Personal Lessons from 2011
Every January, I set a list of goals and get ready to take on a new year of frenetic activity. The beginning of the year is a great time for renewal of energy and taking on the things I have always wanted to tackle — debt, fitness, helping others and living a life with purpose. But it is also a great time to learn some lessons from the previous year. Here are some lessons I learned in 2011:
Every January, I set a list of goals and get ready to take on a new year of frenetic activity. The beginning of the year is a great time for renewal of energy and taking on the things I have always wanted to tackle — debt, fitness, helping others and living a life with purpose. But it is also a great time to learn some lessons from the previous year. Here are some lessons I learned in 2011:
- Persistence changes everything. Most people give up before they give themselves a chance. An investor friend was turned down 9 times before a bank finally approved a loan for him to purchase his first real estate investment. He now owns over 15 properties.
- Condition yourself to see failure as feedback:You have to get rejected and turned down before you appreciate your successes. Everything is progress.
- I get stress even from a moment of rushing. The second I am in a hurry, stress hits my body. When I slow down, I enjoy myself more. I am trying really hard to slow down and not pack too many things in my day.
- Don’t worry about what is difficult today. Tomorrow will be here faster than you want. Just put your head down and do good work. As a human rsources professional I have seen many people overcome difficult learning curves because of a hard work ethic. I knew very little about investing in real estate 5 years ago…today I know 10% more than I did 5 years ago. Learning anything new takes time.
- It’s never that big of a deal. Everything that goes wrong usually feels like the end of the world when it happens. But give it a few hours or days and you realize life goes on and everything’s usually fine. No single thing is usually that big of a deal. Act that way. I lost my phone in December and was really upset with myself because my entire life was on that phone. It took me a week to get over it….and I did.
- Anything is possible with the right motivation. 20% of what I do on a daily basis are things I used to think were impossible. Find compelling reasons to push the limits.
