In the REI game since Y2K, JP's deal-making adventures run the gamut from rehabs to rentals to realtoring to wholesaling—from REOs to lease options to seller financing to raw land. Many 100's of deals later, his active real estate game is played remotely today (from home) in various U.S. markets, and intentionally with the smallest team possible. The aim is high margins with the least possible time & effort. Less, but better.

4 Key Traits SUPER Investors Possess

You probably dreamed of being a superhero when you were a kid, right? I mean who didn’t, right?

So while I’m still around waiting for some X-ray vision and maybe an invisibility cloak (admit it, you'd love these too), the current reality is that I'm still just me, JP Moses, Director of Awesome here at Awesome REI.

But here's something cool: I may not be a superhero yet, but as an adult (most of the time) and seasoned real estate investor (now 17+ years), I know just what it takes to be a Super Investor, which is maybe, kinda the next best thing?

So let's talk about that for a sec…

What the Heck's a Super Investor?

super serius 4So, what sets your typical investor apart from the Super variety? Is it bulging biceps and the gift of looking good in tights?

One can only hope… not.

Really for me, it’s all about the Big 4…

Why you’re real estate investing in the first place

Where you want your business to go

How you aim to get there

What really motivates you – long term

The Goods Are Here

This is the focus of today’s post, and I really hope it helps challenge you to recognize these 4 key traits within yourself – because they really could mean the difference between your super success, ho-hum mediocrity, or ultimate failure.

Sooooooo… Ready to become a Super Investor?

Watch and learn…

Video Transcription:

Hey, what's up guys, JP Moses here with Awesome REI. I hope you're doing well. In fact, I hope you're doing amazingly, brilliantly, fantastic today.

I’ve got something I want to share with you that comes from the heart. It comes from many years of sharpening my own acts as a human being and as a real estate investor. It has lots to do with the core values that I hold dear and that I try to instill within my family and my closest friends. And it's called Four Key Traits of Super Investors.

Now, not everybody in my family, obviously, is an investor. So when I say it's related to core values that we hold dear in my family and that I hold dear as a person, these things apply to you as a human being, but because our friends here watching this video, you guys are all in some way form or fashion involved in real estate investing. I'm going to tailor the content to speak to you as an investor, but I challenge you to apply this holistically.

And let me also just say right from the get-go, that is super serious. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am not a typically really super serious. In fact, I'm anything but series most of the time, as will be evidenced by most of the somewhat comical pictures throughout the fancy dancy slides I put together here. But actually, this is a very serious thing, so I hope you take it to heart.

So let me first of all just ask, what is a super investor? What does that even mean? Well, let's start with the dictionary's definition of super. Super means, very good, first rate, excellent. Or have the highest degree or power. So kinda like a spin on Superman, right?

Do you have what it takes to be a very good, first rate, excellent real estate investor? I assume that that's what you're after, right? Wherever you are right now, I assume that you want to level-up. Well, roll with me here just for a minute, okay?

What are the traits of Super investors? If I asked you that question, do you know any traits that you would identify as those that Super investors would hold? What is it that defines a Super investor? What gives them they're superness and sets them apart from the masses of mere mortal investors out there?

It can be a tough question to answer, and so I'm wondering if you have what it takes to swim the English Channel perhaps. You know a few traits to swim. The English Channel would be obvious. Of course you'd have to know how to swim and swim. Dang well. You'd also have to be highly motivated. Beyond that, what might be the necessary traits that you would need? I mean, you really wouldn't know until you committed to the event and stepped into training mode, right?

Well, regarding real estate investing, you might at first think of all the obvious traits, right? So your short list might look something like this: A working knowledge of the real estate world, tactical training on how to craft deals, some insights and training into marketing for motivated sellers and selling your properties and things like that. A certain ability to crunch the numbers of a deal and yada, yada, yada.

These are all valid points, but today I want to challenge you with four specific traits that I've been pondering lately that I really, truly, firmly believe should be right up towards the top of your list. None of these things are on it.

I have known literally hundreds and hundreds of real estate investors around the country and from that experience coupled with my own have more than 16 years now in the trenches, I can testify that these four things really truly, deeply matter.

And trait number one is Knowing Your Why.

