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Updated over 14 years ago, 08/12/2010
Motivation.. ways
hey everyone still a new investor here! So far I have joined my local REI and have been to a meeting and look forward to the upcoming events. I have been on this forum daily looking at ways to learn, although I seem to be interested and have learned a lot, I tend to be like 90% of this population where I say I want to be an investor and become financially independent, but who knows if my dreams will become true. I would love to know if people were like this and lacked the daily motivation to succeed and what methods they used. maybe hypnosis? thank you!
I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but how can you not have the motivation to succeed? Have you had success in any area of your life? If not, why? What's holding you back? Fear? Self-doubt? That's a bunch of crap. Success is all mental. You have to believe you'll succeed or your efforts will be for nothing. A large part of real estate investing is just dealing with people. There's nothing too difficult for you to figure out. If you want to be an investor, do it. If not, move on to something that fits your personality and beliefs.
Whether you remain one of the 90% that just talk about real estate or the 10% that get off their asses and do something, the only difference is taking action. Stop dreaming about doing deals and just do one. Once you do one and you see that it isn't hard at all, keep going.
I don't think you can teach motivation. You need to find something that drives you to succeed....a goal, a lifestyle, a personal achievement. Dreams will only carry you so far. You need hard work and determination to make your dreams a reality.
ok well obviously I want to succeed, I wouldn't be a member and attend meetings and research if I didn't. I am finishing up with a degree in finance, but I just am not sure I want to work for a company my whole life, while I have many ideas that include starting a business and the most interesting one to me is real estate. I truly believe the easy way out is to put off real estate investing and say things like I don't have time for it, or why not just graduate and work your whole life at a company. The hard part is actually doing it and finding motivation every day to search for properties, read up. etc.
From what I have read and researched on, millionaires are made from investing in assets, and real estate happens to be one , along with owning a business.
Hi John - I think yu are already a good bit motivated because you are on here writing about it, Staying motivated is without question sometimes a difficult task. There were some valid point posted on this topic. Jackie mentioned having someting that drives u to success. For me its Automobiles. I love Mercedes Benz's. I have a picture that I use of an MB CLS 500. That picture keeps me focused because I wont be able to buy it without doing deals. Thank goodness you are very young which is great. Keep at it and you will prosper! Happy investing!
Mike thats funny I have the same picture right on my desktop that I wake up to every mourning. A white CLS550 ! I think the most important influence in my life is my friend who is 5 years older than me and owns a gas station. I see him with the jewelry, nice cars, etc. and it motivates me to get passive income. I would love to surround myself with successful investors to achieve my goal and help stay motivated. I am just scared about losing it and ending up not being able to create passive income and wealth..
I've done many deals....but I still have to keep myself motivated.... my motivation are my kids and the life I want to achieve for me and my family. What I'm saying is...motivation should be a constant in your every day life. ALSO...I see you write about fear...I don't know about the rest, but for me ...fear is part of the process....what makes me evaluate every deal more then once. I think you need to write down your goals....it seems to me you know what you want as a long term goal....but concentrate on short term goals and follow through. Good luck...and remember ...is not as easy as some people make it seem....there is effort in every result !
Sweet car right? White is a nice color too. Listen...if you do your investing the right way and buy your houses right you wont get stuck. Most of the people who Ive seen get jammed up in this game went about it the wrong way to begin with. They bought the house at full value or even worst yet paid more than what they were worth and when the rents couldnt cover the expenses (PITI + utilities, vacancies, maintenance and management) they wound up stuck like chuck and out of luck. Ive had more than a few phone calls from "investors" who said they have a house to sell me that they were upside down on. PM me and I'll give you the skinny on how to make sure you buy houses the right way and how to find deals. Can they be found on the MLS? Yes. Is that the best place to find them? No. Some of the best houses Ive bought were word of mouth referrals or Craigslist private owner or bandit sign marketing.
IMO, you will enjoy what you do more and find my motivation from doing something you love doing. I never thought it was a good idea for someone just to get in a field because that's were the money is. Chances are if you are not really interested you will be mediocre at best and fail miserably at worst.
