What keeps you motivated and focused?
Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes
What keeps you motivated and focused?
Most Popular Reply
Flipper/Rehabber · Wilton, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
8ythere are those that want.
And there are those that WANT!! As in whatever it takes.
I am not those that ties happiness to the process. To me that is a very nostalgic poetic theoretic, and lobby dobby not realistic, no time for that , way of viewing things.
Note I am not jabbing at the poster... I said FOR ME that is not the case.
I NEED my freedom. I am not happy sitting till the late hours writing SEO for my website.
I am not happy telling a seller that needs money for their sick child's operation that I can only pay $70K for their house instead of $120K she should be getting.
I am not friggin HAPPY to drive all over friggin damn CT looking at houses that may or may not lead to a damn deal.
What drives me, is when I see people like Brandon doing podcasts from friggin Hawaii while I am freezing my monkey nuts off hustling so I can be able to be free, and live life on MY damn terms when I make it.
I used to stare at a bag of crab legs in the super market.my mind says NO you greedy animal you can't afford it, while my belleh says .. dude, that with butter.. are you kidding? GET IT.. just for me to ge it, put it in my cart walk to the register to then turn around and put it back because I know I can't afford that stuff.
Why I do it? Thinking how my parents sacrificed everything so I could get a solid education without having to work a day during college because I was nose deep in Complex equations of linear and nonlinear thermodynamics and chaotic flows", and couldn't sacrifice the time to work while studying! And now someone needs to take care of them! And it sure as hell ain't going to be my brother or my sister... as they are too busy with providing for themselves!
No, sorry. for me it is not some happiness attachment. For me is is do or friggin die. I am relentless unyielding because I NEED to live life on my damn terms!
I will crush, destroy, annihilate, obliterate, dominate anyone in my way to that goal. When I say I need this, I friggin NEED THIS!
What keeps me going when things are getting you nowhere?
Very simple really...
The alternative simply is not acceptable!
106 Replies
- Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes8y
Find something you really enjoy and tie your identity to the process rather than the results. If you (1) don't really enjoy it, there is no reason to continue it and if you (2) tie your identity to the results and keep moving the goal line out (which everyone does), you always remain unsatisfied. If you tie your happiness to achieving the daily process, you have successes all along the way and the results take care of themselves.
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Mike Dymski Thank you for your feedback.
- Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2015 · 130 posts · 60 votes8y
Fantastic response from @Mike Dymski.
- Flipper/Rehabber · Wilton, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes8y
there are those that want.
And there are those that WANT!! As in whatever it takes.
I am not those that ties happiness to the process. To me that is a very nostalgic poetic theoretic, and lobby dobby not realistic, no time for that , way of viewing things.
Note I am not jabbing at the poster... I said FOR ME that is not the case.
I NEED my freedom. I am not happy sitting till the late hours writing SEO for my website.
I am not happy telling a seller that needs money for their sick child's operation that I can only pay $70K for their house instead of $120K she should be getting.
I am not friggin HAPPY to drive all over friggin damn CT looking at houses that may or may not lead to a damn deal.
What drives me, is when I see people like Brandon doing podcasts from friggin Hawaii while I am freezing my monkey nuts off hustling so I can be able to be free, and live life on MY damn terms when I make it.
I used to stare at a bag of crab legs in the super market.my mind says NO you greedy animal you can't afford it, while my belleh says .. dude, that with butter.. are you kidding? GET IT.. just for me to ge it, put it in my cart walk to the register to then turn around and put it back because I know I can't afford that stuff.
Why I do it? Thinking how my parents sacrificed everything so I could get a solid education without having to work a day during college because I was nose deep in Complex equations of linear and nonlinear thermodynamics and chaotic flows", and couldn't sacrifice the time to work while studying! And now someone needs to take care of them! And it sure as hell ain't going to be my brother or my sister... as they are too busy with providing for themselves!No, sorry. for me it is not some happiness attachment. For me is is do or friggin die. I am relentless unyielding because I NEED to live life on my damn terms!
I will crush, destroy, annihilate, obliterate, dominate anyone in my way to that goal. When I say I need this, I friggin NEED THIS!
What keeps me going when things are getting you nowhere?
Very simple really...
The alternative simply is not acceptable!
- Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes8yI just have to drive. The government gives me a break of over half a buck on every mile I drive to my investment properties and back, landlording. You know how much you get to drive to your job? That's right, nothing. Hazy legal arguments aside, the government understands that the guy who just wants a steady paycheck and a dignified retirement is its most reliable source of income. When the taxman comes around, the working stiff gets shafted, the rich get accountants. I urge you to try it. Go out for a drive at 8 am in the opposite direction of the commuter arteries. See all those people sitting one to a late-model car they can't afford stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, getting paid nothing for it, all worried that they're going to be late to work...again. Look at their faces. Do you think they're longing for the embrace of their cubicle? No, their eyes dart between the clock and the road, long practice assuring them that if they make it to the second light on Maple by 8:22 they still have a change to pull into their job's parking lot by 8:39 and punch in before their 8:45 flex-time deadline passes. Maybe on the way to their cubicle, they'll even get the chance to enthusiastically answer the boss's practiced peppy "Good morning!" as he struts down the hall for his morning bathroom break at 8:46 on the dot. Must keep that best foot forward! Then they hit their desk, look at the pictures of their kids, remember how they have to come up with the two grand Junior's braces are costing them even with their piddling dental insurance, accept once more that it's going to have to go on the Visa, swallow down a wave of bitterness and anger at their own son for putting them deeper in the credit card debt hole, and lean forward to turn on their computer for another day at their utterly meaningless corporate job. If that's motivation by resentment, I guess that's me.
- Rental Property Investor · Las Vegas · Member since 2018 · 87 posts · 87 votes8y
I'm (partially) with Jerryll. It's all about the WHY you're doing it. He's doing it so he can sit in Hawaii one day sipping Mai Tai's while the money to pay for it shows up every month in his bank account. Jim does it because he hates people (just kidding), rather he hates the typical grind that other people have to live. He's found a better alternative that suits him, and it seems that he never wants to end up as a corporate wage slave. I'm a corporate wage slave that wants to be more like Jim or Jerryll, but I'm much lazier. I do both so that one day I can grow this into something I can pass on to my beautiful little girls. I'm probably moving at a much slower rate than either Jim or Jerryll, but I'm moving in the direction at my own pace. I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor along the way. Everyone has their own pace, but part of this is because everyone has their own GOAL. Mike wants to enjoy the process. Jerryll wants to be filthy rich. Jim doesn't want to become a bitter corporate zombie. I do it because I'm lazy. I'm good at my job and I'm lucky that it pays enough to allow me to provide a good life for my family and also invest. I invest, so I can eventually not need to have to worry about paying for my kids' college educations or my own retirement. I don't have a driving need to retire early, but I don't want to be working till I'm 80 either.
So the biggest question you probably need to ask is. WHY are YOU doing this? At the end of the day, each of the people who have responded, have basically told you that they're doing it for their own HAPPINESS, whether current, future, or both. If you can't see where REI will bring you happiness somewhere along the line, and that happiness doesn't motivate you...
- Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes8y
This is an interesting topic and I’ve enjoyed the responses . Personally I’m just tired of spending my time building other people’s businesses and I’ve watched several small business owners I worked for over the years become financially free and These were typically poorly managed companies ran by men that I feel were less intelligent than me . I guess I figured it’s high time to build my own future at this point in my life .im tired of making others rich hoping they would throw me some leftover crumbs in the form of a dollar annual raise and not increase my health insurance contribution another time ..it’s my turn to try and see what I can create
- Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes8y
Originally posted by @Jerryll Noorden:
I NEED my freedom.
For me is is do or friggin die.
When I say I need this, I friggin NEED THIS!
What keeps me going when things are getting you nowhere?
Very simple really...
The alternative simply is not acceptable!
@Shanae, I could type this a different way, add other examples, etc. But these lines pretty much cover it.
Oh, and DESPERATION.
How desperate are you to effect change in your life? Me, I am incredibly DESPERATE. That desperation leaves me no choice, really.
- 8yAnthony GaydenPro MemberRental Property Investor · Omaha, NE · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Originally posted by @Shanae Williams:
I read a post that said “Real Estate is 95% Mindset & 5% Real Estate” it’s seems to be true because some days I can work on finding a deal for about 4-5 hours and there’s other when I can’t even do it for 30 mins. I’m having a hard time really sitting down and getting to it. I know that’s my downfall.What do you guys do for motivation ? What keeps you going even when it seem like it’s getting you no where.
How do I stay motivated and focused?
I listen to multiple different real estate and business related podcasts every day. I watch YouTube videos about real estate and entrepreneurship.
