I have been doing a lot of thinking as I was preparing to write this post.  Invest in Yourself…it is a very interesting topic.

Let me first start by saying that I am not trying to sell you on any courses.  I do not care if you invest in yourself by buying a course through me or anyone else.  I do not care if you invest in yourself by soaking up all the FREE information that is all over the web.  I do not care how you invest in yourself, I just want you to invest in yourself!

The truth is that there is more information available today for free than ever before.  Content is created every single day on blogs like this one.  Whether you are interested in real estate investing ro any other topic, information is readily available…there is more information available today than there was yesterday and tomorrow will have more than today.

I know that every year since I graduated from college and became an entrepreneur, I have invested a minimum of $10K into myself.  I have bought courses, attended seminars, read eBooks, listened to recordings…I am a bit of an information junkie!  And I think you have to be an information junkie if you want to learn any business.

I will be the first person to say that there is no book you can read or seminar you can attend that will replace the experiences you will gain in the real world.  But conversely, the information that you learn can help to push you along the path to success.

If you work any job it is safe to say that there is an element of training you are required to undergo before going out and working.  My college jobs…I worked at Sears and was required to complete a few weeks of training before being released onto the sales floor.  Then we had continuing education at least every month.  I worked at Suntrust Bank and we were required to complete two weeks of training before going to a branch to get an additional week of on the job training.

All businesses, even fast food joints, require some level of education before letting anyone actually go to work.  Why would you not take this same approach when starting your own business?

You must invest in yourself!  You must invest when you are getting started and you must continue to invest as you grow.

I was looking at some of my expenses for the past year.  I spent a lot of money on things that were unnecessary.  I spent money on travel, food and leisure activities that I could live without.  Sure I need to do some of these things in order to enjoy life, but how much is too much?

I am sure we could all look at our lives and find some things to cut back on in order to invest in ourselves.  Cut back on wasteful spending (maybe our government could use this advice).  Cut back on wasted time such as sitting in front of the t.v.

How much more could you invest in yourself if you cut your wasteful spending $5 a day?  That would be $1825 per year!

How much could you invest in yourself if you got up 15 minutes earlier, went to bed 15 minutes later, and cut out 30 minutes of t.v. a day?  That is over two weeks a year of additional time you could use to invest in yourself!

If you were to take a poll of successful real estate investors, I guarantee that all of them would tell you that they invest highly in themselves.  If you want to be successful at anything, you must invest in yourself first, the success will come!

Cheers,

~ Ross Treakle

Recently I have made a big shift in my business and that shift has led me to read a lot more and pay attention to current events.   Through this change, I have also had the fortune of interviewing some amazing real estate investment “guru’s”.

One thing that I have always noticed being a student of Internet marketing, real estate investing and now in my interviews is the stories of being down and out.  Inevitably, every expert can share a story for being at rock bottom before making things click and having huge success in both business and personal growth.

Why do these experts in their respective fields always have some bottom they hit before achieving success?  I think that when someone hits a bottom, they inevitably decide to change their lives forever and go forward with their dreams with what Chet Holmes calls “pig-headed determination”.

The story from the recent past that comes into my mind is that of Jack Bosch.  I will share the story in just a bit…first, I want you to know I share this story because in my mind his rise in the real estate investment business begins with situations that are not very different from what a lot of Americans are feeling right now.

Jack had moved to America from Germany for school.  He met a girl, got a job working for a dot com business before the original crash.   Things started turning and he quickly saw his company lay off a ton of their employees.  He new that his job could be gone the next day and that he needed to start the search for something else…he turned to real estate.  But he did not quit his job, he busted his ASS at his 9-5 and then went home and busted his ASS studying real estate investment and taking action.  He was never fired from his job because he showed them he appreciated the work by working hard.  Eventually, Jack was able to quit his job and become a full time real estate investor.  Since then, Jack has bought and sold over 5,000 deals!

Jack was facing a situation that many of us are probably familiar with…the threat of not having a job next month, next week, or maybe tomorrow!

