Welcome To SingingPig.co.uk

We all dream. And our dreams tell the world - and ourselves - who we really are.

A lot of us obviously dream of financial independence. Others of traveling the world. Or learning to play the piano. Retiring to the country. Raising money for cancer research. Becoming an expert on wine. Writing that novel. Learning to speak Spanish.

Of course, if you aren't pursuing your dreams, the real question is what's stopping you?

For many of us, it is a lack of specificity… and a deadline. Our thinking is too vague. What we need are realistic, well-articulated goals. Dreams with deadlines.

For example, "I want a comfortable retirement" is a wish. "I want to have a £2 million net worth on my 65th birthday" is a goal.

"I'd like to do something for charity" may be a heartfelt desire. But "I want to raise £30,000 for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society by December 31st" is a definite end.

Goals give your life meaning and direction. They focus your time and energy. They shape and set your priorities, giving you a reason to get up in the morning.

Without them, we tend to drift. Millions of us have fallen into a largely meaningless cycle of eating, sleeping, working and watching TV. After a while, a sort of bored existence sets in.

But when you have a goal that inspires you - whether it's traveling to the Arctic, reading the world's great books or swimming with dolphins - you feel motivated. Goals are empowering. You know exactly what you want and the idea of attaining it energizes you.

As the English novelist Charles Kingsley observed, "We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."

Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau agreed. He said, "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours."

Of course, setting goals and achieving them are two different things.

A few years ago, I came across an article by author Michael Masterson titled "How to Accomplish All Your Most Important Goals… Without Fail."

Here, essentially, is what he said:

1. Take out a sheet of paper. Title it "Life's Goals" (if you have no shame) or "Stuff to Do Before I Fall Off The Perch" (if you are afraid someone will see it).

2. Now make a list of everything you want to accomplish.

3. Narrow your list down to four main goals. Think in terms of a long-term wealth-building goal, a long-term health goal, a long-term personal-relationship goal, and a long-term personal growth and development goal. These are your top priorities, your bottom-line objectives.

4. Convert each of these into annual goals and then break them down further into manageable, bite-sized weekly objectives.

5. Once a week, spend one hour establishing your priorities for the next seven days.

6. Finally, spend about 30 minutes each morning organizing your day around them.

His approach is straightforward: Dream it. Plan it. Do it.

Of course, some of us never make an concerted attempt to achieve our goals for a single unspoken reason: fear of failure. Yet there is much to be gained in pursuing your dreams, whether you ultimately achieve them or not.

So follow Thoreau's advice and go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Take action. Live the life that you've imagined.

As Mark Twain observed, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

One of the best things you can do for yourself before investing in property is to ask yourself WHY you are doing it? What is you GOAL?   Without a goal, you have nothing to aim for.

If you have to make a decision in life, or indeed property, ask yourself "will doing this take me closer to realising my goal?".  This will help focus your mind and help you make the right choices.

If you are already investing, when reviewing your portfolio, think about if it is helping you move closer towards your goals?  I know from my own experience that it is very easy to go off at tangents!

For my part, it is my dream to own a yacht and go sailing round the world with my husband visiting all the places on my long list. I want to become a master sailor and challenge myself every day. I love sailing and love being on the water. There is nothing more peaceful than sailing across a flat and deserted ocean with only dolphins for company! I also want to share my success with my family and friends. I have a little nephew and neice who I want to provide for, both in terms of their education and future lives.

Perhaps others would like to share with us here why they got involved in property? How do you intend to realise your dreams?  If you have already achieved your dream lifestyle through property investment, why not share your story with us all to inspire us ... ?

Shortly before he committed suicide in 1988, the famous "Carry On" actor Kenneth Williams wrote in his diary "What's the bloody point?". May be part of his problem was that he didn't have one?

I got started in property after realising that my life was not going where I wanted it to.

Having done a computer science and business studies degree, I got into IT and worked my way up through the ranks.  When I had reached a certain level of experience, I started a Ltd Co and got into contracting.  I was getting a decent reward for my efforts, we had a reasonable lifestyle, nice little house in the country, couple of cars and a small boat etc etc.  I suppose a lot of people would say that we were lucky.

The problem was that I had fallen into the age-old trap of having to work to support my lifestyle.  Eight years in, I really did not like what I was doing.  It dawned on me many years too late that I would have been much happier following the other half of my degree and doing business and accounting.  However, going back in at entry level just wasn't an option without a lottery win or a real downgrading of lifestyle.

