When you mention real estate investment in most areas of the country these days, all people talk about is how much value properties have lost. We became spoiled the last few years as the real estate values skyrocketed. We forgot the fundamental reasons of investing in property, long-term investment and equity building. We focused on the short-term value increases. Of course, no one wanted to face the fact that the increases couldn?t go on forever and eventually there would be a market correction. We certainly didn?t anticipate what has happened recently!

Now the dust has settled . . . it is time to go back to the fundamentals. Except for unusual circumstances, real estate investment is a long-term investment strategy, not a get-rich-quick scheme. Here are six fundamental principles to take into consideration when looking at property investment.

1. Income generation: Except for the home you are living in, when purchasing property you are looking for someone to rent or lease the property. The rental payments you receive are income that you then use to pay the mortgage and associated expenses for that property. Ideally, the rent you receive from a piece of property will cover all your expenses and have extra left over.

 

2. Equity build-up: As you receive rent payments from your tenants and pay the mortgage, a portion of each payment goes to interest on the loan and the rest goes to paying down the principle of the loan. By paying down the principle, you are building equity. That means you are increasing the amount of the property that you ?own.?

 

3. Tax advantages: Your rental property is considered a business. Therefore you can take business tax deductions associated with the property. For example, depreciation. The IRS allows an owner to depreciate buildings over time, and a good accountant will be able to help you take advantage of this law. Your accountant will also be able to show you other tax deductions you will be able to use in your rental business.

 

4. Leverage: You can have control of a piece of property without having to pay for the entire property upfront. You do this by using OPM – Other People?s Money. OPM allows you to leverage your investment and use the income generated to pay off the mortgage and gain equity. You will make much more on your money by leveraging your investment than if you owned the property outright. A drawback to this is the higher level of risk some people are not comfortable with.

 

5. Local Markets: Residential units, either single or multi-family, are bought and sold in every city and town around the world. You will never run out of possibilities. The key is to do your research for the area(s) in which you want to invest. Learn everything you can before you start investing, and don?t be afraid to talk to people who have knowledge about the area.

 

6. Buying Below Market Value: Now is a great time to find properties that are being offered below their market value. Unfortunately, the lending practices of the last few years have put people in a difficult situation, forcing them to sell their house below market value. Other reasons include job transfers, divorce, job loss, or change in financial condition. You may feel that you are taking advantage of people in a difficult situation, but if you are fair and equitable in your dealings with them, you will actually be helping them get out of a bad situation.

The six elements listed above are the foundation of most long-term real estate investors. There are great deals to be had for someone who is serious and is willing to do the work involved. Remember to always consult with your attorney and accountant before investing in real estate.

Are you one of the many who think they need goals but never get serious about them? Or are you one of the very elite few who actually realize the incredible benefits to be gained by getting VERY serious about setting goals.

The increase in income alone is a major benefit of goal setting and should be enough to make anyone take a serious look at it. However, there are many, many additional benefits that can’t be measured in numbers that improve the overall pleasure of life. So, put the two together, and wow, think about what this could do for you.

To make goal setting really work for you, there are things in your life you need to throw away right now ? you don’t need them, you don’t want them, they are doing great harm to you.

1. Anger: This is rampant now more than ever because of the collapse of our economy and the devastating effect this has had on the lives of so many people. We want to blame someone for what has happened to us ? we’re angry at everything and everyone that upset our life. The truth of the matter is, you are not hurting the person or thing you are angry at, you are only hurting yourself. They don’t even know you are angry with them. As Buddy Hackett, the comedian, once said, “I never hold grudges; while you’re holding grudges, they’re out dancing!” Throw away your anger!
   

    

2. Self Pity: This is such a natural and comforting thing to cling to; and the people who won’t give it up will never reach their full potential ? not even close!? Don’t blame others for your problems. Take ownership of everything that is yours. If you don’t like those things, decide to change them, which usually means changing yourself and your attitude towards life. Throw away the self pity!

 

3. Making Excuses: Instead of making excuses for things that come up in your life that are uncomfortable or unwanted, say, “I am responsible.” Do you know what this will do for you? It will give the power of the situation to you and will take you out of the role of victim. You will become free, mentally and emotionally. By the way, you can also say, “I am responsible” when good things happen in your life! How great is that?! Throw away your excuses!

These harmful, self-destructive habits and emotions won’t disappear the first time you throw them out. They’ll sneak back into your life as soon as they can because you have been such a good host to them, and they want to stay with you. This is normal and happens to everyone. That’s why you must practice doing this consistently for several weeks, or however long it takes to permanently eradicate them. Throw them out!

Set yourself up as a personal services corporation ? You, Inc. – ?and make yourself the president. You will be in charge of and responsible for everything. Set up your goals for this corporation ? salary, vacation time, leisure time, continuing education, training needed to be more effective in your job, marketing yourself, etc. Be very specific in what you want and what you want to be.

You are president of your career. Picture yourself as a powerful person who is self-determined and self-directed. If you don’t like your past, dismiss it as just that ? the past. You cannot change anything that has happened; you can only learn from it.

Be very specific about your goals for this corporation because they will determine, in a very great way, whether you will fail or be hugely successful. You are the architect of your own destiny ? make the blueprint amazing, wonderful, and ?awesome!

Have you ever felt like fear was preventing you from reaching your full potential in life?? If so, you are certainly not alone because fear is one of the biggest obstacles that many people face when trying to create better life circumstances.

Below are some of the most common ways that fear can hold you back:

Fear can prevent you from making positive changes.

Sometimes fear can make even the smallest changes seem extremely uncomfortable.? For example, you may be deeply dissatisfied with your job, but feel nervous or uncertain about finding and applying for a better one.? Or you may have always dreamed of buying your own home but worry that the responsibility would be too much to handle.

