Making Friends with Your Inner Voice

Someone once said if you want to change your life, you need to change your thinking. Yes, most people have heard that and agree but changing your thinking is not an easy task. There are, however, some subtle but very powerful forces inside your brain that can work for you or against you. Sadly too many people don’t recognize it or at least if they do they don’t know how to direct those forces for their own huge benefit. This powerful force has various names and it can be the best thing in your life but it also can be very sneaky in sabotaging you.

This force is often called your “inner voice”. It also has been called self-talk or even your inner chatterbox. Some would say it’s just your sub-conscious. Others would say it’s God talking to you. The good news–or should I say even great news–is that regardless of the source, many super successful people have learned how to use and direct that inner voice and it has enhanced their life almost beyond words. Using and directing your inner voice to improve your life doesn’t happen overnight and even after you become very good at self-talk directing, you need to stay ever aware of that chatterbox inside your head and continue to step in and keep the self-talk positive so you continue to move toward your life goals.

We talked about this a bit last year but I thought this was about the time of year we could all use a reminder of this. We set goals at the beginning of the year. We’ve taken the first steps, perhaps made some progress but it is about now that the hard parts are coming up or we’ve hit a few snags and are starting to get discouraged. Remember, that negative talk is just your inner voice trying to talk you down because it’s getting difficult. But hey, the most fulfilling accomplishments are those you come to after overcoming the hard stuff, right?

So turn any negative talk into positive, supportive self-talk. Think of that inner voice as your cheerleader, the voice that will keep you going, remind you of why you are doing what you are doing and will help you get through the more challenging tasks. It’s always easier to move forward when you have good, positive friends along. Why not make your inner voice one of those friends?

 

Crunching Numbers

Okay, so we’ve gone over the first 3 big steps you need to take towards creating your fortune. I did want to reset the order a bit so if you are just starting, start with writing out your goals. These will keep you energized and motivated. Step #2 will be building and acquiring your beginning capital; Step #3, start making low ball offers on ‘dirt bag’ properties and get one legally tied down.

So now we come to Big Step No. 4 …

Let’s say that after you’ve made about 2 dozen very low offers, you get one back that is accepted. So now what do you do? Well, there are three things …

1. Conduct a very thorough inspection

2. Do your calculations as to the cost of the fix up or face lift.

3. Calculate your overall investment and potential profit to see if it will give you the return that you need.

Let’s say there’s a small house that was listed at $187,500. You offered $144,000 but received a counter offer of $160,000 which you are happy to conditionally accept. (Hey … they were motivated sellers since the house had been on the market for over a year.) After inspection you’ve been able to determine that $16,000 plus your hard labor over about 6 months will complete the face lift and the bank has agreed to finance it with 20% down ($32,000). You check for comparable properties in the vicinity that are in really good shape (go to Zillow.com to do this) and estimate you can sell it for, say, a net of $204,000 dollars.

Now you crunch the numbers to see if going through with this deal meets your “rate of return” goal.

$204k less your purchase price of $160k and less the money you put in to fix it would give you a profit of $28,000 dollars. Here’s where the magic of leverage comes in—you used $32k as a down payment and the $16k to improve it for an out of pocket investment of $48k. Even though you improved the property value by 27.5%, the return on your money, the money you used to invest in this, would actually be 58.3%. And if you borrowed the $16k your return on your money would be even higher.

So does a 58.3% rate of return in 6 months or so give you enough compounding? Go check a compounding table and see what would happen to that 58.3% in a few years if you keep doing this! Are you getting excited? If so, read my book “The Next Step to Waking up the Financial Genius Inside You” to really get you on track. In fact, I will give the first 10 motivated readers the book for free! I’ll even pay the shipping. Just write to me at freebook@reincome.com with your shipping address so I can help get you moving towards creating your fortune.

The Power of Leverage and Compounding

So now that we’ve gone over the first 3 big steps to building your fortune, it’s time to get to the very important Big Step No. 4. But before I lay that out, I thought we ought to talk about the power behind what you are about to do, the power of leverage and compounding.

