The Hard Way is the Fastest

So, you’re sitting on some money ready to start investing. You got an investment plan, and you’re ready to start submitting offers or finding the right sponsor to invest in? Round of applause. I’m excited for you. But there’s one thing you have to prepare for, and it might be the most important of all.

Sustaining Momentum Without Losing Your Mind.

Being an investor means finding a healthy way to consistently and repeatedly do the boring and hard things. Most importantly, is without a system I have found I waste my time. The new idea becomes a TIME SUCK and takes away from enjoying the intentional life you’re designing.

Motivation is great when you start out, but consistency is a real risk when you're going it alone.

Even when you are successful in one area of life, maintaining consistency across multiple areas can be trickier than you’d expect.

It’s your responsibility to figure out how to best use your time. As many of my realtor friends know, engage in the highest dollar productive activity. If you don’t, you run the risk of burnout, inconsistent results, frustrations, and dwindling health. At least, that's how it played out for me.

Side note this activity that you do may take many forms. Underwriting a certain number of deals per week, submitting Letters of Intent, or connecting with brokers. Whatever it looks like in your world to move the needle, you need a way to do it over and over again.

Consider the basketball legend, Kobe Bryant. Do you believe he was always enthusiastic about shooting free throws at every practice? No way! But he had a coach and a game plan to follow to get become one of the greatest basketball players of all time!

You should have a plan too.

But don’t worry. I’ve got you. I've been down this path before and had to learn how to "hack my lazy self."

Here are 3 simple tips to do the hard things and accomplish your goals in the fastest way

3 Tips to Do the Hard Things Especially When Motivation Runs Out

Habit Tracking

Habit Tracking is the practice of keeping a record of your habits to monitor progress over time. It can be a powerful tool for habit formation, building in accountability, and self-improvement.

This is as simple as a printed checklist of boxes, or Jerry Seinfeld used a calendar with a big X on each day to make sure he wrote a new joke every day.

Doing this daily provides a nice dopamine hit. You are demonstrating to your mind, and visually, that you accomplished what you set out to do.

It's visual, and physical (if you use a pen instead of clicking on a computer screen). so it also triggers more senses, and you have records to track your performance over time.

By tracking it allows you to build additional levels of accountability into your life. And when you start connecting several days like links of a chain. That momentum, it reaffirms that your new habit is part of your identity. The bigger the chain of successes get the harder it is to break.

For me I have now worked out for 3+ years everyday and for me to not work out would be harder than the hard of working out. Again, hacking my own laziness.

The Compound Effect

The Compound Effect is the principle that small decisions and actions, when consistently applied over time, result in significant changes and outcomes. Like compound interest in finance, the benefits of small habits compound over time. It's more important to do small things consistently than to do a big thing once. I like to think of it as this - is there a workout that you can do once so you never have to work out again? No, it’s the small workout that you do every day for a year that gets you the results.

Small changes or actions may seem insignificant in isolation, but they accumulate and compound over time. Almost all my results have not been linear but exponential. I've felt frustrated at the weeks, months or years of hard work and nothing to show for it. Then all the sudden the results explode in growth all at once as more time passes.

Focus on consistency: Stick to your habits even if the changes seem small or not immediately rewarding.

Be patient: Understand that the real payoff will come in the future as the effects compound. Thinking long term

Celebrate small wins: Recognize and appreciate the small steps as they are the building blocks of significant change.

Habit Stacking

Habit Stacking is a strategy for building new habits by "stacking" a new habit on top of an existing one. This concept involves taking advantage of the established cues of existing habits to build new behaviors.

Habit stacking is based on the idea that it’s easier to add a new habit to an existing routine than to create an entirely new one from scratch.

The formula for habit stacking is: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].” This formula helps in clearly specifying where in your routine the new habit will occur.

Examples: 

After I pour my morning coffee, I will send a text to one broker for a deal.

After I sit down at my desk in the morning, I will write down my most important investment task for the day.

Tips for Effective Habit Stacking:

Choose the Right Existing Habit: The existing habit should be well-established and done regularly.

Keep the New Habit Simple: The new habit should be relatively easy to accomplish so that it doesn’t overwhelm you or disrupt your existing routine.

Be Specific: Clearly define the new habit and how it will fit immediately after the existing habit.

Monitor and Adjust: Keep track of how well the habit stacking is working, and make necessary adjustments.

Conclusion

Achieving a consistent and repeatable results relies on having the right systems in place without losing your sanity.

I’ve found when I have proven systems and accountability, I can get the outcomes I want consistently, time after time and faster than trying to wing it.

Capitalize on the high motivational that you have now. I encourage you to track your habits, add in the compound effect, and habit stacking, you'll build an unshakeable foundation.

The ever-elusive life you're designing can be yours.

And this structure has helped me stay focused, move faster, and be ready to tackle the endless challenges that come with the investor’s journey.

I hope they can help you too.

That’s it for today.

See you next week.

Jake