So back to the English Channel Example from earlier, right? So once a swimmer is out in the middle of that great expanse of water and cold, the hunger and the weariness of it'll, I'm sure, begins to take its toll. So you got to be fully convinced there is a very good compelling reason for attempting such a demanding feet or you're toast, right?

To put it more simply, the swimmer in the English Channel has got to have a big why. Why am I doing this? Why am I really out here in this cold, treacherous place? That question has got to be answered before the challenge ever attempted, and if the why is not big enough or strong enough or gut level compelling enough, well that athlete is probably gonna throw in the towel long before he reaches his goal, which is the other side of the channel.

Likewise, you must have a strong compelling why to keep you moving towards your goal of creating the most amazingly successful and wildly profitable real estate investing business that you possibly can. Your why. It's the fire in your belly. It's the thing that drives you to get up a little earlier and stay up a little later and press on to the goal. It'll keep you from quitting when the going gets tough.

Let me just ask you, what is your why? Do you even know? If your why is simply, you know, I just want to make more money or I just want to buy more things? Well, chances are it's not enough. You're why probably won't be strong enough if those are one of your wives to sustain you when the waves come crashing down over your head.

Nietzsche said, he who has a why can endure any how. If your why is not compelling though, if you lack a strong sense of purpose, your business is gonna look a lot like a roller coaster. It's going to look a lot more like that than an out and out fight to win the battle.

So, the bottom line is invest the necessary time to identify your clear why and make it crystal clear. What is your compelling reason to keep pressing on in this business even when it gets as hard as it can be? Your why has got to carry you through those tough times. Make it crystal clear. Write it down. Keep it someplace you can see it like a, I dunno, tacked to your wall besides your computer and beside your bathroom mirror when you look at yourself every morning, but look at it every day, several times a day I would suggest and let it be your fuel.

Another quote I really love about this is from the great Jim Rohn. He said, when you know what you want and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it. I love that quote.

Number two of super investors Knowing Where You're Going.

So now that you know why you're starting this journey, the next step is to clearly identify exactly what it is that you're journeying towards, right? It makes sense. If you don't know where you're going, how in the heck are you going to know when you get there? So without a clear sense of direction, not only is it impossible to know when you get where you're going, but it's also impossible to know how to get there and I see this all the time. Somebody jumps into the world of real estate and tries you know this niche and then tries that one and then tries another one over here and you flounder around like that, and it just wastes time and energy to say nothing of the discouragement that it can generate in your heart.

If you've ever spent any time with me at all, then you know I am a believer in the power of being a focused specialist rather than a generalist all over the map. I'm not a fan of the Jack of all trades, master of none, which is what that generates. So here are three worthwhile things to help you uncover the right direction or destination for you, and I just want you to take some time to think through these yourself. Thing number one, are you looking to replace your current income? Number two, are you just looking for cash flow? Number three, are you looking to build long term assets? So if number one is your answer, then maybe wholesaling lease options. Seller financing might be the route for you to pursue. For number two, the best strategies could be lease options and seller financing. Number three, if that best describes your plan, seller financing and rehabbing should be worth serious consideration, but I mean that just scratches the surface.

I'm just popping ideas here. You've got to do the work of asking yourself the good questions and then forcing yourself to come up with clear specific answers that you can then turn into actual destinations to fix your eyes on and really focus. Do you have a business destination? Do you know what kind of business you're crafting? Is it clear? Is it specific? Are you able to summarize it in a paragraph? Can it be understood by someone who's not already in the trenches of this business. Trait. Number three of super investors is Knowing How to Get There. After you know your why in this business and you know where you're headed, the third thing is that you got to map out your journey, set another way. You need a map to follow, which is done by creating a series of strategic, workable, doable goals that lead you down a defined path towards your destination.

So, I don't know. Maybe you're saying, oh, goals, seriously, I've never been a goal setting person. Every time I set goals, I fail just setting myself up for failure. Well, if you've never been a goal setting person, now is the time to begin. Because by far the most successful people in the world set goals. Your ongoing working goals list should be your detailed roadmap to get you to your intended destination and I would submit that ideally your goals list will be divided into three sections. The first section, short term goals, and that would be things that you want to accomplish this month, mid to long-term goals would be next, and that would be things that you want to notch out this year. And then thirdly, your long-term goals like five years plus, in my view, five years is about as far out as I want to go with business goals because a lot can happen in five years.

