August 22, 2018

Soundbite: Mindset is in my mind…again!

24 minutes

Today’s theme is something I have covered before in more than one way, and I will do so again, without apology. There is a very good reason for this…it is so, so key to our motivation, mental well-being and ultimately also to our success, that it has to be constantly watered and nurtured. As someone who sometimes suffers from those nagging self-doubts, I can tell you that protecting our thoughts, managing our emotions and guarding our inner self is one of the greatest disciplines and investments in personal development and growth we can make.

Spoiler alert: this is NOT a ra-ra, Guru-esque speech that will get you walking across hot coals once I’m done. Sorry about that, the Tony Robbins channel might be able to help you out with that. But, this will be an honest and personal insight into the sometimes struggling, yet strident property investor and developer that is yours truly. I have defeated many demons, overcome many obstacles and sometimes have to fight myself at times to overcome the tendency for self-sabotage. Yet, as I reflect, I can see how certain basic thought processes and approaches have ultimately stood me in good stead to keep coming back, pressing forward and ultimately to achieve the level of result and outcome that I have managed to achieve.

Resources mentioned

Property Deal Tips & How to Reach me By Telephone

Free Dom Tokens…might be worth something one day: Dominium referral link

Link to the Podcast feedback survey

Today’s must do’s

Subscribe to and review the show in iTunes…and while you are at it please help us to spread the word by telling all your friends too!

Send in your property stories, questions or moans to [email protected] and we will try and feature YOU on the show too!

Property Investor Toolkit – here is the book link on amazon.co.uk & amazon.com in case you would like to get yourself a copy to accompany this series

Get talking!

Join in the discussion, either here in the comments section below, or by emailing us at [email protected]

Start a conversation on Twitter with us @PropertyVoiceUK or on our Facebook page

Transcription of the show

Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Property Voice podcast. My name is Richard Brown and as always, it’s a pleasure to have you join me on the show again today.

Do you know what gives me a kick and makes me really happy? It’s when people contact me to say how much they enjoy or value the content that I am putting out! So, a big up to those of you that have connected with me to say thank you for the podcast content and it seems the last couple of weeks’ episodes went down especially well…you genuinely made my week when you contacted me with your gracious thanks and appreciation.

Honestly, it really does help to keep me motivated, as often it does rather feel like I am talking into a cave, with only my own voice echo for feedback at times. So, don’t be shy, please do drop me a short note or you can give me a call on 0208 144 5895 if you prefer; honestly, I don’t bite and I love hearing from my listeners.

Oh, and I guess now might be a good moment to use the ‘R’ word again…if you would be so kind to drop a few kind words onto iTunes, or your podcast platform of choice, it will help other people find the show and so to learn too. I know you might be tempted to keep me all to yourself as our little secret. But, if I say the words ‘abundance mentality’, you might accept that if you sow, more will come back to you in the harvest…and that includes knowledge sharing too! So, be generous, be a go-giver and be grateful that you have such an opportunity to get all of this stuff absolutely free to feed upon…by sharing the love, just a little

So, this has quite neatly lead me to introduce today’s theme. It’s something I have covered before in more than one way, and I will do so again, without apology. There is a very good reason for this…it is so, so key to our motivation, mental well-being and ultimately also to our success, that it has to be constantly watered and nurtured. As someone who sometimes suffers from those nagging self-doubts, I can tell you that protecting our thoughts, managing our emotions and guarding our inner self is one of the greatest disciplines and investments in personal development and growth we can make.

Spoiler alert: this is NOT a ra-ra, Guru-esque speech that will get you walking across hot coals once I’m done. Sorry about that, the Tony Robbins channel might be able to help you out with that. But, this will be an honest and personal insight into the average struggling, yet strident property investor and developer that is yours truly. I have defeated many demons, overcome many obstacles and sometimes have to fight myself at times to overcome the tendency for self-sabotage. Yet, as I reflect, I can see how certain basic thought processes and approaches have ultimately stood me in good stead to keep coming back, pressing forward and ultimately to achieve the level of result and outcome that I have managed to achieve.

So, after that longer than usual preamble, let’s get into some of the real brain food right now then shall we?

Property Chatter

I ran a workshop just under a year ago and I had a confession to make to the attendees at the time. You see, I have published my first book, called Property Investor Toolkit, but it had a rather large omission…it failed to fully address mindset.

To illustrate the point a little. The book has plenty rather nice reviews, thankfully along with two bad ones.