I also have found that your interest level can help motivate you. If your strongly interested the work becomes fun and exciting making it something that you want to do every day. I happen to enjoy working for myself, working with people and real estate in general.
Need can also be a strong motivator. There are plenty of examples of people who have lost their jobs and were forced to make something work in order to support their families. Need can be quite a painful way to be motivated though.
John, I know lots of investors that start while they are working full time jobs. The key is, you have to have a passion for it. Don't just choose real estate investment because you think it will make you a millionaire. Charles is right....if you don't love it, chances are very slim you will have much success at it.
John,
i'm located in fairfield,CT. i wouldn't mind helping you out.
Thanks DES I apperciate it, I am currently looking for properties that have 30% equity and will cash flow. I am looking for sfh
FYI, didn't mean to quote my whole post!
John,
I see that I am entering this post a little later than most, so I'm curious to know if you have an update for us John?
What are the steps you're taking to become motivated ?
I am also interested in knowing what are your biggest fears? What is holding you back?
I'm a little late to the party here, but anyways... What I've found that works for me is to break my big goals into lots of small goals that I can act on daily. The small daily goals are often really little things, but what it does is allow me to be constantly working on getting closer to our dreams. It can be something as little as cancelling an email account we weren't using - sure it was only $13/month, but all those little things add up and eventually make a difference if you stick at it. There have been times I've been crushed at work - but I'll take a 5 min break, and look up someone I've only talked to a couple of times and go over and visit with them - ie. practicing networking skills. Another common one is to take some relevant concept that I'm vague about and make sure I spend some time in the evening researching it.
I've found that taking all these little steps every day gets me out of "waiting for it to happen mode" and into "doing something about it mode".
The only thing that gets my juices flowing :) is money. If you are a wise investor, the more money you make, the more money you will continue to make. Keep flipping it on things that you know work. Real estate is just one form of investing. You learn as much as you can about being financially straight. You will grow like a flower once the money streams flows in.
John,
I agree with most of the posts above: Finding your fears, breaking them down, and facing them. Keep the big, fancy things you want to buy in front of you all the time to remind you what you're working for. Keep reminders of what's keeping you going when the times get tough. For me though, I get mad at what's standing in my way.
Whenever I get upset (normally it's about finances in my household), I make myself breakdown what I'm really upset about and then get mad at whatever made me feel defeated. I don't know about you but responsibilities and obligations, whether financial or not, can make you feel very small at times. I use that anger to motivate myself to push through any fear or doubt. I tell myself that I won't let that thing, whatever it is, beat me or make me feel like I can't succeed. Maybe you need to work in a full time job for a while to realize what your real desire is. Who knows?
It might be WAY off key for some but it's what keeps me going. Hope this helps John. Keep going and don't let anything get in the way of what you want to acheive.
John, the best influence on change for you to go into action is the old adage that you are as successful as the five closest people you spend your time with. Look around you, are you influenced by happiness, success, wealth, and drive or are you surrounded with doubters, negative people, and people who are settled in life.
I had to learn a very hard lesson a few years ago in that concept. It took me changing 90% of my close friendships, not because they were bad people, but because they took all the positive energy I had inside me out, and it left me with nothing for moving forward. Since then, I surround myself with successful, happy people and it just makes this business that we are in, that much easier, and more fulfilling.
FANTASTIC advice Kevin!!!
Motivation stems from one simple question..."WHY?"
You have to know why you are doing what you are doing and stay focused on that. Its different for everybody as evidenced by all the different ideas posted here. Figure out what makes you move. Self awareness, self understanding, and and self acceptance are such an important part of success.
Really try to figure out who you are, strengths, weaknesses, your philosophies, beliefs, values...etc.
Then figure out what it is that truly makes you happy when you do it or when the result happens...that's your "why?" Then go do that in an industry you are passionate about.
If you are focused on doing or seeking the things that make you happy you will stay motivated to continue to achieve them.