Sometimes the most profound tidbits of wisdom are unexpectedly found in unlikely places.

Here’s a great one we picked up along the way …

“Most people figure it out … eventually.  The GREAT ones figure it out EARLY.”

We heard this during a casual conversation in the bleachers at a small college football game.  The subject was athletes, but it really applies to any endeavor … including real estate investing.

Most of us want to be great.  We want substantial success by whatever criteria we define it.  And we usually want it quickly … which brings us to our next profundity …

“More sooner is better.”

It all SEEMS so obvious.  But too often we find ourselves distracted and delayed with half-started projects, trivial pursuits; urgent, but unimportant tasks.

Meanwhile, minute by minute life speeds by … and we fall further behind.

But over time, we become more productive.  Through trial, error and pain we slowly learn to focus.  We gain skills and get more organized.  We learn when to say yes and when to say no … eventually.

But … the GREAT ones figure it out EARLY.

And when it comes to skills, organization, wisdom, discipline, and all the results those bring … more sooner is better.

Of course, this applies to ALL of life … including the business of real estate investing … so let’s think about HOW we can “figure it out” faster.

First, no matter how old you are, today is as young as you’ll ever be.  And no matter how young you are, it almost always seems life is too short.

So using today as ground zero, the goal is to figure it out early … and gain more (knowledge, wisdom, relationships, assets, cash flow, etc.) sooner.

Another lesson from athletics is learning to slow down and relax in order to go faster.

If you’ve ever been trained to sprint … or watched a slow-motion video of a world-class sprinter … you’ll see they’re very focused, relaxed, fluid … with no wasted motion.

Amateurs are tight … they try too hard … they’re inefficient … and they waste a lot of energy.  They work harder to go slower.

Sound familiar?  Sometimes the busiest people are the least productive.

Now here’s the next paradigm breaker … direct from furry green lips of Master Yoda in The Last Jedi …

“The greatest teacher, failure is.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean we seek failure.  Or does it?

While we don’t set out to do something intending to fail, whenever we attempt something we always run the RISK of failure.

So occasional failure is inevitable … especially when doing something new.

But just as you don’t have to save money in order to invest, because you can syndicate capital from people who’ve already saved it …

… you can syndicate wisdom from people who’ve already failed and gotten the lessons.

Or, as Bob Helms, the Godfather of real estate says …

“You don’t have to give natural childbirth to ideas.  You can adopt!”

 So we don’t seek out failure, but it’s not bad to seek out failures … people who’ve already failed and gained valuable wisdom through the process.

The key is to find the right people … and then get close enough to learn from them … and it’s about MUCH more than simply information.

It’s about culture.  It’s about the environment you’re in … the peer group you’re a part of … the ideas, attitudes, and opportunities you’re consistently exposed to.

As the new year rapidly approaches and you consider how to “figure it out” faster in 2018 … so you can get more sooner … take a strong look at your environment.

Do you have enough exposure to people who are pushing themselves through failure and are striving diligently to figure it out faster?

Are you as focused as you need to be to avoid resource-wasting distractions?

And perhaps most importantly, do you have a healthy attitude about your own failures … or do you let setbacks put you on the sideline too long?

Here’s more wisdom from brilliant minds … 

“Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” – Robert Kiyosaki 

“I never see failure as failure, but only as a learning experience.” – Tom Hopkins

(By the way, both Robert and Tom will be with us again for our next sensational Investor Summit at Sea™)

Every year, in every economy, people find a way to win … and others find a way to lose.

And if both can happen in the same conditions, then the difference must be in how each individual behaves in the same environment.

Most of us are somewhere in the middle of the pack in whatever we’re working on … some folks are ahead of us, and some are behind.

In a marathon, each runner has to run their own race … but smart ones use the power of the pack to pick up the pace and pull them forward.  Sometimes it’s uncomfortable.

Of course, if it were easy then everyone would do it, and the achievement would be unremarkable.

“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?” – John Green

We hope you’ve had a successful 2017 and are eagerly looking forward to a remarkable 2018.

We appreciate having you in our audience and hope to see you very soon at a live event.

Until next time … good investing!