DISTRACTIONS GALORE!
Real estate investors today are fighting a quiet battle against the distraction gremlins that lurk around every corner! Ok, we’re not usually into conspiracy theories, but the plethora of people, places and ideas that catch our eye is truly astonishing at the start of 2023.
For example, there’s the jaded viewpoint of “real estate investment is dead,” “nothing cashflows anymore,” and our personal favourite “the housing market is going to crash.” Yes, today’s headlines are full of doom and gloom.
A quick slide from the news media, into social media, and we find an endless supply of conspiracy theories. Those rabbit holes appear more and more real, as the trolls become more sophisticated in their approaches. So by the time we’ve consumed a little news, and a little surfing time on our favourite social media platform, well … it’s almost time to build a bunker.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have … drumroll please … the NEXT BIG THING. This has been going on for as long as I can remember. Maybe it’s the Top Places to Invest (Texas anyone?), or maybe it’s the latest real estate investing trend (like multi-family). Regardless of the actual “thing,” this is where the rose-coloured-glasses people live. And often they are correct – until the next big thing comes around!
Our next distraction is the abundant offerings of coaches, seminars and workshops. Haha, even this little blog fits into that category! It used to be easy. Real estate investors who wanted to learn and network in Canada joined the Real Estate Investing Network (REIN). And then there was Keyspire. And now? Good heavens, there are simply too many coaches, clubs, meetups, etc… to count.
Which brings us squarely to the doorstep of “other people’s agendas.” A good sales person can pitch a real estate method, location or coach, and make it almost appear as if it was our idea in the first place. Wait, what?!?
My point is, the only thing that matters is your priorities, your financial freedom. As real estate investors, it is our number one job to filter through all the clutter, all the opportunities, and all the “guides” out there – to find the right fit for our goals. Sounds simple enough, but in reality it is a never-ending challenge. One group that know me well, know that I spent much of 2022 practicing saying “NO” to challenges and distractions that were not in alignment with our goals. It’s nothing personal. It’s about focus. There are only so many hours in each day to spend, so we are choosing to spend them wisely.
How are we starting 2023? We have a daily business podcast we follow. Just one for now. We have a few business podcasts that we follow, time permitting. We have one mastermind group. We have two accountability partners. For information and analysis in Canada, we follow REIN. For an awesome online community, we follow Corey and Tiffany Young and the Fearless Investors group. For our new building ventures, we have connected with BILD Calgary region and Darcy Marler’s Hutton Radway Land Development. We continue to learn with Barry and Donna McGuire. And it is our privilege to learn from the wise women of Ace Life Investors!
Is this the right approach? Just for us, just for now. We have plans to grow, and ideas about who we will need to connect with to support that growth. How lucky are we to live in a time where there are so many choices! But this is both a privilege and a responsibility. Truthfully, it has taken some time to figure out what the best connections are for us. And that’s our underlying purpose for today’s post. Just as real estate investors research and investigate every property in our portfolio, we also need to be careful about how we spend our time and mental energy. We are encouraging our colleagues to avoid the distracted squirrel syndrome, and truly focus on your own priorities.
