I put together a little blueprint of why most beginners fail...
Basically what happens is many rookie investors don't think that "They can make it happen"....meaning they don't have many expectations of what they can do====>When they have low expectations, they don't put forth much effort===>When they don't put forth much effort, they don't get results ==> When they don't get good results==>It reinforces their beliefs that "They can't make it happen" =======>Next time around they have even lower expectations==:>Meaning lower effort==>meaning lower results===Meaning more reinforcement that "they can't make it happen"
the ugly cycle continues....
To break the cycle you need to raise your expectations of yourself....You need to visualize yourself making it happen. Since your subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between, what you visualize and what is real, you'll expect more===>Meaning you put forth more effort===>Meaning you'll get better results==>Meaning you'll expect even more
Basically by using visualization you can cycle your effort up, building major momentum......rather than down, leaving you in an even deeper mental rut.
Real Estate Investor · OH · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
The vast majority of newbies fail - but it's not because they don't "think they can succeed" or any other psychological mumbo jumbo. They fail because they don't understand the REALITIES of whatever business they're trying to start (most often underestimating the operating expenses) and they are too lazy to do "whatever it takes" (i.e. hard work) to succeed.
You can sit on your butt ALL DAY LONG and "think" and you'll NEVER GROW RICH! You can post pictures of a new Mercedes convertible and beautiful people having fun all over your apartment; you can chant "I feel rich" until you lose your voice and you'll NEVER SUCCEED!
Wake up people! All that psychological mumbo jumbo does is waste the time you could be spending working your butt off to build a business!
Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2010 · 9 posts · 7 votes
16y
I love Eric's reply! Tony Robbins says that
MASSIVE ACTION = MASSIVE RESULTS!!
All the other stuff in the world won't help. You have to get out there and do it. You will make mistakes, and you will fail. That's OK, in fact that's part of the fun. Just go have fun, learn, listen, and take MASSIVE ACTION.
Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
16y
Anthony, if you run 5 miles, your 3 mile times will get much better!
A friend is a very successful real estate broker, she built one of the most successful brokerages in the country and is in the who's who of business women. She was dirt poor growing up. She attributes much of her success to having physical images, pictures, minitures, etc. of the material things she wanted. She put these things in her desk drawer so she saw the constantly. It remined her what she was working for. She did this before this "system" or "positive thinking" outlook was ever published. She claims it worked for her and she includes these ideas in her seminars for agents. Can't argue with success, what ever motivates you to go that extra mile! Bill
Real Estate Investor · OH · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Here's a little experiment to try. Spend one full month pasting pictures of successful people all over your apartment. Chant "I am successful" until you're hoarse. Visualize yourself driving a brand new Mercedes convertible with a supermodel in the passenger seat and bikini clad supermodels lining the roadway applauding as you pass by. Visualize large piles of cash all over your apartment and the universe constantly bringing you more money! Then, at the end of the month - count the money you've actually accumulated from all the chanting, visualizing, and talking to the universe! I'm betting it will be zero.
Then, the next month, get out of bed every morning at 6 am; get out of the house by 6:30; and find some silly little house that you can buy for 1/2 of the current retail value. Go to your local REIA and sell that deal to another successful investor for $10K more than the price you negotiated on the property. With HARD WORK, you could probably do two of these that first month. At the end of the month, count your money. I'm betting that you will have infinitely more money using this method than with the chant/visualize/talk to the universe method!
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
16y
Originally posted by MikeOH:
Then, the next month, get out of bed every morning at 6 am; get out of the house by 6:30; and find some silly little house that you can buy for 1/2 of the current retail value.
....
But Mike, this requires getting out of bed and working hard!!!
My guru never said anything about working hard...are you sure you have your facts straight?
Real Estate Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2009 · 118 posts · 76 votes
16y
J Scott- if you create a program where I can find real estate riches but don't have to roll out of bed until after 10am, I'm in! Where do I send my check?
Mobile Home Investor · Spanaway, WA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 578 votes
16y
After you get all the bumps settled down and are comfortable with your real estate income paying for everything, you can roll out of bed whenever you feel like it.
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
16y
Originally posted by Tom Bukacek:
J Scott- if you create a program where I can find real estate riches but don't have to roll out of bed until after 10am, I'm in! Where do I send my check?
My post above was sarcastic (I completely agree with MikeOH on this topic), but as Realtyman pointed out, making money in RE while not working too hard is definitely possible.
But, it takes hard and/or smart work to get to that point...
