Yesterday, we established that marketing is a key component of real estate investing success. It’s an undeniable fact. So let’s move on to Fatal Flaw #2…

Fatal Flaw #2: Obsessions with “Avoiding Failure” rather than “Being Successful”

(NOTE: This Fatal Flaw is focused on the “mental” aspects of success. And in just a second, I’ll show you precisely how this is intimately related to real estate investing…)

Here’s an extreme statement: You will get whatever you want out of life.

You might disagree with that - but it’s true. It’s called the “Law of Attraction”. It states that you will always attract to yourself the things you focus on internally with most intensity and consistency…

…I don’t know why it’s true. But it is. And virtually all newbies are more focused on “Avoiding Failure” rather than “Being Successful”.

This might not seem so bad. After all, it’s a good thing to avoid failure. But the problem is that the human brain doesn’t do a good job of processing negative statements. For example:

Do not think about a 3-headed donkey.

What did you do? In order for you “not to think about” a 3-headed donkey, you first have to create a picture in your mind of a 3-headed donkey. Now your memory contains a picture of a non-existent animal…

…The 3-headed donkey example is a simple example that does no harm to your mind, because you’ll likely forget it as quickly as you created the picture to begin with. But the notion of “avoiding failure” is far more significant. As a test, consider this command:

Right Now, Think about avoiding failure.

The same principle holds true here. Before you can consider the notion of “avoiding” failure, you’ve first got to focus on what the term “failure” means. And it’s not pretty. It could mean losing some money. It could mean losing your home. It could mean going bankrupt. It could mean all sorts of things…

…but one thing is true: Everything about your mental concept of failure is negative. And when one focuses so heavily on “avoiding failure”, those negative mental images will definitely permeate your mind and will almost certainly leave you in a semi-paralyzed state, unable to take action.

And when you don’t take action, you don’t succeed. Period.

So here’s my next (and final) challenge to you for this post:

Right Now, Think About Massive Success As A Real Estate Investor

What will it mean for you to be massively successful? Will it mean that you own a portfolio of 50 houses that throw off $10,000 to $20,000 per month in cash flow? Will it mean freedom from your job and employer? Will it mean being able to pay for your children’s college education?

Whatever it means to you, the attraction of success is certainly more motivating to your mind than is the avoidance of failure. When you focus on success, your mind will be able to attract it.

…But when you focus on avoiding failure, then your definition of “success” will be nothing more than the avoidance of disaster. And nobody ever became truly wealthy by focusing on the avoidance of disaster.

HOWEVER…

This does not mean you shouldn’t use good business sense in advance to protect yourself from problems. For example:

• You should absolutely run your real estate business through a legal entity (corporation, partnership, LLC, etc) of some sort to shield you from any personal legal liability

• You should use the very best legal forms & documents available whenever agreeing to buy or sell property

• And you should certainly seek out excellent advice from people who are already successful as investors, rather than learning everything “the hard way”

Good news - you’ll learn about all of these things here on FreeRealEstateTraining.com in the coming days. In the mean time, begin to train your brain to focus on the achievement of success rather than the avoidance of failure. You’ll be glad you did.

(After leaving your comments below, skip ahead now to Fatal Flaw #3!)