I’d be willing to bet that you never thought you’d see those two names in the same sentence, much less the same article about real estate investing, right? Welcome to my brain!
Michael Jordan: Arguably the best basketball player of all time.
Itzhak Perlman: A polio victim who became a world famous violinist.
These two men are great examples of how a person can excel if they put their mind to it. But, does a famous basketball player and a virtuoso violinist have to do with Real Estate Investing? As property investors, our goal is to make money, maybe lots of money so that we can possibly quit our day job, but just like becoming a world famous violinist or the world’s best basketball player, you can’t do this flippantly. A little effort may make you a little money, but EXTREME effort could make you an ALL-STAR in the Investment game.
How do you get really good? You must ‘tune up’ your brain and learn the rules. You must ‘exercise your brain’ so that every time you shoot that real estate basketball deal toward the hoop, it swishes! (He shoots, HE SCORES!)
STEPS TO BECOMING A REAL ESTATE ALL STAR:
- Join a Real Estate Investors Group. In Memphis, the best one is the Memphis Investors Group (MIG).
- Attend meetings, every meeting and go to seminars sponsored by the group or national seminars.
- Take notes. Just like in school, go to meetings prepared, bring a notebook, take good notes. Later, at home, re-write them and review them.
- Study the notes you’ve taken, organize them into investment categories (landlording, finding good tenants, wholesaling, insurance, bookkeeping, taxes, etc.) and then study some more.
- Write down questions you have, you can put these in your phone or on a note card, and ask an expert at the next monthly meeting or call up one of the professionals in a related field.
- Read GREAT BOOKS about Real Estate Investment strategies. Read with a grain of salt, not all states have the same laws.
- REMEMBER: Being a real estate investor is a business, so don’t neglect learning how to run a business (if you’ve never run a business before). In the real estate investing businesses, record keeping, file organization and bookkeeping are extremely important especially if an auditor comes calling.
- Landlording is a subcategory unto itself. There are lots of rules, but this only makes you a great landlord. Write down your rules and stick to them.
- PRACTICING FUNDAMENTALS is the only way to get good, really good, at this sport.
I’m sure that Jordan has shot about 10-million free-throws in his lifetime. Perlman has probably played violin concertos until he could play them backwards and blindfolded…all from memory. You need to do this with your career in real estate investing.
In order to be great at Real Estate Investing, you need to develop a certain muscle group, mainly your brain and logic; you need an education. I’m not telling you to go back to college, though you could, but a great place to get started with your education is at your local Real Estate Investors Association Group.
Next, get creative. Take what you’ve learned from the masters and add to that your own style, your own ideas and create something unique, your own brand.
The next step is to DO. Once you get the education, you must begin to stretch your wings and take some steps into your dream. Shoot that basketball toward the hoop. Draw that bow across those strings. Will it swish the first time? Will you be a virtuoso immediately? Nope. BUT, the only way to get better is to practice. Dr. Sinichi Suzuki, the inventor of the Suzuki Violin Method (which teaches 3-year-olds to play the violin) says the old adage “Practice makes Perfect” is incorrect. He says, “Perfect Practice plus 100 repetitions makes perfect.”
- Start small: Beginning on an elementary level is ok. We all start somewhere.
- Get advice to do it right: Talk to your professionals, take “lessons” if you will, talk to the coach and run the drills.
- Negotiate and Close the deal: Take yourself off the bench and play in the game.
- Make the money: Win the game.
- Repeat 100 times. Perfect practice plus 100 repetitions makes you money. (Wash. Rinse. Repeat).
Expand the muscles of your brain, just like an athlete or musician who has honed their skills, don’t take what you do lightly, but then again, it isn’t rocket science. Study, learn and apply (do) what you have been taught.
Always pass on what you have learned. Do or do not. There is no try. ~ Yoda
Happy Investing!