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No real estate investor ever gets beyond the reach of problems. Every investor faces personal and professional problems. The problems come in all shapes and sizes. They can be business-related, financial, physical, or emotional. Although no one escapes problems, your perception of the problem will determine your response to the problem.
Unfortunately, no one has a magical formula to deal with them. You can, however, implement certain principles to help you succeed. At first blush, these principles may seem over simplified, but don’t underestimate their power. If you choose to use them, you’ll reap a harvest of achievement that will far surpass your efforts. Here’s five ways to solve your problems.
1. Be Responsible. When something goes wrong, when you have a problem, it is only natural to think immediately of who made it go wrong, who is to blame for the problem. Most often this makes the problem worse. The person blamed, in order to exonerate himself or herself, promptly finds someone else to lay the blame on or with whom to share the responsibility for failure. It frequently turns into a shouting match of exchanged accusations. "It's all your fault.... "You did....." "Yes, but you said....." All too familiar dialogue, isn’t it?
Don’t blame your problem on others. Accept responsibility for your actions. It’s not what happens to you that matters. It’s your response to what happens to you that matters. The consequences of your actions and choices are yours. Choose wisely.
2. Be Proactive. The worst thing you can do when dealing with a problem is nothing! The world is full of people with great intentions. Take action. Successful investors are not necessarily those who make the right decisions all the time when trying to solve a problem. No one can do that. But once you have made a decision to do something, you will begin to attract the people and things you need to conquer your problem.
Your ability to attract the people and things with the right solution may not make sense to some of you. Honestly, I don’t fully understand it myself, but it works for me and it will work for you. I really don’t understand how a black cow can eat green grass, and produce white milk and yellow butter, but it happens. I don’t understand how it happens, but that doesn’t keep me from having butter - and I have the waistline to prove it. So don’t let your lack of understanding sabotage your willingness to solve the problem. Take action.
3. Re-Act. Take charge over your inner-voice. Something in all of us wants to do what's convenient rather than what's necessary. It’s easier and so natural to be negative rather than positive. The voice inside you will tell you why you can't solve your problem and why you don't deserve to solve it. You cannot solve your problem without some change in your perception of the problem.
So how do you change your perception?
Change your thinking and change how you act. As simple as it sounds, changing your attitude toward the problem will change your perception of the problem. A change in your perception will trigger a change in how you act. So you will solve your problem by re-acting. That is, acting differently. In a positive way, of course.
4. Believe in yourself. Sometimes you are your own biggest problem, when you allow your fears and self-doubt to stand in the way of your success. A critical step to conquering a problem is to realize that the answer lies within you. Maturity and experience will give you the confidence that you can overcome any impediment.
Problems are an asset Problems are character builders. Improvements I’ve made in my life and in my business were the result of problems.
5. Wear Your Knees Out. If there were one sustainable remedy I could offer you when the going gets tough, it would be prayer. Many people, depending on their faith, might call it meditation. It doesn’t matter to me what you call it, as long as you have a place to run to. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Religions are crossroads converging upon the point." Well, I don’t often discuss religion, and I don’t know what works for you but Christianity is the way I know. However, I am sensitive enough to respect your faith. My whole point is that when everything else fails, prayer works!
A problem can become your breaking point if you let it become the one thing that defeats you. Alternatively, a problem can become your turning point if you choose to take action to defeat the problem. You will never realize what heights you can reach in real estate investing or in your life until you stop blaming reality for what happens to you as you go through it.
Thomas Paine said, “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly 'Tis dearness only that gives everything its value." In the thick of the fight to overcome a problem, you may not believe it, but the more problems you conquer, the easier the process becomes. Your confidence will be self-perpetuating, and you may come to believe you can conquer a whole range of “mountains."
Lee Salinas, MBA, CPA is a full time real estate investor. Lee started investing in real estate after losing his job in June 2002. In slightly more than three years, he has purchased over 170 properties and authored a business plan to help real estate investors get the cash they need to buy properties. The real estate business plan is available at his website - http://www.realestatebizplan.com
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