He enters behind the metallic scream of the retracting door. Hands and feet chained he steps slowly into the room and awaits permission to take the remaining vacant seat. The all white parole board barely look up from the folders lying in front of them labeled Prisoner 30125. “Please be seated,” are the only words of introduction spoken. He’s been in that same seat too many times to count. After forty years he’s tired and he’s resigned to living the rest of his life behind prison bars. A young man on the five member panel half his age leans forward and asks,

“Are you sorry for what you did?” Ellis Boyd Redding, Red, looks at him carefully, directly, in his eyes, and says, almost condescendingly,

“Sonny, there’s not a day goes by, I don’t feel regret…I look back on the way I was then, a young stupid kid that committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can’t.  That’s kid long gone. This ole man is all that’s left. I’ve got to live with that…” Red barely blinks as he looks past his inquisitor into his own dim future and ponders his uncertain tomorrow.

That poignant scene from Shawshank Redemption is full of life lessons. Possibilities and regrets, “what- ifs” and “what-might-have-been” scream at Red. It’s all but over for him. That’s fantasy.

Reality. You’re “twenty-something,” wedded to an unfaithful career, straddled with college loan debt, and afraid to gaze too hard at your future. Your dreams get smaller and smaller like the dollars in your bank account and you start to hear the small voice of doubt. You hear the same questions Red did. They scream at you later! But unlike Red you can do something about your future.

If you are a young twenty something real estate investor, your possibilities and future are bright. We could give you tomes of quotes and anecdotes about the successes of others who took advantage of real estate in their youth. We could try to strike fear in your heart with stories of elderly who entered their golden years ill prepared financially.

But we don’t really think you need either of those things to stir you on. If you’re here, reading this blog, you want practical, sage advice on what’s next for you. You want to know what you need to do now to succeed in real estate tomorrow. What do you need to do to be wealthy in real estate in your golden years? We are so glad you asked.

First, you must develop the right attitude and plan. Proper attitude is the first and quintessential ingredient for success in real estate. Attitude is about preparation and planning. Attitude is much more than the “hoorah–let’s win” sentiment that seminar promoters hawk. We “teach” our clients to listen to the voice of experience, to take the counsel of people who have harvested the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Imagine Red’s experience, softly whispering, “Listen young investor, listen.”  The real estate business is broad and diverse and it changes every day. New investors must seek the steady hand of experience to help them plan around the pitfalls they will most certainly encounter.

We’ve helped full time investors accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in a short span of time. (Just look at some of the successful deals on our website). Imagine what a young, energetic, and motivated person could do over a 40-year investing career! Now the question you need to ask is, is that young person you?

Second, you must utilize expert licensed professionals that work for you. Let us say that again, you must utilize expert licensed professionals that work for you and on your behalf. Let’s be clear, we did not say mentors, we didn’t say seminar promoters, we said expert licensed professionals. Why? Because they are the only people that can best help you succeed. They do the business for a living. They are the first people to turn to for help in, the business.

You will use licensed professionals in every aspect of the real estate investment business. In fact you can’t do a real estate transaction in America without using one of the following licensed professionals — appraiser, lender, title attorney, abstractor, or real estate agent.

These people get paid for helping you make money and that’s a terrific motivating factor for all parties involved. In all our years we have never worked with a successful investor that did not have a strong team of licensed professionals in place, never! “Listen young investor, listen.” To get started right, you need a strong team of experts that can help you execute the plan you have developed.

Common sense? Yes! So why do most investors fail? Because they rush off without a plan and without a team to help them. Young investor don’t you make their mistake. Take the time to develop the right attitude and hire a team of licensed experts to guide you on the path to success. Think of Red, think of where you are now, think of your future, and “Listen young investor, listen.”