People seem to think it takes some kind of magic to get started on a big task. It doesn’t. All you have to do is start and then – keep going. Take little steps at first. You’ll make mistakes; you’ll get frustrated; you’ll think about quitting. But, if you keep going, you’ll be surprised at how good you become simply by sticking with it and believing in yourself.
Here’s the excerpt taken from the chapter titled, “But, How do I get Started?”
***
Getting started in property investing is pretty much like getting started in anything.
“How so?” You ask.
- Well, how do you get started riding a bike?
- How do you get started playing basketball?
- How do you get started playing the guitar?
In all cases, you have to do it. You have to get on the bike and ride; pick up a basketball and shoot; pick up a guitar and play. At first, you may fall off your bike a lot, you may miss a lot of basketball shots and you may hit a lot of wrong notes on the guitar. But, after a while, you’ll be riding smoothly, scoring confidently and playing beautiful melodies – as long as you stick with it.
The key words in the above paragraph are …
AS LONG AS YOU STICK WITH IT!
That’s the secret. That’s the magic formula. That’s the way you get good at anything. Show me someone who focuses on a given task for a long period of time and I’ll show you a pro at that task.
But, our question is not how you get good at something but how you get started; specifically, how to get started in property investing. So, the same logic applies here. You get started in property investing by simply …
INVESTING IN PROPERTY!
Now, I can hear you smirking at me saying, “Yeah right, and how do you do that? Just HOW do you get started? How do you get the money? How do know what to do? Who do you talk to first? How do you keep from making a big mistake? There’s so much to know, you can’t just do it! No way!”
Well, I’m here to say you can.
How do I know?
Because that’s how I got started; I just did it. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t talk to property experts. I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. I just found myself in a situation. An opportunity came up. I grabbed it.
Is this the way I’d recommend you get started?
Not really.
Is this the way to get started?
Absolutely!
Why?
Because the whole idea is to get started and that’s what I did – I got started. Getting started is way more important that getting started correctly. Getting started correctly, or properly, or the right way – is way overrated. It’s much more important to simply – GET STARTED. DO IT! AND, DO IT NOW!
And, this applies to anything you want to do; anything you want to well; anything you want to become good at!
So, just “how” do you do it now? How do you get started in property investing?
Well, there are probably as many different ways as there are people on the planet. How did Paul McCartney get started playing the guitar? How did Stephen Spielberg get started making movies? How did David Beckham get started playing soccer?
I haven’t asked them but I’ll bet it happened something like this …
- Paul McCartney picked up a guitar and started plucking at the strings.
- Stephen Spielberg picked up a camera and started taking pictures.
- David Beckham started kicking a soccer ball.
That’s my theory on how they got started. And, I’ll extend my theory to say, at first, they probably weren’t very good. But, each went on to become a giant in their given profession.
So, if you accept my theory on getting started, then why should property investing be any different?
You get started the same way – go out and make your first property investment!
What’s the best way?
Any-way, as long as you start. The only way you can have a bad start is to … not get started!
Your way of getting started will be different than mine. It will be different from everyone else.
Why?
Because you are unique; you’re different; your situation is different. But, it doesn’t matter. Your job is to get started. Your job is to figure out first, why you want to do it. Then, once you know why, the how will become apparent – obvious.
Once you make a decision to get started, nothing can stop you.
So, all you really have to do is make a decision to invest in property and you’ll figure out how pretty easily. You may make mistakes as you ‘roll down the launching dock’, but you’ll be in the water. You’ll have started your journey. And, that step alone will put you miles ahead of all the other souls who just sit on the shore and dream of all the adventures that lie beyond the horizon!
How I got started …