investor, a lot of what you do every day is take risks in the face of conventional wisdom.<\/p>\n<p>There are going to be people who don\u2019t believe in you, but it doesn\u2019t mean you have to be around them!<\/p>\n<p>The truth is a lot of this business is built on pure faith, and the worst thing you can do is hang around a bunch of naysayers who will fill you with doubt and have you question everything.<\/p>\n<p>You need to be secure in your decisions and continue moving forward despite the circumstances or the outcome.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t surround yourself with people who don\u2019t believe in what you\u2019re doing because they will kill your passion and vision faster than anything else!<\/p>\n<h3>3. Not Creating Goals the Right Way<\/h3>\n<p>Now, when I say \u201ccreating goals, the right way,\u201d I mean doing something completely different than what 99% of aspiring real estate investors do.<\/p>\n<p>The right way is to set a goal and then develop a systematic plan on how to achieve that goal.&nbsp;You have to have a plan!<\/p>\n<p>There is a great saying that goes, \u201cIf you\u2019re going to eat an elephant, you need to do it one bite at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s use the example about losing weight. The first step is to have a very approachable and clear goal in mind.<\/p>\n<p>If you just say, \u201cYeah, I\u2019d like to lose weight,\u201d that won\u2019t get you very far because you can\u2019t measure your success towards it. You might be talking about one pound or a hundred, and if you start on that kind of goal, you\u2019ll soon give up because you lack direction.<\/p>\n<p>However, if you were to say, \u201cI\u2019d like to lose 15 pounds in three months,\u201d now you\u2019re dealing with a real, attainable goal. You have a timeline&nbsp;and a measurable amount.<\/p>\n<p>The next step is where you actually make it happen.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How are you going to lose those 15 pounds in 3 months?<\/li>\n<li>What do you need to change in order to make it happen?<\/li>\n<li>What research do you need to do in order to prepare and make that goal a reality?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Everyone knows, \u201cEat less and do more,\u201d but that honestly won\u2019t be enough.<\/p>\n<p>How much less? How many times a week do you practically need to workout in order for you to drop the weight?<\/p>\n<p>Once you answer these questions, you\u2019ll have a plan of action to help you achieve your goal.<\/p>\n<p>So in real estate, if you have a certain amount of properties you want to wholesale, flip or own, you can\u2019t just approach it halfway.<\/p>\n<p>Get a plan and take action!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-90408\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/first-note-investment.jpg\" alt=\"first-note-investment\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/first-note-investment.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/first-note-investment-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>4. Not Deciphering Between What\u2019s Urgent and What\u2019s Important<\/h3>\n<p>For our last toxic item, I want to talk about the importance of having the ability to determine when something is <em>important<\/em> versus when something is&nbsp;<em>urgent<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Important things are the things that align and serve your core values.<\/p>\n<p>Urgent things are things that take away your attention and your time.<\/p>\n<p>Both need to be dealt with accordingly, but I believe they have an order of significance.<\/p>\n<p>Taking the example from above, if I have a goal to lose weight and to get in shape and I\u2019ve made up my mind that it\u2019s important to me over my business, then I need to put that as a priority over, let\u2019s say, a lead that came in for a new property.<\/p>\n<p>The lead is very urgent and time-sensitive, but it\u2019s not important when compared to my weight loss goal.<\/p>\n<p>So even if I\u2019m late getting back to the lead, or in the worst case I lose the deal, I need to be ok with putting my workouts first.<\/p>\n<p>Now, obviously, the ideal situation would be to accomplish both, but sometimes things happen and you\u2019ll be pressed to have to choose one or the other, and you&#8217;ll need&nbsp;to put what\u2019s important to you over anything and everything else!<br \/><em><br \/><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2015\/10\/05\/habits-wealthy-rich\/\" target=\"_blank\">5 Habits of the Wealthy That Helped Them Get Rich<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Urgent things will always be there, but it\u2019s doing the things that are important to you that make up the fabric of your life.<\/p>\n<p>I really hope this post helps you avoid a lot of the pitfalls that I\u2019ve had in my life!<\/p>\n<p><em>We&#8217;re republishing this article to help out our newer readers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/webinars?utm_source=renewsblog\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-91217\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/blog_ads-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"85\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/blog_ads-01.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/blog_ads-01-300x36.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>What toxic habits do you want to kick this year?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Let me know with a comment!<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over time, these four common habits will bring you down and hold you back. If you want to be a successful investor, avoid these at all costs!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12142,"featured_media":90424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5524,7119],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-investing-for-beginners","category-biggerpockets-daily"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}