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Myself and many others are living proof that by changing your mental and physical habits, you can be successful in real estate investing. This article focuses on changing or fine-tuning your mental habits and attitudes toward real estate investment so that you can succeed. It’s about getting your mindset right.
By mindset, I mean your way of looking at, and approaching your real estate investment business. This includes the way you perceive your business. It also includes what you allow to impress and intimidate you, also what challenges and excites you.
Why bother with “mindset?”
Simple. Because the cost of NOT adjusting your mindset is outrageously expensive (in opportunity loss)! If your mind isn’t in the right frame to think like a wealth-building investor, you are like a sailor paddling around in a boat with holes in it. If you bail water quickly enough, you’ll keep it afloat, but you will eventually tire…and sink!
ALL money-making endeavors begin with a thought. They are all ideas born in the mind of an investor. Some have more and better ideas than others. Why is that? Are some minds better than others? Not necessarily. It’s just a matter of focus and attitude.
In our society there is often resistance to developing or training yourself to have a positive mindset, but nobody thinks a thing about going for a jog, or hitting the gym to condition their body. Does that make sense? If you walk the entrepreneurial path, mental conditioning is central to your business.
Simply put, if you don’t develop, and then fine tune your mindset you will either:
- Never quite get around to investing in real estate (if you have not yet begun) and forfeit the wealth you want to attain for you and your family.
- Never quite get where you want to go in your investing (if you are already investing), and forfeit the wealth you intended to attain for you and your family.
You see, a lot of people have enough knowledge to invest in real estate. Far fewer DO it. Why is that? Because far fewer have bothered to develop the mindset that conquers fear and other hurdles to investing in real estate. Frankly, it doesn’t matter how much knowledge you possess about investing in real estate, you WON’T do it if you haven’t conditioned yourself to think like and investor.
Usually I write about aspects of real estate investing, but for this article, I’m breaking from that in favor of talking about the importance of adjusting your thinking…changing the way your mind works. Since the investing won’t be successful without a proper mindset, it can be considered the most important aspect of learning to be a real estate investor!
Mindset is the foundation of real estate investment.
In other words, if it’s not solid, you cannot invest successfully. I don’t know how to put it any plain-er.
I’ve known scores of folks who have WANTED to invest in real estate. These are usually acquaintances who find out somehow that I invest in rehab real estate. Invariable I here, “I’ve thought about doing that.” Sometimes I hear “I looked into that.” Sometimes they proceed to ask questions, but I find that most of the time the next word after the previous phrase is “…but” and then I hear an excuse.
These excuses range from “I couldn’t find any property” to “the numbers scared me” to “I couldn’t get a mortgage.”
What I’m thinking to myself is “these excuses have solutions, but they don’t yet have the mindset to overcome these relatively minor hurdles.” In fact, unless someone ASKS me for specific advice on overcoming these hurdles, I don’t offer advice. That’s not because I don’t want them to succeed! It’s because their mindset is not yet right.
Let me tell you where I’m coming from on this topic.
When I first took an interest in real estate I was a real estate guru junkie! In the beginning, I consumed every book about real estate investing on the market, listened to podcasts, watched YouTube, attended seminars, and bought courses. I had “book knowledge” running out of my ears with ZERO property.
Finally, one day, as I approached retirement, I realized that I to make some major decisions. I REALLY didn’t want to get a job but my family still liked to eat! I changed my mindset, and put thoughts into action. The rest is history. What changed? Not my knowledge! My way of thinking changed.
Facing retirement was the catalyst that got me started. If you haven’t started, there IS a catalyst in your life, you only need to find it and capitalize on it. Are you satisfied in your job? Want more time with family? Want more disposable income? Want to build your retirement savings? This list could get long!
This article is aimed at helping you capitalize on your action catalyst by developing your real estate investor mindset. Here are 6 simple steps to help you to create a new mindset*:
1. Tell yourself you can change.
Write down the three greatest moments of change in your life that have brought you to being the person you like being today. They can be obvious milestones, like moving to a new city, or more subtle and personal, like meeting your best friend. Hang your list in your bathroom or above your desk to encourage you to adapt your attitude and stay positive.
2. Go someplace else.
If you’re stuck, expose your brain to a new environment—physically go to another place, or read or look elsewhere—to gain a positive change of attitude.
3. Re-fuel and re-energize.
If your attitude is chronically cranky, look at your eating and sleeping habits. A mid-morning snack (like the protein-fat combo of apple with peanut butter) could steady your blood sugar. Sleep can also help protect your brain from Alzheimer’s.
4. Identify both the positive and the negative.
Focus on an object or task and list as many descriptions as you can for 30 seconds. You get three points for positive descriptions, and one for negative. Why include negatives? Awareness of negatives can motivate us to take action, and the act of looking for them can make our brain even more flexible and nimble. are some tips for staying positive during the bad times.
5. Talk to the right people for support
With big decisions—ending a relationship; asking for a promotion—use a three-person reality check. Find someone with a different personality, different economic status, and different age group. It covers all of your bases.
6. Manage your stress
When you’re overwhelmed, pinpoint the real reason. If you’re worried about a work presentation, it might be that your stress is about impressing your boss, not talking in front of a group. Aim to direct the stress into a more confident delivery.
For those of you who have already taken the plunge and are actively investing, this article will serve as a reminder to fine-tune your mindset to make you more profitable. The VERY SAME mindset ideas that make people launch successful real estate investment careers are the ones that keep investors successful over their real estate investing careers, be it 2 years or 20.
Let’s get started!
Bill Manassero is the founder/top dog at “The Old Dawg’s REI Network,” a real estate investing blog, newsletter and podcast for seniors and retirees. His personal real estate investing goal, which is being chronicled at olddawgsreinetwork.com, is to own/control 1,000 units/doors in 6 years. Prior to real estate, Bill and his family lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti as missionaries, serving orphaned, abandoned and at risk children for their nonprofit organization Child Hope International.
* Taken from: How to Develop a Positive Attitude in 6 Easy Steps
