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How Setting Goals Can Make You Wildly Successful

Seeing astounding results from Goal-Setting. The first question I get is "What does this have to do with Real Estate Investing?" Technically, nothing. In reality, everything. Without knowing where you're headed and how you want to get there, you will never be a successful Real Estate Investor. Investing in Real Estate takes time, and without a roadmap, you'll wander aimlessly and never reach your destination.

Before I talk about setting goals, a word about why. Why set goals? Why spend so much time thinking about, writing down, reviewing and rewriting your goals? All this goal crud certainly isn't making you any money, so why bother?

In a study done in 1953 at Yale University , the graduating class was asked if they had a set of written goals with a plan. Less than 3% had a written set of goals with a clear plan of action. Twenty years later, in 1973, the researchers went back and interviewed the people they'd talked to in 1953. The 3% that had written goals were worth more than the other 97% COMBINED!

Say you decide to mentor with me. Think about trying to find your way here to the training. You know the training is in a city somewhere, but you don't know exactly where it is, which roads to take, don't have a map, or when the class starts. You just know you want to get to the training sometime soon. Think you'll make it in time for our weekend together? NO!

This is why I think setting goals are so important. If you don't have a map, if you don't have a very clear, defined, laid-out plan for getting where you'd like to be, and when you'd like to be there, I can guarantee you won't arrive at your destination.

Okay, enough proselytizing!

What is a Goal?

Geez, what a stupid question, everyone knows what a goal is, right? Maybe, but I think it's worth saying it again.

A goal is a personal desire that is 1) clearly defined, 2) attainable 3) measurable, 4) plannable & 5) has a purpose. Take, for example, the goal "I want to be thinner". Sure, this is an admirable wish, but it's not a goal. What is 'thinner'? How am I going to be 'thinner'? How will I tell when I'm 'thinner'? When am I going to get 'thinner'?

Turning the wish "I want to be thinner" into a goal means changing it to "By January 1st, 2004, I will have a bodyfat content of 10%. I will attain this through running 3 miles every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, lifting weights on Monday and Friday, and cutting my caloric intake to 1,800 calories per day. I will have my bodyfat tested at the gym once weekly. When I have achieved my goal I will feel better about how I look, I will feel more energetic, I will be healthier, I will have more energy, and will live longer for my wife and children"

Now this is a goal. It's clearly defined, attainable (unless you've written this on December 31st), is measurable, has a plan, and has a reason why. This is how all your goals should look.

Types of Goals

There are three basic types of goals.

1) Personal Goals. Emotional, Social, Spiritual, Physical, Charitable goals. Things like I want to be thinner, I will tithe 10% of my net profit to my church, I will spend more time with my kids, I will be happier, etc.

2) Material Goals. Tony Robbins calls these "Thing Goals". I will go to Tahiti next year, I will buy the Lexus SC430 by 12/31/08, I will buy a place in the country, etc.

3) Financial Goals. Where I want to be financially. I want to have a net worth of 5 million dollars in 5 years, I want to have $10,000 gross monthly income from my properties in 2 years, etc.

So Now What?

So you have the definitions, you have the general outline. So what do you do?

Here's what I would suggest:

Take an afternoon away from distractions. No phone, no email, etc. If you can't take a whole afternoon, break it up into 1-hour bites. I personally think you'll barely get started in an hour, but it's better than nothing.

Take 10 minutes per type of goal. Brainstorm with yourself. Write your wishes. Don't write anything specific, just what you want. "I want to be thinner", "I want to have a close relationship with my kids", "I want to spend more time on charitable activities", "I want that Lexus", etc. Write as fast as you can. Don't let what you think you can or can't achieve hold you back. This isn't a time for deciding what you CAN do; it's time for writing what gets you excited. Time yourself, go quickly, but quit at the end of the 10 minutes for each type.

Once you've spent your 10 minutes on each type of goal, get out another piece of paper, and write down your top ten goals from the Personal Goals. Now spend five minutes on each of these. Rewrite the goal so that it's clearly defined. "I want to be thinner" becomes "I will have 10% bodyfat". Then, start with desire - why do you want this goal? What's in it for you? Next, when will you achieve this goal? How will you achieve it, what's the plan? How will you measure it? Don't worry terribly right now if it's attainable. Worry about that later.

When you finish your top ten goals for each of the three types, you'll have spent about 4 hours total. You should be exhausted. Put these aside, for review in a week. Don't do anything yet.

In one week, come back to your goals. I would again suggest setting aside an afternoon. Look at your goals, review what you've written, and rewrite what you need.

Ongoing Maintenance

Here's what I do on a daily basis. I have a financial goal that is my long-term goal, and my goal for the year. I recite this out loud daily. Here's a snippet from my goals in 2003:

"By June 6, 2009 (my 50th birthday), I will have a net worth of 5 million dollars. (Right now I'm imagining looking at my bank account with a bolded total of $5,000,000.00). Three million will be in cash or liquid assets, 2 million will be in equity or non-liquid assets."

"In return for this money, I will assist people out of financial difficulties (imagining sellers I've helped), into a home they could otherwise not afford (imaging my FAVORITE tenants), and fixing up houses nicer than they were before."

"I will achieve this through continued daily marketing efforts, learning as much as I can about Real Estate Investing, and working smart and hard to provide a good life for myself, my wife and my daughters."

"In 2003, I will close an average of two deals per month, with an average up front option deposit of $5,000, $200 monthly cash flow and $10,000 minimum at sale."

There's more, but you get the idea. Of course I have this memorized so I usually recite it when I'm in my car with my cell-phone headset on because I don't want people to think I'm talking to myself. I'm not ready for the rubber room!

On a weekly basis, I will take out my very short-term goals. Marketing, financial for the month, personal, etc. I review these and make sure I'm on track, or that my track still makes sense. If I'm not on track, I try to figure out why. If I need to change my track, I rewrite my goal. This usually only takes a few minutes.

Monthly, I'll review longer-term goals and make sure they're on track. Same thing here.

And yearly, I spend an afternoon going over my current goals, revamping what needs to be revamped, and rewriting everything.

And FINALLY!

If you commit to this, if you find the time to set your goals, and treat them as something that makes you money, brings you happiness and serenity, you will achieve what you dream. But take the time to do this. This is the 'fundamentals'. This isn't the most exciting thing you can do, but driving 70 mph without a map, not know where you're headed will get you nowhere - fast. It's fun for a while, but really just wastes gas.

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