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Enjoy the Journey

For most people, we think we know what success looks like. It’s different for everyone, but most probably want health, wealth, happiness, fulfillment, etc. However, once we reach this success, it’s often not quite what we thought it would be in the beginning. This path to success is often a long one too. You might spend years working towards achieving success how you define it, only to realize that it’s not quite what you expected.

Let’s use an analogy. Imagine you spend weeks climbing a mountain with the goal to reach the summit and take in the views of the amazing scenery. You prepare yourself for the climb, study techniques, weather patterns, and a trail path. You push your body to its limits and finally reach the summit. It’s then you realize the views are not as spectacular as you expected. Well this scenario is one that has some truth for me – only I was hiking a volcano in Costa Rica for what seemed like most of the day, only to reach the top and have an obstructed view by the the clouds and fog. I guess that’s what happens when you climb into the clouds.

So why am I telling you this? Simple. While success is your ultimate goal, you should also enjoy the journey to that success. If you don’t like what it takes to achieve that success then you might feel you wasted time getting to that unfulfilling destination. Embrace the grind, if you will.

Your Journey

Life is full of paths and options. It’s up to you to decide which to take. Knowing that you’ll be in this for the long haul, it’s wise to do something you enjoy in the process. Here are a few ways you can enjoy your journey.

1. Be grateful. Gratitude is a powerful emotion, and one that can change your perspective on a lot of things. If you take a perspective that each and every day is a new opportunity for you grow, become better, and do good, that in itself if a powerful feeling. Being grateful is one thing. Expressing gratitude is another. Tell yourself and others what and who you are grateful for. In fact, I write down one thing every day I’m grateful for. Sometimes it’s for my healthy niece and nephews, and other day’s it’s for my coffee and home office.
2. Do something that brings you excitement and fulfillment. Life is too short to do things for an extended amount of time that you don’t enjoy. Sure, we all have to pay bills and keep our lives in order. But if you do something you truly enjoy, you’ll naturally do well at it and the end goal won’t be all that matters to you. Going back to our analogy, if you enjoy hiking the views at the top are just a bonus.
3. Say no, so you can say yes to the right things. Some of the most determined and successful people I know say no to a lot of things. They keep focus on their own goals and don’t get distracted with all of the other options and paths life offers them. There are a million paths to what you define as success. It’s up to you to pick your path and make it yours. This sometimes requires saying no to other things. I was at a conference recently and Brandon Turner from BiggerPockets had a really interesting perspective on this. He looked at time spent as it was being robbed from his family. If he says yes to something, he is robbing time from himself that he could be spending with his wife and daughter. Sometimes, that time is necessary. Other times, it’s okay to say no to things so you can do the things that are truly important to you.

These are just a few ways you can enjoy your journey. Everyone is different. We have different goals, different paths, and different things we enjoy. Pick yours and do it as best as you can.

Make it Yours

We, as real estate investors, are an impatient and...