My first introduction to leverage and compounding was as a stockbroker in the 70’s. I wanted in the worst way to make a fortune and do it quickly. I knew that there were seemingly ordinary people making millions of dollars in a matter of a few short years. What I didn’t understand was how that was possible. My thinking was stuck in the mindset of trading my hours for dollars and with only 168 hours in a week even with a decent hourly rate of $25 it would take 20 years to hit a million and that’s with the ridiculous assumption that I would not spend a dime or pay taxes!

Then I was introduced to leverage and compounding by Larry Rosenberg, a new brokerage client of mine and soon to be mentor. At that point I was becoming quite adept at bond trading and was shocked early on when I figured out I could make 100% return in a matter of weeks. I could buy $100,000 worth of bonds with only $5,000 or my own money, borrowing the rest from the brokerage firm. That’s using leverage. So if the bond price moved up just 5% the bonds would be worth $105,000 turning my 5k to 10k! Eureka! I had just discovered a money machine! But the bad news is that I could just as easily lose all my money if the bonds dropped 5%.

Larry Rosenberg introduced me to a safer, more consistent and more controllable asset: improved real estate. With this you could make a 100% return in 6 months to a year and do it with consistency and very little risk. But what Larry made me see that got me super motivated was what a 100% return per year will do to even a very small amount of money. $1,000 dollars at 100% compounded return will grow to the incredible sum of more than a third of a billion dollars in just 35 years! Although a consistent 100% may be hard to sustain, I did it for a while and reached my first million net worth in 47 months with only a couple thousand dollars to start.

This may all just sound like numbers now but in the next few weeks I will go into more detail with specific examples of improved real estate deals you can make so you can put these powerful concepts to work.

Writing Down Your Goals

Since we’ve just started a new year I must say something about renewing and re-dedicating ourselves to our life goals. And there is one super strong and time proven aid I would strongly suggest you use to increase your odds of hitting your goals. It’s something I talk about in my book “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living” but I have another source to show you just how powerful it can be.

For Christmas my son David gave me a book called “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg and WOW what a great book. Duhigg relies on scientific studies to dissect what it takes to form a new habit or dump a habit that you don’t like. In future blogs I want to talk more about “The Power of Habit” but for now I want to address one simple but profound Scottish study that is Duhigg addresses.

In this study a psychologist recruited 60 patients that just had hip or knee replacement surgery. Having personally experienced double hip replacement in the same surgery I know just how painful this kind of surgery can be. Most people don’t want to even move afterward, let alone start walking even though their rehabilitation requires it. This psychologist gave each patient a booklet after their surgeries that detailed their rehab schedule, and in the back were 13 additional pages –one for each week–with blank spaces and instructions:

“My goals for this week are ________________? Write down exactly what you are going to do. For example, if you are going to go for a walk this week, write down where and when you are going to walk.”

Patients were asked to fill in each of those pages with specific plans. After their rehabilitation period the psychologist compared the recovery results of those that filled out the pages and those that did not. Duhigg notes that “It seems absurd to think that giving people a few pieces of blank paper might make a difference in how quickly they recover from surgery.” But it did. Those patients that wrote down their goals recovered much faster than those who didn’t write down a thing.

The great lesson and a lesson that I’ve preached to myself and others for years is we greatly improve our chance of success many times over if we simply write our goals down!  Financial goals, physical goals, family and social goals … it works on all of them. I would also add that you shouldn’t forget to put down the date by which you want to accomplish those goals.

You can read more about goal setting and how written goals can help you in my book  “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living” which is on sale right now on my website.

Step Two to Making Your Fortune: Making Property Offers

Last week I gave you the first step you need to take towards making your fortune. I hope you’ve started that first step or at least put in place a savings plan you can get started with in the New Year!

Now onto your next step …

Step 2. Go out and make offers on dozens of potential bargain properties.

