A Beginners Journey and a Winner’s Mentality

My name is Jeff Martin and I’m a rookie real estate investor. You might ask what a complete beginner has to offer the BP community that is worth reading in a blog. Well, this was the very question I asked, and what brought this effort to fruition. Bigger Pockets has been a tremendous resource to me already and to countless others as well. I wanted to give back (and pay it forward) with something that has been and will be key to my success. This community only exists because people are willing to participate.

Now back to the original question. How can I contribute? A question I pontificated for a while, and then it hit me: I can contribute my complete lack of experience. The idea is to follow my experience as I start out from the beginning, focusing on the little steps taken and my experiences with them. This blog is for the beginner, who is sitting at their computer, reading posts and wondering what it is like to start out. You are not alone, and this blog will cover it all every step along the way. From feeling intimated attending networking events, to signing my first deal, and all the many stumbles I’m sure will occur along the way.

This blog is not just something for you to passively read and move on. I am not a successful and established investor. You cannot simply dismiss these posts as someone who is further along in their career and not relatable to you. I am your peer, a total beginner starting with not much cash. If I can do this so can you, so let’s get up and do it together!

Believe in Yourself

My goal is two-fold:

1. 1. To challenge others who are like me that want to get started, but haven’t actually done so yet.
2. 2. To keep me honest in my efforts for a real estate career. I am now accountable to others who read this. The only way I can challenge you to get going is if I am willing to go do things and share with you.

As a first topic, let’s explore something not specific to real estate that is applicable to all things in your life. It’s something that may have been covered in different flavors on BP, but is worth repeating. This is a glimpse of how I live my life and what I attribute many of my successes. Before you look at your first property, talk to a lender, or drive your first “dollar mile” there is something more important than all of them: believe.

Believe that you are a successful real estate investor and you already have reached your goals. Think about what you want to achieve, picture how you want the outcome to be, and put yourself there (this is called visualization and perhaps a topic to be covered in more detail later). It might be hard to convince yourself at first because there are likely many obstacles in your head. If you consistently believe, there is a real psychology shift that will surprise you. Whatever you want to be, believe that you are it and the world will catch up.

Avoid “The How” Trap

Do not focus on how! You might be thinking, what do you mean do not focus on how? If you do not know how to do something, it is pretty difficult to get anything done. Yes, that is true. However, one of -if not the- biggest non-starters for anybody trying to do anything is focusing on how to do it. I want to be an investor, but how do I get the money, how do I deal with the problems, how do I not lose everything and go bankrupt…ahhhhh! You absolutely need to think about how to do something, but here is the distinction. Most people, when they cannot resolve every conceivable obstacle before starting, quickly transform those mental obstacles into expected failure, are discouraged and never try. Focus instead on what you want to achieve, and you will start taking steps to achieve it. “The What” keeps your brain focused on the goal and away from discouragements. 

Just focus on what you want and believe it is yours. Sure, it seems like pure magic! It is important to note now that I am a scientist and engineer, am naturally skeptical of everything, and do not believe things without data and/or good logic. I am not suggesting that just believing in something will make it come true in and of itself. In fact, I fully know achieving anything worthwhile is hard, really really hard.

What I am suggesting is such a shift in the way you think actually changes your psychology and physiology to drive you toward a mentality of possibility rather than excuses for inaction. As has been mentioned many times in Podcasts and throughout BP, a switch from “I can’t” to “How can I?” is transformative. While this may not be intuitive, by its very nature, "How Can I?" is not even about "The How." It is really about "The What" and opening your brain to the possibilities of achieving it. This mentality is how I live my life and has been the difference between failures and successes so many times.

Focus on Now -A Call to ACTION

If you ever expect to accomplish, you must expect to act. This is your first challenge: start to believe and focus on “The What”. Start everyday thinking about what you want to achieve that day and in your life and believe that you have done it. Do not allow thoughts of how or excuses for failure to enter your thoughts. Your sole focus is what you want to achieve and that you have achieved it. I promise you, within a month of consistently thinking this way without the negatives and excuses, and you will start to see new angles and possibilities rather than excuses and roadblocks.

I start everyday looking in the mirror and literally telling myself I believe I am what I want to be, specifically listing those things. There is even a note on my bathroom mirror that says, “right now”, to remind me to do it and that I am/have these things right now. Every morning, stand in the mirror, looking into your eyes and go through your list. “I believe I am/have ____.” After saying each one, continue looking into your eyes for 10-20 seconds and really let it register. Any doubts, let them pass. Any negative thoughts, ignore them. You are what you believe you are, and only you can make that true. Your life to this point is a product of what you have been up to now-your habits, your practices, and your mentality. Starting now, your life can be what you want it to be.

Good luck everyone, now get off your butt and go start believing! Until next time…

PS Special thanks to @Brandon Hall for his recent post on his starting a blog and contributing. I had been thinking about writing, was tepid due to my complete lack of experience in RE, but that pushed me to action.

Cheers,

Jeff