Five Personality Types To Avoid
By Paul Esajian on March 15, 2019
Success in any business is as much about attitude than anything else. If you start your day only thinking about what can go wrong, you will spend your time waiting for it to happen. On the flip side, if you attack your business with an open mind and the ability to deal with anything, the odds are you will be successful.
The single biggest thing that can sink your business is negativity. Just by the sheer numbers, you will fail in real estate more often than you succeed. However, you can’t stop taking action because you have lost deals or offers weren’t accepted. All it takes is one new contact or accepted offer to change the trajectory of your business. Negative people will always be present in any business, but you can’t let them control you. Here are five negative personality types you need to stay clear of.
- The Complainer: There will always be pessimistic and optimistic people in any business. Some will see the bright side in every situation while others will only see the negatives. It is important to stay clear of people that constantly complain about everything. Things won’t always be perfect in business, especially real estate investing. You are going to have issues with tenants, sellers, fellow investors and market conditions. The more you hear complaints the easier they are to sink into your mind. Eventually you may resist taking action because you know what will come of it. You have heard the people around you tell you how you are wasting your time and you finally start to believe them. If you want, you can easily complain about everything or you can work to find a solution to whatever it is you are facing. Complainers must be removed from your inner circle.
- The Doom And Gloom Person: There is a difference in considering the worst-case scenario and not acting because of it. It is always a good idea to at least think about what can go wrong on a deal or scenario. This gives you a head start if it ever comes to fruition. However, the odds of things ever getting this bad are truly slim. It would take a series of events to occur and some major oversight on your end. There are people in every inner circle who live on worst case scenario. They have heard stories from others and only focus on the 5% bad in life. If they are persuasive enough they will leave you gun-shy and scared to act whenever a new scenario presents itself. Sure, you can get into a car accident, but it doesn’t mean you are never going to drive again. The same is the case with investing in real estate. You may get involved in a bad deal or bad situation, but it doesn’t mean it will happen to you.
- The Reacher: It is no secret that popularity in real estate has grown dramatically over the past five years. With employment still a concern for many Americans, real estate has become a great way to supplement or offset income. With that, there is tremendous competition for deals. No longer are there layup foreclosure deals or exotic ways to finance rental properties. Deals today must be found and worked through many different sources. If the numbers don’t make sense you need to have the discipline to walk away. There are many people who will get in your ear and tell you all the wonderful reasons why would should pursue a deal without having any skin in the game. They are the opposite of the worst-case scenario person and will only see the upside in a deal. This can be just as dangerous. If just one item in the deal has a setback, everything else suffers. There is always a bit of speculation on every deal, but you shouldn’t need to roll 7’s to make money.
- The Gray Area Person: Your reputation can make or break the perception of you in your market. There are many people who will either look to work with you or avoid you at all cost solely based on your reputation. This is important to remember the next time a gray area deal presents itself. Your business is far too precious to throw it away on a one-off deal. Regardless of the potential profit, this will do much more harm than good. People will avoid working with you and you will lose the benefit of the doubt moving forward. If someone tries to convince you to toe the line, they may not be the best people to be around. Never put your reputation at stake just to make a profit.
- The Know It All: The real estate investing business is constantly changing. Something you would swear by just six months ago may be almost obsolete today. It is critical to stay on top of every aspect of your business. If there is someone on your team who insists they know everything, there is a good chance they don’t. They may be relying on outdated or flat out incorrect information. Always, do your own independent research on everything before taking action. The people that are the loudest about something, are often compensating for their lack of knowledge.
The people you surround yourself with and talk to daily will directly define your business. Avoid negative people and negative attitudes like the plague. They will only serve to bring you down.