Fear can prevent you from breaking destructive habits.

We all know that smoking, poor dietary choices, excessive alcohol and a sedentary lifestyle are a recipe for health problems, but we often gravitate toward these habits because they help numb our anxious or fearful feelings.? If you have ever tried to break a bad habit like this, you know how stressful it can be because suddenly you are filled with anxiety and you don?t know how to handle it except to run back to your ?pacifiers? ? the very habits you are trying to break.

Fear can prevent you from taking risks.

Many of us shy away from risk because we fear negative consequences.? For example, you may hesitate to invest your money because you fear losing it, or avoid starting a new relationship because you were so hurt by the last one.? What most of us fail to realize is that risk can also bring great rewards.? Avoiding risk may help us avoid negative possibilities but we also miss the excitement and joy that come from positive outcomes.

Fear can prevent you from pursuing your goals.

Have you ever dreamed of doing something great but were never able to push yourself to do it?? Perhaps you dreamed of being a stand-up comedian but dreaded the thought of public speaking, or you desperately wanted to be a bestselling author but were too afraid to pen that novel lurking inside of you.

Fear can prevent you from expanding your life.

Social anxiety is another common way that fear can limit your potential.? It may prevent you from attending networking functions so your career or business can?t grow properly, or you may avoid taking that much needed vacation to relax and explore other cultures because you fear flying or being on a cruise ship.

How to Stop Fear from Limiting Your Potential

It?s important to note that all of these fears are most often groundless.? They are merely a perception that things ?could? go wrong ? but that doesn?t mean they will.

Rather than trying to force your way through the fear, you may find it easier to explore the many ways that fear can be effectively released from your mind, emotions, and body.? When you know how to release the fear, you simply handle it as you would any minor obstacle and then continue on your way to creating the best life you possibly can.

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Alternatively download the new Free ebook ? 22 Powerful Tools To Transform Your Fear Into Happiness, Peace and Inspiration. (http://403af2xhgw1n4rb1yatdo4iwsn.hop.clickbank.net/) ? Crammed full of valuable tips, exercises and ideas ? it could be the most important ebook you read this year.

We all began this year at GO, and all roads lead to a final rendezvous; the difference is what we’ve done en route. Goals set, actions taken, and results realized determine if you get to call this year a success or not.

September 23rd is an important date as it marks the 100 day countdown of 2009. I wanted to share with you an exciting opportunity to finish the year strong?it’s called the 100 Day Finish Strong Challenge!

Gary, The Goals Guy, is offering a powerful special report for free which is titled: How to Create Your Own Big Bang!

Get your free special report here: www.goalsguy.com

This report in my opinion is worth its weight in gold as it shows you how to create monumental performance gains. I encourage you to get your copy right now.

So what are you waiting for? The clock is ticking and if you want to seriously improve your life and corresponding results, I encourage you to check out the 100 Day Finish Strong Challenge today as it will be one of the smartest decisions you’ll make all year. www.goalsguy.com

How many times have you heard that setting goals is the most important ingredient in your quest for success? Have you taken it seriously, or instead thought “That’s great for other people, but I don’t know how to set goals, I don’t know where to begin.”

The “setting goals” statement is THAT IMPORTANT!! Tom Hopkins, sales trainer, says “Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.”

Research has found that the 3% of college graduates that have clear, written goals earn ten times as much as those who have no goals or have unclear, scattered goals. Now that’s pretty compelling and certainly a strong motivation to start writing clear, concise goals. Yes, it has been proven over and over again that writing your goals down on paper brings much more success than just having them roaming around in your head.

It becomes REALLY exciting when you think about these facts:

1. You have more natural potential than you could use in a lifetime. A Stanford University study found that the average person uses only two percent of his/her mental capacity, with 98 percent being unused and wasted.
2. Anything a person thinks about, long enough and hard enough, can be accomplished. If there is a burning desire within, it will materialize on the outside.
3. It doesn’t matter where you’ve come from or where you have been. What matters is where you want to go and how much effort you are willing to put into your desire to accomplish more success, more wealth, better relationships, etc.
4. You are the one in charge of the great potential that you have. Your thoughts are creative. As the saying goes, “You become what you think about most of the time.”

Just for a moment think about the power of the human mind. That’s your mind they’re talking about!

The human mind has a built-in desire for success and accomplishment. We are born with it, so it should be easy to be goal oriented, right? Unfortunately that is not true. We are influenced by everything around us ? our family, friends, childhood, education, religion, etc.

We have not been taught to think about goals. Our educational system doesn’t teach the importance of this, not even at the college level. And most people grow up in homes where goal setting is not discussed or used.

The fear of failure is a huge deterrent to setting goals. It doesn’t matter how you start. What matters is that you do start. You’re not going to be a perfect goal maker on your first try. Play around with your thoughts on what you want to achieve in life. Write them down. If you let yourself do this without restraints, you’ll be amazed at how many goals you have, some will be short term, some will be long term. Now you can start analyzing them, career, personal, business, etc. It’s a good idea not to share them with anyone right away. They belong to you, and you don’t need any dream stealers. And don’t forget to dream BIG!

Imbed into your mind the desire you have of achieving your goals and the incredible power of your subconscious mind. Negative thoughts will surely make you fail, positive thoughts will bring positive things, without fail! When you find a negative thought creeping in, such as “I can’t do that,” I don’t have what it takes, “This can never happen for me,” just say the word “cancel” and replace the negative thought with a positive one. This will take some practice, but it does work. Besides, you’ll feel much happier thinking positive thoughts instead of the negative ones that do nothing but drag you down.