Follow your bliss, and the universe will open doors where there were only walls
~Joseph Campbell
When Moneeka Sawyer graduated from college, the recession hit and she was faced with the difficulty of looking for adequate employment. She eventually accepted a low-paying job and changed her lifestyle to live within her means. Like so, her philosophy of how changing your mindset can lead to success was born. Pivoting in the midst of a difficult situation to survive is a hallmark of a person who is determined to make it in life.
Shift from a Spending Mindset to Investing Mindset
As a child of immigrants, Sawyer saw the hard work and scrimping her parents had to endure to give her a comfortable life. As soon as they arrived in the country, her father immediately caught on to the fact that real estate is a way to become financially stable. This fact had been deeply ingrained in her that when she was wed, she and her husband asked for a 5% downpayment on a house in lieu of a brand new car or a fancy sofa as a wedding gift.
Per Statista, “the value of properties and rents tend to increase over time, making real estate a hedge against inflation. Though the market is not immune to bubbles such as the notorious subprime mortgage crisis in the U.S. between 2007 and 2010, real estate is considered a stable asset class.”
Sawyer and her husband believed in the same belief as her father that investing in real estate is their ticket to financial success. And her dad wasn’t wrong. She was able to build her successful business because of this strategy that she had applied early in her life.
In one conversation with her Dad, he asked her, “Do you want rich people’s problems or poor people’s problems?” She knew she wanted to be successful so when she had the chance, she invested all their money into their property. She and her husband struggled while paying off the mortgage on their house but at the end of it all, they became homeowners and they were able to start a rental business.
To achieve an investing mind, Sawyer says to spend your time with people who have an investor’s mind. Eventually, you will pick up their habits and you will become a person with an investing mindset yourself.
Owning Houses Trumps Owning Nice Things
There is no better time than now to invest in real estate. Research shows that Revenue in Real Estate is projected to amount to US$395.40bn in 2023 and that an annual growth rate of 2.15% is expected (CAGR 2023-2025). If you want to get on the money train, now is the perfect time to invest.
Sawyer, who is also a certified business coach, says that it is not so easy to decide that investing is what you should be doing. This is why she says to always make decisions based on your need and not on wants. It’s a piece of simple advice but it’s not so easy to do. It takes great will to focus on the long term instead of the short term.
A Forbes article on focusing on your goals, states that “When we say ‘yes’ to something, by definition, we say ‘no’ to something else.” And that planting the seeds for future success also requires that we make short-term sacrifices. Sacrificing a designer bag or dress in order to put down equity on real estate is a no-brainer. Not a lot of people would sacrifice nice things to become house owners. Our brains are wired to gratify ourselves as soon as possible. But this mindset is what separates the haves and don’t have.
Changing your Mindset leads to Limitless Success
Sawyer says that by changing your mindset, you will not only achieve success but limitless success. How? Look for your NorthStar – your whys, your core values, and your truth.
Place your whys over your goals because your goals will be hollow if you don’t understand why you are trying to achieve them in the first place. Sawyer recommends going on blissfulinvestor to take an exam that will guide you in knowing what’s important to you and to discover or rediscover your core values.
As you identify your core values, you must also be humble enough to accept your truth. Our definitions of success vary greatly and not one definition is superior to another. Being honest with yourself about what matters to you will greatly change your perspective on what success means. With this process, you will attain bliss which will eventually lead to limitless success. Sawyer believes that success without bliss is unsustainable.
If you find bliss in your chosen careers, success is not far behind.