"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." ~Bruce Lee

Put Your Faith into Action

Faith is your ability to visualize and dream of a future self.

Focus is putting Beliefs into Action.

To this point we have worked on our value system and our way and believe enough in it to do something about it.

The first thing we have to focus on is our values, why\purpose.  Both of those things should be written down and viewed every morning and every night.  We must maintain focus on our future selves. Now neither of those will be perfect and as you maintain a focus on it.  You will refine it.  I will suggest, you do not change them very often.  Give it 90 days before you make any changes.  That usually gives you enough time to digest what you have, live with it a little and determine if any adjustments need to be made.

Now we need to determine the next step.  We only need to take one step toward our future selves to start the ball running.  If you are reading this you have already taken a few already.  You saw one of my posts, clicked on a link, provided your contact info, and said you want to be a Dad that builds a legacy that lasts.  You have been through a couple of my training sessions and are ready for this step.  As Neil Armstrong said, you have taken one small step for man and one giant leap towards [your future self].  

Take a moment right now.  To acknowledge your progress to date.  I’m jumping ahead a little but we need to have fun along the way or we will not keep going.  Find a way to celebrate what you have done so far.  You have already started separating yourself from the rest.  Anybody can do what we have done so far but most won't.

I’m excited for you…. I’m excited for us… We are all on our way to living on purpose.

To become your future self, you must maintain a focus on the goal and begin taking action toward your future self.

What’s the next action? It's creating a top 10 list.  These are the 10 most important things that need to be completed to move you toward your future self.  These are not tasks, these are more like projects.  Each one of these will require multiple tasks to complete.

I will use one of my as an example: Buy an Apartment Building

To accomplish this I must:

1. Learn how to analyze apartment buildings (find a mentor)

2. Start searching for apartment buildings for sale

3. Analyze the deal and potential profitability

4. Determine if I want to submit an offer

5. Submit the offer

6. Complete negotiating to close on deal

7. Build Financial presentation deck

8. Raise Financing  (i.e. Loans, Investors, Personal Capital)

9. Identify property management team

10. Build a project team for any renovations.
    

All of this is before we actually close on the property. Steps 1 through 5 will be performed many times before I can move to step 6. On average, I expect to submit around 40 offers before getting one accepted.  I expect to analyze 10 deals before I find one to submit an offer.  That’s analyzing some 400 apartment deals before I need to review to buy one apartment.

This requires focus.  My goal is to purchase 1 apartment building in 12 months.  It means I have to analyze roughly 8 deals a week.

Now I have something I can measure and something to focus on.

However, I do it.  I need to analyze 8 deals a week to purchase 1 apartment building in the next 12 months.  I could get lucky and it happens sooner than that but I know if I want it to happen in the next 12 months.  This is the process I need to follow.  In my weekly reflection\planning session, I need to compare my actions to this number.

This makes becoming your future self simple.  I’m not saying it is easy. It is easy to understand. I need to review at least 8 apartment deals a week. I should submit at least 3 offers a month. Not easy because I need to learn how to evaluate apartment deals and know what a good deal looks like.  Improve my deal making skills.  Find the time to do those things.  As long as I have a strong why and I track my progress against these numbers, I will reach my goals. As Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured gets done.” And as John E. Jones III added, “What gets measured and fed back gets done well, what gets rewarded gets repeated.” Another quote that resonates with me is from Robin Sharma: “What we focus on increases. What we think about expands. And what we dwell upon determines our destiny.”

You may say, I don't know how to break down those tasks to get to those numbers.  That’s ok. I did not know these 12 steps a couple of months ago. 

Before this goal was in my top 10. I had to learn how to invest in apartments, and before what it was to learn about investing in real estate and before that, it was to learn how to build generational wealth.  

 Now another important note.  You're going to make a list of 10 things.  You should prioritize the list when you are done.  From most important to least important. 

The priority list is not just about money. A legacy is more than about money. It is about things you leave for generations to come. One of my other goals is to invest more quality time with my wife and family.  I keep this in my top 3.

After you prioritize the list, focus on the top 3.  You can not be effective in trying to do all of them.  You have to focus on the top 3.  Stephen Covey says.  "If you have more than 3 priorities you have none."  

So why do I have to create a top 10? When we are starting out, it seems like we need to do so many things to get to our future selves.  And you probably do… This exercise is about getting these things out of your head and on paper, allowing your brain to let them go, and giving you the mental space to focus on the top 3 things that move you closer to your future self.

Don’t worry about getting it right … The right thing is to get it done.

Spend a day or two and put together your top 10.  Set the paper aside for a couple of days.  You can write as many as you like.  

After you let them sit for a couple of days, determine if they still seem relevant to approaching your future self. 

If you write more than 10.  Your first step is to narrow the list down to the top 10.  

Make sure these are projects and not tasks.  Tasks are single actions like…. Do your taxes vs Create a financial plan to grow my net worth.  Taxes will be included in the financial plan.

There is another list of tasks.  You can create it now but we will get to it in another lesson.

Order your top 10 in order of priority.

I like to measure priority by its impact on my future self.

Build a plan for each of the top 3.

If you are not sure how to build the plan or what steps are needed.  Then add the words learn how to in front of the priority and that is your next goal.

Put some dates on it. Complete by Date.

Put dates around each action step.  You will use this list during your reflection\planning sessions to see if you are on track.

Put the dates on your calendar or project management software.

Get after it.

You know by now… how we do…

Take the extra step.  List your Top 3 in the comments.  This will start your accountability and potentially inspire others.  You may even find someone you can partner with to get there faster.  

A quick note:  finding the right partner can accelerate your journey to your future self.  No one said you had to do this journey alone.  That is what this group is about.  Why I created it.  I wanted to find people who wanted to build a legacy that lasts.  Share what I have learned…  Share this journey.  Part of my legacy is to help 1000 Dads build a legacy that lasts.  

Take it to the next level and post a video of you talking about your goals, why they are important, and your next action steps.

Not about perfection it is about action.

To Learn more about the Four F's and how they can transform your life. Download Your Free Guide Here.

Until Next Time…