The following is an edited excerpt from Secrets of the Canadian Real Estate Cycle: An Investor's Guide by Don R. Campbell, Kieran Trass and Greg Head
Overcoming Common Barriers to Goal Achievement
Studies show that less than 10 per cent of people set goals and less than 5 per cent achieve their goals. Strategic real estate investors are in that 5-per-cent slice of the goal-achieving population. To help every investor step up their game and learn to overcome barriers, we have highlighted the differences between a non-strategic approach and the Strategic Real Estate Investor Way.
1. Fear of Failure
Most non-strategic investors are afraid of failure, which keeps them from setting meaningful goals. To paraphrase Henry Ford, if you say you can't, you're right!
The Strategic Real Estate Investor Way: Be Comfortable with Calculated Risk: Strategic real estate investors turn that approach around. They are not afraid to fail because they have planned for success. They take calculated risks and are open to new opportunities and ideas. They thoroughly research potential risks before making a commitment and plan accordingly. Indeed, they practise the prudent advice to "protect the downside and the upside will take care of itself."
2. Fear of Success
Other non-strategic investors are afraid of succeeding. As with those who fear failure, this group will be reluctant to set or pursue any meaningful goals. Investors who fear success do so because they worry that people will envy them and think negatively of them.
The Strategic Real Estate Investor Way: Seek Personal Growth: Strategic real estate investors are not afraid to fail because they seek personal growth and adapt well to change. In fact, they are committed to multi-dimensional growth (not just financial growth). They read a variety of self-improvement books to understand personal growth techniques and they continually educate themselves and surround themselves with like-minded people who encourage their success.
3. Lack of Commitment to the Goal
Even though many investors say they want to achieve certain goals, their actions show they are not committed to those objectives. Because of this lack of commitment, they don't give the act of goal attainment their full effort. And as with anything in life, if you don't give it your all, you receive mediocre results.
The Strategic Real Estate Investor Way: Be Goal-Oriented, Determined and Persistent: Strategic investors by nature are goal-oriented. They consistently set goals in writing and regularly review them by measuring and managing their progress toward those objectives. In addition to being goal-oriented, they are stubbornly determined but patient. They possess an underlying determination and patience strong enough to take any setbacks or delays that their real estate investments or the cycle may thrust upon them.
4. Handcuffed by Analysis Paralysis
Many investors let questions and doubts paralyze them. They believe they can't start on a goal until they have all the answers to every "what-if " scenario. This is a self-defeating approach to goal setting.
The Strategic Real Estate Investor Way: Be Analytical and Selective: Strategic investors are highly analytical. But rather than trying to answer every what-if scenario and getting caught in analysis paralysis, they focus their analytical efforts on two scenarios: the worst-case and the best-case. They are exceptionally careful as to where, why and how they invest any of their resources. When a deal matches their criteria and takes them closer to their goals, they act quickly.
5. Feeling Unworthy
Many investors actually sabotage themselves because they don't feel they are worthy of attaining their goals. They do this, too, without even realizing it. Perhaps they suddenly walk away from a deal that could really move them forward toward their goals, or they shy away from building key relationships.
The Strategic Real Estate Investor Way: Express Confidence and Worthiness: Confidence is the foundation of goal attainment, and strategic real estate investors have it in spades. But it is a quiet confidence. These individuals don't invest in real estate for their personal egos; they invest because they are confident in their ability to produce a high rate of return.
6. Too Many Goals
Some non-strategic investors set goals, but simply set too many. Goals are said to be the energy source that powers our lives. As such, they should be used to channel and concentrate our energy toward what we desire. As Alexander Graham Bell once said, "Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus."
The Strategic Real Estate Investor Way: Maintain Focus: Strategic investors think of themselves as the sun's rays, and realize that they will not produce positive outcomes until they focus on the goal in question. They concentrate on mastering a few key tactics that they are able to implement when the time is most appropriate. Maintaining focus gets more difficult as your real estate portfolio grows, since a larger portfolio means there will always be something that needs your attention. Strategic real estate investors manage this by building a team around them that shores up their weaknesses, allowing them to focus solely on their areas of brilliance.
7. Failing to Plan
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Setting well-defined and realistic goals is a great first step; however, most investors skip the next crucial step, which is to build a plan. Instead, they jump headfirst into buying real estate – without ever making a plan. The attention, or lack of attention, given to planning is directly related to being successful in achieving the results you want.
Excerpted from Secrets of the Canadian Real Estate Cycle: An Investor's Guide. Copyright (c) 2011 by Don R. Campbell, Kieran Trass and Greg Head. Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.