Over the last 8 years I’ve met a lot of really wealthy and successful real estate investors. I have also met a lot of brand new real estate investors. We (meaning experienced investors) call new investors newbies, nubs, rookies, fledglings, neophytes, tenderfoots,….well, a variety of names and all meant affectionately because real estate is a tough business.
Anyway…I have always wanted to know what the defining difference was between the successful investors that I know…and everyone else. I mean…why do some new real estate investors fail and never get their businesses off the ground…and others get wealthy and live the lives they’ve always dreamed of?
So about a year ago I started on a journey. A journey to find answers. Answers to questions. Questions that needed defined. Defining stuff using questions that led to answers (keep with me…there’s a method to my madness).
So here it is…
Cody Sperber’s 10 Common Traits Successful Real Estate Investors Share:
- Successful Real Estate Investors Embrace Challenges - Challenges are where opportunities lie in wait. If this business was easy, everyone would do it…and be wealthy. Everyday I am thankful that certain parts of the real estate investing business is challenging because it weeds out my competition!
- Successful Real Estate Investors Are O.K. With Failure - One of my mentors once told me to “allow myself to fail because that will be the only moment I truly learn and grow”. Powerful advice and somewhat liberating. Once I took that stance I was able to step way outside my comfort zones knowing that if I failed at least I would be one step closer to my goals.
- Successful Real Estate Investors Educate Themselves Throughout Their Entire Careers -Harvard President Derek Bok once said “If you think education is expensive…try ignorance.” After watching the habits of all my rich buddies I realized that one common trait they all had was they continually kept up-to-date on the latest investing strategies, marketing techniques, and market changes. They out educated themselves over their competition and because of their knowledge…they were able to quickly maneuver around any situation.
- Successful Real Estate Investors Take Action - Sometimes (especially when you are moving into unchartered waters) it can be scary to make decisions. It’s easy to talk about taking action…but to actually do it when you are scared is another. Every successful investor that I know has developed the ability to make educated decisions and take immediate action. Just like a professional dancer that has to train their muscles to move a certain way…you as an investor needs to train your mind and spirit to get comfortable with taking action upon your goals.
- Successful Real Estate Investors Follow Their Passions – Every day I pinch myself because I have the greatest life (that I designed). I never feel like I am going to work. Each workday is as exciting to me as the first time I cashed my first big check. My optimism is a direct result of the passion I have developed for investing in real estate (and because of the support I get from my family because they want me to follow my passions). It does not matter whether you are passionate about helping others out of a bad situation, or passionate about beautifying neighborhoods that have been neglected from the market crash…follow your passions and you will find the success you’re looking for.
- Successful Real Estate Investors Surround Themselves With Other Successful People - One of the reasons so many investors love going to real estate investing seminars and conferences is because of the networking you can do while you’re there. Masterminding with other like-minded individuals is one of the fastest ways to achieve success. My dad used to say “never take advice from your Uncle Al…he’s broke!” I agree with that message and strongly urge you to start surrounding yourself with other successful people that will pull you up towards them.
- Successful Real Estate Investor Hate Losing - My intern (Josiah) is a competitive gymnast. I only hired him (and by hiring him, I mean let him work for me for free) because he was a competitive athlete. You see…athletes (and other successful people) have been trained to “play to win”. They know what it feels like to fail and they don’t like it. So they fight as hard as they need to in order to win at the game. All my wealthy colleagues think with a “millionaire mindset”. It’s just part of their DNA. They would rather “leave it all out of the field” than feel like they didn’t try hard enough.
- Successful Real Estate Investors Systematize Their Businesses -You, like me, want a business that works for you (and not the other way around). You want to be able to work less and make more money. Well my friend the only way (and I MEAN ONLY WAY) to achieve this goal is to systematize every part of your investing business. Just like a McDonald’s franchisee, you need a step-by-step roadmap that breaks down each and every task you will do in your business, and then groups those steps into simple-to-follow systems that you can have others do on your behalf. Now obviously, at first, you are the business. Expect to have to work hard in the beginning while you master all your daily tasks. But as soon as you do…begin the process of “firing yourself” by outsourcing the mundane tasks you do not have a passion for. You will be surprised to find that you are the only obstacle in the way from making it BIG in this business.
- Successful Real Estate Investors Are Organized - And I don’t mean your desk is clean. I mean that you will need to keep good records (paperwork and accounting). Once you crack the code and begin doing deals on a regular basis…you will be surprised to find how fast your business will start moving. Real estate investing is actually a simple business (there are a lot of dumb, wealthy investors out there) and it is easy to fall behind on your record keeping. This can be a BIG problem if the IRS ever comes and audits your books, or you get sued by someone over a bad real estate deal. So get in the habit of keeping good records early in your career and you will have a stress free investing experience.
- Successful Real Estate Investors Are Excellent Listeners - Active listening is one of the secrets to my success. It’s amazing at how much further you will get in your business dealings if the other parties “feel” like they are being heard. Active listening is a process where you call the other person by name, repeat all or part of what they just said and agree with them (or at least agree that you understand their point of view), then end with a focused follow-up question that leads them to the next topic you want to talk about. God gave us two ears and only one mouth for a reason…start practicing using “active listening” and you will have a HUGE competitive advantage over your competition.
Well that was more “Tony Robbins” than I normally get…but I hope you take with you some nuggets of wisdom that you can apply into your investing business. Being a successful real estate investor is easy if you can just change everything about you and be more like me (just kidding…not really…but seriously you’re awesome and I love you).
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