Smart Focus

If you are like many of us, you've made New Year's goals to get organized and do more investing. For us in the real estate business of selling and/or investing, that means we need to start looking at properties and putting deals together. My father had a good quote when it comes to investing and it goes something like this, "It's not how you get into the game, its when you get into the game." This means that it's not necessarily the size of the deal that is important, it is that time is a precious commodity and is important to take advantage of opportunities as soon as possible.

Whether it is putting more money away for retirement, buying your first rental property or moving your company from a lease situation to an ownership situation, you need to have focus and discipline. Here are a few ways to get organized and maintain your focus over the upcoming year:

Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being reached than a goal that is general.
Measurable: Create specific deadlines and targets to keep track of progress.
Attainable: Set goals that are important to you and develop ways to reach them.
Realistic: Set goals you are willing and able to work towards.
Timely: Create a time-frame within which you wish to reach your goal.

After you have set your goals for the year, create a plan and don't deviate from it. Allowing yourself to get sidetraced or leting checkpoints pass by will prevent you from keeping your resolution. Stick with your goals and your plan of action. Take a moment to think about where you want to be in a year.

"Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve." -Benjamin Franklin