Are you a born loser? Gosh, I sure hope so.
Property investment is a skill not unlike skiing. Before you can descend the slopes with nothing but stylish élan, you are going to have to face-plant into the snow a few times and learn to get up. Even then, there is no guarantee that you are not going to fall down a few more times. It is through falling and learning to fall correctly that you become a true skier. Same could be said about investing in properties; the longer you stay in the market and the more mistakes you recover from the more likely you are going to reap long term benefits from your commitment to your financial future.
The trouble with investing is that many of us (especially during a market upswing that is further fuelled by media hype) get into it expecting to be nothing but successful. Confidence is one thing but when you start believing you are more likely to spot the next goldmine than the next investor is when you should read about the Lehman Brothers. ‘Cause hubris always wins in the end. The Greeks taught us that.*
However, it is a completely different ball game if you get into property investment expecting to lose from time to time. Robert Kiyosaki often talks about being productively paranoid. When you are aware of the failings of the market, of yourself, and your resources, when you believe that you are not invincible to market forces, you will more likely be a disciplined investor. Discipline helps clear your head from your emotions; discipline also leads you to buying performance rather than mere properties; discipline forces you to focus on your long term goals instead of overreacting to short-term market fluctuations. Discipline is that little voice in your head urging you to continue every time you suffer a set-back.
One of the reasons we celebrate investors like Kyron Gosse at APIA is because he embraces past mistakes. I remember Kryon saying back in August that his first ever investment property is in fact the worst performing. Yet for that very reason it is his best property for all the lessons it taught him. Taking the financial hit on the chin forces Kyron to evaluate future deals more astutely to avoid making the same mistake.
The key to achieving real wealth in property is to hold on to as many cash-generating assets for as long as you can. Since we are all here for the long haul, we have to start accepting that we can lose and still be winners in the end.
*No, they really didn’t.
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