Although, I am continually surprised at how even so, I often let fear of the unknown, fear of failure, or just plain distraction keep me from moving forward.

What happens then is that the person running the table signals to a colleague to run a distraction so that it’s almost impossible for the guy winning to keep his eyes totally on the cup with the ball.  

I'll be honest I opened my own brokerage and it's almost been more of a distraction for me since the business is not my primary focus (finding deals is my main focus).  

But don't get distracted by the super low sale prices which likely aren't correct anyways.

Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of issues/problems/quirks that old houses have that new houses don't, and an old house can obviously have hidden problems and big repair/maintenance bills too...but, the point is: a brand new house is not a foolproof solution to repairs/maintenance (and in some cases, a brand new house can be a much bigger gamble than an older house).This is a particularly important lesson for inexperienced investors, who tend to be the most prone to "shiny object syndrome" (the tendency to let nice aesthetics distract from real, underlying issues).

“Don’t be distracted by criticism.

Then a big cost item breaks/something happens, now you're distracted from your studies worrying about a house you're not living in, etc. 

Don't get distracted, it's a money make for you and there will be other opportunities to buy your own property. 

Go getters or entrepreneurs are easily distracted by shiny object syndrome.

I see people distracted with the new "hot" market, the new twist on a strategy they can implement, the cool way to source deals, the shiny new app, working with a realtor or a lender even when they aren't producing results.