Hec, I have several friends who have lost their jobs in the past 6 months and have other friends who are unsure if they will be fired or laid off every day they step into their offices.  Talk about scary…working for a company who has laid off over 75% of its workforce in the past year!  What about working for any financial services company!  These jobs are not secure at all!

The truth is that times are scary…but that is no reason to put your head between your legs and run away scared.  Now is the time that you need to bust your ASS in your current job to show that you are a commodity that they cannot afford to lose.  And at the same time you also need to invest in yourself and your goals.

Make the decision that you will bust your ASS not only in your 9-5, but also in your dreams to become a successful real estate investor!

Do me a favor and write the words that Chet Holmes says success, it comes with “pig-headed determination”.  take those words and write them in HUGE letters and post them above your desk.  You need to go at everything you do with “pig-headed determination”!

Do not let these tough times get the best of you, show them who is boss!  From this day forward, live life with…

PIG-HEADED DETERMINATION

Cheers,

~ Ross Treakle

P.S. If you want to get your hands on a copy of Chet’s book, “The Ultimate Sales Machine” head on over to www.amazon.com by clicking below…

The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies

One of my favorite topics in general business is the constant struggle that new business owners face when getting their businesses off the ground to making a profit.  Over the next few days I am going to write about a few areas that I think will help to get your business off the ground, if it is not already.  All of the things I will write about also are areas where profitable businesses can focus in order to see increased growth.

The first area I want to write about is…Goal Setting!

According to wikipedia.com goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable and targeted objectives.

Lets take a few moments to address each specific area of goal setting as defined by wikipedia.com

First, specific.  Goals should be extremely specific.  When you are writing your own goals you should be as specific as possible.  when you write specific goals, that will give you a clear road map of what you need to get done.   Recently I wrote goals for myself that include interviewing one expert in any area of real estate investing once a week.  The interview should be 100% content and be between 75-90 minutes in length.  That is a very specific goal which provides a very clear picture of something I need to complete each and every week.  While there have been weeks where I have n to met this goal, there has also been some weeks when I interviewed two experts.  Just having the very specific goal of interviewing one expert per week has helped me to stay on track.

The next area of goal setting as outlined by wikipedia.com is that your goals should be measurable.  When your goals are measurable, you have a clearly defined benchmark.  When your goals are measurable you will easily be able to determine whether you have met your goals or not.  When thinking of how to measure your goals, you need to include a specific number.  Just because a goal is measurable means nothing on its own.  When you include the specific measure in your goal, then you have something to measure and meet.

The final area of goal setting as defined by wikipedia.com is targeted.   When I thing of targeted goals I think of goals which encompass both of the two previous subjects of goal setting, specific and measurable.  Goals that are specific and measurable are inherently targeted. 

Taking the goal setting past the simple wikipedia.com definition, I encourage you to set goals that are specific not only to what they are, but also to the time frame.  I would encourage you to set weekly goals, monthly goals, quarterly goals, and yearly goals.  You can even go beyond that point.  I would start with your big, long term goals.  And then break them down into smaller, bite-size goals that can be met each quarter, month, and week.  When you break your long term goals down into more manageable pieces, the more specific goals will help you to reach your long term goals.

There is another area of goal setting which I will discuss tomorrow that you will not want to miss!

Until then…Cheers,

~ Ross Treakle

This morning I was reading a real estate blog which was scratching the surface on a topic that I find very interesting….why some folks do not get involved in real estate investing.

I am not talking about the average Joe, I am talking about folks who express an interest and invest some time into learning the business.  If you are reading this blog then you fall into the category I am talking about. 

Now I am sure that there are folks reading this who range from seasoned investor to someone who just started researching real estate investing this week. 

If you happen to be reading this post and you are an experienced investor, please share your thoughts on this topic as it is a topic I plan on continuing to have an open conversation about for a long time.

The post I was reading earlier today talked about risk.  Now there is risk involved in everything that you do every single day.  From driving to work to eating peanuts (or any other food).

