The Tortoise vs. the Hare – Persistency and Consistency Wins the Real Estate Wealth Race

Over the past six months I have discussed excuses on why people are failing in the real estate business. I had discussed the excuse of lack of money, the excuse of lack of time, the excuse of lack of leads, the excuse of lack of a system, and last month I did a piece on accountability partners. Each one of these segments has been designed to eliminate the distractions and excuses for individuals that are desiring to get involved in real estate and are not accomplishing anything. This month I want to discuss how persistence and consistency will get you to your financial goals faster.

I go to the gym on a regular basis. There are individuals in the gym every time I am there, and I typically go 5 times a week. I have noticed that those individuals who are dedicated to their weight training and eating right have absolutely incredible bodies. The individuals, who come inconsistently, do not have the same success. For example take the individual who comes in on Monday and because it’s a Monday decides that they are only going to do a short exercise routine. That same individual on Friday decides that “hey it’s Friday and I will just do a light day”. That same individual comes in and spends 20 min. talking to everybody and socializing. That individual is not making head way on their exercise routine, maintaining their weight, and eating right. There are individuals who say that they are doing all of the right things, however their actions speak louder than words. These “quasi health nuts” are consumed by distractions and excuses.

The same Principle occurs in real estate. When we consistently work our business the results that we have are absolutely incredible. It doesn’t mean that each one of us needs to immediately jump in and start working with a 90 hour week in real estate. The more effectively we work the higher the reward. When we give focused time to a task the results are very rewarding. It does mean that if you are working part-time that the success rate is going to take a little bit longer and you should not be disappointed in the fact that you spent money on your education and you’re not achieving the type of results that you desire as fast as you think you should. An individual that is working in the real estate business full-time will have a higher success rate provided they focus and do the next right thing. Slow and steady wins the race.

I have accountability partners and I also have a “bulls-eye” focus on the goals of my business. I’m constantly looking at my business deciding what needs to be improved, (urgent and important) and what systems are going to take me to the next level. I have noticed that by spending a specific amount of time every day working on the tasks that give me the greatest financial return, my income will increase more rapidly. I have noticed that when I do the tasks that do not pay any direct cash ( not urgent or important) and I do them quite often, my income stream drops. It is common knowledge that 20% of the tasks that we do produce 80% of the income stream. The other side is 80% of what we do only produces 20% of that income stream. So for me the focus on being persistent and following up with sellers, buyers, private lenders, and renters, produces the highest financial gain( high effort and high return). I spend most of my time developing marketing pieces, making phone calls, and writing contracts. When I follow this routine diligently what happens is that my income stream remains high. When I spend most of my time researching the marketplace for the hot areas to buy and, going to networking events, paying bills, opening mail, and blogging (High effort low return) I am not able to track the income to task relationship.

It is important that I spend time in strategic planning. The actual time spent doing the planning does not pay exceptionally well, however the fact that I have a plan, that I work the plan, will cause me to reduce the number of distractions and keep me focused on the tasks at hand. By being persistent and consistent, I am naturally talking about real estate investments, real estate business, while asking people if they are buying, selling or lending money and the result is that doors open.

How many of you have not told other people that you are working in and experiencing the real estate business? The Consistent real estate investor focuses on generating inventory, and selling that inventory. They spend time developing relationships and following up on those relationships. They are consistently talking about their real estate business, looking and exploring opportunities, and generating excitement thru this persistent work ethic.

Have you heard about the 50/10 rule? Spend 50 minutes focused on your task, then take a break for 10 minutes. Part of my routine is setting up for success by surrounding myself with a system that allows me to win. My routine is to pull out a checklist before I start a task. I read down the checklist to determine which items I am going to fulfill, and need to have on hand in that 50 min. period of time. I also list the reasons why I should engage in this task, what are the benefits to me physically, financially, emotionally, and logically. I do this so I will be far more focused and I will be setting myself up to win. This checklist has the tools that I need, the paperwork, and reduction of distractions. This way I will be having positive outcomes and streamlining with no distractions (E-mails are one of the worst distractions that are out there besides text.) There are times when I put my phone on silent in order not to be disturbed while I work on projects for 50 min. increments. I have been amazed that taking breaks and going away from the work helps rejuvenate and allow my mind to do problem solving while I am relaxing or doing something that is not work related. I get very excited when I am able to demonstrate that I have done something or accomplished something in that 50 min. period of time. By being consistent and working with these checklists, I have found a routine that is fun and pleasurable, easy to accomplish, and allows me to move my business forward in small steps.

Set yourself up to succeed by making routines and setting up systems. Then review the systems on a regular basis to maintain your competitive edge.

BE THE TORTOISE! YOU WILL BE THE WINNER!