Taking the 1st step in Real Estate Investing

What makes it so difficult to take the first step in becoming a Real Estate Investor? Is it because you have no experience. Is it that the course you purchased was to difficult to understand? Could it be that the information within the course does not apply to your state? Did a friend or family member tell you that REI is for seasoned veterans? Is it that you have no credit or maybe you have no money? Could it be that everyone else already grabbed all the good deals? You can rest assured that all of the above scenarios are nothing more than excuses. Until we eliminate these thoughts from our minds, you will never take the first step.



16 years ago, when my daughter was 3, I wanted to show her how to ride a bike. She was scared, or is petrified a better word? I remember her telling me that she could not do it because she would fall and break a bone. She could not do it because she did not have training wheels, it was too hot, it was to cold, she did not feel good. I could not get this child on a bike if my life depended on it. I figured that although she was only 3, I would challenge her. We lived about 2 miles from a park, that my daughter loved, and I told her that mom and I were going to ride our bikes at the park that afternoon and that she would simply have to stay with grandma. When she asked why, I told her that she could not come with us because she did not know how to ride a bike. Through our kitchen window I saw her go into the yard and sit on her bike. She was upset and crying as she walked the bike under her. She would fall, get up and brush herself off. My heart was telling me to help her, while my mind was telling me that she would be fine. After about 8 immediate falls, she was able to ride about 10 feet before falling. The next time she rode about 15 feet before falling. Then all of a sudden, before my eyes, she rode a good 30 feet and came to a full stop. She ran inside the house and asked that I come out and see her ride her bike. We later loaded the bikes in the SUV and took her to the park and rode with her all afternoon. I lost count of how many time she fell and how many bruises she had, but within 3 days she was ready for a BMX race. She had lost her fear!!!

Fear is the number one feeling that causes failure. The fear to fail, the fear to be humiliated, the fear of rejection and sometime the fear to succeed. What it all comes down to is that until you conquer your fear you will never take the first step. We need to evaluate our fears and face them head on!! If you are scared to talk to someone because of fear of rejection, which by the way is the #1 fear, then go and get rejected!! I promise you that after you do get rejected, the only thing that will change in your life will be knowing that the next time you get rejected, it will hurt a little less. Once you have done this enough, you will learn how to take rejections and turn them into opportunities. Let me explain: Do you remember when you were a kid and wanted that skateboard that all your friends had? How about that infielders glove? Even if our parents told us NO, we bugged them so much, without ever letting up, until our parents got so sick and tired that they went and purchased it just to get us off their backs. This my friends is called persistence and the ability to look beyond rejection. Were we rejected by our parents by them telling us no? You bet we were rejected, but you knew in your mind that, somehow, someway, even if you had to shed a few tears, you were gonna be riding that new skateboard soon. You see, back then we did not know the real meaning of no. In our undeveloped brains, no was just a form of delaying us in what we wanted. I remember meeting a girl 25 years ago in high school. Although I liked her quite a bit , she was dating someone else. I had to find a way to date this girl but it seemed impossible. We would cross in the hallways and she would not give me the time of day. My knees clattered from the fear of rejection. Needless to say, we just celebrated our 21 year anniversary!! PERSISTENCE!!!!

Do you get the picture?

Folks, there are entire books written on this subject alone and I will not attempt to go any further into detail. The only thing that you need to know is that setting goals and taking action is the only way that you will succeed. You can buy all the courses on the market (I have bought quite a few). You can attend all the seminars that are available. (I have attended a few). We are in the information age where information is available to anyone that wishes with the stoke of a few keys on a computer. You can come here to TCI and spend countless hours learning techniques but you need to be honest with yourself and come to the conclusion that not until you go out and get dirty by slipping and falling a few times you will never be successful in REI. Do you need to know it all? Heck no!! You could learn as you go along. There is no better way to learn!



In closing I will ask you the question that was asked of me many years ago by a VERY successful businessman as I sat across his desk having a pitty party and explaining to him how I would never be able to leave my 9 to 5 job and pursue my dreams. It went something like this: "If you do the same thing in the next 5 years that you have been doing these past 5 years, where will you be 5 years from now?" I thought for a moment how loaded this question was and my answer to him was obvious: "In the same place I am today" and that place, my friends, was a heck of alot scarier than a simple rejection.



CONQUERING YOUR FEARS + TAKING ACTION + PERSISTENCY = SUCCESS!



REPOMAN


Comments(4)

  • helen17503rd September, 2003

    Thanks for the great article. I truly appreciate it.

    Helen

  • nchachula4th September, 2003

    Very inspiring!!!

  • loanwizard4th September, 2003

    Nice post, great writing style. Couldn't have said it better myself.



    Shawn(OH)

  • kharding5th September, 2003

    Talking about hitting the nail on the head. Job well done. Fear is a killer. I know

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