What holds you back! - vs - Obstacle CRUSHER!!

Rina, this is a great thread. So often in life we may have fears and most often the worst fear is the fear of the unknown. Once we face our fears they are not as bad as we once "feared." I believe it is great to identify your fears and determine if these fears are holding you back. As you gain knowledge the fear is replaced with confidence and determination. So, lets identify our fears and then identify our solutions. You can do it! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

What is interesting about this thread is that many folks have expressed fear as a factor that holds them back. The good thing is that it shows all of us that we have a lot in common and this isn't unusual. There is so much help and knowledge from people on this site who have overcome their fears, share their success stories and show us how REI has changed their life for the better. And what a great feeling it is to overcome a fear and see the positive results that come from it.

Honestly everyone I don't mean to keep harping on this, I'm not looking for sympathy or anything like that. When I took care of my Dad I was so afraid of everything. I had no choice but to face & overcome my fears to protect & provide the best him. I learned about myself and realized that I had allowed myself to be intimidated by some people most of my life. However, when it came to my Dad there was nothing I wouldn't do to protect him (dealing with the occasional person who didn't understand or have patience.) When we know better we do better. I took this as an opportunity to educate people. There was no way I would allow anyone to do anything but their very best for Dad. Then one day it dawned on me why haven't I been doing this for myself too? In the end it showed me a lot about the human spirit of people.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

Change your habits, Change your life!

Often it's nothing more than our habits. (and nothing less!) Many things will trigger our behavior and without a conscious thought because of the triggering action, we can be unknowingly compelled to shut down. We won't even have a clue why, or that it is even happening unless we decide to notice and track our behavior and results over a period of time. Try this... track your "results" to see how much of your day, week, and month are spent doing "Top Income Producing Activities. (T.I.P.A.) Try it. We waste so much time, and then wonder why we are still stuck.

Make it a "Must Have" to notice the behavior that you do which is keeping you from your dreams. For example, every fifteen minutes list out what you completed. Don't worry too much, most of just write "NOTHING" all day. This will get to ya after a few 15 minute sessions and the guilt will kick in.

Half of the people reading this right now (maybe even you)have been to so many seminars and gurus, checked out all the self help books and online programs that they already know more than they need to succeed. It's our habits that keep us stuck!

Action Item: You need to list out your bad habits and decide to catch yourself so you can get more done. You can own your expertise the second you commit. But those old habits won't just leave. You can't just hit a switch .... or can you? It's an inside game!

Just a little more effort and commitment over a few weeks for some, and a few months for others and you can be, have, and do things so differently, so much better that you will truly feel like you are living a different life.

Someone very smart once said: "Your dreams are waiting for you to become true!" You already know that! It's your habits that keep you stuck.

Fear is a part of it for most. But if you focus on your fear, I doubt you will accomplish the change you seek. If you focus on your habits, and you level of commitment to your success during the income producing times you will have more results to measure. Good luck with that. It's not easy, but it is worth it! Dream Big, then Commit!!!

Track and journal your results, your bad habits, and your best performance. Make corrections as you go.

Scott Taylor
fastpathcoaching.com

I joined Dean's Real Estate Success Academy two weeks ago, and loving it!

"Dream Big, then Commit!!!"
aHAA!!! Scott, THAT is it! I couldn't put my finger on it totally what had really changed for me in all of this, until I saw you write that! You hit it right on the head! I didn't dream big enough before reading Dean's book. Once I gave myself PERMISSION to dream big, THEN I just had to COMMIT!!! YES!!
I have to say, all the obstacles that I've overcome (and am overcoming) are just that, temporary obstacles. Once I committed. Sort of like running through an obstacle course. If I sit down at each one and think, "Wow, is this too big for me?" Or "what is the best way to get around this?", I might be there forever. But if I just do what the teams do on "Survivor" and GET PAST IT, I'm that much closer to my goal! And eventually I am convinced there is NOTHING I can't overcome!
But it honestly took all the great people on DG.com that kept encouraging me to do it. That is why I LOOOOVVVVEEEE how much everybody bands together here. I KNOW that everyone in this thread has the capability to CONQUER whatever is holding them back at this time, and I am excited to hear as more DGers face their challenges and are courageous enough to be VICTORIOUS!!!! WOOHOO!!!

To ALL of our success and bright futures!

Rina

That part just hit me, though.
Also, the "tracking your time" is a great idea. And having an investment buddy helps keep you accountable (I think someone above mentioned that).

WARNING: If you do lose focus for awhile, do NOT give up on yourself, or keep thinking "If only, If only". You start from where you are now. FORGIVE and FORGET. MOVE ON!! (gotta treat yourself good, and move toward your goal. no looking back)

God bless!

Rina

Great thread! By reading each other obstacles and how we have overcome them, we will surely encourage each other to keep reaching higher. I started with fear, self-doubt, naysayers, worrying about losing what I have, failure, "I told you so's", etc. etc. But once I did all my homework and due diligence, and used Deans methods of setting small goals to build mini-successes - there is no stopping me now I think I'm going to step up those goals though now that I have a little experience under my belt! To everyone who is doubting themselves - DONT! Take it a step at a time and you will not regret it!!!!

Rina
Great post!

I'm a newbie working on my first deal. My biggest obstacles have been finding the time to work my investing, building my team, and fear.

I work a majority of my investing in the evening say from nine to midnight hand writing direct mail letters, reading great posts like this, setting my to do list for the following day/week, etc.

