Challenge Yourself to Become a Better Investor

Once you make the decision to become a real estate investor, you’re not just investing in properties - you’re investing in your entire future. And since your success and happiness in the future are dependent on the decisions you make right now, you’ve got to get your head in the game. There are lots of steps you can take to be a better investor - do your research, start an emergency fund, build a great team of professionals you can count on, etc. We’ve gone over these things before, but now we want to take it a step further. You need to challenge yourself with things that are a little more out of the ordinary, like these:

1. Eliminate the words “I can’t” from your vocabulary. It’s so easy to fall into an “I can’t” rut. “I can’t afford this property.” “I can’t find the right contractor.” “I can’t find any good deals.” While some of these instances may seem to have some truth to them, the trick is to transform the “I can’t” part into “How can I?”. “How can I afford this property, or find a good contract, or get good deals.” Once it becomes a question rather than a statement, you can begin to ponder the possible answers. And believe us, there are answers. When you really start evaluating all the different possibilities, chances are you will find a way to turn that “I can’t” into “Here’s how I’m going to.”

2. Reevaluate who you associate with. You know that saying “you are what you eat”? Well, you’re also who you hang out with. Take a look at who you spend most of your time with, outside of your family. Are they successful? Are they motivated? Goal-oriented? Are they generally positive? Hopefully they are, because these are the character traits that you want to surround yourself with. When you associate with these types of people, their influence will wear off on you, helping you achieve the things you want. The same applies to people who exhibit more negative characteristics; when you’re with them, they’re much more likely to drag you down.

3. Go over your goals EVERY SINGLE DAY. Yeah, yeah, we know. Every day seems excessive to most people, but hear us out. When you set goals, you’re essentially telling yourself this is what I am going to do, and this is what I will achieve. This message has to be in sight at all times, because it should always be at the forefront of your mind. Reading it out loud will help, too. Try reading your goals every morning before you get started; this will help motivate you and reinforce why you’re doing what you’re doing each day. And here’s a bonus goal-related challenge for you: take one of your goals and multiply it by 10. For instance, let’s say you’re just getting into property investment, and your goal is to land one unit by the end of the year. When you use the 10x strategy, your new goal is 10 units by year’s end. Before you start freaking out and saying “I can’t do that!” (see challenge #1), start planning how you’re going to do it. If you don’t set high enough expectations for yourself, how will you ever rise to the occasion?