Remember last week how I told you that timing is so very important? Well, this is what I mean–right now we are at a 50 year low when it comes to mortgage interest rates and as everyone knows home prices have dropped by 30% to 50%. At the same time rental vacancies have dropped which has pushed rental rates up. All that adds up to perfect timing and great opportunities.

This step is key to taking advantage of that “Partners Capital” concept that I hope you are seriously considering as part of your first step. The key to getting good partners to join you is to have a property “tied up” before you pitch the deal to them. Why? Because it’s so much easier to ask someone “Would you join me and take on a 50% (or 75%) interest in this property I found?” if you are giving specifics on the property as well. If you can start a pitch by saying “I’ve found a great 4 unit apartment building” or “I’ve have a beautiful little rental house under contract” as well as being able to tell them you can buy the property for 30% under it’s real value or that it’s all rented up and will show a fat positive cash flow from day one, it will be hard for them not to consider joining in your little venture.

Now back to making offers. How do you find those great deals?

Finding the great deals is largely a numbers games.  What I mean by that is if you make dozens and dozens of low ball offers you will eventually have some of them accepted. What I have done in most cases is to make those offers before I even take time to visit the property. This gives you the opportunity to write up the offer but make it “subject to” or conditional on your full inspection of the property and on the condition of the approval of your partner, even when you don’t have a partner yet. By using the “subject to” clause you are not obligating yourself and by using the internet and several brokers or agents it’s possible to make hundreds of offers without a huge expenditure of your time.

So get going on Step 2. Remember, you won’t be obligated to buy a property just because you’re making an offer but you do have to get out there and start looking and eventually there will be a property that you’ll want to jump on. It’s easier than you might think.

Make it your New Year’s resolution … take those first steps. Make this your year of success!

 

The Rewards of Sharing Success

One of the most wonderful things about what I do—sharing and getting out the information about my success—is that I get to see how my actions affect other people and their lives in a big way. It makes me feel so good to help other people. I certainly don’t need money now and to give a little bit back gives me the best feeling in the world! Here is a recent note I received from a young man who read How to wake up the-Financial Genius Inside You for the first time when he was 18. Now he’s 28 (I was 27 when I started investing in real estate) and ready to take on the world:

Mark, I’m very appreciative to you. You have literally set me on the right path to purchasing property & securing my families economic future for generations. I have a lot of gratitude for that. Since talking to you I have met the right people that have also set me on the right path. I now know what I have to do to start investing right here in Melbourne, Australia. There is a way…there are cheaper run down ‘dirt bag’ houses and apartments out of the city which you could still pick up for 150k-300k and all of your techniques are sure winners to increase value from the get-go. Australia’s population is going to nearly double by 2030 and I’m certain that pricing will naturally have to rise. I would definitely love to purchase property in the US but I think to start nothing’s better than in your own backyard.

I can’t be more expressive of my gratitude to you than to say that you gave me the time, were willing to meet & coach me all at no cost and that is absolute gold. It’s pure.

When I accumulate my wealth I promise to be generous with my time to others wishing to accumulate wealth. I will repay this debt as such and with all of the above said, I think that there is a lot I can do by myself at the beginning to really lay down the foundation of financial success. I’ve started creating a map. So again, thank you and I will keep you updated on my progress.

Mark, I wish you the best. You truly are blessed. Have a wonderful Christmas & New Years. You will be hearing news from me and it will be positive 🙂

 

Best—Sam Barry

Grow into Your Goals

I ran across this quote on the net recently …

Something about this statement sticks with me. With my recent health scare I’ve been thinking a lot about my goals. I don’t usually set easy goals but I do usually set goals that fit with who I am at the time. However, I have been thinking more about who I want to be and what I want to change in my life so when thinking of my challenging goals, I need to focus on not what my present self wants but what the future version of me should do.

The thing is, sticking with what is easy – with what we know is comfortable and safe – isn’t usually very fulfilling. Challenging yourself to be, and do more, than you think you can is not only exciting but gives every day a unique and motivating reason to get up in the morning. If you stick with it. taking on the challenge will make you change and grow until you become the person you need to be to accomplish that goal.