Now pause for a moment…

On the Amazon UK website, there are 55 customer reviews of the book.

85% are 5-start reviews and 96% are either 4-star or 5-star reviews.

This leaves 4% as either 2-star or 1-star reviews, with bizarrely no 3-star reviews, which suggest a split decision.

Before I go on…which number have you focused on…the 85%, the 96% or the 4%?

Maybe as it’s my book and not yours the answer might be different right? So, what if it were your book and not mine, which number then?

If you are anything like me, then the 4% would have caught your attention, or at least be where you would look first.

But wait a moment, 96% of the people that left a review said they rated the book as 4 or 5-stars and many left comments to explain why.

Of the 4%, which actually equates to 2 reviews…

One focussed on not being able to receive the free bonuses that the book offers, which by the way Ben Green we did send you and followed up with you from at least 3 different e-mail addresses lol

The other one, who was the sole 1-star reviewer came from Music Man, who said it had no depth and there are better books out there. He might be right, but at £3 along with the bonuses available, not to mention all of the free content that I share…does this sound fair and reasonable to you?

So, what am I saying by sharing these insights into the reviews of my book. Mindset is what I am saying. And, I am not just explaining my own mindset, but that of the reviewers.

You see, there are two types of people in this world…those who focus on the positive, the solution and the prize and those that focus on the negative, the problem and the work.

I have been in both camps, don’t worry, I am not lecturing. But I will say this…the first camp is more likely to be a happy place than the second, trust me on that.

So, without getting all Norman Vincent Peale on you, there are some aspects of our mindset that will lead to growth and others that will lead to stagnation or even decline.

Here is my current list of mindset attributes that I believe help us as property investors and developers to have a growth mindset

Positive attitude, or at least a realistic one if you are more Stoic as I am. Shit happens yes, but not all the time Aim to see the best outcome, but don’t blindly fall into the trap that if you think it will be ok in the end that it always will be…it night be and being positive definitely increases the chances, but sometime it won’t so be ready to deal with that too.

Resilience or a steely determination to take the set-backs, the knocks and the disappointments and to get back up again just one more time, one more time and then one more time after that too…it took me 30 years to write my first book and I will soon be releasing books 2 and 3, along with an update of book 1.

Have an adaptable approach; property can be complicated…so we need to be flexible if we are to survive from project-to-project, year-to-year and cycle-to-cycle. As the saying goes, if life gives you lemons, then make lemonade. So many times I have changed course with my property journey, be that in strategy or with individual projects. The only constant is change as the Buddhist teaching goes.

Problem solving focus, I will just say this…those that solve the most problems for the most people will also be rewarded the most! For example, my very own Property Deal Tips service was born out of not knowing what to do with the surplus deals that my personal sourcing system was uncovering, my aborted flip project in Derbyshire has now morphed into a profitable holiday rental and instead of paying a $10,000 sourcing fee on our US property deals, by partnering with a local developer to fund their marketing cost this has now been reduced by at least 60%. Think laterally, think outside the box, think…what can I offer the other person that means we both win?

Commercial outlook, property is a business and property projects are an based on investment decisions based on sound financial data, criteria and metrics. Sure, velvet covered sofas and Metro tiles might be in vogue again right now, but it matters not unless it makes you more money or for your property to rent or sell faster. So, marry up your inner creative with a spreadsheet or two – or get someone close to you that is good at that sort of thing instead.

Good judgement or intuition; look at how Lord Sugar literally ruminates before he considers who to fire from the board room in The Apprentice. In this case, and rather unlike the suspenseful pause on other reality TV shows, like the X-Factor…he is getting in touch with his gut instincts, quite literally. Get good at that or if not, get someone around you that is good at that instead.

Patience is indeed a virtue, but it is also an essential trait of the property investor in it for the long haul. The best deals, tenants and business opportunities come to those who wait. Any fool can rush in, but ask yourself: what would the wise elder do?

A thick skin! You will be criticised, blamed, accused, attacked and sometimes taken advantage of, from those near and far, unknown and also sadly, known too. Get used to it early on but don’t let it bother you. As someone once said to me; ‘we don’t know what makes people mad, bad or sad’. That is true and so should help us to be more compassionate, but it should also help us to put a protective shield around our own fragile egos as well. In other words, don’t bite, leave that email in draft overnight before sending and aim to be successful more than right.

