One of the first books I read when Tiffany and I decided to become real estate investors was called Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander. I remember sitting there reading how we have to charge after our goals and not sit in the pasture grazing like a cow. I asked myself, am I really a cow grazing on what is before me or am I the type of person that is going to seek out my food and charge after it. Sure it's a silly analogy to envision yourself as this large animal, but it really put it into perspective to me.

I had been a cow for far too long. I wasn’t out there charging after my goals. I didn’t necessarily have any goals to charge after anyways! I had to become a Rhinoceros. I had to, in fact, become a fighter for my life. For my family’s life. For our future.

When becoming a fighter, you must do so with the right expectation of why you are fighting. Sure, you can fight for the sure joy of knocking out your opponent and letting the endorphins fill your body until it wears off and you have to go fight again. Others may fight to create some type of income to support their family. Whatever the reason, having a clear expectation of WHY you are fighting will help you to fight harder and maintain your focus and possibly help you train harder. So, why are you fighting? What are you fighting for? How can you create victories that can keep you on track? Let's dive in!

Why become a Fighter?

Fighters don’t enter into a match without having some reasonable belief that they can win (unless it's the WWF and they get paid to lose to the big bad Stone Cold Steve Austin with his epic Stunner move. ..I digress).

Fighters study their opponents and train to exploit their weaknesses and come out as a victor. Becoming a fighter means that you are willing to train to become the best version of yourself. This is why I became a fighter, I wanted to be the best version of myself for my family. While we are not talking about becoming a literal fighter, the principles should remain common. We should train our minds to defeat our next opponent. That opponent might be getting your personal finances in order so that you can have money to invest. That opponent might be getting your first deal under contract. Or it might be as simple as changing your daily habits. Whatever that opponent may be, we have to train for it so you can enter the match with that belief that you can win. So, how do we train? 

Training Regimen

For any type of physical training, it is likely not recommended to jump into the gym and start lifting 300lbs on the bench press if you have never exercised that part of your body before. A trainer will likely set that 300lb as a goal and set up a plan to get you to that point. 50lbs the first week, then up to 70lbs and week after week you get closer to that 300lbs. Along with the physical training likely comes nutritional changes and probably some lifestyle changes as well. We should not believe that the wealth building process is any different. 

The four steps of the OPI (On Purpose Investor) Training Regime includes following these steps.

1. Your Mind

Your mindset is the most important part of your journey. But what about your mindset needs to change? For me, it was my relationship with money. I had a juvenile understanding of how money works. I knew I had to work to pay bills and get things I wanted or needed, but I had never thought of how the money I earned could work for itself and make me more. 

Rich Dad Poor Dad helped train my mind and I highly recommend this for your training process. 

You have to train your mind first. Without the right mindset, you will run out of steam and quit. 

2. Your Daily Routine

What does your day to day routine look like? Are you chasing the clock from the moment you wake up until you go to bed? Are you finding yourself scrolling social media for hours on end? Your daily routine is a good indicator of what your life not only will look like next week or next year, it is probably indicative of what your foreseeable future will be. If you are not doing something in your daily routine that gets you closer to your goals, then it’s pretty evident that you do not really want to achieve them. Adapt the fighter mentality and train to win! 

• Identify your goal and break it down into actionable steps. Make those steps part of your daily routine. If you have a goal to buy a rental property, then why aren’t you training to buy one? The best training you can do for this goal is to immerse yourself in the realm of real estate investing (REI). 

  • Read books on REI

  • Listen to podcasts on REI

  • Go to REI meetups

• If you do not put something into your daily routine that gets you closer to your goal, then you are not training to win. Be a fighter and train to win! 

• How your day begins is more powerful than even I gave it credit for. After reading Miracle Morning Millionaires by Hal Elrod and David Osborn , I changed my mind on how impactful just 15-20 minutes could be.

3. Your Habits

Do you have productive habits? A lot like your routine, your habits are a good indicator of what your future holds. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg was and still is a part of my training regimen. Habits to consider changing when training to become a fighter:

• Spending Habits

  • How are you spending your disposable income?

  • What are you overspending on?

  • See the blog Keeping up with the Joneses

• Downtime Habits

  • How do you pass the time when you are done with your daily work?

• Exercise and Healthy Habits

  • Do you choose the stairs or elevator?

  • Do you make time to exercise?

  • Do you make an effort to be healthy in your food choices?

• Bad Habits

  • Not to go down the rabbit hole of bad habits, but how much time, money and energy do you spend on bad habits? It’s your duty to decide if your habit is good or bad.

4. Your Actions

What you do next is the start or continuation of your journey in becoming the best version of yourself, A Fighter. 

• Fight for your future every day by being intentional with your actions. 

• You will have to decide early on what level of suck are you prepared to embrace.

  • Things are not going to be easy and will probably suck. In the military, they teach us to embrace the suck. You have to endure it to make it to the other side. 

  • Accept, Adapt, Overcome. This is my mantra when I encounter a difficult situation. I must accept that this is necessary and I have to do it. I adapt to the situation and develop strategies to win. I put my strategies to work and overcome the obstacle(s).

•  Get comfortable being uncomfortable. 

  • You will likely become uncomfortable creating new habits, breaking bad habits, adding something to your daily routine, etc. Do not shy away from them! Embrace them. Train yourself to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. 

Becoming a fighter may not be easy for you. Some of you may already be fighters and just need to change what you are fighting for. The fact is, to live a life that no one else can, you will have to be willing to do what no one else will. It will take you becoming a fighter with a fighter mentality to take down some of your biggest opponents. Anyone can become a fighter but not everyone will. It takes guts, hard work and sacrifice. Are you going to become a fighter? I hope so!