Hinesville, GA · Member since 2010 · 7 posts · 1 vote
16y
That stuff is all pseudo-psychological cult babble, based in old psychological paradigms that are no longer accepted as factual.
I fell into that sort of thing; creative visualization, which is little more than magical thinking. I was even into magic for awhile during my most desperate years, thinking I could make wealth and sex and power come to me. I found from many years of failure that the only thing that truly works is application of the scientific method.
1) you form a hypothesis (i.e. it's probable that I could make boatloads of money if I apply myself).
2) you solidify your hypothesis into a theory by gathering data about how others in similar circumstances have made boatloads of money (i.e. it's possible for me to make boatloads of money if I apply myself in specific ways).
3) you narrow down potential strategies according to assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, environment and resources.
4) you do a basic cost-benefit analysis, picking the available strategies that promise the highest yield-to-risk ratio within your particular set of circumstances.
5) you implement those strategies the best you can with the resources you have, continually seeking out greater resources, opportunities and diversification of strategies to further defer risks/increase profits.
6) you never assume that you will make any money; you just operate under the theory that you might make money, and that you're better off attempting it than not.
Things like magic and creative visualization don't really work. Why? Because they bog down the mind with idealization of specific ends. This becomes habit-forming: when you specify the end, you start specifying means to obtaining that end. You make idealistic rules for yourself, saying that you will only act under some set of circumstances that you've idealized, or that you will "go with the flow" of where your magic spell or creative visualization take you, which is more often than not down a road of delusional sign-reading. That's when failure sets in.
Robbins is right about people being overly pessimistic, but what he fails to tell people is that optimism is just as big a sin, because optimism is a quick sell when your market is people who don't have anything better. Creative visualization is optimism. Business is the realm of realists; there's no place for optimists here.
Not even the most fantastic, creative inventors and innovators were optimists; they simply saw the possibilities for change, and implemented them in a scientific manner. That's what distinguishes the successful businessperson from the rube who buys self-help books.
That's what distinguishes the real sorcerers from kids who sit around in cafes talking about magic. Tony Robbins: a true Dark Overlord. People who buy his books: rubes who fail to achieve power and success because of magical thinking. He sits in his dark tower laughing at all the superstitious peasants tilling his fields, while one of them brings him another cocktail.
Real Magicians don't use magic; they just sell pipedreams to ignorant folk who aren't mentally equipped to succeed at anything. Those who succeed after reading self-help books do so because they had that potential all along, not because of some hokey spell they cast.
There's nothing wrong with visualizing things to put things into perspective and map what you're learning; that comes naturally as a matter of thought-association, and doesn't require any creativity. But it has to stop there, or it becomes a fictional blueprint. I can visualize myself in some million dollar Tudor, or even some gothic revivalist mansion of my own design, but chances are I won't end up there once I go out and do the work to acquire the money to buy something that grand. I can visualize being a CEO holding corporate meetings, but chances are I may never tread that path of complexity. It's a possibility, but only one of several, and the least likely scenario to happen.
Eastern religions are right about the whole attachment to ends thing: the only way to get anything out of life is to put your dreams aside. Reality isn't the illusion, the dream of reality not manifest is the illusion.
Let hunger, fear and anger be your only motivations. It's what worked for millions of successful people now and past; make it work for you. Everything else is just fluff. Dreams of pleasure make us lazy; only the pain of lack and the threat of death motivate us to acquire those pleasures.
Investor · Aurora, CO · Member since 2009 · 200 posts · 74 votes
16y
I have to say, I'm enjoying this discussion. Mike has hit the nail on the head with stating that visualizing yourself successful will not make it so. Hard work makes it so.
I disagree that positive motivation is without merit. If it helps push a person off their butt and out the door to pick up properties, then it can be extremely helpful. It also helps create the self confidence that folks can achieve success. The confidence begins to erode away the fear.
Think of it as a catalyst in the equation. To get Success, add the ingredients of hard work and direction. Sometimes those ingredients need a boost to start the reaction. If the result is the product of success, then that motivational catalyst is a very good thing.
However, as Mike stated, to much catalyst and not enough ingredients and there will not be a reaction and the end product of success will not be created.
Real Estate Agent · Circleville, OH · Member since 2008 · 633 posts · 488 votes
16y
I've been investing for over 3 years now , and will give my 2 cents.
It's not 100% about mindset , although that helps, it's about your assimilation of knowledge.