Abundance mentality – what goes around comes around, Karma or give as you wish to receive…there really is enough to go around, so give, give freely and give first too. One of my favourite quotes comes from John Wooden, who says ‘you can not live a perfect day without doing something for someone that can never repay you’. If you don’t have all of the resources you need, fear not, they are out there and with the right approach, application and network, they will come to you too…when you are ready to handle them. Think about that for a moment. Thomas Edison also said that ‘we often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.’ So, don’t be afraid to roll your sleeves up. Although, I will share with you the approach of the trawler fisherman versus the spear gun hunter. The trawlerman catches the most fish, but the spear gun hunter catches the biggest fish. Apologies to all the animal-friendly listeners at this moment, I can see all of my three daughters screwing their faces up as I share this…but it’s just a story and no animals were in the making of this podcast ok!

Procrastination and perfectionism only get in our way, we need to replace these thoughts with a ‘do something, so anything’ and a ‘good, is good enough’ approach if we suffer from such curses. If you are a procrastinator, then get some external accountability and if you are a perfectionist, determine that 90% is good enough to get going in the knowledge that the final 10% will come with time. As a reminder, after I decided to get back into property, it then took me another four years before I did. That four years cost me over £2m pounds in lost property value and rental income. The irony is that when I finally did get going, I had pretty much the same resources as four years earlier, perhaps with a little more knowledge but £2m can fund a few mistakes I reckon

Fear, uncertainty and doubt and negative barriers that can clog up our thoughts get in our way. Aim to replace these with courage, decisiveness and certainty As humans we have an innate defence mechanism that senses danger, often leading to the fight, freeze or flight response. But that’s what our Neanderthal self might do, not our modern 21st Century self with several millennia’s worth of learning, technological advancement and economic progress to take advantage of. We no longer have spears, loincloths and fire, we have smartphones, modern fibres and the power of Internet for company.

Failure is a learning & growth opportunity. Contrary to conventional thinking, failing means you are growing, providing you approach it in the right way. I have just read the book Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed and it was a very illuminating insight into the concept of a growth mindset and how we can learn from our mistakes. I highly recommend it!

Finally, plug your gaps…we all have our gaps, weaknesses or blind spots and that’s both normal and OK too. So, just work out what they are, be they skills and knowledge, people and contacts, resources and systems and then go and plug them in a way that works for you. It could be education, partnership, technology, new people, partners or networks, of just stepping outside of your comfort zone a little bit. If any of the above characteristics caused you to feel a little uneasy, then it might just be a gap…so think about how you might go about plugging it. Only today, I agreed to purchase another development project…the opportunity was too great, even if I don’t have all of the funding in place right now…but it will come through the power of my network I am certain!

In conclusion, I have a couple of clients who have had a few challenges of late and so this episode has been on my mind for a little while. There is one person in particular that has had a bit of a tough time over the past few years. But they are making lemonade out of the lemons they currently have. But one day, their lemonade could just into the next Sprite, who knows. Here’s to you my friend, keep the faith…this too will pass!

Right enough of the mindset stuff for now, but not forever…because it is so vital to our success as property investors and developers. I hope my short list of characteristics and traits has been helpful, if nothing else to get you thinking. I am sure the list is not complete or perfect, but if we can embrace and then crack many of these, then we will be doing all right I reckon!

OK, so both my and my podcast producer Matthew are going away on holiday…not together you understand! But, still around the same time. I was going to take a complete break in all honesty but have since decided to share a collection of short answers to questions posed by forum posters, magazine readers and podcast listeners instead. Therefore, over the next 4-6 weeks I will share a question from one of you and then give a brief answer in a podcast episode. If you like the idea, we could perhaps repeat it again sometime in the future.

But, what I am saying really is that the episodes will be batched up and drip-released each week until the start of October. At which point when I shall return, hopefully refreshed and re-charged and ready to share more property insights during the autumn and run up to Christmas. By all means, get in touch if you have any suggestions for content for the show; just don’t expect a rapid response for the next few weeks that’s all.

That’s me done for another week then. As a reminder, the show notes can be found over at www.thepropertyvoice.net. Or, if you want to talk about anything from today’s show, or just talk property investing more generally, email me at [email protected] or call me weekday afternoons on 0208 144 5895, I would be happy to hear from you!

Once again, all I want to say is thank you very much for listening once again this week and until next time on The Property Voice Podcast…it’s ciao-ciao.

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By Richard W J Brown from www.thepropertyvoice.net