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I strongly believe that my mindset is the major contributor to my success today. Mindset is a funny thing: we have 100% control over it, yet it is one of the hardest things to change. Nevertheless, mindset is the most important component in your success.
Take Oprah Winfrey for example. Oprah's childhood was dark and challenging. Overcoming childhood trauma, repeated sexual abuse by multiple family members, and poverty, she moved in with her father in her late teens where she was first exposed to business. Her father was a barber shop owner. Following this, through education and determination, she became involved in television broadcasting and ultimately became the Oprah we all know her as today. She most recently sold a portion of her own television network (HARPO) for $70MM. According to Forbes magazine, Winfrey was "the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only Black billionaire" for three years running, with a total net worth of $2.5B. Life magazine hailed her as "the most influential woman of her generation" and Business Week named her "the greatest Black philanthropist in American history for her work as a child activist throughout the globe."
Another great example is Jeff Bezos. The founder of Amazon has a current net worth of $168B, even after his recent divorce settlement. Originally born in Albuquerque, NM to his 17 yr.-old high school mother, his childhood was humble, with his first job working as a line cook for McDonald's breakfast shift. By investing diligently into his education, first as his high school Valedictorian and then ultimately graduating from Princeton University with a 4.2 GPA, Bezos proves that work ethic and determination can overcome any obstacle. Amazon, originally an online bookstore, is now worth over $1Trillion. Despite times of extreme public criticism and an early on reputation for being awkward and stern, Jeff has continued to dogmatically adhere to his vision for Amazon and has proved critics wrong. He's used this wealth to fund a variety of additional businesses, including aerospace, the purchase of The Washington Post, and multiple philanthropic organizations impacting education, innovation, immigration, and veterans. According to the Forbes wealth index, Jeff was at a point the first "centi-billionaire" and considered the "richest man in modern history".
If you strive for more and you don't think like most people, let your uniqueness drive you further and be your guiding force. Here are the steps I took to do this for myself:
Starve the Doubt
You might be thinking now “I’m not sure I’d be able to do this” or “I doubt I could be THAT successful”. The doubting voice in your head will make it very hard for you to succeed. You must starve the doubt, at all cost. Friends and family will be negative and try to prevent you from achieving your dreams. Most likely they are doing this to “protect you”, because they want to prevent you from making what they perceive as a “mistake”. Don't let them effect your mindset or your decision to become a real estate mogul. Remember that they are projecting their own failures and fears, Block that noise.
Commit to Yourself
Committing to yourself is a fantastic way to fight the doubt and fear that comes with starting a new business or pursuing BIG goals. The way that I starved my doubts was by telling everyone around me: my family, friends, and basically everyone that was willing to listen, that I was going to start buying real estate and do it big! By announcing to the world that I was all in, I became 1,000% more committed to make it happen, and that commitment pushed back the doubt. After all, if I said it out loud to everyone, I must make sure that I was actually going to do what I said and not cave into fear or doubt. I committed to the world first, and that created a bullet proof commitment to myself and starved the doubt to death.
Hold to a Growth Mindset
When you dive into real estate investing, the right mindset is crucial. After eliminating any doubts you might have, it is imperative to adapt the right mindset to help you stay in the game and rise, and that mindset is a GROWTH MINDSET. The concept of fixed vs growth mindset has resonated with me and helped me grow my business to where it is today. In her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”, Carol S. Dweck explains that the world is divided by two types of people: those with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset.
Fixed mindset are people who believe that the you cannot change, who see failure, and that everyone is born with a certain level of intelligence and skills that cannot be changed. They are afraid to make mistakes and always feel that they need to prove themselves. Failure for them is a setback.
On the other side of the spectrum, Growth mindset people believe in their abilities to do something amazing, they believe that people can change, gain new skills, and improve themselves. Instead of failures they see challenges, and actually thrive on them. They constantly stretch themselves to learn something new and improve themselves. The only failure they recognize is not growing or fulfilling their potential. For this group of people, becoming is better than being.
Think about when the Fixed mindset comes to you, what it tells you, and how did it make you feel? How does it affect those around us? By understanding when your Fixed mindset kicks in, you can fight and eliminate it.
Use the Power of Imagination to Achieve Greatness
One of the books that significantly influenced my career was “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. One of the most interesting concepts Napoleon was discussing was auto suggestion. Based on this concept, we believe the stories we tell ourselves – whether they are negative or positive. I grew up in a very poor family and had to work at the age of 11 cleaning buildings to help my parents make a living. Somehow, I always imagined myself as a successful businesswoman, and I kept telling everyone, and myself, that one day I will be very successful. And guess what? It worked. When you tell yourself a story, and do it over and over again, you start believing in it. When you believe in it, you start behaving consciously and subconsciously in a way that will make it happen. Fighting to get into a good law school was a conscious decision I made to become successful. Ignoring doubters was an unconscious decision I’ve made to make my story come true. Napoleon suggests that writing your story and reading it to yourself is the way to start convincing you – and eventually those around you – of your new reality. Afterall, if I’ve done and countless others have too, why can’t you?
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About the Author Ellie is the founder of Blue Lake Capital, a commercial real estate investment firm specializing in multifamily investing throughout the United States. At Blue Lake Capital, Ellie partners with both institutional and individual investors to grow their wealth by achieving double-digit returns by investing alongside her in exclusive multifamily deals they usually don't have access to.
A defining factor of Blue Lake Capital’s strategy is founded in utilizing machine learning/artificial intelligence throughout the course of all acquisitions and asset management. This advanced technology enables the company to produce accurate and data-driven forecasting for all assets on a market, property, and even tenant basis. In doing so, Blue Lake is able to lead commercial investments with the full capabilities of today’s technology.
Ellie is the host of REady2Scale, a podcast that highlights the assets, processes, and strategies for the multiple approaches to successful real estate investing.
She started her career as a commercial real estate lawyer, leading real estate transactions for one of Israel’s leading development companies. Later, as a property manager for Israel’s largest energy company, she oversaw properties worth over $100MM. Additionally, Ellie is an experienced entrepreneur who helped build and scale companies by improving their business operations.
Ellie holds a Masters in Law from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
You can read more about Blue Lake Capital and Ellie Perlman at www.bluelake-capital.com.