Episode Details

I'm often asked what I would do differently if I could live my investing journey all over again.

If you ask me, one of the keys to investment success is the ability to pick yourself up from setbacks, learn what you can from them (including your own limitations) and simply try again.

So, to help prevent you from making the same mistakes, I've put together 16 things that I wish I'd known when I first started investing.

1. The value of education

My first couple of investments were successful, but the worst thing that can happen to a beginning investor is to get it right the first time – you think you're smarter than you are when in truth my early successes were because of a rising market rather than my own "brilliance".

Thankfully, I recognised this and set about becoming better educated by reading books and seeking out teachers, mentors, and consultants for advice.

And I still continue with my education and personal development to this very day.

2. Goal setting

Far too many people invest in property with no idea what they want to achieve or by when. They may buy one or two investment properties, usually in suburbs where they live or "understand", but they haven't set any clear long-term goals.

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

Because everyone has lived in a property of some sort, most people think they know a bit about property.

While property investing may be simple, it's not easy and that's not a play on words – it takes skill.

And sometimes those skills should come from other people who know more than you do.

So, create a good team around you including mentors and advisors or your "brains trust" as I like to call it.

However, if you're the smartest person in your team, you're probably in trouble.

4. Think rich, not poor

You probably believe that you deserve to be rich and successful.

The problem is your income will seldom exceed your personal development.

That's why it's important to develop the mindset of rich people and the rich habits of successful property investors.

5. Have an abundance mindset

To become successful, you'll also need an abundance mindset.

What do I mean by that?

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. Delaying gratification

Far too many people can't resist the instant gratification of buying that shiny new toy using their credit card thinking the money in their limit is theirs.

It's not – it's the bank's money you pay interest on for the privilege of using.

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

The truth of the matter is that fear is a powerful human emotion.

While it can help us, it can also prevent us from investing because we illogically see it as too "risky".

However, with a sound investment strategy, and a property team around you, you can minimise the risks.

8. Don't let failure hold you back

We all make mistakes.

The difference between ultra-successful people and the average Australian is that successful people don't let failure hold them back.

Instead, they get up and try again.

What I mean is that, because we can