Episode Details

I'm often asked what are the big lessons I've learned from investing in property for close to 50 years?

Probably the most important lesson I think we can learn is that the market is driven not only by the fundamentals but also by the irrational and erratic behavior of an unstable crowd of other investors and homebuyers.

So never get too carried away when the market is booming or too disenchanted when the market slumps, because letting your emotions drive your investments is a surefire path to disaster.

Today, I'll chat with Brett Warren about some of the lessons I wish I'd known when I first started investing. If you can learn these lessons now, you can avoid paying some of the learning fees that I had to pay to the property market as I made mistakes.

Now today's episode is part of what I call our summer series where apart from bringing you one new show each week we are replaying 2 previously published shows, and the foundational lessons I'm going to share in today's show which was originally published a number of years ago will help you take advantage of the new property cycle that is appearing in front of our eyes in 2021

Before we get into the main body of the podcast, I'd like to share two more lessons I've learnt over the years that I would've loved to have known when I first started investing.

The first is that every year there is an X factor, and an expected factor that comes out of the blue to undo my best laid plans.

Sometimes these are on the negative side and sometimes they're on the positive side like the unexpected election win in 2019 that led to strong property markets at the end of that year.

The other big lesson that has taken me a number of decades to understand is that every 10 years or so the world breaks.

Think about 2020 with the Coronavirus creating a world pandemic and recession. Then look back at 2008-9 with the Global Financial Crisis and before that was the Asian financial crisis. Can go back every 10 years or so and I found the world breaks.

These lessons have taught me to be have a long-term focus and not make 30 year investment decisions on the last 30 minutes of news.

They have also taught me to ignore the doomsayers and be very cautious of who's forecasts I pay attention to.

1. The value of education

It's easy to think you're smarter than you are when you don't know what you don't know.

2. Goal setting

Setting goals helps you focus because if you don't know where you're going, while any road may get you there, every road may also get you lost.

3. Create a property team

Most people think they know a bit about property.

While property investing may be simple, it's not easy.

You need to create a good team around you including mentors and advisors. If you're the smartest person in your team, you're probably in trouble.

4. Think like a rich person

Develop the mindset of rich people and build the rich habits that will help you achieve wealth

5. Have an abundance mentality

An analogy is to think of yourself as a cup.

If your cup is small you can only accumulate a small amount of money, any extra will spill over and you will lose it.

You simply cannot have more money than the size of your cup. Instead, develop an abundance mindset in which your cup is big and deserving of being filled with success.

6. Delay gratification

To become rich, you must learn to delay gratification as wealth is the transfer of money from the impatient to the patient.

7. Overcome your fears

Fear can prevent us from investing because we see it as too risky.

Form a sound investment strategy, and get a property team around you to minimize the risks. Don't give in to fear

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