How much do you push yourself? You are never so far down the road that you shouldn’t keep trying to make yourself better. Keep challenging yourself with big goals!

Leave The Pessimists Behind

I’ve had a lot of time and reasons to really think about all I want to do with my life these last few weeks. I’m pretty ambitious and some people, after hearing about my recent death scare, might think I should slow down or that my ambitious goals aren’t realistic. But you know, I’m not going to let other people’s pessimism and nay-saying stop me from finding a way to accomplish whatever it is that I want to do.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that you should listen to other people’s suggestions … their positive suggestions that can show you options to make things happen. But there is one thing you don’t want to listen to … the pessimists and naysayers that tell you it can’t be done, that you’ll fail, and/or criticize you for even trying.

If someone has nothing but negative responses to your dreams and ideas, walk away. All ideas will have cons as well as pros and any true friend should be able to give you a little of both. A true friend will support you in aiming for your dream and help you find sensible ways to accomplish them.

People who do nothing but aim to discourage you are not telling you what they think of you or your dreams but of theirs. These are the people who cannot or will not allow themselves to dream or are threatened by the success of others. Pay them no mind. Simply go out and accomplish your dream. Then maybe, seeing you succeed where they were certain you would not might just strike them in such a way that they will eventually dare to dream for greater things for themselves.

Don’t Let Nay-Saying Stop You

You probably know this person, the one that asks for advice or help but then when they are offered an answer they do nothing but list all the reasons why it won’t work. And they do this over and over again for each possible solution they are presented with.  A person like this doesn’t want an answer; they want the responsibility of having to take care of the problem lifted from their shoulders. Of course, this is not how things work.

For most of us, we are this person too at one time or another. It’s not that we are wimpy or lazy, we just get overwhelmed. Our reaction is to complain, bemoan our situation and ramble on about the impossibility of the difficult thing we are faced with. But let me ask this–What has complaining ever done to help you? Absolutely nothing. What you need to do is ignore that initial negative reaction and don’t let yourself fall into the nay-saying trap by being positive first.

If you want to have a seemingly impossible issue removed from your life or at least lessened, you have to look to the possibilities not the impossibilities. There is always a solution. Asking others is truly a great way of finding an answer because another person’s view can open up possibilities you hadn’t considered. And when you are overwhelmed, it’s so hard to see the possibilities. The key is to be ‘open’ to other people’s suggestions. If someone offers you a possible solution try first to imagine that it truly might work before you let all the reasons why it won’t work rise up and squash it. It’s that initial negativity that will kill your motivation to really weigh the options. Be positive first and you are far more likely to come up with a feasible solution and a way out from under a difficult situation.

Cherishing Our Mistakes

I recently saw this anonymous quote making the rounds on the web:

“Don’t place your mistakes on your head, their weight may crush you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as a platform to view your horizons.”

What a great quote. Isn’t it more often true than not that we let our mistakes weight us down and crush our motivation? Mistakes are nothing more than learning opportunities. We learn best by the mistakes we make because it’s not so likely we’ll forget them.

Every one of us will make mistakes. A lot of them. They will make us feel idiotic, incompetent, and imperfect. But we are all these things at some moment (or two or ten) in our lives. And it’s wonderful! It means we always have something to work on, something we can look forward to doing better the next time.

So certainly, use your mistakes as blocks to step up on, to build the stairs you use climb to success. Don’t carry them around. When setting goals and taking those steps to reach those goals, know you will make mistakes along the way. Tell yourself,” I will screw up sometimes but that’s okay. I will learn from my mistakes and will be that much more competent and successful because of the knowledge I gained from those experiences.” This way when you make a mistake, you’ll be ready to move forward, not let it slow you down or stop you all together, which of course, would be the biggest mistake of all.

**If you like what you’ve read in this blog please send it on to people you know and love, to people who you think this message and information may be very helpful. There is nothing in the world that brings greater satisfaction than helping other people. Don’t you agree?

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