Over the last 23 years, Ive known many investors and entrepreneurs. Ive seen every possible scenario, from overnight success to plodding, sit-on-your-butt-and-do-nothing failure. Ive known people who would get off to a great start, and then fade away, and some who would piddle around and never seem to get anywhere. Ive known those who made a very successful living and even a few who became super wealthy.

Is there a magic formula for success? I wish I could tell you there was. It could have saved me a whole lot of headaches over the years. And having the copyright on that formula would have made me an awful lot of money. Unfortunately, theres no more magic in being successful than there is in anything else worthwhile in life.

However, from years of experiencing my own successes and failures, as well as witnessing those of others, I have identified a few mistakes that can short-circuit an entrepreneurs rise to fortune. Ive compiled a list of the most common roadblocks youll face on the road to becoming a successful real estate entrepreneur.

Now, you may be one of the fortunate few, and never find yourself faced with any of these problems, and thats great. More likely, youll recognize parallels in your own situation in what Im about to discuss.My goal here is to put you in a position where you can identify these pitfalls. Then, when you encounter them (and you will), youll be armed with the ability to direct yourself around them and get back on track . . . immediately. You wont have to worry about these things hindering you from achieving your goals. So, lets dive in and go down the list.



1. Lack of focus. I define focus as concentrating only on the work you must do to succeed in your business, avoiding all distractions and not getting side-tracked by every great idea that pops up. Its not easy. The world we live in today is filled with things that beg for our attention. We live in whats being called the Information Age, and thats great except all this bombardment of information makes it hard for most of us to sift through the junk and come up with the good stuff. Thats why most of us have a problem staying focused - even when were trying to concentrate on something we know will make us wealthy. There are a million ways to make a million bucks and every day a new avenue for riches is presented to us. But Ive learned through trial and error (lots of error) that the only way to make something work is to filter out everything else and stick with what I know works.

I get frustrated when I see people with tremendous potential for this business get off track with a so-called get-rich quick scheme (and there are a lot of them - just watch a little late-night television). If you dabble in one business, jump to another then try something else completely different, youre not likely to be successful at any of it. Focus takes work, determination and discipline. Sometimes it hurts. Like when you have to say no to your family so you can go out and make them five or ten thousand dollars when you could be watching Seinfeld re-runs at home. Believe me, when your increased income starts showing up in trips to Disney World, new clothes, cars, etc., your spouse and kids wont have a problem with it.

- Continued in Part 2