I remember when I attended my first seminar back in the 80’s the speaker said you have to have a system and discipline. I knew what the system was because he was teaching it. But I did not know what the discipline was until I began to apply the system. The discipline is that you have to take the action to make the system work properly. Through months and years of trial and error, I now know what he meant by discipline. I had to discipline myself to always take action, even when I didn’t feel like it. Despite all the easier softer ways of doing things today, I still sometimes don’t feel like it. But I force myself to take action.

Many years ago, I found something on the internet that I printed and framed and it is on my office wall. It’s called, the “7 Excuses.”  I can’t do it, I’m not feeling it right now, I’m too busy, I’m too tired, there’s no guarantee it’s going to work, I’m not good enough, and my luck sucks. I still to this day do not know who the author is, but I read that from time to time to keep me motivated. I always check to see if I’m making excuses. Let’s break it down.

I can’t do it: if that’s what I’m thinking, I’m probably right, But, if I change it, I can do it, I’m also right. I must program my mind that I can do it, Then, all I need to do is try, and if I run into a hurdle, I find a way around it and with some fine tuning, I find that I can do it, So, really, all I have to do is get started. Any challenge we run across that we feel we can’t do, all we have to do is get on YouTube or the internet. With all the resources available today, you can do just about anything.

I’m not feeling it right now:  All I have to do is get started. I discipline myself to plot a course of about 8 foreclosure properties each week to go visit. Sometimes I just don’t feel like going but I tell myself to just go see the first one, Then the motivation kicks in and I start to get excited so I go to the second, then third. It was just a matter of getting started.

I’m too busy: Everybody is busy, I have found that if I add it to my list of things to do, somehow it gets done and there is time to do it. I have a gym membership that I sometimes feel I’m too busy to use.  But I take the action to go and do the first exercise, then the energy kicks in. Energy breeds more energy.

I’m too tired: who isn’t, we all get tired. It’s just a matter of going to bed a little earlier so you can get a good night’s sleep. Take inventory of your TV habits and see what you can do to get enough rest.

There’s no guarantee it’s going to work: So what. There is a guarantee it won’t work if you don’t try. I have found that persistence pays off. Real Estate is a numbers game. It’s being at the right place at the right time and if I keep on keeping on, I get the good ones. Even though there’s no guarantee.

I’m not good enough: Start telling yourself you are good enough. Educate yourself more, hang out with positive people, read success books, Join a REIA and attend every meeting. Surround yourself with successful entrepreneurs. It will rub off on you.

My luck sucks: I heard a wise man make a statement that said, you create your own luck.  Luck, is when action meets opportunity. That fits right into my real estate business. I take action each week to drive through neighborhoods, and I find opportunities every time I go, and that in turn creates good luck. I always find great deals.

We all know that real estate requires work and action, it’s not always easy, but if you have a system and the discipline to follow that system, you can’t help but succeed.

Tony Youngs is a trainer, national speaker, active real estate investor and the author of The “Hidden Market” system of acquiring off market properties. He can be reached at his website at www.tonyyoungs.com. This article was republished from Real Estate Investing Today, a weekly blog from the National REIA. Read more at realestateinvestingtoday.com.