Today I want to take a little detour from the normal real estate blog post that I write. Now, I am not saying that what I am about to discuss with you has nothing to do with real estate. In fact it is quite the contrary. However, I will need you to hang with me for a minute.

In the last 15 years I have learned a lot about real estate. I’ve learned from the school of hard knocks. I have made lots of money and I have lost plenty too. I’ve become an expert in the areas of flipping, wholesaling, rentals, lending, financing, debt, equity, trades, lease options, carry backs, and apartments just to name a few.

Now, I don’t tell you these things to brag. In fact in each of these areas, and many others, I continue to learn and grow, just as I hope the same for you. I never see myself as having “made it”. I’m a work in progress and hope to forever be.

You see I once believed that there was only one true way to success in anything…and that is hard work. There is absolutely no substitute for hard work. I still believe that hard work is the cornerstone to success.

However, that being said I would like to amend that argument and add something to it. Although hard work is paramount to success, it is NOT the full secret. The full secret requires the combination of focus and hard work. Let me explain…

No one would argue against the fact that a person who digs ditches for a living isn’t working hard. In fact to most of us that is EXTREMELY hard work. Yet, the ditch digger is not paid very well for this effort. The reason for this is that anyone can dig a ditch.

So, by this we can conclude that hard work alone is NOT the secret to success. Each of us fight our daily battles with procrastination and busy work. Sometimes we do busy work just to avoid doing the most important thing we need to accomplish that day.

I know that sounds crazy but we all do this, myself included. And busy work, just for the sake of doing it…may be hard work, but that form of procrastination is just another form of laziness.

If we really want to take our business to the next level…our real estate investing to the next level…our parenting and relationships to the next level…or even ourselves to the next level it requires FOCUSED HARD WORK.

If you want to get better at fixing and flipping you need to get focused on saving as much money as you can on repairs without compromising quality. You need to focus on finding better deals, stronger partners, better financing terms, increasing profits and lowering expenses.

If you want to learn or get better at wholesaling you need to focus hard on deal flow, finding deeply discounted distressed properties, growing your investor database of buyers, strengthening your negotiation skills etc.

If you want to get better at rentals you need to focus hard on cash flow, financing, better tenants, management, screening tenants, incentives for longer tenancy and on time lease payments, maintenance etc.

None of these things are difficult in and of themselves. They do require hard work. But again, hard work is NOT enough. You must have focused hard work to achieve and perfect these areas.

My encouragement to you, as well as myself is to get FOCUSED. Work hard but may that work be focused to spring you forward toward your goals and the lifestyle design that you want.

If you or your business partner would like help taking your business to the next level… and taking massive action on combining FOCUS and HARD WORK check this out. To the rest of you…have a GREAT day, an awesome weekend. Work hard, play hard… and focus.