Michael Yardney is an investment and wealth creation expert and a guest contributor for the Trading Game.
Successful investors do things in a certain way that helps them become rich while others continue do things differently and in general they tend to struggle.
I’ve come to the conclusion that when you do what most successful investors do, you get to become one of them, and if you don’t, you won’t.
So lets look at six simple reasons most people will never get rich and how to make sure you do:
Reason 1 – Most people wait to long to start:
Most people can’t wait to succeed; yet they are willing to wait to get started on the road to success.
Many investors are waiting for everything to be “perfect” before they get going. They wait for the right time in the cycle, the right property, the right economic environment or the right interest rates. Which means they never get going.
The longer you wait to get started with your investing, the longer it will be before you get the financial freedom you want. It takes time for compounding to work its magic and grow real wealth.
Fact is, the timing will never be perfect. There will always be reason not to invest “now.”
Reason 2. Fear stops them
Fear keeps many of us from getting what we want, especially in matters of money. Be honest with yourself and count the number of times fear has prevented you from taking action, and in the process cost you a lost financial opportunity.
Fear holds many potential property investors back. Some fear taking on more debt, others fear failure and some even have a fear of success.
Successful investors have learned to harness their fears and rather than focus on the negatives, they use fear to force them into positive action.
Rather than allowing fear of debt to stop them, some investors use the fear of being stuck in their job for the rest of their lives, without the financial independence that they are craving, to motivate themselves to take on the commitment of an investment property.
Reason 3. Waiting until they know enough
The fear of not knowing enough prevents other investors from getting started.
However the irony here is that the more you learn, the more you learn that you don’t know! The trap is that many investors think that the way to escape this paradox is to learn even more, so they read more books, go to more seminars, listen to CD’s and watch DVD’s.
As they learn more they find a whole heap more things they don’t yet know.
The way out is to recognize that while you don’t know it all, and you never will, you do know enough to get started with your investing and you will learn more along the way as you apply your knowledge in the real world, surviving any mistakes and challenges along the way.
Reason 4 – Focusing on linear income instead of passive income:
It is important to realise that not all income is created equal. Some streams are linear and some are passive.
Linear income is what you get from a job. You work for an hour and get paid once for that hour’s work, and that’s it. If you don’t turn up to work you don’t get paid.
Passive income is when you work once but continue to get paid over and over again from work you’re no longer doing. The way to become wealthy is having passive income coming in whether you go to work or not.
That’s what happens to property investors. Initially they work long hours, save a deposit and then invest in property. Now their money starts working for them and keeps giving them returns “passively” in the form of capital growth and rental income.
To put it simply “if you’re not making money while you sleep, you’ll never become rich.”
Reason 5 – Not using systems for making money:
A system for making money is something that takes the emotion out of your investment decisions and makes the results more reproducible. Make your investment boring, so your life can be exciting.
Reason 6 – Not being patient
Warren Buffet once said: “wealth is the transfer of money from the impatient to the patient.”
To become a successful property investor requires patience and persistence. Property is a long-term investment, not a get rich quick scheme.
Yet many investors speculate looking for that “big deal” which will land them a jackpot in a short period of time. In general these types of deals rarely occur and are speculative in nature and more risky.
Some investors look for the latest fad or try finding the next hot spot or speculative growth areas. If you are tempted to do this remind yourself that real estate has been the number one long-term multimillionaire maker throughout Australia’s history, yet most people that speculate in the latest fads have not made much money.
You don’t have to look for the latest fads or the latest speculative growth areas if you create your own capital growth through buying a good property at a fair price, then adding value through refurbishments, renovations or redevelopments. By doing this you are manufacturing your own capital growth.
So, it’s really quite simple…
Decide to do these six things that successful property investors do and you are much more likely to become a successful and wealthy property investor. If you don’t do them, then you may never get rich.
Michael Yardney also contributes to Real Estate Talk, Yahoo Personal Finance and Property Update
