How do you stay motivated?

[MJabora]

Hey all,



Over the last year or two, I have taken a step back and looked at my life. I am 24, working as a Registered Nurse and just spending my money and building up debt - causing me to have to work more to pay it off. While I love my job of helping others in their time of need, I have come to the realization that I want to be in charge of myself and have control over my money - not constantly chasing the debt train down.



I have been reading several books by Don and continuously immersing myself in the real estate market - trying to learn as much as I can. I have also met with my financial planner in regards to saving my money and I should have enough in a savings account for a down payment within the next 6 months (being realistic).



I have begun to assemble my team and my contacts within the trades to assist in my investments. I have also set together a home office for me to work from.



Long story short - how does everyone keep so motivated? There are times when I want to just keep spending money, but I know now is the time to invest - I still live at home, have no significant other and have no children or dependants. Have you all framed your personal Belize? Do you rely on books, websites, etc. I want to continue to stay motivated, and I think I'm doing a good job so far but I know there will be down times and would love to know everyone else's secrets.



My apologies for the long winded post. I'm excited and nervous for this but it is definately something I want to be involved with in the long term.



Thanks!



Matt

 

[DenisEncontre]

Visit this forum often.

Be Grateful

Surround yourself with like minded self motivated people.

Be Grateful

Stop reading all the crap in the newspaper.

Smile and laugh often.

Be grateful.

Always think and speak positive thoughts.

Stay away from negative people. I cannot over state this.

Be Grateful

Join REIN.

You are a product of your 10 closest friends so choose them wisely.

Be Grateful.

Everything starts from within you and permeates outwardly, not the other way around so Invest in yourself and you will reap the rewards in more ways then you can imagine.

Did I mention be grateful?

Keep a grateful diary.

 

[dplummer]

Congratulations on taking the the first steps! Have a plan & work the plan. Set your goal & dream of what life will be like when you attain it. Enjoy the journey & celebrate even the small advances you make in your real estate career. Use your present job to help you attain real estate goals& as the post above stated surround yourself with like minded individuals to keep you on track. All the best!



Doug

 

[TodorYordanov]

Exsellent suggestions so far.



Create.

Plan to have a long and fulfilling life!

Write your own eulogy.

Build your life-long plan around your eulogy.

Create.

Take small steps every day towards your goals. Just small steps every day.

Make this world a little better. You CAN do it.

Do what others are only dreaming of doing.

Be different.

Create.

 

[NorthernAlex]

Not much to add to above...



I "reward" myself every month after I collected rent and paid all bills by going to Blockbuster and buying 4-5 on sale DVDs (the previous watched and on sale for $6.99 or $9.99).



This became a little 15min vacation for me every month. The BB is next to my bank branch and underlines "another month done". I don't buy DVDs beside this time....

 

[bizaro86]

I really believe you have to CHOOSE to be motivated.



Remind yourself of why you're taking this course of action, and realize that you want the results more than you want to not do anything that day.



Regards,



Michael

 

[johnsu]

The real question is "What's making you spend money?" Is this compensation for something? People accumulate "posessions" as a result of "inadequacy" for some unknown reason.



So maybe a good behavior to switch to is this. When you have the need to spend, go and dep the money into an account where you don't have a bank card access and requires you to go into branch.



Listen to your language pattern " I want to be in charge of myself and have control over my money" This implies that other factors are the driving force in your life and not you and also that you have a very faint idea of where your money's going. Do a budget for 2nd issue and the first one well "self reflect on your own life"

 

[MJabora]

A big thank you to everyone who replied. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. The next few months are going to be a big change in my lifestyle and habits and I cannot wait to get myself where I really want to be.



Matt

 

[JohnSoucie]

The real question is "What's making you spend money?"



He's 24!! He's experiencing life as a young adult. So yes, all awesome advice above. I'll add one point....balance.



Yes you are a product of your 10 closest friends. If they are all highly motivated, investment focused, money saving penny pinchers, you might become the same. Which might be really great for your financial future. But on the other hand, at 24 and with no significant other yet, you might become, in the eyes of your social peers (ie;chicks you want to date, broke friends who actually have a "joy de vivre") a guy who can't hold an interesting light conversation with a girl on a date, let alone make the small talk required to get a date or be able to loosen up enough to enjoy regular people in sports or social settings and have them accept you even a little. In other words...a bore. You need to experience a little bit of life and joy de vivre for yourself when you are that young.



Just sayin'.....

A little personal story....I won over my future spouse easily over another obvious courter who was persuing her in a lame fashion...the "don't know how to transition from friend to boyfriend" problem. I had dinner with him and a group of friends and experienced it first hand. He played the "young professional on the move" part in an almost condescending fashion...to me especially...as I was obviously the competition. He was a bore with no life except his professional life. I too was a successfull young professional at the time, but played tons of hockey, attended concerts regularly, had fun friends. Guess who got the girl? My problem....I was broke from enjoying my life...I didn't get it till years later. I lacked the balance.



A little bit of balance young grasshoper!

Regards;

John

 

[JoeRagona]

Hi Matt, you have obviously received some great insights above and I agree with them. I'm going to invite you to look at another perspective - at your age, I was spending large amounts of money and living a really great lifestyle as I was majorly in the entertainment industry - basically, I was emerged in INSTANT GRATIFICATION. That was over 20 years ago.



Although I had "successful" businesses, I was still running everything mostly on debt and I had "lots of time" to worry about the future.



