I read a lot. I just finished reading this and I have to say that Change Your Thinking Change Your Life is now one of my favorite books of all time!
Welcome to the How to Apply it to REI series where we take the best business, personal development, and biographical works and apply it to the world of real estate investing.
The message in this book is basically the core principals of this website (without the real estate investing part of course).
I have no doubt that you will be seeing multiple Brian Tracy books on this site over the years. He is a very inspirational author and businessman.
I have read many of his books and plan on taking a few of his developmental courses in the future. A great deal of what I have learned from him has directly translated to the work I do today.
Now let’s talk about, what I believe, is his very BEST book.
Mindset is absolutely everything in this world. Brian Tracy went out of his way to hammer in that the most important skill we can develop is how to think.
If you have the ability to think and act then you can achieve anything.
Today, we have come to the point where the currency of the world is information. Therefore, the ability to learn is a necessary skill. That means the ability to execute is a super power.
Lesson 1: Intelligence is not about IQ
Someone who acts intelligently is someone taking action and doing the things that bring them closer to their goals.
It is easy to pick up the remote and watch TV. It is intelligent to pick up the calculator and analyze properties.
We can tell ourselves we will do it later. We can tell ourselves we will do it tomorrow. The intelligent thing to do is take action now.
Lesson 2: The most important resource we have is time
There is a famous saying, “You will never be as young as you are now”.
There is an even better saying we had in the Army, “HURRY UP”.
I still like it. Get things done and get it done now. There is never going to be a better time. Procrastination will drain your life and ruin your business.
I have had the distinct pleasure of losing out on properties because I had to “sleep on it”.
Lesson learned! If the numbers work then make the deal. This is especially true in hot/competitive markets. The different between closing a deal and losing a deal can be a day or it can be hours.
Lesson 3: You either win or you learn
Speaking of losing a deal, disappointments will happen! I just gave you that fact of life. Now you don’t ever have to be surprised.
- You will make more offers than will ever be accepted.
- You will hear “NO” more than “yes”.
- You will send out yellow letters with few responses.
There is no way around it in life or in business. That is why real estate investors have contingency plans, back up exit strategies, and emergency funds. Have a plan A, B, and C.
We can look at these events like terrible events or we can make them lessons to take apart analyze and improve upon.
Failure is only failure when we think of it as such.
We cannot control everything that happens, but we can control how we think of it. We can control our reaction. We can succeed or we can learn (and honestly, why not both?)
Real estate investing is a numbers game.
We can help ourselves win more often by taking more action. We can “fail” faster. That will help us learn faster.
I am not saying be reckless and make foolish decisions. Do the due diligence then make a decision. Expect the best while having a plan if the worst does happen.
Focus on the positive. Real estate investors look for opportunities.
- That crumbling shanty? Well, it can be rehabbed.
- That single family zoned R-2? Potential for a duplex?
We get paid for SOLUTIONS. You are in the problem solving business.
Your skill set involves analysis, negotiation, and straight hustle. Keep asking “what if?”
- What if the current state isn’t the highest and best use of this property?
- What if I fixed the layout?
- What if Amazon does build a new facility a few miles from here?
Change Your Thinking Change Your Life is a great read and will be one of the books that I will use as reference for the entirety of my investing career and life. Sometimes we do need that reminder. Especially when times are toughI
In the words of the wise Buddha, “The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
Thanks for joining me on this journey and feel free to send me an email to connect. I hope you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for more to come!
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