By Jackson Cooper

 

Instead of solely focusing on a business or investment concept, how many real estate investors are focusing on the things that matter most in this life? Michael recently interviewed author Steve Cook of Lifeonaire (Episode # 63) who presented a radical shift in perspective for most investors that would benefit anyone’s long term goals. Let’s dive into it.

Where Is Your Focus?

Any go-getter has a list of goals. Many are long term, some are short. Some require a lot of attention and others not so much. But it seems that often we become so focused on WHAT the goal is, we forget WHY we set the goal in the first place.

Maybe you started dabbling in investments because you wanted to make more money quickly, or because you wanted a steady consistent cash flow to finance other projects. But strip away the WHAT of your current list of accomplishments and goals and try to remember the WHY.

For many of us, the why boils down to something very basic – our lifestyle. We set out to improve our income so we can have a better life. You might be single, married, married with children, young, or old. But you’re ultimately trying to provide a better life for yourself or someone else. However, the catch seems to be that this “better life” can only come once these goals have been reached. This is where Steve’s radical shift comes into play. He proposes that a better life isn’t around the next corner – it can be lived right now – not “someday”.

4 Steps to Live the Life You Want Now (Not “Someday”)

Once you’ve remembered where your drive first came from, it is time to implement crucial steps to taking back your life and finding happiness now – not in some distant future.

Here are 4 Steps to Living The Life You Want Now:

Step # 1: Challenge cultural conditioning – Feeling like you never have enough is a dangerous cultural mindset. No matter how successful you become, all that achievement can be stripped away if you use others as your measuring stick for success. So instead of worrying that your neighbors or business partners have more visible prosperity than you do, focus on whether you are progressing toward your goals. By focusing on your personal short and long term goals and making advancements toward them, you can shed the cultural conditioning and find more satisfaction with your life.

Step # 2: Change the investor “money focused” mindset – Steve says that a Lifeonaire pursues an abundant life first whereas so many investors are pursuing money first to enjoy life later. When we get lost in the thrill of making more money, closing bigger deals, accumulating property and amassing even more wealth, we add unnecessary stress to our lives. The constant pressure and demand on our schedules can have major effects on our family relationships and in the end could easily cost us the quality of life we were working to improve in the first place.

Step # 3: Focus on debt reduction – When pursuing opportunities, investors can find it necessary to take on debt with an eye to future profits. However, trying to balance too much debt can become a precarious tightrope act where one failed investment can spell financial ruin. This will slowly poison your life as you spend your time stressed and afraid of losing all that you have built. Before you reach the precipice of bankruptcy, turn away from that edge and begin working on debt reduction. It may mean turning down some opportunities and building up an emergency fund instead but it is worth the peace of mind.      

Step # 4: Maximize time spent on work and play – Investors can spend every waking moment engaged in business. But not all of that time is utilized to the best of their abilities. When we recognize every moment as an opportunity to conduct business, there is less urgency to be efficient with our time spent on our investing work. This can lead to a mindset of always being on the clock. By setting limits to your work day, you will find yourself getting more done during your work hours as well as having time to fully participate in other activities. There will be work emergencies, but you should set guidelines on what is a true emergency and what is a distraction from spending time with those you love.    

Take these things into consideration the next time you have to choose between a lunch meeting and a family event and remember that these things have to strike a very important balance to be successful. I highly recommend reading Lifeonaire for Steve’s approach to living a rich and happy life while chasing his investment dreams.

Jackson Cooper is a writer and real estate enthusiast, involved in the outreach team at Jensen and Company. Look to Jensen and Company, true leaders in the Park City real estate industry for your dream home. Follow them on Twitter Or Facebook. Check out the incredible high life homes for sale in Park City today!