1. Associate with other successful, positive people. “Success breeds success,” says Hugh Griffith, a real estate investor in Franklin, Wisconsin. “It may seem simple, but to keep motivated, one needs to associate oneself with people who are also motivated to be successful, regardless of their current situation.” Rick Lopez, an investor in McAllen, Texas, agrees. He says, “I associate with people who are investors and they motivate me.”

2. Set goals and review them often. Visualize your goals to make them real, write them down, and make a contract with yourself to achieve them. When things get tough, think about how good life will be when you have reached your goals. If reviewing your goals does not motivate you, you have the wrong goals.

3. Use adversity to your benefit. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Don’t try to avoid adversity; face it head-on, stay focused, and let it shape you into a better person. Learn to see adversity as an opportunity for growth.

4. Avoid negative people. Misery may love company—but not yours! When people start moaning about how bad things are, politely excuse yourself and find positive people to be around or something productive to do. Don’t argue with a negative person; it’s a waste of time.

5. Remember that you are in control of yourself. You may not be able to control what happens, but you can control how you react.

6. Practice mindfeed. Just as you feed your body, feed your mind with nourishing information. Lopez reads books by Russ Whitney (who mentions mindfeed in all of his books), Robert Kiyosaki, and Donald Trump. Triquinta Thomas of Landover, Maryland, listens to audio books and other motivational materials on CD while she’s driving. She suggests forming a discussion group to talk about your mindfeed materials.

7. Form a support group that will hold you accountable. Nannette Barrie of Oakland, California, advises putting together a group of investors with whom you can check in once a week to see how you’re doing. “Hold each other accountable with such things as the number of properties you look at each week, the contacts made, offers written, offers accepted, and properties sold,” she says.

8. Join and be active in local real estate investing organizations. The real estate investing community is extremely supportive and most experienced investors are usually willing to mentor newcomers. “Always seek help from the investment community,” Barrie says. “Ask the veterans questions at every step of a challenging deal.”

9. Turn off the TV. Watching just one show can stretch into an entire evening in front of the television—wasted hours you can never recover. Spend that time doing something that will help you grow as an investor and see how motivating that is.

10. Look for the bright spot. No matter how dark things may seem, there is always something positive in every situation. Find it and focus on it.

11. Stay spiritually connected. Regardless of your particular faith, do not neglect your spiritual health. Pray. Mediate. Study. Vichelle Nelson, a real estate investor in the Graham/Spanaway area of Washington, says, “The best way for me to overcome adversity is to meditate on scriptures from the Bible, pray, and make positive confessions that are in the Bible and that I find in other great books.”

12. Take action. Don’t wait for just the right moment or until something else happens. Get up and do something today and let the momentum take you forward. You can make corrections later if you need to.

13. Reward yourself. Savor your achievements by rewarding yourself when you reach them.

14. Believe that you are a winner. Have faith in yourself and persevere. Remember that losers give up, but winners keep going.