I read or listen to audiobooks daily, and those books are all about motivation, real estate, and business.
I analyze deals. I talk with other investors in real life as well as here on the forums. I also dig deep into my numbers on my properties a couple of times a month.
Finally I discuss with my wife my goals and our plan for the future.
- Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 349 posts · 418 votes8y
My motivation is I pray at the alter of capitalism every day. I believe a market economy is the most efficient market structure know to man, and that it benefits all of society more than any other tried by mankind. I am a disciple of Adam Smith and his economic tenets. I believe that it is my duty to deploy capital to its highest and best use. That is my job as an investor & market participant.
I also get a huge rush writing offers on properties...my crack cocaine!
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Jerryll Noorden Reading your response fuels me to wanting & DOING more. ESP about your parents I just turned 21 a week ago & with my job I’m making more than my mom right now and she has my little brother to take care of and I can barely live off my checks . I’ve just gotten an idea I should write all my whys & place them everywhere so I can never forget & stay motivated . Thank you so much
- Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes8y
Initially I was highly motivated to get out of the cubicle and the commute. I moved my little family 3 states away and bought a doublewide in a park. My why was huge and it was freedom from.
15 years later, I'm content and ain't got time for dat. The only thing I'm 10x ing is a nap. Kind of lost and wondering why I should keep hunting, keep doing.
Until... I reached out to a carpenter buddy to help me rehab a little rental that fell into my lap. Pay? Steve, I don't want your money. I want knowledge and lending relationships. I want to be who you think of when you have something you don't know what or want to deal with. I want to be a flipper.
That got me thinking. I have a list of at least 10 almost desperate first time buyers. Plus others that want to downsizing or upsize that can find nothing.
My new why is helping others find a home. I can take a small $20-40k or so discount off retail and make something out of that. Normally that's a throw away lead on a $260k property.
The point is having a why. Ask yourself why 7 times to find it. I want to be a REI. Why? So I can work for myself. Why? On down 7 times. Cheers!
- Flipper/Rehabber · Wilton, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes8y
Originally posted by @Shanae Williams:
@Jerryll NoordenReading your response fuels me to wanting & DOING more. ESP about your parents I just turned 21 a week ago & with my job I’m making more than my mom right now and she has my little brother to take care of and I can barely live off my checks .
I’ve just gotten an idea I should write all my whys & place them everywhere so I can never forget & stay motivated . Thank you so much
Don't waste time writing notes sticking them everywhere so you don't forget.
If your why's are as haunting as mine you are not going to forget even if you tried.
There is a HUGE leap between getting motivated/inspired, ... and "if I don't step up, my life now will become the inevitable unchanging reality" (think of the voice of agent Smith from the matrix).
Many people are like neo oblivious to life's routine..
Consider this..
- You wake up at 6 am
- You brush your teeth
- Take a shower
- Get dressed
- If you are lucky you have time for a quick breakfast but most likely you eat something on the way to work
- You are driving to work for 1 hour in horrible traffic
- You work for 8 hours if lucky
- After work you drive home ... this time for 1.5 hours as traffic is ridiculous
- You get home and you make food
- You are exhausted
- You are tired crappy mood
- Take care of the kids
- You eat
- You have a little time to unwind and watch tv for an hour
- You turn off tv and get ready for the next day.
- Get your clothes together
- Do your chores
- Get ready for bed
- Sleep for 5 maybe six hours
- Wake up and you repeat the previous day's routine.
This goes on 5 times a day. In actuality Sunday and Friday are half days because only sarurday are you truly free with an entire day to yourself. Friday you are free after 7 and Sunday until 7 as preparations for the Monday will commence.
4 weeks a month . 12 months a year.
80%+ of your life you spend working. Making other people money.
Everyone knows this but just a few wake up from this and "SEE" this.
From these few... only a few of these few try to do something about this. And of the few of these few, only a few make it.
I woke up to this the second I left NASA and research behind and started my high paying corporate job. I lasted 6 months and I quit.
I took that red pill... and shoved it up Morpheues' .... fine... throat! (I was going to say butt) .
I didn't need that damn pill to see what life I was really living. You don't need these notes sticking them everywhere to stay motivated. If you do then believe me... You did not yet wake up and see your situation for what it really is.
When you open your eyes and see this. See the life you are living... no human being would take it. All those that accept such a life did not yet wake up.
So wake up. Stop motivating yourself, you don't need it. Realize one simple thing.
