The #1 Thing People Overlook When Investing

Let’s face it; it’s not the easiest time to be investing in real estate. Property prices are more expensive than ever before across most of the country, especially Sydney and Melbourne. The RBA kept interest rates at a record low 1.5 percent at its August meeting a few weeks ago. Many believe interest rates will go even lower, so it’s anyone’s guess what that means for home prices.

When it all just seems too hard, it’s sometimes best to step back, regain your focus, and get back to basics.

Property Investing Isn’t Rocket Science

As humans, we like to complicate things and it seems like property investing is no different for most people starting out on their wealth creation journey.

Like myself in the early days, most of us tend to focus on the challenges and complicate the process by trying to implement too many strategies. The result is that we become overwhelmed at the enormity of the task, and simply give up.

Property investing isn’t rocket science, and there are certainly no shortages of strategies to choose from. In fact, accessing and learning the strategies is the easy part.

Since the information on how to make a bundle of cash by investing in property is widely available, why do so many fail before they even get started?

The problem is clearly not knowledge. The real barrier for most people who want to attain success is implementing their knowledge. I see it all the time. First time investors – and second, third and fourth timers, too – find a site and when it’s time to make an offer, their fears creep in and they start doubting themselves.

Those investors let the fear of failure, as well as the fear of success, prevent them from creating the wealth they so desperately want.

Know Your “Why”

Knowing your reason for investing is a critical success driver in any property investing venture. Having true clarity and an emotional connection around this reason will eventually eliminate those fears.

When I started out in property investing, I wasn’t interested in what my motivation was. I just wanted to know the strategies to create passive income and long-term wealth. It took me three years of hard work and a bit of soul searching to realise that if I wanted success, I needed to connect with my true motivation.

Most people don’t think about the reasons behind why they want to create wealth. I’m always inspired when investors reveal their genuine motivation behind property investing.

It often boils down to an emotional and personal scenario, such as:

• I go to work when it’s dark and get home when everyone’s in bed. I’m missing my kids growing up. I don’t want that anymore.
• My partner left me and they controlled all the finances. Now I have to learn to be independent.
• My child has a disability that requires full-time care, which limits my capacity to earn a wage, so I need to find other ways to create income.

These are all real-life circumstances that provide massive motivation to succeed in achieving dreams and goals. This motivation can move you past any emotional blockages to create a belief system that breeds success, and helps you blast through any doubts and fears that hold you back.

And let me tell you – what’s on the other side is definitely worth the effort, but how do you come up with a magical mission statement that defines your reasons behind becoming a successful property investor?

Unfortunately, I can’t give you the answer, but I can give you the question. In fact, I’ll give you the process I used to discover my real reason for investing. It all started with an intention, which led to defining some clear and directed questions focusing on discovering what I really wanted, such as:

• Why am I creating passive income?
• Why am I investing in property?
• Why do I want to attain financial freedom and independence?

Like most people, I just wanted to buy my time back, and once I had done that, it was about having the courage to start living that dream. I use the word, “courage,” because to own your dream, you have to stand in the face of those who say it can’t be done, and do it anyway.

Unearthing my true “why” has been the single most important step to becoming a successful property investor and choosing to live my dream. The purpose of asking a directed question is to tap into your subconscious and receive a specific answer.

The more frequently you ask a directed question, the sooner your subconscious mind will deliver the answer. For some, this may take weeks or even months to uncover, and for others, it may already be clear and prominent in their current thoughts.

What If I Can’t Find the Answer?

Firstly, it’s important to ensure you’re not trying to force the answer into your conscious thought. Likewise, there’s no benefit in judging or criticising what is presented.

The key is to trust you already have the answer within you, and that it will be revealed at the right time. That’s all well and good, but what if you’ve been asking yourself directed questions for months and nothing is being revealed? The frustration you’re feeling just means you need to invert the process.

What does that mean?

Some people are goal-orientated, meaning they have the most success when they are working towards something pleasurable, while others function better when they are moving away from something painful.

This is often referred to as “the carrot or the stick” approach, where the carrot is the pleasure, and the stick is the pain. I actually find it’s best to have a bit of both. If you’re struggling to move towards a goal that signifies pleasure, try motivating your actions even more by moving away from a particular pain in your life.

An example might be the thought of:

• Living a life of poverty in your retirement years.
• Being handcuffed to a job you don’t like for the next two or three decades.
• Not being able to provide the lifestyle you want for your family.

Whatever you choose as your pleasure and your pain, your carrot and your stick, or your goal and your fear, make sure you are connected to it at a deep, emotional level.

Is That It?

Don’t get me wrong. Discovering your “why” for becoming a property investor won’t magically turn you into a multi-millionaire. It takes knowledge, skills and the implementation of proven strategies to achieve your financial goals.

But discovering your “why” creates a foundation that provides your motivation to acquire knowledge and apply those skills to ultimately implement the winning strategy.

This formula becomes the driving force behind your long-term wealth creation plan.

By the way, you’ll be excited to know this process can work in any facet of your life. Simply ask a directed question about anything that you are struggling with, as you already have the built-in method to come up with an answer.

I think business expert, Brendan Nichols said it perfectly when he remarked, “The enemy of a great life is a good life.” Give yourself permission to pursue a great life. Be prepared to own your dream and pursue it relentlessly with intention, clarity and consistency.

Surround yourself with inspiring, supportive and positive people and above all, be grateful for what you already have. Build the courage to strive for a great life that inspires others to do the same.

Here’s one more important thing to keep in mind. Any sort of investing comes with its own risks and rewards, and there’s a roller coaster ride you’ll need to travel in order to achieve the outcome you want.

Not having clarity around the “why” you want to invest is like riding the roller coaster without a seat belt – pretty soon, you’ll come unhooked. The “why” gives you the support to ride out the rough times and come out of it a success.

By Matt Jones

Since his first subdivision project while earning almost minimum wage delivering mail as a Postie, Matt has now transacted over $5 million dollars in real estate. He uses a bullet-proof system to uncover subdivision and renovation deals in almost any market and has perfected the art of joint venturing on his development projects as well.Matt also started what has become the largest real estate networking group in Australia, providing education and a safe networking environment for thousands of property investors every year.Matt now lives in France with his family, where he oversees joint venture property deals in Australia and teaches others how to apply his wealth-building techniques. You can learn more about his techniques, resources, checklists, and formulas at www.PropertyResourceShop.com.