What do you expect properties to help you achieve?
A roof over your head? Some quick cash? A passive stream of income? Financial freedom? Early retirement? Be a multi-millionaire?
These are some common goals. But they are not good enough.
Setting the goal too low or too short-term, you won’t find it very exciting. It’s just not challenging enough for you. Yes, you did it. A lot of people did it too. So what?
On the other hand, setting the goal too high or too remote, it may be unrealistic and unreachable for you. If you do not see any urgency to get there, you won’t treat it as a priority anyway. The feeling is like you are forever working towards it. Very soon it loses steam.
A goal is only relevant if it means something to you. Timeline also plays an important part here. And you will have a much clearer picture if you can ‘quantify’ your goal.
Here are some goals that I personally find exciting yet achievable:
- Own my private apartment before the age of 30
- Pay off all outstanding loans (including residence and vehicle) in three years
- Have a personal net worth of $1 million (specify currency) when I turn 35
- Build a property portfolio with an average net return of 8%
- Set aside a charity fund of $x million before I retire at age xx
Always strive to reach these milestones before the deadlines. You will be more confident and greatly inspired to move on to your next target.
You might say that I am too ambitious to achieve so much at such a young age. My favourite investor Jim Rogers said this in his book A Gift To My Children – a Father’s Lessons for Life and Investing,
Age is irrelevant when you are passionate about a goal.
I cannot agree with him more. 
Nonetheless, I also believe that life (including property investment) is not a 100-metre sprint race, but a 42-kilometre marathon. It doesn’t matter how you started, what timing you achieved every kilometre along the way — it is how you finish that counts!
No matter what goals you set for yourself, I sincerely hope that you can truly enjoy every mile in your investment journey.
Could not agree more. We r marathon runner.