I use my lunch hour to make phone calls, meet with people, or study and the weekends I try and look at houses.

It's been slow going building my team. The first broker and realtor I spoke to gave me good information though I don't believe they thought I was for real. Needless to say I'm on my 3rd and 4th agent now. We'll see.

FEAR!?! I suffer from the same paralysis as others but I think about how far I've come, from going to the first REI club meeting with business cards I printed off of my computer to calling brokers, agents and REO managers. We just have to do it! Believe me it's a personal struggle but we have to keep our eye on the prize! Whatever that may be.... Best of luck to you all!
Fish

This investing journey is scary. I'm like many who have said their 'fear of failure' is keeping them back or holding them back from really going forward. I am scared...but I'm more determined to succeed! I also signed up for the Success Academy and find it funny that Rina & others have said they were afraid to call their coaches. ME TOO! Not really afraid, but reluctant b/c I'm thinking that I need to read the lessons, go thru them online, and just DO what is taught in the lessons. I should be able to FIGURE IT OUT with the PMI lessons! So when I DO call, I feel like a heal, like I'm not a good student...'Uuhhhh, I need help." Ha--what a goof I am, b/c every time I DO call the Advisory Hotline, they always say, "PLEASE call us, we're here to HELP you be successful!" Then I feel silly about being 'afraid' to call, until the NEXT phone call. Isn't that silly?! I'm getting better about calling and using what I PAID for.

I'm determined to close on my first 5 deals in a year to earn back my coaching fees. But struggling with that FIRST deal! I too have no money to work with, so I'm focusing on 'assignments.' I have ONE buyer, but his criteria is '35% below FMV minus repairs and ugly for a flip.' So I made an offer on a house, I had my agent run the comps, it was in a great location, they were asking $150K, I offered $100K with a list of repairs needed to occupy the house, and someone else came in with the full asking price. Sheesh. I was POSITIVE it would be my 1st deal. But...no.

Now I find out, by looking at MANY potential houses with my agent & just driving around my town, that the houses are selling for 10-15% off the FMV, NO 40-50% off deals. My agent is doing his best, but the listed houses just don't sell for under 15% off FMV here. The $50-$100K houses simply do NOT exist here, the average house 3 bd/2 ba sells for $300-$400K. Soooo...my next strategy is focusing on pre-foreclosures. I will look for them in the newspaper under "Notice of Default" then call them up to see if they would consider selling to save their credit and to make a little money rather than going into foreclosure. Pre-foreclosures excite me, b/c then I can HELP people sell their house BEFORE they have to go into foreclosure and they can save their credit. I hope this works!

I'm so disappointed, I'm determined to make this work, but I met with an accountant, as I've read it's smart to file for a LLC, and he asked me what business I'm doing. I told him I'm a RE Investor, and he asked me what that meant, do I buy or sell properties or what? When I explained that I plan to 'assign' properties to a buyer, he had many skeptical questions and told me to consult an attorney before I did my 1st deal to make sure I did it correctly & legally. After an hour, he charged me $175, told me I should also form a S-Corp for added tax savings, which costs at least $850 for them to file each year plus their regular accounting fees. I felt somewhat discouraged when I left his office, asking myself if I REALLY know what I'm doing?

Rina, you said you definitely don't need to form a LLC for assignments and bird dogging, so how do you protect your assets and do you file a Schedule C on your personal income tax return? I certainly plan to complete my 1st deal by December 2009, so I hope to have some income. I'm an at-home mom with twin toddlers. My husband works fulltime to support our family, thank GOODNESS he has a good job, and I want to be a successful REI to supplement his income and not have to live paycheck to paycheck. This is the only way I can see us getting AHEAD.

I KNOW this is the way to get ahead financially. I KNOW I can help our family reach financial security once I'm successful. And I KNOW I just need to get past my 1st deal. I'm grateful for the support of this DG group and of the Success Academy. Thanks for this post, it's good to read how others have conquered their fears & that some people are working on them like I am.

Sometimes I can be very analytical and it tends to make me not act on certain things. I am always thinking "WHAT IF" instead of taking action to see if "WHAT IF" will actually happen. I believe that it is a mixture of Fear and lack of knowledge.

Sidebar: Ms. Rina, I just had an AHHA moment after reading Mr. Scott Taylor's post. 1.) At the beginning of last month I begin to keep a personal journal just about my thoughts, feelings, what I've done and etc. Never did I think that I should note what I was doing to change my habits. 2.) "Dream BIG, the Commit!" I've actually have BIG dreams and I have written out my P.O.A.. However, I have not committed to do what I need to do to make things happen for myself.

Thank you all, motivation at it's greatest can be found on this site. I am very amp'd and fired up... To all, I will see you at the TOP...

"Let's Create Greatness"

CHEQ!!!

Trerod Hall

Thanks for this great post, its just what i needed.(: i also as all the other people the dg fam. am scared of failure.. i fear that i will not succeed and i will look like a failure if i do not make my dreams a reality. All im missing is a little more motivation! /: and with that hopefully i can get that "spark" going and the il become a wild fire just as you did:)

Its hard money lenders and lack of partnerships deals. I'm good at posting ads but not able to find anyone to have a deal with. Hard money lenders have to many fees or strict credit standards.

One thing that comes to mind.

"The first step to handling anything is gaining an ability to face it."