Ya Gotta Have Goals

Goals.  Specific, attainable, measurable, actionable.  You have to have them or you will fail.

It doesn't matter what you are trying to accomplish.  It could be anything from perfecting the foul shot to mastering Bob Ross's wet-on-wet oil painting technique.  Without setting for yourself specific goals toward which you can apply your efforts, you will never achieve anything.

And let's be clear.  "I want to be my own boss," isn't a goal.  Nor is, "I want to be rich," or, "I want to own real estate," or, "I want to be play the bassoon."  They are desires, wishes, dreams, and are worth about as much.

Your goals must be specific.  It's not enough to say that you want to be your own boss, or that you want to be rich.  You must figure out the vehicle you will use to make that happen.  Will you invest in real estate?  Trade Stocks?  Start a dry cleaning business?  Invent kids' games?  Write novels?  Play poker?

Since we're on Bigger Pockets, chances are that we decided to invest in real estate in some manner.  So, once you know your goal is to invest in RE, get even more specific and decide on a niche.  Will you buy-and-hold?  Flip? Wholesale?  And what do you want to achieve in that niche?  Will you be satisfied owning a few rental properties to supplement your income?  Or do you want to develop a nationwide wholesaling business that caters to real estate investors across the country?  Maybe you want to own and operate the premiere property management company in the world.

Some of those may seem like lofty ambitions, but there is no harm in shooting for the moon.   In fact, that may even keep you motivated.  For the most part, your goals should be attainable, but you will never know what is attainable unless you shoot for what seems unattainable.  Just don't get down on yourself if you miss the moon and only reach the stars.

The more specific you can break down your goals, the easier it will be to lay out an actionable plan.  Okay, so you want to flip houses.  How many do you want to flip in a year?  In ten years?  In what market will you look for these flips?  Will you do the work yourself?

And be prepared to adjust your goals.  It's okay to say you want to flip eight houses a year, and then alter that goal to six houses annually if you find that eight is a little too much to handle by yourself.  Or you may be determined to reach that goal and decide that to get there means partnering with other like-minded people.  In fact, in such a circumstance you may decide to change your goal of eight to something even higher.  Feel free to adjust your goal as you move along.  However, if you give yourself excuses not to do the work, you will not reach your goal.  Don't adjust your goal to fit failure or laziness.  Keep shooting for that moon.

Since this is the Diary of a Noob, let me tell you that I only recently figured out my goals pertaining to real estate.  I was reading Ken McElroy's 'The ABCs of Real Estate Investing'.  Chapter two is about this very subject, and much of my understanding comes from those pages.  He gives some great advice on defining your goals, how to create a plan that leads to their achievement, and how to implement that plan.  (Actually, the entire book is filled with good advice and if you haven't read it, you might want to.)

Ken also mentions that you should be telling everyone you meet about your goals - a) you never know who will be able to help you, and b) it's a good way to keep yourself accountable.  He explains that the fear of failing keeps people from discussing their goals with others.  The thinking is that some people will be embarrassed if they talk about their goals and then fail to realize them.  We have to get over these fears, and one way to do this is to tell everyone.  And he means literally everyone.

So, I came up with my own list of goals, and as per Ken's advice, I am sharing them with everyone here, as well as in my personal and professional life.  Here they are:

- My own investment vehicle will be buy-and-hold residential properties.

- I will develop a large portfolio by the time I retire in eighteen years, eleven months, and three weeks.  The income from these properties will be enough to send my children to the college(s) of their choosing, and afford my wife and I a post-9-to-5-life of relaxation, modest luxury, and carefree grandchild-spoiling.

- By December 31, 2015, I will own, rehab (if necessary), market, and fill a duplex property.

- By December 31, 2017 I will have added a minimum of two more properties to my holdings, one per year, from duplexes to quads.

- By December 31, 2020, I will have added a minimum of six more properties, two per year, from duplexes to quads.

- By December 31, 2024, I will have added a minimum of twelve additional properties, three per year, duplexes to quads.

- I will allow myself to veer from this list of goals only to alter the size of the properties.

- By July 29, 2033, I will have paid off all of these properties and retired from my day job.

Each of these can, and will, be broken down into smaller and smaller pieces. The smaller the piece, the more manageable the plan to achieve it.  For example, if you've never picked up a guitar, but your goal is to be able to play Eddie Van Halen's 'Eruption,' perhaps your first steps shouldn't be buying spandex pants, divorcing your wife, and rehiring a lead singer you once fired.  Maybe you should start smaller, like learning how to tune the instrument.  Take the lofty goal of playing that solo and break it down into smaller pieces.  First, learn how to tune, then how to hold a pick, etc.

Apply that to all of your endeavors.  Take the large and seemingly unattainable, and make it small and reachable.

I'm sure my master list above will change in scope as I go along.  Perhaps I will add commercial property to the list and remove some of those residential quotas, or get into large apartment complexes, or condo developments.  Whatever happens in the future, I know my current goal is set for the end of next year.  The next step for me is to build an action plan by breaking down that goal into smaller parts, then following that plan until I have achieved.

What are, or were, some of your goals?  And how do you, or did you, plan to achieve them?