The power of goal setting has been well attested and put across so before you skip over over this point because you've heard it all before I'd like you to consider how well you are doing it. I'm a firm believer that you don't truly understand something until you are managing it.



If you are an desirous goal setter you will want to read this to learn some specifics connected with real estate investing. If you are not a steady goal setter please read on and consider that setting goals really is a powerful tool, does have some magical about it, and is scathing to your investing success.

View the following instance. In 1953, research workers interviewed the graduating class of Harvard University about their career goals for the future. It was found that only 3% had written goals and specific plans for achieving them. Twenty years later the researchers re-interviewed the class of '53. They discovered that while all students had shared the most recovered education money can buy, the 3% with written plans for the future were praiseworthy more, in financial terms, than the other 97% mixed. Whilst this only examined financial or career goals I believe it illustrates the trusted power of written goals.

I'm enticed to offer some goal arranging fundamental principles here but for the sake of briefness, all I'll say is that your goals should be: special, measurable, real, in writing and have a deadline. Know also that they will develop over time so you don't need to worry about getting them perfect; just start out with something!

With respect to real estate, you need to first figure out what your primary investing objective is:

i.instant cash / equity

ii.cash flow rate

iii.quality growth

Note: There is a discussion regarding the use of these different objectives in the handbook Investing Secrets of the Property Professionals Revealed.

Let's say, for the sake of an example, that you want to focus on cash flow attributes. See the difference in the following goal statements:

I want to invest in some real estate that will addendum my income and help me retire faster.

or

I will adopt sufficient property in the next 12 months to produce an average of $4,000 per year of extra income.

That's a good deal better because it is getting specific, is certainly outstanding and has a deadline. It is also practical and in writing. But when you go to see a realtor or other masses who will help you acquire that property they will ask things like, "in what area?" and "what type of property?" so as you learn more you need to add those details.

This is another very important point about setting goals for your real estate investing. Once you have these clear goals, people such as realtors will of a sudden deal you much more seriously. Even if you don't have all the answers; imagine walking into a realtor's office and hitting them with those two goal statements. Which one will get you further? Even if you don't know which area or what type of property they won't treat you like a tire kicker. They will ask those important interrogates of you and you can learn from them and go away and make your goal even clearer before getting back in touch with them. And the next realtor you visit won't even know that you hadn't thought about that. They'll just see someone who knows exactly what they want and will be able and happy to help out.

The final point I want to make about goals is more to do with the measure part than with setting them. I know that sounds tedious but it can be really exciting. The most successful companies in the world track their progress against their goals because it is effective to do so. Imagine putting a easy chart on your wall that has the months along the last axis and the cash flow you've developed on the vertical axis. You can draw a red line across the graph representing your target of $4,000 per year and then you can draw an angled line that adds another $333 to the cash flow each month. This gives you some very good feedback as to how you are advancing and motivating while there is still time to do something about it. That's obviously much better than just seeing how you went 12 months later and finding that you only acquired property that produces $1,000 per year. It's a very simple and powerful tool.

If you are really controlled you can take this one step promote and use the same approach for the activenesses that produce the outcomes that we are measure on the other graph. This really helps ensure the result. For example, if you know you need to evaluate 100 properties and make offers on 10 to acquire that amount of property then you could graph those drivers as well.