F.O.C.U.S. - Follow One Course Until Successful

There I was on another early morning jog, staring across a tranquil Lake Erie at an outdated One HSBC Center, some 30 miles away in Buffalo, NY. Its solidarity amongst the few other visible buildings that towered on the horizon struck me on a deep, personal level. I could relate to the skyscraper’s isolation and its clearly murky future.

I had tried blindly for over a year to start my real estate investing career on my own, resisting the thought of asking for help out of fear of finding out that I was failing. Rather I thought my success would begin by following a few gurus and their numerous courses dealing with anything from apartment buildings to wholesaling to tax liens to self-storage. The easy route was so alluring and my want to succeed so strong that I fell hook, line, and sinker for whoever promised to provide me with the golden answers that would solve any and all problems that I would face.

After spending nearly $1,000, a large sum for a college student living off of work-study money and a small savings, I began to come around to my senses that I was paying for hollow information.

It was around this time that I discovered Carleton Sheets whose name had appeared in more than a few books and podcasts that I had read and listened to. I looked him up online and began thoroughly reading his online courses. While reading them I began to understand why I wasn’t successful yet. It was not because of a lack of passion or desire, but rather where I had placed my focus. The whole time I had been solely focusing on the end result – the money, the power, the life – rather than the details that cumulatively make up that end result. I hadn’t been writing down S.M.A.R.T. goals, making actionable steps, and then pursuing them. I had been making rather vague goals and then trying to land on the random targets in the fog that I had created.

By readjusting my goals, I have laid out my plans for the next 10 years with short, intermediate, and long-term goals with smaller goals woven within them. By seeing where I want to go, I am more motivated on accomplishing my goals and more confident in seeing what lies ahead in my journey to success. Now instead of bouncing around from one idea to another, I keep them in order, moving onto one only after I have achieved the one before it.

How do you F.O.C.U.S. on the things that make you successful?