Living your current life is simply not acceptable!
Want to know the / my secret why I am better than my competitors?
Really really simple!!
I want it more than them!
- Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes8y
The more you worship at the alter of wealth the more successful you will be. Our world is driven by money, if money is not a strong enough motivation to generate the drive to work nothing will.
For some life is only about generating wealth. For others it is about what we do with that wealth. Ether way it all comes down to money.
Take away the money and none of us would be on here.
- 8yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Originally posted by @Steve Vaughan:
Initially I was highly motivated to get out of the cubicle and the commute. I moved my little family 3 states away and bought a doublewide in a park. My why was huge and it was freedom from.
15 years later, I'm content and ain't got time for dat. The only thing I'm 10x ing is a nap. Kind of lost and wondering why I should keep hunting, keep doing.
Until... I reached out to a carpenter buddy to help me rehab a little rental that fell into my lap. Pay? Steve, I don't want your money. I want knowledge and lending relationships. I want to be who you think of when you have something you don't know what or want to deal with. I want to be a flipper.
That got me thinking. I have a list of at least 10 almost desperate first time buyers. Plus others that want to downsizing or upsize that can find nothing.
My new why is helping others find a home. I can take a small $20-40k or so discount off retail and make something out of that. Normally that's a throw away lead on a $260k property.
The point is having a why. Ask yourself why 7 times to find it. I want to be a REI. Why? So I can work for myself. Why? On down 7 times. Cheers!
your not drinking the taxable income cool aid are you ?
for me its a lifestyle plain and simple don't know anything else. I wanted to be a commercial pilot so that passed me by.. so I had to make enough money to have kids and home and a car and learn to fly and to buy and airplane.. then I wanted a jet well that passed me by and now I have retired from aviation but still want the jet.. I can fly right seat take a few take offs and landings dial in the radios etc.
I worked in office environments I kind of liked it frankly.. I like having place to go and the socializing with my colleagues now granted these were real estate offices so we were all independent contractors but boy you talk about an incubator.. I learned so much from so many over the years.. what I find tough is trying to do this stuff on your own.. with out the support of others.. but I guess the internet has filled that gap for some..
Being a landlord that's a different job and one that's pretty basic to understand then it becomes your skill set to make deals. and sacrifice in the beginning to scale.
But it to me boils down to a lifestyle no retirement in my future and I have to do deals everyday lest I get bored silly..
- Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes8y
Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
your not drinking the taxable income cool aid are you ?
Nice catch! On one hand, doing the opposite. Bartering labor for knowledge and relationships. On the other, yes, wholesaling to owner-occ buyers but through my s-corp which pays nice rents for office space in back of one of my apt bld LLCs. Should qualify for 20% pass-through deduction rules, so far...
- Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes8y@Steve Vaughan. Besides what Steve and @Jay Hinrichs said, for me it’s just building a business slowly while I work. When I step into it full time in 10 or so years it’ll be plenty to keep me busy and happy. Pay with likely also be greater even if I gross less because taxes will be lower
- Member since 2018 · 1 post · 2 votes8y@Jerryll Noorden This was very inspiring, I loved it! I am just now getting into the real estate business myself and share the same kind of passion for it!!!
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Anthony Gayden Thank you! Most days that’s how I get it going. Listening to ebooks or Tony Robbins morning motivation.
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Jim K. Great msg thank you !
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Jerryll Noorden Love you’re response!!! I need to shift my inspiration. I love looking at people on Instagram whose living their “best life” then I end up on there for 3-4 hrs. I need to shift it to only real estate investors that I look up too, if I stay on BP for hours I’ll more likely accumulate more motivation and information.
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Dennis M. Yes! I definitely see where you coming from I get a urge of wanting to start a better company than McDonald’s every time I go because I can never get what I ordered, on time, with the employees undivided attention! Thank you!!!!
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Randy E. DO OR DIE!!!! That’s very true. I have to keep saying that to myself so I can really understand that if I don’t do I will NEVER live the life I want & need DESPERATELY Thanks for you comment.
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Steve Vaughan Why? I read a book can’t remember the name that said something similar. Asking my self why after why. Thank you for commenting !!
- Wholesaler · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 28 votes8y@Jerryll Noorden It’s like you just called me out n I feel targeted lol but you’re absolutely right. The fact that my life right now is not how I want it should be the only thing that wakes me up and ready to change it. Thank you . No more excuses for myself.
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