The 'Big 5' Challenges People Face

Don't let your attitude set you back.

It’s easy to have a great attitude when things are going our way; everybody can do that. It’s when difficult challenges rise before us, and the attitude within us rises to overcome those problems, that attitude becomes the difference-maker. Unfortunately, it’s more common for our attitude to fall short of rising to life’s challenges. I have come to the conclusion there are five reasons our attitudes fall short of what they should be: discouragement, problems, change, fear and failure.

Discouragement

Everyone gets discouraged. Sydney Harris said, “When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life’s hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’ ”
Not everyone responds to discouragement in the same way. In regard to discouragement, there are two kinds of people in the world: splatters and bouncers. Splatters hit rock bottom, fall apart and stick to the bottom like glue. Bouncers hit rock bottom, pull themselves back together and bounce back up. The question is: Are you going to give up or get up? It’s a choice.

Here are a few suggestions that will help you bounce when you experience discouragement.

• Get the right perspective. You don’t have to look very far to see that you have it pretty good.
• See the right people. In Winning with People, I talk about the Elevator Principle. There are some people who lift you up and some people that bring you down. When you are discouraged, you need to go find yourself a lifter!
• Say the right words. In his excellent work, Spiritual Depression: Its Cause and Cure, Dr. Lloyd Martyn Jones wrote, “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself?” Remarkable? Think about it. You wake up in the morning, and right away, there are streams of thought coming into your mind. You haven’t invited them; you didn’t ask for them; you are not consciously doing anything to produce them; they just come. Instead of compliantly listening to them, start telling yourself the positive, difference-making words you need to hear.

Problems

I love what Malcolm Forbes said about problems: “If you have a job without aggravation, you don’t have a job.” Like discouragement, everyone experiences problems, but there are some basic principles for handling problems well.

• Define what a problem is. Fred Smith taught me many years ago that a problem is something I can do something about. If I cannot do something about a situation, it is a fact of life, not a problem.
• Anticipate problems. A problem anticipated is an opportunity. But a problem not anticipated is a problem.
• Embrace each problem as a potential opportunity. I’ve always loved this expression: Problems are wake-up calls for creativity. The great Norman Vincent Peale said, “Positive thinking is how you think about a problem. Enthusiasm is how you feel about a problem. The two together determine what you do about a problem.”

Change

Change is a challenge we cannot avoid. Change has been with us since the beginning. Someone said that as Adam led Eve out of the Garden of Eden, he said, “My dear, we live in a time of transition.” Realize change is part of life. Decide what you are unwilling to change. For me, that includes my faith and family. Once that decision is settled, be open to and realistic about change. Here’s how I look at change:

Everyone would be a millionaire if real estate investing were 100% risk free. No one would have any reason not to invest. Only those real estate investors who are not afraid to face risks and know how to deal with them will be successful in real estate investing. If you want this to be you, take a little time to learn the risks involved with investing in real estate.
Potential for Negative Cash Flow:  Like many other investments, real estate has the potential to create losses. Whenever you complete a deal with less money than you started with, you've created negative cash flow. And too much negative cash flow can leave you broke.

So it's very important that you know how to find and analyze a good real estate investment. If this is a skill you are working on, you can reduce your risk and save some time by using the services of a real estate investment firm.

Availability of Funds:  One of the primary barriers of investing in real estate is the lack of funding. Even though you can invest in real estate without using your own money, you still need to have money from somewhere. There are many creative ways of getting other people's money (OPM) to complete a transaction, and many good books have been written on the subject. One of the latest incarnations of OPM has been the use of corporate credit.

Time Constraints:  Some types of investments require more time than others, for example distressed and rehab properties. Other types of investments require you to be available during business hours. If your regular job demands most of your time, you might find it difficult to make time to invest in real estate. Understand the time involved with the various types of real estate investments so you can plan your schedule around your investing.

Need for an Exit Strategy:  Before you go into a deal, you need to have a feasible plan for getting rid of your investment property. Note the word "feasible." Your exit strategy has to be logical and doable; otherwise, it's not a very good exit strategy. Your plan may be to fix-and-flip the property right away, or it may be to lease-and-hold for 10 years.

Be sure to invest with a clear and specific exit strategy in mind. And always have a contingency plan in place in case situations come up that are out of your control.

Real estate investing, like any other form of investing, has some potential risks. On the positive side, these risks are associated with the potential for high returns. But with proper planning and ongoing education you will be successful as a real estate investor.

It is a real advantage for real estate analysts to determine the value of an investment property quickly. When we might not have access to our computers and real estate investment software, or (forgive me) might just want to remind ourselves that we can still do the math on a napkin over lunch.

Nonetheless, investment real estate property such as multi-family units, office buildings, and similar residential and commercial properties that generate rental income sometimes require a rough real estate valuation on the spot.

How can a buyer get interest for purchasing your house? Impression is the keyword. You just need to get your house ready to sell by doing some preparation. Get inspected by a professional if you want to pay a little effort for maximum results, or if you don't want to spend much money by paying professional you can do by yourself for getting your house ready to sell. Like the old saying goes: "If you want something done right, do it yourself!"

Now that become a question, how to get your house impressed a buyer? Those are the steps for getting your house ready to sell to a buyer.

Beautify Your Exterior

What you do is just beautifying. The goal is to make your exterior look pretty and fresh to impress your buyer. Just to inform you that the exterior becomes the first impression to overlook a house. There are two sensory organs of a buyer you must impress. Those are eyes and nose. By bringing the garden homelike condition to your house exterior, making it looked pretty and freshening it up. The steps you can do are:

- Get the grass, trees, flowers, and plants tidy and fresh by mowing and watering it
- Clean up the curb and entering path and put the potted flower in the sides.
- Freshen up the smells by put scented potpourri.
- Clean up all of windows and entering doors.
- Get rid of equipments out of sights.
- Paint the walls if necessary.

Make the Interior Cosy

Let's take a brief look at credit scores, credit reports, and how these items affect your home buying power, plus your long-term financial strength. Three companies provide this information to potential lenders, and others who deem this information necessary;  TransUnion, and Equifax. Also, it is a federal law that you be provided a copy of your credit report from these three companies once a year.

 First, your credit report is a compilation of your credit history related to things like credit cards, revolving charge accounts (gas card or Sears card), previous mortgages, student loans, car payments, etc. It contains detailed information on your payment history, whether or not you have any negative items affecting your credit, plus details of your personal information known by the credit reporting company. It is very import

ant you immediately dispute any negative reports in these credit reports if they are incorrect, or take whatever steps necessary to correct the negatives if they are correct.

Power Negotiators know that you should always flinch-react with shock and surprise at the other side's proposals.
Let's say that you are in a resort area and stop to watch one of those charcoal sketch artists. He doesn't have the price posted, and he has the shill sitting on the stool. You ask him how much he charges, and he tells you $15. If that doesn't appear to shock you, his next words will be, "And $5 extra for color." If you still don't appear shocked, he will say, "And we have these shipping cartons here, you'll need one of these too."