Do you know what the most expensive advice you can get is?
It’s the advice you get from a poor person – and more often than not, they’re happy to dish it out thick and fast.
When I started to learn about property investing many years ago, I was in the minority in my social circle. No one I knew was investing – they were all quite content to stay on the corporate treadmill and exchange their time for money every week.
It wasn’t too surprising then when most of my friends, my business colleagues and even my family members started making negative comments about what I was doing. They thought I was crazy when I told them I’d paid thousands of dollars to attend property seminars, with more than one person pointing out that I was destined to lose everything.
But here’s what I learnt: unless your friends and family have achieved the level of financial success you want to achieve, you’d be wise to seek your advice elsewhere.
For the most part, your friends and family only want to protect you and offer support, but sometimes their own fears and insecurities can get in the way. This can prevent you from creating wealth and financial security.
I remember feeling at one point that perhaps I’d made a mistake; that I’d spent my money on a property education program that wouldn’t work. It’s amazing how the negative thoughts can start to creep into your mind and once I started to doubt myself, I began wondering if maybe, my friends and family had been right after all.
I had no money, so I’d borrowed the thousands of dollars from the bank to participate in the educational programs I was doing. I had no savings, no equity and no knowledge – and now, a growing personal debt.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that property investing was the way to go. Logic had told me to get an education, which I spent thousands of dollars to obtain. Thankfully as it turns out, it was the best investment I could have made.
It took a while, but I eventually got there. The more I educated myself, the more confident I became. Better still, I found more and more people who were like me, trying to create wealth through property investing.
It was fabulous talking to like-minded people about strategies and techniques to do with property investing, as well as sharing contacts within my networks. I found the education program exhilarating and quickly developed a passion for all things property. I went on to build a multi-million dollar property portfolio, even though I started from the humblest of beginnings, with no equity and no savings.
While all of this was happening, I was aware that my family and friends were criticising me and gossiping about what I was trying to accomplish. I understood they were concerned for me, but it still didn’t make it easy.
Eventually, I decided to no longer talk to anyone about what I was doing unless they were an investor themselves and could relate to the risks I was taking and the goals I was trying to achieve.
As for our family and friends, well, if I had listened to them, I wouldn’t be enjoying a lifestyle that has come from property investing. I would be slaving away in the rat race, hanging out for the weekend to come.
When I had my little girl Alexandria in 2009, I would have been forced to return to work as well. With the financial freedom afforded to me through property investing, I’ve been able to create a life for myself that I truly love.
It was a difficult lesson to learn, but I’m living proof that listening to people who dish out the wrong advice – no matter how well meaning – can prevent you from creating wealth and cost you dearly.
Helen Collier-Kogtevs, Managing Director, Real Wealth Australia
Helen Collier-Kogtevs is the Managing Director of Real Wealth Australia, a leading education and mentoring company for real estate investors. Not only is she a highly successful property investor and an educator, but also a best-selling author, and a philanthropist.
Helen is particularly passionate about helping people, especially people who are keen to create wealth and make a difference in their lives, and she has been mentoring thousands of new and experienced investors in their pursuit of wealth creation through property.
She founded Real Wealth Australia to mentor investors create wealth and financial freedom by focusing on helping them build an investment strategy to fit their individual goals, rather than focusing on one particular investing method using her successful “10 Properties in 10 Years™” system.
Disclaimer: while due care is taken, the viewpoints expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Your Investment Property.
