I've never had anyone place bandit signs, advertise on radio or billboards, etc, and I've never cultivated other real estate newbies to see who wants to go bird hunt for me.

If you are marketing direct to individual "mom and pop" note sellers then those opportunities may exist but they take time to unearth and cultivate (and in my book that becomes active rather than passive)!

Cultivate that genuine interest -- if you're going to be a successful real estate investor, you're going to need it.Here's something you can do that will help the struggle. 

These people should ALL know that you are a Realtor.These will be a great FARM for you to cultivate as these students will soon be graduates, and then home buyers! 

I would recommend reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill or 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey to start cultivating a growth mindset while you are developing your real estate acumen.  

Information comes at us from you many different sources that you need to spend time cultivating quality sources.

How did YOU cultivate your relationship with your BEST lender?

With that being said taking the time to cultivate a quality list in areas that I am familiar with seems to be helping me so far. 

We know if we are going to be successful long term, we need to cultivate our own deals from off market whether that be through mailers, or whatever.

I have "met" some great people so far here on BP and I look forward to cultivating those relationships.