Today, You Are A Real Estate Investor

A Three Properties Five Years Seminar Post

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Buying a house is a big goal. Buying your first three properties in five years is an even bigger goal. Beginning with zero cash (or in my case negative cash, thank you student loans) is an even bigger bigger goal. But what if, no matter what your situation, you woke up tomorrow and said, “Today, I am a real estate investor.”

A book you should read is The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller. You’ll hear me talk a lot about his books because I read a lot of his stuff before I decided to chase real estate as a career, before I even really knew who Gary Keller was! Those books were major contributing factors of why I joined Keller Williams Coastal and Lakes & Mountains, as opposed to say Coldwell Banker or Century 21. Nothing wrong with those particular other brokers, but they didn’t write the books on real estate. When I walk into a non-KW brokerage and see Keller’s books on the shelf, I always wonder why the agents aren’t just with KW.

Anyway, in The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, Keller writes, “It’s not about your resources, it’s about your resourcefulness.” Success in real estate investing (or any endeavor, really) is not about the amount of money you start with, but rather about how creatively and effectively you use the resources you have at your disposal.

I know you are already thinking about being a real estate investor, but what I’m asking you to do is to stop thinking and instead do.

When I first got into running my own business, a lot of people recommended “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill published in 1937. The book is one of the best-selling personal development and self-help books of all time. Hill’s work is based (supposedly) on his study of successful individuals and outlines principles that he believed could lead to personal and financial success. The copies of all his interviews, of course, burned in a fire never to be found again.

Um. First, the book was published in 1937, right smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression, an economic downturn that took an entire world war to drag us out of. Hill went through two bankruptcies, invented modern day multi-level marketing companies, divorced the first time over his fondness of prostitutes, Illinois issued two warrants for his arrest over stock fraud, the Federal Trade Commission brought charges for false advertising and laundering. The Royal Fraternity of the Master Metaphysicians, a cult, regarded Think and Grow Rich as a religious text, not a book about finance and success. His last wife divorced him and married her divorce lawyer (which, I just think is funny). Hill also claimed he single-handedly won World War I for America and spoke to spirits for advice.

In the end, Hill went broke but longtime friend, founder of Combined Insurance Company of America, W. Clement Stone fostered Hill back to financial shape by outright licensing most of Hill’s work.

I have a real problem with “manifest thinking,” the idea that merely thinking positively or visualizing success will make success happen. And that’s kinda the main point of Think and Grow Rich—there’s the second part of that equation too; persistent action. But having read the book, the persistent action seems rather secondary to me and talking to invisible spirits for financial advice and dreaming seems to be the driving force behind success.

Think all the good thoughts you want: Today, I am a real estate investor.

But take action.

The first step a real estate investor should take if they have zero cash on day one is to educate themselves thoroughly on real estate investment strategies and build a strong network of potential partners, mentors, and financiers. This involves learning about creative financing options such as wholesaling, seller financing, and leveraging other people’s money (OPM), as well as attending real estate investment seminars, joining local real estate investment groups, and connecting with experienced investors who can offer guidance and possibly financial backing.

So, as a real estate investor, what is your goal? What are the actionable steps you need to take to achieve that goal? And how do you stay on track?

One of the benefits of teaching at Great Bay Community College was that I had a schedule. Class began on a certain day on a certain time and ended on just the same. At the end of the semester, I had three days to grade all final projects over all the classes I taught, and I knew what to do. No one had to tell me. I woke at 4am, drank a coffee, wandered the house for a bit, set up the computer at the kitchen table, and graded straight until 10pm, get up and do it all again.

Having left that job, I do not have a schedule. On the mornings I arrive at the office at 7am, no one is there. I have no requirement to be there either. How do I know what to do and when to do it?

Gary Keller to the rescue again. There’s a one-page productivity and goal-setting framework he developed to help individuals focus on their most important tasks and achieve their long-term goals—the 4-1-1.

I like the name because it reminds me of the old dial up phones and the number for information. The numerical anacronym stands for 4 weeks, 1 month, and 1 week, which are the time frames used to break down and organize goals and activities.

I always start backwards with the 1-year goal where you define your big-picture goal(s). These should be ambitious yet achievable, providing a clear direction for your efforts. And these 1 year goals do not have to specifically deal with money or business but can also include personal, family, and even spiritual. In fact, I like doing a 4-1-1 for each area of my life. For example, one of my family goals is to have more date nights with my wife. I mean, I can’t remember the last time we went on a date since we’ve had kids.

Okay, we went whale watching once, but only because a client yelled at me to take my wife out more and provided us tickets, and then I felt super obligated.

The 1-month goal is one date night because that seems reasonably achievable to me.

So what are my activities for that first week in the month that I need to accomplish? Well, I have to coordinate our calendars—not an easy task. We have to discuss where we would like to go and what we’d like to do. By the fourth week, I’m prepping conversation topics because otherwise we default to talking about the kids. You would think after twenty-six years of marriage, this stuff would come easier, but this stuff has actually become harder.

Some people fill out the 4-1-1 once a month. I fill it out every week and make adjustments as needed to stay on track to ensure my efforts are aligned with my goals.

By breaking down long-term goals into smaller, actionable steps, the 411 tool helps you stay focused on what matters most. Regularly reviewing your goals and tasks keeps you accountable and motivated to achieve them. The tool encourages you to prioritize high-impact activities, ensuring that your time and energy are spent on tasks that drive meaningful progress. The structured approach of the 411 tool promotes consistent effort and progress towards your goals.

Today, you are a real estate investor. What is your first step?