When you first got started as a real estate investor, the excitement you felt was almost palpable. Coming off of the emotional high of going through a real estate investing course, attending a seminar, or reading a book, you hit the ground running convinced that you were about to make history by making your first million faster than anyone in history. Instead of overwhelming success, you ran face-first into reality. While you had plenty of exuberance and energy, you were lacking a few critical details. Unless you address these lingering issues, your dreams will remain unrealized and your deals undone, resigning you to a life of simple mediocrity instead of the excellence you pictured in your dreams. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are multimillion dollar real estate investing portfolios. Rookie energy and investing exuberance may get you started down the path, but investing is a journey. The length of the journey and how far you go will be determined primarily by what you put into it and what you hope to get out of it. If you're hoping to become an overnight investing sensation, that probably won't happen. If you need a ton of cash within the next few minutes you might be better off buying a lottery ticket. You can generate a lot of income and profits very quickly, but it does take a bit of effort on your part. Be prepared for steady forward progress; a gradual increase in income and long-term wealth creation is better than being a rags to riches back to rags historical footnote anyway. By having the proper mindset and surrounding yourself with positive and success oriented people, you can dramatically improve your odds of succeeding more quickly. Real estate investing does take a certain amount of work, but the good news is the work isn't hard. You do have to use your head though. By working smarter and utilizing tools and resources at your fingertips, you can accelerate your progress and more quickly get up to speed. A real estate investing course is a down payment on your success because it can teach you many of the investing concepts and strategies for locating property, negotiating solid win-win transactions, and funding your projects. If you are one of those that happen to think that education is expensive, then try making the mistakes on your own instead of paying for education and see just how expensive those can be when you make them one by one. To really gain a full understanding of the many concepts and strategies involved you'll need an advanced education. There are several ways you can gain the advanced education you'll need to thoroughly understand what you're doing and improve the likelihood that you'll succeed. The first is by taking a front row seat in the School of Hard Knocks, taking detailed notes, and learning to lick your wounds. Most people go this route, but there is a better way. The second – and quickest way – is by working with a mentor. I know a lot has been written about the value of mentors and the importance of drawing upon the wealth of experience and knowledge that a mentor can provide you with. A mentor has made mistakes that you haven’t even dreamed of. Mistakes cost time, money, and missed opportunities. If you want to leap forward by hitching a ride with someone who’s seen it all and done most of it wrong a time or two before finding a better way, find a mentor that can share their recipe for success with you. They can show you numerous ways of getting where you want to go – without all the missed opportunity. Another method of gaining an advanced education is by connecting with an educational resource that can teach you advanced investing concepts that go beyond some of the industry rhetoric that’s so prevalent today. Positive thinking can set the stage for future success, but if you’re going to perform well on stage you need to know how to sing. Just as musicians need to master a wide variety of concepts to perform their very best, so too do real estate investors. Don’t settle for basic investing advice; learn as many techniques and strategies as you can and make them your own. These may sound like simple ways of getting where you’re going – and fundamentally they are – but most beginning real estate investors still try to skip forward to the “good part”. Unfortunately, these investors usually wind up skipping over the good part. Then they have to come back to it, losing valuable time and profits. A mentor can help you tell the difference between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. There’s one final component that will help you put it all together. Perseverance is not quitting halfway through a race or when investing is just getting interesting. Anyone can walk away from a job that’s only halfway done. A real winner will dig in and go for the Gusto at this point. It’s an intuitive nature that says that quitting isn’t an option. Real Estate Investing is an Art, not a science and you have to learn to adapt to whatever situation or market you are in and persevere, through the good and the bad. Having a deal and fulfilling your dreams is really a simple proposition. Do a few things well and you can become fabulously wealthy. None of them are hard, but investing does take commitment, education, and stamina. You’ve got the dream in the palm of your hand. Take these simple lessons to heart and let the touch of a master’s hand almost magically transform your dreams into a reality.