You can make up your own rules here if you want. These are just mine. The deal is though, where do you want to be at the end of your first six months of being in the business? Where do you want to be in two years? How about in 15 years? What's the most important goal for you to have accomplished this week? If you're not sure, then you are floundering about trying to make things happen on the fly and that is no way to run a business that is no way to build a future that is no way to even do a deal today. It's much better to be purposeful about each and every step that you take and building a business now on this topic to the best ever business books that I have read on the topic of creating a vision and goals are Life and Air and The One Thing go look them up on Amazon.

Buy them, devour them. Let them shape you highly, highly recommended. So as you approached this process and you start writing out specific goals, a few guidelines to consider, okay, be specific and be detailed. Write your goals down, create your own goal setting notebook. In fact, give each goal a deadline in which you intend fully for this thing to be completed or achieved and breakdown your goals in manageable steps.

Every goal you set must be measurable and make your goals action oriented. Each action should take you closer to your goal. Once you achieve a goal, you need to celebrate achievements, use a kind of a reward system that keeps you motivated.

For me that takes so many different shapes. I can tell you right now, one that I do, every time I do a deal, me and my wife go out someplace that we normally wouldn't go and we blow 150 bucks on dinner because I look forward to that reward more than I do cashing the check is to be quite honest with you.

Follow the one thing, read the book, follow the concepts in that book. So these are just some guidelines that I want you to take into consideration in your approach goal setting.

So, we've covered three traits so far. The first is knowing your why. The second is knowing where you're going to third, knowing how to get there. And number four, you’ve got to know what motivates you.

What is it about the world of real estate investing that gets you excited, that makes you want to jump out of your bed every day and get your day going? What motivational techniques work best for you? What lights the fire in your belly and revs up your engine? If you're not sure what that is, it's high time you find out. Do you get motivated by reading books about real estate investing, maybe listening to audios or podcasts, watching videos like this?

Are you best motivated hanging out with other successful investors like I am, and listening to their experiences? Man, nothing gets me jazzed up more than that. Maybe a caring mentor that you need to propel you forward or does your motivation come from maintaining a list of affirmations that you speak out to yourself aloud each day? Maybe it's a combination of all these things.

I don’t know, no method used for motivation is right or wrong, but it's what's right for you. So, determine what keeps you on track and then use the heck out of whatever that is consistently to keep you on track.

So now that we've gone through these four things, you might be wondering: Where is knowledge of real estate in this list? It doesn't show up anywhere.

Well, here's the deal: The truth is, if you possess and maintain the four essential traits that I just went through, you will be one of the superist super investors around, and I'm not even kidding.

Here's a fact: Most wildly successful investors that I've ever met and that you have ever met or ever will meet, did not get that way because of their exceptional knowledge of real estate. I mean yes, that's important, but by a wide margin over and above real estate tactics and strategies, it's how they run their brains. It's about being dedicated to the inner discipline and higher-level thinking that makes you a Super investor, your mindset, your inner game. It plays a far bigger role in your super success or your lack of super success than anything else.

Try and prove me wrong. I guarantee that's why these four super investor traits are in no way tactical. I just want you to think about that. Okay, so here's some action steps. Do these things. If anything I said resonates with you, write down the basic reasons that you have chosen to launch out into real estate investing.

This is your why. Make it clear, make it compelling, make it something that gets you up in the morning and keeps you up at night. Write down what it is that you want to achieve in this business. Purchase a special notebook to be used as your goals notebook. Create a specific list, lists even which includes short term goals, midterm goals, and long-term goals.

Learn the motivational methods that work best for you. Know what juices you based on your personality and start using that to your advantage and go by the books Lifeonaire and The One Thing and devour them.

So that's it, guys. I hope this has been inspiring. I hope it has challenged you and rattled your cage in a good way. Leave a comment. I'd love to know what you think about this if you agree or disagree with any of this. Thanks guys. JP Moses out of here. Take care.

So there you have it!

Remember, these Big 4 aren’t so much tactical in nature or an exact science. But “mental mastery” over these things can really launch you from ‘the investor next door' to a bring Super Investor, able to leap tall investment properties in a single bound. 🙂

So, What’cha Think?

Agree? Disagree? Got something of your own to add? We love it all, so please comment below…

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