You have to know how to analyze a deal , and you have to be willing to pass on bad deals and take good deals. You HAVE to understand how the game works, otherwise you end up with overpriced properties and will lose everything. Our biggest mistake was buying a 6 unit apartment complex when we weren't ready, why? Because we didn't understand the nature of the game enough. Learn all you can , take slow , cautious steps and you'll be fine.
Real Estate Investor · ElkPark, NC · Member since 2010 · 10 posts · 2 votes
16y
Potential > Action
| |
Belief < Results
This is the formula for failure and sucess.If you believe you have massive potential, you take massive action and get massive results,wich reinforces your belief and the cycle repeats with more belief ,action ,and results.If you dont believe in your potential,you take weak action,get weak results,and reinforce your belief that you cant do it.
Wether you think you can or you think you cant,your probbably right!
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
16y
Great thread!
I agree with those that have posted that chanting and "belief" are not the only ingredients for success. Those items alone will not make you successful.
However, I also believe that the #1 ingredient for success is PERSISTENCE. There will be hard days, weeks, and possibly even years. The successful entrepreneur weathers those storms, uses the hard times as fuel to motivate them to improve their abilities (via reading, doing, shadowing, or whatever is necessary), works very hard, seeks the resources needed, and finds a way to make it happen. No excuses!
In Texas we are a bit slower and simple folk and we summarize it as get er' done!
One of the most inspirational and educational videos I have ever seen is Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" available here:
It is well worth investing an hour watching it if you haven't ever seen it. Pausch argued that, "The walls are there for a reason." The reason is that it lets you know how badly you want something. Anything worth achieving in life takes hard work, dedication, and PERSISTENCE.
Real estate investing is no different than any other meaningful pursuit in life. It takes hard work, persistence, and dedication. The walls are there for a reason. If you want to be successful you have to be willing to scale the walls to be successful. There is no shortcut no matter what the guys in the Hawaiian shirt told you!
It is well worth investing an hour watching it if you haven't ever seen it. Pausch argued that, "The walls are there for a reason." The reason is that it lets you know how badly you want something. Anything worth achieving in life takes hard work, dedication, and PERSISTENCE.
I agree. This was very inspirational to me. I still have this bookmarked!
Real Estate Consultant · Charlotte Area, NC · Member since 2010 · 13 posts · 0 votes
16y
Great post and really amazing replies. As I read through it I literally get butterflies in my gut because I can remember back at different moments in my life when I actually came to the decision, do I quit or go on. Those are rough moments. I look back and celebrate the times I pressed on and broke through. Not every time did my decision to press on lead to financial success but they ALWAYS led me to personal success. Well done to all who have posted here and I hope that all walk away as encouraged as I have.
Investor · Westminster, CO · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
I am going to start this with the story of my father. I am sure most of you have seen the movie, "A Christmas Story", where the main character, a little boy, wanted a Red Ryder BB Gun.
The year is 1941 and my father is 7 years old. He went to his father and said, "Dad, I want a Red Ryder BB Gun". His dad said 'good for you.' So my dad said, will you buy it for me? And his dad said "no", buy it yourself. When my dad said, "how," his dad said, 'go earn the money.' So my dad went down to the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times. He paid one penny for The Register and 1 1/2 pennies for the Times. He sold the Register for two pennies and the Times for 3 pennies. He made the seven dollars he needed to buy the BB gun in less than a week, but by then, he had sites way beyond a BB gun. He bought the gun and then he bought a television set BEFORE his parents were able to buy a TV. The war broke out and Southern California was full of GIs, so my father started shining shoes too. He always had money growing up.
Some have posted that you need to get out and work. Other's have posted that you need to "Think and Grow Rich." Well I am here to tell you that you need to get out and work, and work with a GOOD ATTITUDE. If you approach a seller with a poor attitude, your chances are very low. But if you approach a seller with a strong and positive attitude, your chances improve.
An old Greek proverb states, "Know Thyself." For example, I could work hard and think positive about being a Concert Pianist, and even after 9 years of piano lessons, I still cannot play the piano. I have no rhythm, no internal beat, no musical ability at all. It is not going to happen. But I am pretty good with numbers and with deal making. I know myself and so that is where I put my effort. I also know what other people excel at and I use them in those areas. It is WHAT you know and WHO you know.
Like most investors on here, I bought my first house for $30,000, I was 19, and sold it a year later for $50,000. I got it rented for $500 a month so it was easy to sell to another investor. Then I bought a triplex for $100,000, and sold it two years later for $160,000. Then I bought 2 four plexes. But notice, this took years, it did not happen overnight.