Let’s dive into the issue of risk a little bit.  If you are looking at real estate as a vehicle to a better life for you and your family, you cannot afford not to take the risk.  Have you ever heard of someone who worked a 9-5 for someone else who was able to live the life that you dream about?  Sure there are folks who live very comfortably working a 9-5, but I have a feeling that you are looking for something a little different. 

You want more out of your job then what your 9-5 can offer.  That is why you are reading this blog right now!

And the only way that you will get what you want, if real estate is your vehicle of choice, is to take the plunge and get in the game.

That changes the fear of risk and turns the idea upside down.  You cannot be afraid to take the risk associated with starting your own business and investing in real estate…rather, you should not take the risk of what will happen if you DO NOT get started investing!

There are a lot of things which are scary about investing in real estate.  Much of which is fear of the unknown and fear of the uncomfortable.

I will let you in on a personal experience of my first real estate investment deal.  I was scared out of my mind…I was a 21 year old college student who was buying a home from a middle aged family with kids.  I was intimidated and I had one of the most uncomfortable feelings when I walked into the house to have the paperwork signed.  But that feeling of being uncomfortable was quickly followed by one of the greatest feelings when I was walking out of the house with keys and a deed.

In order to be successful in anything, you will have to push yourself into uncharted territory and not be afraid to make mistakes.  You will mess up from time to time but as you gain more experience, you will become more comfortable with the process.  Over time, you will be able to change your life!

The risk and fear of investing in real estate will be cause for some of your best memories.  In a few years you look back fondly on your experiences while sitting on the beach drinking a Pina-Colada!

Cheers,

~ Ross Treakle

What are your goals for 2009?

I have a few goals myself that I am getting a good jump on implementing that I would like to share with you.

Resolution #1: The first goal seems to be a favorite…among the entire world!…LOSE WEIGHT!

I am not going to spend too much time on this one but my goal is to lose 10lbs by the end of the first quarter (more on the year break down in a bit). – I am already down 4lbs!

Resolution #2: Get more involved with online social media and web 2.0 applications.

I find myself in an interesting position. Because I have been online since 2005 helping real estate investors get connected with different experts (I hate using the word “guru”), I have positioned myself as someone whose name is recognized!

I was just recently on the phone with a customer and she seemed lost for words because she was talking to me!

And while I do not think I am famous or really want to be considered an expert in real estate, I want to expand on what I have built and reach out to more real estate investors in order to offer a helping hand. I believe I have something special to offer and I am dedicated to offering my unique spin (see resolution #3)

Thus, social media and web 2.0 seems to be the most logical platform in order to spread the word about who I am and what I have to offer!

I am doing this through a few methods, of which my main concentration is this blog and www.twitter.com (my goal for twitter is to have 10,000 followers by the end of the first quarter)!

Do you have any good ideas that I can use to grow my social media reach?

Resolution #3: Bring affordable high quality real estate information to the public

I have recently dedicated myself towards making very inexpensive yet high quality information available to the real estate investor. I am doing so by taking advantage of my many connections with well known experts in the real estate investment community.

I have already released two products, one called “Cover Your Ass Contract Clauses” and the other “Learn To Lease Purchase”. We have a third product which will be launched shortly called “Become An REO Expert” and have several other products already in the pipeline.

What you will quickly notice is that these products are all very affordable and, in my mind, are all exceptional values when you look at the material covered compared to the price. By the end of 2009 my goal is to have 30 of these products available!

Why did I mention the end of the First Quarter above?

I like to set my goals with a time frame in mind. I have found that when I have set a time frame and a very specific goal, it becomes easier to reach that goal.

What I shared above is just a small glance at my goals for ’09, but note that they all have very specific numbers and are defined by a specific time.

Goals that are a) not specific and b) not clearly defined will never be reached.

Let’s say for example that my goal was to get more fit in 2009…what the hec does “get more fit” even mean?

~ Cheers,

Ross Treakle