The Beginner Investor Guide to Achieve Progress in 2015

The beginner investor guide (or anyone else) to achieve progress in 2015

It’s almost that time of year again, the time of year where we hear about how everyone around you is going to become a new person. Lofty goals and ambitions are talked about on a daily basis. “I’m going to quit smoking” ‘I’m going to eat better” “I’m going to work out” are some of the more popular ones, but usually before the conclusion of the first month of the year, we don’t hear about the goals anymore, they are left by the wayside, because in my opinion, individuals are lazy, they realize really fast that any progress worth making takes work, dedication, and constant motivation.

DON’T BE THE LAZY PERSON THIS YEAR!

Lazy people are not bad people; they have just become satisfied with conforming to the daily grind. Waking up, going to work, living paycheck to paycheck, and looking forward to getting off so they can catch their favorite show, and stuff their gullet with some food…this is not living…its surviving…. They are slaves, and do not even realize it. This type of life requires a minimal amount of effort, and anything in addition to that becomes tiresome, and unsustainable to a lazy person. There are variations of this person, not everyone displays this acute condition of lazy as I describe, but all variations eventually end up in the same destination…. WORK…PAY BILLS…DIE.

DON’T BE THE LAZY PERSON THIS YEAR!

With just a few simple steps, you can achieve progress in 2015.

• 1.Be honest with yourself- Who knows your flaws better than you, right? Find these flaws, or weak points, and write them down, and make an honest effort to correct them. I personally do this on a daily basis. A recent flaw that I am trying to correct is wasting time on facebook “sarcastically educating” random people… I find this activity very entertaining, but to someone who doesn’t know me well, it may give a false perception that I am a mean person, and ultimately me being entertained is not getting me any closer to my goals, so in an effort to cut the temptation to sarcastically educate, I deleted all political pages, and anyone, or anything that gives me an urge to sarcastically educate. This has worked out great, because of this I am able to remain positive, and focused. Of course, I sometimes fall off the wagon, I’m not perfect…but I have significantly improved this flaw. Find your weak points, and improve them.
• 2.Achieve small progress daily- This will be critical to the sustainability of your motivation. Results are addicting. So make sure you accomplish one task that gets you closer to your goals every day, no matter how small it is. If your goal is to lose weight….put down that donut, and grab some fruit (I know it’s hard) but action becomes habit, and before you know it, you will be reaching for the fruit first. The small action of putting that donut down will get you closer to your goals. Small blocks become massive walls.
• 3.Leave excuses at the door- Start training your brain now! Stop telling yourself that something CAN’T be done…. Ask yourself “How can I make this happen”. No one has enough money…No one has enough time, people have kids…but yet, they are achieving success, and you’re not…. The only thing that separates you is excuses. So leave excuses in 2014, and don’t let them infect the New Year.
• 4.Surround yourself with positive people- Don’t allow the people around you to discourage you in your pursuit of progress. If someone is unwilling to do something…they will tell you that you can’t do it. Cut them out of your life now. They are like an anchor of negativity holding you on the ocean floor. Take time to hang out in new social circles. Even though I am a natural introvert, and would much rather stay at home, I make it a point to meet with local real estate investors, and attend social groups that engage in activities I enjoy. The people around you can make you, or break you. The choice is yours. A good website to connect with different social groups is www.meetup.com.
• 5.Stay focused- I am highly susceptible to being distracted. I am the type of person that wants to try everything, being honest with myself has revealed to me, that I need to stay focused. Everything I do should be helping me gain progress. Every activity should be something that will help me make those small bricks to build my wall. My long term goal is financial freedom, through the investment in real estate. Every activity I perform on a daily basis gets me closer to that goal. Every day I analyze the activities I perform, if I find they are not beneficial to my goal, I stop doing them. I have structured my life, and all my activities to support the progress to my goals.
• 6.Be prepared to do it alone- Don’t count on a significant other to help you. Remember, a significant portion of the population considers it normal to work, pay bills, and die… Anyone trying to achieve anything big will be out of the ordinary. In my opinion, if you are married, and your partner is one of these people…get a divorce; In the long term it’s cheaper than dragging along. I have found that trying to steer a significant other to a certain point of view is a fruitless, time consuming effort. If they will not contribute to success, why should you have to drag their weight to the top? Find someone who wants to succeed, find someone with passion for change, and a thirst for the knowledge to get there. Now if you are not married, it’s an easier task to get rid of the dead weight. I often meet with investors with significant others that contribute nothing to success, and they often say…Well I stay with them for the kids. My answer to that is… kids are highly adaptable, and two emotionally stable parents can still raise kids properly, and live apart. It may sound mean, but guess what... You are trying to succeed to give your kids and yourself a better life. If your partner is not contributing, what is the point? I have seen way too many individuals in an unfulfilling, unhappy relationship “because of the kids” Stop trying to MAKE something work, find a partner who has the desire to succeed, you will be happy, the kids will be happy, and you will live the life you have dreamed about.

This is by no means a transform yourself in a day plan…and it is not exhaustive, and I type with my goals in mind. Your goals may be smaller, or larger. These are some steps that have helped get me on the right track currently, and in the past. There are multiple roads to get to a destination, don’t be afraid to blaze your own path. If people are not telling you that you’re crazy…you are doing it wrong. Good Luck in 2015.