What you have going strong for you is your mind-set already - you should be very proud of that. As mentioned, you are just 24 and the 'hormonial spending' you are doing is normal. On the other hand, is it productive? Can you be in a better place 5, ten years from now if you control your money, your spending? YES.



I struggle with this teaching my fourteen year old about spending his grass cutting and snow-plowing money on stuff ... and letting him know that in five years with the money he gave me for a partnership in a property, he can buy a car CASH when all his buddies are more than likely still relying on mama and papa. At the same time, he will still own a sustainable asset.



I encourage you to look 'behind the curtain' about how a financial planner is paid, what the system is like and where you could possibly put your money to work FOR you. If you would like, I have created a SPECIAL WHITE PAPER REPORT that is an easy read about the insides of the financial industry. I wrote this with the help of my business coach Greg Habstritt.



Just email me at [email protected] and I will send you a free copy - it's an easy read. If there is anything I can assist with , please let me know. Visit my blog below and sign up for my free newsletter that will give you weekly no-bs insights to how the real estate investing works. The effective parts and the less effective parts.

 

[kfort]

Surrounding yourself with those people who you aspire to be like will keep you motivated. I come here, and have a close personal friend who is also of like mind that helps keep me motivated. This is the most positive group of people I have found online. Everytime I come here I learn something and for that I am thankful.

 

[JoeRagona]

Excellent post Kris - couldn't agree more!!!

 

[Rickson9]

[quote user=johnsu] The real question is "What's making you spend money?" Is this compensation for something? People accumulate "posessions" as a result of "inadequacy" for some unknown reason.




He spends not because of his age, but because he was unable to resist marketing. He has bought into the idea that purchases are tied to social status, social acceptance and/or prestige. Many consumers are even able to parrot marketing messages and statistics of their cars, homes, clothes and jewelry.




"Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption. The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumptive patterns. The very meaning and significance of our lives today expressed in consumptive terms. The greater the pressures upon the individual to conform to safe and accepted social standards, the more does he tend to express his aspirations and his individuality in terms of what he wears, drives, eats- his home, his car, his pattern of food serving, his hobbies.





"These commodities and services must be offered to the consumer with a special urgency. We require not only 'forced draft' consumption, but 'expensive' consumption as well. We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing pace. We need to have people eat, drink, dress, ride, live, with ever more complicated and, therefore, constantly more expensive consumption. The home power tools and the whole 'do-it-yourself' movement are excellent examples of 'expensive' consumption." - Victor LeBow, 20th Century Economist

 

[JoeRagona]

That's a pretty heavy post John

 

[johnsu]

Hi Joey,



Thanks for the comment. I didn't even realize the "harshness" of my post. It was not my intention to do that. What I did want to hi-light was the fact that ALL humans as a result of "inadequacy" compensate with external stuff like drugs, alcohol, food, cars ect. That's what I wanted to illude to and what I was suggesting was some self reflection to address that "inadequacy" then the "need to compensate" disappates!

 

[JoeRagona]

Sorry dude, my bad, I didn't mean it that way either ... it's a heavy ... deep, post

 

[johnsu]

Rickson:



I agree with your comment and would like to add that sex, drugs and rock and roll. Everything "external" is a distration and humans often "rationalize" it to be "out of our control" to resist. When situations or other people become the "locus of control" in our lives, we become robbed of our TRUE power.

 

[johnsu]

LMAO! How do you hilight parts of post?

 

[AndreiAngelkovski]

Hi Matt,



I think we all get discouraged and lose focus once in a while. We all deal with it in different ways.

What works for me during these times is hanging out with positive like-minded individuals who light the fire under my butt and hold me accountable for my goals.



I surround myself with successful REIN members all the time.

I attend REIN meetings monthly which is a huge motivator for me.

I have a job/business that I thoroughly enjoy doing.

But most importantly, I work on myself, my relationships, and my family.



Your post shows a lot about you and I applaud you for it. With all the advice you have received in these posts above, I believe you will be on the right track.



All the best!

 

[Thomas Beyer]

[quote user=MJabora]not constantly chasing the debt train down.
That is a choice. Just do NOT buy on credit. pay cash. Buy a car .. in CASH ! or dont drive one or an old beater. or lease one if you must have one.



[quote user=MJabora]I still live at home,
Move out .. with a nurse's salary that is quite doable ! What is holding you back ?



TAKE SOME RISKS. Go skydiving for example .. quite safe actually .. but it will teach you that with training and proper safeguards s.th. that seems SCARY, like real estate investing or moving out from your parents' home is quite safe, easy and enjoyable ! Shed your fear !!



FEAR: False Evidence Appearing REAL !!



[quote user=MJabora]there will be down times
That is very normal. I learned that I have this once in a while and the best I can do then is not to speak to anyone and not to wreck anything. It goes away a 1/2 hour or 1/2 day later usually .. after a walk perhaps or a run or a bath.



Some other thoughts/suggestions:



Take a bubble bath more often.



Pick up a new magazine once in a while .. say on boating or boxing or Islands or home decorating .. something that you normally do not do ! That is $10 well invested .. and might inspire you in new directions.



Read a chapter or 2 in the bible, say James, or Proverbs. Quite insightful, even as a non-Christian !



Take some small risks .. such as speaking to a complete stranger on the sub-way or buy some unknown brand of icecream or take a bus into a new suburb and walk around or buy a skirt you would normally not buy.



Learn a foreign language !



Happy Life !!