Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Last time, we introduced the concept of Legacy Investing. We examined the role personal mastery plays in making us successful, first as a person and then as an investor.
We found Ben Franklin’s method of making important decisions a great way to clarify our thinking about opportunities. In fact, reflection over a few days helps refine insight.
But, what do you do when opportunity is about to close the door? The train is leaving and you have to board or stay at the station?
To the unprepared, the answer is obvious. Wait for the next train. This is the prudent response when needing to make a decision “under pressure”.
What they fail to appreciate is most of the pressure may be internal. They feel uncertain about how to make a prudent decision and that gives rise to pressure. The “safe thing” is to do nothing.
Over the years, I’ve found people confuse making a hasty decision with moving in haste. That may be true, but not always. You plan days ahead to catch the train. You move with haste at the station to get onboard.
An investing blueprint positions you to make sound decisions – quickly.
Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, tells his seminar audiences that he will go through more investment opportunities in a day than many will go through in their lifetimes. He can evaluate an investment in less than five minutes. That’s all it takes to make a preliminary Yes or No decision.
When you know thyself, you can move in haste without being hasty. So, create a blueprint in writing of what a successful investment would look like for you.
If you are mentoring children or grandchildren, this can take the form of a fun exercise. You might ask, what were my criteria in making this investment? What would be important to you in an investment of, say, $5,000? $50,000?
For some reason, a clean, crisp dollar (adjusted for age inflation) peaks their interest in completing the assignment.
What they write up provides a teaching moment for you. Share from your wisdom and experience. Make this another investment in their legacy.
The Magic of Massive Action
Many wanna be investors get caught in the web of procrastination. One newly retired career military officer spent months “developing a network” before diving into real estate investments. He never jumped in.
Others are caught up in learning and never get around to doing. And when they do, it’s not an all out attack. They get defeated by small setbacks that an army of activity would roll over.
For years, Brian Tracy author of the hugely popular Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time has taught audiences to take responsibility for the success of their projects: Don’t point the finger at the other guy. Tell yourself, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
So, a key to your success and the heirs to your legacy is to think fire hydrant, not faucet.
If you are a driven person who thrives on overdrive, massive action is a non-issue. Until you try to motivate or mentor a non-D personality. To impart the concept of massive action to a go-with-the-flow individual, use a funnel.
The top of the funnel represents the amount of activity you need to front load in order to have the results you desire trickle out the end. The larger the funnel, the greater number of favorable outcomes.
What kind of activities? Well, it depends on the investment. For real estate, it could be number of properties visited. Number of offers written. Number of contracts negotiated. For investing in stocks or in start-ups, you might look at number of companies researched. Number of competitive advantages each has. And so on.
Given the investment type, you need to develop a simple plan for the critical metrics. It’s not rocket science. It’s discipline.
The beauty of tracking your numbers is that you develop a ratio of success. You use the past to predict the future. Now, you can project how much activity over how long will lead you to your desired result.
This is how you begin to channel the flowing hydrant into a focused force.
Gary Keller, author of the widely acclaimed The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, gives another benefit for taking massive action – you develop your skills to a high level.
He uses the example of pottery students. Each student in group one is assigned a single vase to make as perfectly as possible. Group two is to make a pot a day – or more. In the end, the students who tried more, failed more, learned more, had more pots, better pots, and were more skilled than their counterparts.
A client of mine has purchased over 30 investment properties. Along the way, he learned how banks negotiate. He was able to predict responses and write his offers accordingly.
You ask what if I don’t have the wherewithal to buy 30 properties? How will I gain the benefits of taking massive action?
First, glean from the experience of an investment counselor who as taken massive action in investing. Not only for clients, but also personally. His or her experience can jump start you, but shouldn’t substitute for your gaining your own breadth of experience.
Second, go for investments that you can do in a series. This way you can benefit from spaced learning. Heirs will sometimes turn on the hydrant and make a flood of investment decisions – all at once. This doesn’t give them the opportunity to get feedback and adjust accordingly. They multiply their misery by making all kinds of mistakes by this simple tactical error.
In upcoming blogs, we will explain the mechanics of the P-T-R Success Cycle and the 2:6:8 investor strategy. Both of these will give perspective on turning your massive action into massive success!