Don't try for the home run, get that bunt single. Like MikeOH said, get out of bed, start driving around town, checking neighborhoods, checking public records, meeting Realtors, and FIND A HOUSE. Also, start attending a local REI club meeting. Keep a positive attitude and meet several investors. Many investors have no problem with you getting a $5,000 or $10,000 profit if you bring them a good deal. The seasoned investors usually don't have time to pound the pavement as they are negotiating deals, working short sales, talking to banks, Realtors, contractors, tenants, management companies, etc... and would love to have deals brought to them.
So go find a house that you can get for $20,000 that rents for $500 a month, and sell it for $30,000. How hard is that? Hard enough that you need to get out of bed, leave the house and GO FIND IT!
Real Estate Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2010 · 449 posts · 173 votes
16y
What a fantastic thread! I can't speak too much for success in RE yet because my experience is too limited, but I've been reasonably successful in my day job for the last 18 years or so. For me, it really boils down to a few things.
1) Taking responsibility for your success at whatever it is you are trying to achieve. I've spend a good amount of my years in the day job in a senior or management role. When talking to people about their goals, it's surprising how much people focus on all the reasons why they can't achieve those goals, and how they really deserve all those things. Instead of focusing on what they can do today to get closer to those goals! And these are skilled, fairly well paid people I'm talking about with some accomplishment already under their belts, not people in dead end jobs. I've always believed that if you want something, you better do something about it. Then your energy is going towards what you want to achieve instead of bemoaning not already having it. It sounds like it should be obvious, but if you really examine people's actions and what they are saying, I don't think it is. So I always give myself a good kick in the rear whenever I catch myself slipping into that mode.
2) Belief. This is another big one I believe in very strongly. If you belief up front that you are going to accomplish your goal, then all your actions and what you project to the people you deal with are going to be quite different than if you just hope to, or would like to, achieve those things. That takes some abstract thought. No one can see a complete road map of all the steps that will take them from where they are now to where they want to be. If you are at A and want to get to D, D may seem extremely hard or near impossible, or you may not even know what D is. That's where a lot of the belief comes in. Knowing that if you can at least figure out enough that you can determine that accomplishing A will get you closer to D, then if you throw all your energy into A, by the time you nail A you will know enough and be in a position to start attacking B and so on. A lot of people have a really hard time if they can't see B, C, and D clearly.
3) Resilience. When you hit a roadblock, do you just regroup and attack it from a different angle, or do you start getting discouraged? We're human, so there's always going to be that feeling of discouragement when something doesn't work out, but I always try me best to catch myself at times like this before I go into a tailspin, and try to chill out and think about what I've learned from the unsuccessful attempt that might be applied to my next more successful attempt.
Like I said, these are all opinions I've formed over my years at the day job - I'm only one transaction old when it comes to REI. But it's going to be fun learning how to apply it to our RE goals.
Investor · Cedar Park, TX · Member since 2010 · 18 posts · 0 votes
16y
Originally posted by Mike M:
How hard is that? Hard enough that you need to get out of bed, leave the house and GO FIND IT!
I am a new investor with plenty of motivation to get out of bed and look for deals,.... but I am lacking in knowledge as to where to even look? I have been searching the MLS but that hasnt turned up too many good deals. What would you say is the best way to look for these? Drive and look for "For Sale" Signs? Put up signs? I know some people send out mailers,... but how do I find who to send them to?
Any info as to where and how to look would be appreciated!
And if your looking for Biblical motivation, how is this one?:
2 Thessalonians 3:10- "If a man will not work, neither shall he eat"
Investor · Westminster, CO · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Ryan
You need to make acquaintences with a handful of Realtors. While they may be difficult to work with, they are still the most knowledgeable about the marketplace. Also, you need to start attending an REI club meeting in your area. You can start by offering to 'bird dog' for a few investors and in doing so, ask them where they would prefer to invest.
Another place you can start cultivating is with a few local banks. Large banks can be difficult but if there are a handful of local type banks who have a limited amount of mortgage loans, you can talk with them about working their foreclosures.
You can also attend some auctions and see who is buying the properties. Many flippers attend these auctions and if you can exchange information with them, you might find a long term investor who is interested in buying a freshly rehabbed house that rents well.
There are so many avenues, it is hard to discuss all of them here. But your most valuable assets are information and contacts.
Real Estate Investor · Woolwine, VA · Member since 2011 · 92 posts · 3 votes
15y
michael, i think the old school philosophy for success was to work your butt off, day in and day out, as often as possible. i prefer to subscribe to the venture of "work smart, not hard".
