What the heck is Goal Reaching in Real Estate?

I'll tell you. I am so sick and tired of hearing about goal setting and powerful achievement. What you focus on expands. blah blah blah.

​If you're anything like me, I've spend my entire life chasing other people's success.

I've dreamed of being able to do the things I see others doing while having this quiet, and yet desperate internal dialogue within myself justifying why that's not for me so I don't have to feel the pain of not reaching my own goals.

I just want to scream at the top of my lungs, yet that wouldn't be quite PC to do, now would it.

I'm reading through Darren Hardy's book, The Compound Effect and just hit a chapter on goals. Ok, here we go again. "I've seen this a thousand times", I think to myself. Then it hit me.

He's talking about writing out our goals so clearly and then focusing on those goals to seek them with everything we've got. Our brains start to see the very things we want as if it was never there, but in reality they've been there the entire time. Of course my mind wanders to scripture.

Jer 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "Plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you", declares the Lord.

It was this moment of absolute clarity that it hit me. I've been searching and searching and chasing all these nebulous ideas rattling around in my head and in my heart. I write things down, and yet the CLARITY is missing. I suddenly realized that all the goals I've had in my life were not crystal clear so I can see them, touch them, and long for them.

Don't get me wrong, I have had goals so clear that I acted promptly and swiftly. The Lord gave me success in reaching those goals.

I've bought houses when the odds were stacked against me. I finished my bachelor's degree after 23 years when I got really clear about what I was doing. I wrote multiple books when I had a clear path. I left everything and went through an exhaustive process to go through ministry school and plant a church.

​Shoot I even got married to the woman of my dreams (that's another story for another day).

I've reached many of my goals, yet my life long goals seem elusive. Why is that? Clarity? I have some cool goals that would be really nice to achieve, but if I don't reach them, that's ok. Honestly, that has been my attitude.

With the goals in which I've had success, I had to DO them. They were MUST do items and Non-negotiable in my life at the time. I even stopped talking to some people along the way who became nay sayers trying to prevent me from reaching them. I went for it with zero tolerance for anything getting in my way.

Why then has building a real estate portfolio been so elusive?

​Because I haven't been absolutely certain of it's creation. Here's the deal. For most of my life, I settled and have been ok with average. I've been ok with not reaching the goal. I haven't searched with all my heart. I haven't sought with everything I have.

​I've merely talked about how nice it will be to someday achieve these things. Recently I heard this is the difference between Motion and Action. Motion is reading the books. Action is writing the offer.
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​To reach your Real Estate Goals there are a few things that you're gonna have to do...
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INTENSITY OF FOCUS

​Know what is so important to you about reaching your goals.

What is it about Real Estate that draws you to it?

What compels you to take the risk?

What is your deepest belief around real estate being The Thing?

WRITE IT DOWN

It's been said that an unwritten goal is just a fantasy or a dream in your head. Once you commit it to writing, you can start working towards its achievement. Written Goals can be seen. They can be discussed. They can be shaped and reshaped. They can be worked. It doesn't cost you anything to write it down.

Get real. Be honest with yourself. Dig deep. Floating a number out there doesn't mean a thing. Learn to ask the right questions. The quality of your answers is determined by the quality of the questions you ask.

MAKE A PLAN

​Great, so you've written it down. Now what? What's the next step? What are you going to do about it now that you've written it down? Back up the big plan into daily bite sized pieces. Maybe you want to build a house. That's a huge plan.

Maybe step 1 is just reading a book about hiring contractors. Low cost.

Maybe step 2 is researching a design team.

Maybe step 3 is interviewing designers.

Maybe step 4 is commissioning a designer.

Step 5 is reviewing plans. Etc.

You get the point. Make a plan and work the plan.

WORK IT!

Nothing happens until you do something. Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." No one, and I repeat, No One is going to do it for you. If you want it so bad you will have to work hard for IT. Whatever IT is.

Do you want to build a multi-family real estate empire?

Do you want to own a few single family homes?

Do you want to be a millionaire?

Do you want to retire comfortably?

What do you want?

The quality of your Answers lies within your ability to ask the right questions.

​See, after 20 years, I finally cut through the noise. I've been writing goals for my business all these years and I realized that my goals are more about what I want for my life personally, not for business.

The business is simply the funding vehicle to reach my personal goals.

Yet, all of the goals I wrote down were business related. There's a disconnect - Cognitive Dissonance. Buy or sell 'x' number of houses each year. Earn 'x' dollars this year. These goals have been powerless because they were not the REAL dreams of my heart. My REAL goals are personal in nature. My guess is that so are yours.

This is going to take you some time. It's ok. Take the time. Be flexible. Dig deep. Cry. Laugh. Mourn. Whatever it takes to seek your goals with absolute clarity.

Make this as vivid and visceral as possible. Real Estate is just a vehicle to fund the life you want. You get to decide what you want. We only get one chance at this life, so don't hold back. Make your goals personal. Know what is important about your goals. Go for it. Why not? No one else is doing it for you.

Years ago, I read Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. In it, Robert described a situation when his wife wanted a new car. He told her to go buy a house to fund the car she wanted. So she did. I've wrestled with that concept for many years. I mean, really?

Who just buys a house to fund a car. Just go buy the car. The more I get in tune with what Real Goals are, I realized that real estate is not my IT. Real Estate is the vehicle to fund my IT.

Do you get it yet? Are you starting to find some clarity around this. It's hard. We've been programmed to think we are here to achieve some great business success or to move up the corporate ladder.

Gang, the reality is that business and our careers are about helping each and every one of us achieve Life Success. We can either live to work or we can work to live.

Last summer I was on a mission trip to Chihuahua, Mexico. During the trip, we went to the palace of Pancho Villa. He was known for fighting for the common working man. There was a sword there that was inscribed, "If you work to live, do not die working."

Real Estate is an amazing vehicle with so many options for funding your best life. Make your goals in Real Estate about your life rather than just owning more buildings or making money. God did not make us for material possession, and yet He said we can enjoy the labor of our hands.

Goal Reaching is simply setting out to Reach Your Goals. Setting goals does nothing to move the needle in your life. Reaching Goals is what matters! You can do this!
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