ForeclosuresMass - ForeclosuresMass Monthly - Success Strategies - Don't Worry, B-SASSY: A Six Step Program For Reaching Your Investment Goals (March 2006)

As hard as it may be to believe, March is already here. That means that 2006 is now 1/6th over, and for many of us - particularly those for whom real estate investing is still a "part time" endeavor - it's easy to feel discouraged by a perceived lack of progress.

If you find yourself feeling this way, take heart. In my ten years coaching real estate professionals (and as a licensed broker myself), I have learned the critical factors that make a difference in meeting goals. You've still got 10 months left to make 2006 your most financially rewarding year yet, and in today's article I'll share with you something I call the "B-SASSY" system - a proven approach for helping people be successful in reaching their goals.

B: Be accountable
S: Start
A: Ask for help
S: Stay on course
S: Stay with it
Y: Say YES

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If you're serious about your business, you've already established clear, explicit goals for the year. From there, the most important thing you can do with your plan is to break it down into actionable chunks and schedule those chunks into your calendar.

Your action items, just like your bigger goals, need to be measurable and specific, and have a time frame associated with them. So, for example, "Buy some investment properties" isn't very specific; "Buy 2 investment properties before the end of 2006" however, is.

Next, find someone to hold you accountable: a colleague, a coach, or a friend. Someone who won't let you off the hook (as we tend to do for ourselves), and who will hold your feet to the fire when you need it. Arrange to check in with this person once a week; reviewing the past week's progress, stating your goals for the upcoming week and agreeing on what you'll have done by when.

Do you know what I see, among all kinds of people (accomplished and otherwise)? When the task at hand is out of the comfort zone - out of the arena in which the person feels mastery - there is enormous hesitation, procrastination, and time wasting. As Goethe said, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

I couldn't agree more. If you find yourself circling around the outside of a project, not starting and not starting and not starting, pull yourself out of the hamster wheel. Ask yourself, is there ONE step into this project that I can take right now? Identify something you can do and get going. That's often all you'll need to get started and stop wasting time.

Many people fail because they think they have to do everything themselves. In practice however, and in order to grow your business and keep it growing, you will continuously need different kinds of help.

This may mean delegating the bookkeeping, hiring out property maintenance, or turning over other tasks associated with your investments. Whatever it is, sooner or later you'll need extra hands to do some of the work that although you may know how to do, you no longer have time to do. The key is to free yourself up to do the critical things that only you can accomplish.

Experts say that commercial airplanes are off-course 95% of the time. They arrive on time at the correct destination however, because their navigation technology works by checking their actual position against the plotted course, and making course corrections at frequent, regular intervals.

In your real estate investment business, you, too, need course-correction technology. If your goals are specific, measurable, and have a time frame associated with them, you can check yourself at regular intervals (e.g. once a month). If you're no longer on course, make the necessary correction.

Just as a plane headed to Seattle doesn't want to end up in L.A., you need to make sure that you stay pointed towards your stated goals as the year progresses.

For some reason, people in our business, both investors and broker/salespeople, seem to be easily distracted - much more so than those in other professions.

If you have this quality, you know that in many ways, it's an advantage. You are likely to notice trends, opportunities and properties sooner than the average person. But it can also be a liability. When you lose your focus, you don't take the consistent actions you need to take to stay on course.

Regular monitoring of yourself is the key. If you find yourself all jazzed about starting an antiques business or a bed and breakfast, and spend your work week investigating these opportunities instead of working on your investment business, acknowledge yourself for your entrepreneurial spirit, and come back to work.

As you move through the hard work of starting and building your real estate investment business, you will encounter many challenges. A steep learning curve, a need to master a wide variety of skills, financial risk, even the adjustment of working on your own, without the structure and camaraderie of a "regular job." Taken together, this can cause a loss in sleep in even the most seasoned entrepreneur.

In order to keep yourself afloat in the face of all these challenges (whether you feel them on a daily basis or not), it is important to acknowledge your wins, however small they may be. When you accomplish an important task, when you learn a new skill, when you manage your time productively - all of these successes should be "owned" and acknowledged by you. Here's what this might sound like:

"Yes, I'm now set up in Quickbooks!"
"Yes, I am beginning to understand the market in my niche."
"Yes, I now have the habit of reading through the listings as soon as I get them from ForeclosuresMass.com."

Yes, yes, yes, on the path to celebrating the good days and staying focused through the bad.

In summary, real estate investing can be a terrific way to earn a living. The freedom, the financial rewards, and the sheer serendipity built into the industry make for a thrilling combination. This can all be yours, and taking the time to regularly apply the B-SASSY approach in reaching your goals is a path to get you there.

Work-Life Coach Sharon Teitelbaum was a presenter at the MA Association of Realtors 2005 Leadership Academy and was featured in Realtor Magazine, published by the National Association of Realtors, in "What Life Coaches Can Teach You," by Bridget McCrea. Her 2005 book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance can be purchased at her website. Contact Sharon at Sharon@stcoach.com, or at http://www.stcoach.com.