2020 Goals For Real Estate Entrepreneurs

Let’s start by looking forward 10 years, to the year 2030.   What do you really want your life to look like?  Take a minute and write down your answers to the following 5 questions.

1. Who do you want to be spending the most time with?
2. How physically fit do you picture yourself?
3. How much time freedom do you want and what do you want to do with it?
4. Where will you want to travel (and with who)?
5. What impact do you hope to be making  in 2030?

All things are possible, but first you have to know where you are heading and then believe in yourself to make it happen.  You have to dig deep and really discover your “why.”   Without knowing your “why” you will likely run away from your dreams as soon as you hit your first obstacles.  So how do you really find your own “why?”

2019 in review  – Now take a look back at 2019 by looking through your photos on your phone (and in facebook), look through your dropbox, review your journal, take a look at what went great and what your business struggles were, look through your dropbox and your journal along with the places you went and the people you met in 2019.   Which things brought the most joy and what did you learn in your struggles?   Reflection can be an important piece of planning for your future!

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
– Mark Twain

I do not have the answers, but the good news is that you do.  Here are some questions to ask yourself and reflect on:

1.  What does your perfect day look like and who would you spend it with?
2. What does success look like w/o thinking about money?
3. Who would you like to support and help if you had no constraints?
4. What is the hardest part of failure?

Every Entreprenuer encounters huge obstacles on their road to success.   The difference is how they are handled and the speed of recovery.  Knowing your true “why” will help you keep going and recovery fast when you stumble on the road to success.

“If you don’t have your own vision for your life then you will have to settle for someone else’s.”
Jim Ingersoll

What’s your plan? Need more money? Need to increase your equity and net worth? Ready to retire or pay for your kids college or maybe your daughters wedding?  What relationship do you need to improve?  What regret do you need to leave behind right now?

What is your real, core, deep inside you “why?”

What is your vision for your own future?  Think in terms of health, family, financial (debt, cash flow, equity), travel plans and spiritual journey.

 

2020 Goals – What are your goals for 2020?  What do you want to have (financially, relationships, joy)?   What do you want to do more of if you could take any path you want this year?  Who do you want to be (Father/Mother, Husband/Wife, Brother/Sister, Friend, etc).

Are you just getting started in your entrepreneurial journey?    You will need stable cash flow from things like wholesaling or maybe try flipping some houses.   You will need to learn to find off market deals, negotiate with motivated sellers, write up your own contracts and create deal flow while building your team which may include a title company/Lawyer, contractors, virtual assistants, etc.

Now is a great time to work on it…

Which contractors are driving you crazy?  You know the type that are not around when you need them, but 10 minutes before they finally finish some work they want to get paid like you are an ATM machine.   How about the ones that just bug you all day, everyday?   Commit to taking action today on your worst contractors.   Make it a goal to strengthen your contracting team.

How about employees, virtual assistants and team?   Following the Pareto principle, which 20% of them require the most brain damage to keep focused on your overall mission?  Which are constantly in drama, the rumor mill and always negative.   Make today the day your becomes to fix your team and prep for the new decade.

Most people think it is a myth that you can truly invest without your own money, but that is completely possible.

What is not true is a magic “Get Rich FAST button!”

You won’t waste your time chasing get rich quick and instead you will focus like a laser on the plan that leads to the results you want this year!

Real Estate Success comes from commitment to small steps, repeated each and every day of the year of the entire year. This is true in real estate AND every other goal that you have. The key is to get started today and make progress every single day without missing a single day or opportunity!

3 Characteristics I’ve Observed in Highly Successful People

1. Invest in themselves and their teams to have the best skills possible. What steps do you need to take right now to invest in yourself and your team?

2. Invest in their networks. They have strong relationships with successful people, mentors and build out strong networks! What steps do you need to multiply and strengthen your own network? The key is to approach it from a “giving” perspective. The more you give, the more you receive is the truth!

3. Goals – They have clear goals, written down, and they constantly measure their results throughout the year. Need more income? More NetWorth? Figure out how much and write it down right now!

Have you heard the results of the Harvard Business School MBA study on goals?

• 3% of the graduates had written goals
• 13% had goals, but they were not in writing
• 84% had no specific goals at all–aside from getting out of school and enjoying the summer

Ten years later, the researchers again interviewed the members of that same graduating class.

13% who had goals that were not in writing were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84% of students who had no goals at all.

3% of graduates who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, 10 times more than 97% of their graduating class.

What was the difference in those who earned 2x as much or those who earned 10x as much as their class mates?

Which group do you want to be in?

The big reveal here is that the group with ultra-clear, written down goals created a lot more income and achieved their goals! It sounds so simple, yet so few investors ever write down their own goals and map out their lives.

If you could create a plan, write down your goals, and create the results you want would you be willing to take the massive action required to achieve them? Are you willing, ready, and able to reward yourself with the success you deserve?

No matter your background, education, or current level of success, if you master the skills of becoming a discount home buyer, leveraging real estate creatively and investing with Other People’s Money, you can shortcut your path to success big time!

I have seen investors with an 8th grade education do i.  I know immigrants who don’t speak much English who get it done, and I know people who have a relentless pursuit that has taken them from low-paying jobs and transformed them into successful entrepreneurs.

I have seen people of all types and education levels pull it off and it continues to inspire me to watch them succeed!

How about you?  
Are you ready to make this YOUR BEST YEAR EVER?

No matter your circumstances in life you can make it happen

When you define your goals clearly you give your brain something new to look for and to focus on. You suddenly see things differently, including the people you interact with.

Your personal struggles become opportunities for growth, and your network can help you be a creative problem solver!

When you set yourself on a path with very clear goals, your brain has something new to work on. All of sudden, you find new opportunities for finding motivated sellers, money partners, deals, creative financing opportunities, and more.

What Not to Do for this year!

1. Disappearing Goals

Goals are not just another list you can write, hide away, and expect them to happen. They have to be in sight constantly, results measured and adjustments made in order to achieve them! Internalize them, think about them, tell others about them and post them where you will see them every single day.  Write them into the note pad on your phone, tape them to your bathroom mirror or car dashboard if that helps you not allow your dreams to disappear!

2. Foggy Goals

Ever drive in the fog and struggle to see the road?

Growing up in Western NY not far from Buffalo I know what it is like to drive in a total blizzard and whiteout!  It is a real challenge!

You need to give yourself clarity in your path for 2018. What skills do you need to improve to become a better investor? Find more deals? Negotiate better? Lead your team of contractors better?

What relationships do you need in order to buy more real estate assets that produce cash flow for you?

What systems do you need to implement that can help you be more organized and productive?

What leadership skills can help you communicate your core values and vision better?

What does your comprehensive marketing plan need to look like?

Who do you need to add to your team (and remove from your team)???

3. Getting Help

One thing I personally missed when I first started investing in the mid 1990s was having someone to help me. I had no training–and no clue whatsoever.

We bought a duplex. We didn’t have capital for the fix up, had no property management systems in place, and you can guess how this turned out for my wife and me!

Not good! If I had someone to help me, I could have avoided many mistakes as a young investor.

Be sure to start gaining momentum

“Tomorrow is the favorite day of the week for lazy people”
“There is no day of the week called Someday!!”

Get started today and create 2020 into your best year ever!

#Crush2020 and take your life on an amazing journey in coming years!

Jim