So, I sat down and assessed what I am good at.  I'm good at numbers.  I'm good at planning and management.  And having helped my husband renovate our Georgian town house and convert a pile of rubble to a country cottage, I had got a real love for property and a fair eye for potential problems with it.

I am NOT good at sitting behind a desk, working for other people, or getting enthusiastic about technical problems.  I'm really not good at watching my life go by while spending every minute working.  That meant IT had to go. However I had no intention of giving up my lifestyle. 

Enter property.

I started out on a small scale last year.  Nearly all of my cash was tied up in the renovation of our current cottage, and I am very risk averse, so it was hard going starting out.  However, I met some very nice people who gave me a lot of encouragement, and a year on I am started to find really good opportunities and build up a good network of contacts both in the UK and overseas.  I have various short, mid and long term investments that I can structure to take me in the direction that I want to go (12 properties of various nature over the last 12 months (some to hold for growth, some to let, some to renovate and sell).  I've also resurrected my enjoyment of accounting and am in the last year of my AAT with a view to getting my tax specialist exams done.

My goal setting is something I need to work on, I have all the numbers in front of me but don't always take the time to think over my reasons.  Time is so short at the moment that I tend to skimp on this vital area.   Vanessa's post has reminded me that this is something I really need to spend more time on, whether I have it or not.  So, as a start...

2009

Increase my BTS volume to replace my current income. Get out of full-time IT contracting, finish my AAT exams, complete building work on my house, reduce my mortgage by 25%, start my MBA.

My long-term goals are more fun :)

Have time to spend with my husband and daughter, get my daughter the best education that she can get and give her a really good start in life, buy a huge old country house to renovate with lots of land for my horses, improve my riding, resurrect my French German and Spanish, buy a motor cruiser and sail round the Caribbean.  Also help people with business and taxation advice which is a much more fulfilling business than fixing their computer systems!

My goals need both time and money ... and it is my view that property is the ideal opportunity to have both, plus an enjoyable business.

Hi vanessa - what an interesting post and how true it is !

you may not yet have come across  the "Millionaires" thread

http://www.singingpig.co.uk/forums/thread/47575.aspx

which is a sticky here on SP - it is probably the longest thread up to date and is filled with fascinating life stories and ambitions and achievements and failures of a lot of posters  - a great read !   

Why not add yours ? 

I think our long term goals often seem like dreams so its important to focus on short term achievable goals too.

It’s hard when you get going to meet someone with 200 properties and think you’ll never achieve it. So it’s ok to say I will buy one property by the end of the year. Or to see someone with a big house (probably with the debt to go with it!) and look at your mortgage free flat and think you have nothing!

So many people fail to congratulate themselves on what they have achieved and even when they do always feel they haven’t achieved what others have.

I’m a confident person but one of my biggest failings is not recognising what I have achieved given my own unique set of circumstances and constantly comparing myself to others – it’s a recipe for disaster for the weak of mind and heart!

A second point is to not put too much emphasis on stuff! Attaining stuff is hollow – been there done that and have changed my mind on what I want from my life! I would much rather spend a day shopping with my mom and having a nice coffee than driving some fast sports car!

The importance of smaller goals such as to have no credit card debt, to own your home free and clear of a mortgage, to be able to take a guilt free day off to walk in the park, to treating yourself to a massage because you have the money to do so are all worthy goals that I think a lot of people overlook in favour of a big house in the country and travelling the globe.

Never underestimate the power of inner peace and harmony over stuff!

KR, Lisa

I highly recommend setting up an iGoogle home page to keep your mind focussed. Mine includes daily quotes, a note pad where I add my favourite quotes and pictures of places from around the world with banners of beautiful beaches.

If I need some inspiration I just click my home page and its all there in front of me in an instant.

Lisa

Wise words all round Lisa.

As I mentioned in my holiday lets post elsewhere on the forum, one of my greatest joys is walking around the island of Portand (where we have a second home) and then stopping off in my favourite cafe for a hot chocolate!

I think the simple pleasures in life are the most enjoyable.  Like you, I love spending time with my dear Mum and it gives me a lot of pleasure to provide a holiday for her and my Dad in Portland, and spend time with them there.  It makes all this hard work worthwhile.