At one time or another, just about every kid in America has heard the “Invest in Your Future” speech, the pep talk teachers, athletes, and celebrities pepper young people with to get them geared up, thinking positive, and laying the foundation for a successful life by getting an education and planning on doing great things. As real estate investors, we can all stand to rip a page from their playbook and do the same thing.

If you’re feeling a little nervous about your investing prospects, it’s not because you know too much. You need to constantly better yourself and plan great things. Start by learning something new every day. There are a lot of resources out there that can teach innovative techniques for pulling profits out of real estate regardless of what CNN has to say. The news media loves to trash everyone – and everything. They’ll help put people, investments, and ideas up on a pedestal so they can be there with their video cameras and notepads to describe the ensuing carnage when they beat them down. Journalism is the ultimate growth industry!

Instead of playing the game, learn something and keep moving forward. You need motivation? Here’s some: Plan on doing great things. It’s all well and good if you dream of having the fattest investing portfolio at you next REIA meeting. Having a bigger goal is better. Sure, money blunts some of the pain of being broke, but nothing gives you a greater sense of self-satisfaction and personal fulfillment than doing something good. So eat and drink investing, make your millions, but on your way up use some of your success to help a worthwhile group. It could be helping your kid’s soccer team buy new uniforms or helping Habitat for Humanity build or renovate houses. Find something larger than yourself that you care about and get involved!

Remember this: Regardless of how successful you are in life, there will always be someone just a little richer, a little taller, a little thinner, a little better looking, or a little younger than you. If you judge true success based on money alone you’ll be a big fish in a very shallow pond. Instead, commit to something larger than yourself. By helping others on your way up, you live a richer life and – if something unforeseen happens and you slip or get knocked off your pedestal – your descent back down to Earth will be softened by the goodwill of all those you have helped along the way.

It beats the heck out of a crash landing with live footage airing every 15 minutes on CNN. That’s the way I see it.

Happy Investing! Charrissa

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