When I first got started in Real Estate I purchased the Buy with No Credit Check Course and learned so much about doing real estate deals. However, the course only told me what I needed to do in order to get my first deal.

It didn’t tell me about all the Real Estate Laws, all the rules of Real Estate Taxes, all the Landlord/Tenant Laws, every contract that is used in the real estate world, every mathematical formula I’d use to analyze any deal, all the real estate strategies that can be used in this day and age, etc…

I felt I needed to know everything before I could even get started. So after reading this course and learning the insides and outs of 1 strategy, I put the course on my shelf and decided that I needed to learn more. Even though I was excited as heck to go implement what I learned… I didn’t want to screw up.

That is when everything went down hill…

As I set out on my “journey” to be the “smartest” real estate investor ever, I found myself falling into a web of confusion and frustration. I purchased course after course, trying to learn strategy after strategy, hopping from discussion forum to discussion forum looking for answers.

The main question that fueled my willingness to learn everything was the “What If” factor.

• What if something goes wrong on the deal?
• What if I don’t know what to say?
• What if I’m not ready because I don’t know much about contracts?
• What If I don’t set up the deal right and cause someone harm?
• What if they tell me NO because I’m only 21 (my age at the time)
• What if this is illegal and I really do need a license? (Which I didn’t and still don’t)
• What If I get more leads than I can handle?
• What if they tell me No because I can’t convince them to do a deal (BTW…Never try to convince a seller. Period!)

What if…What If…What if…

Each time I said what if, I added on like 5 or 6 days of “research” to try and answer that what if until I was completely satisfied and confident. You see that was the issue… I was trying to build my confidence by jam packing an impossible amount of real estate information into my brain.

I’d hesitate when it was time to contact motivated sellers. I’d procrastinate when I was supposed to return a call because I was apprehensive about how the conversation would go. I felt frustrated and at the same time relieved when I didn’t get a deal. This cost me 2 years of no real estate deals, a loss of energy, money that could have been used on marketing instead of trying to invest in things that weren’t necessary yet, and time that I could never get back.

I don’t mind investing in my own education in order to get ahead. I’m not the type of individual who goes around bashing real estate courses and telling people that all they need to do is go to Google and search for everything they can and become efficient enough to do their first deal. Been there…done that… It sucks!

I don’t believe that is the way to go about getting your real estate education. Does it work? Maybe for some, but in the mean time, you’d likely be falling into the same trap I fell into…Information Overload or as some call it, “Paralysis of Analysis”.

It’s like you’re sitting in a new car stuck in neutral, trying to test out all the cool features and  just amazed at what you know is possible once you start driving. However, you never push the gear to D (drive) because you’re afraid you’ll get in an accident. You might get a speeding ticket. You’re a new driver so maybe this isn’t the right car for you.

You can give yourself thousands of excuses for why you can’t move forward in life. However, it will get you no where but farther away from your goal(s).

The Day I Stopped Trying To Learn Everything about Real Estate

The day I stopped making excuses was the day I put myself back in motion towards a new journey. Not a journey of trying to figure it all out, but a journey towards taking action and figuring it out along the way.

This mental shift was tough for me and it took 2.5 years for it to click. Once it clicked, I blew the dust off of that first real estate course I purchased, refreshed my mind on the strategy I should have been focusing on during this 2.5 year rut I was stuck in, contacted the mentor who I barely communicated with that entire 2.5 year timeframe (I know…stupid right?), and finally completed my first deal.

The key was recognizing that I didn’t need to do everything on my own and that I needed someone with more experience to help me out. Not only did my mentor help me do my first deal, but he pushed me to do the next one, and the next one…

If you’ve read this far, then you’ve learned a little about my journey, the struggles I went through, and how long it took me to get my first deal.  2.5 years is a long time.  I think that’s like 912 days!

However, I tell you all this because it’s important to look at your journey. What direction are you headed in, with regards to your real estate investing journey?

The Information Parking Garage? Or the Action Expressway?

One thing I’ve learned and I hope that you take away from all this is that Knowledge + Action= Experience. If you don’t have any experience in real estate, then you need to focus on a strategy, learn it, and apply what you learn. Taking action on what you know is the only way to gain experience.

To this day, I still don’t know everything there is to know about real estate. However, what I do know is how to put a buyer and seller together, structure a win-win situation, and make a profit for myself. Everybody walks away happy and I learn more as I go. This is the mentality you want to adopt in your life if you really want to move forward in real estate investing.

“You don’t have to get it all right, you just have to get it going” ~Mike Litman

To Your Success,

J. Lamar Ferren
New Breed Investor

PS.  Are you stuck in the Information Parking Garage or are you dominating your market by taking the Action Expressway? Leave your comments below!

PPS. If you’re serious about real estate investing and you have an interest in partnering with me, my mentor, and the rest of our New Breed community, then schedule an appointment to speak with me as soon as possible. We focus on getting motivated leads and closing deals each week. We contact motivated sellers together. You’ll get the information you need in order to discover how we do business, but more importantly you’ll also get the help and motivation you need to either close your first deal or your next deal.  No upfront experience necessary! Schedule an Appointment Today By Clicking Here

photo credits: FDP