As human beings, we have a habit of making up excuses for ourselves. Everyone deals with uncertainty and fears — it's natural. For anyone looking to have a successful business of any kind, getting past the excuses born out of these fears and negative thoughts is a crucial first step. Learning from the gurus, mentors and successful entrepreneur, I have become a huge believer in having the right mindset. I truly believe that having a proper mindset is one of the key factors that determine success, no matter what the business.

Real estate investing is no different than any other business. If you treat it like a hobby, then you will have the same success you would have with a hobby. However, if you treat your real estate investing as a business, then you can have the kind of success we all hope to have in business. This requires us to leave the excuses behind.

If we continue to allow and buy into our own excuses as real estate investors and professionals, we'll never achieve our full potential. In the spirit of self-improvement, I've shortlisted some of the most common excuses we give ourselves and others. These are the sentences that we must leave behind if we want to be great.

1. "Now's not a good time.”
Really? Is there ever going to be a perfect timing? This excuse can be valid if you're over capacity or burning out. It really might not be a good time for you personally. But in many cases, for professionals in any field and real estate investors, timing has more to do with market conditions. While yes, timing is important, it is no reason to not start in the first place. Your timing might be off, and that's okay. At least you have done something.

2. "I'm too busy.”
Busy, busy, busy. We're always busy. While it's true that many people do have a tight schedule throughout the week, work or business can often become a potent excuse. It sounds valid, and we may very well have a lot on our plates, but "busyness” is a business killer.

Why?

For one, it creates a wall that hinders change. We are blocked off from possibilities, from re-prioritizing, to change, to accommodate other opportunities. The real reason we claim "busyness” probably has more to do with uncertainties or a lack of interest. Everyone on Earth has the same time allotted to them. You know what? We're rarely as busy as we say we are.

Another reason it is a business killer is that we all arrange a time for what we want to make time for. Often, those wants include things that have nothing to do with their business. Things like hobbies, socializing and workouts. Our schedules are often filled with extra activities, which is not a bad thing at all but those things can be bad when they fill our schedule to the brim and prevents us from allocating the time that's needed for us to make our real estate businesses successful.

3. "I don't have the experience.”
While not having experience in one area or another is a valid concern, it's not a very good reason to abandon the opportunity. You don't get experience if you don't try in the first place. Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions. None of us starts with experience. We all start at the same place and build from the bottom. That is often where we miss the true lifecycle of business.

"I'm a perfectionist and nothing is worth doing unless you get it right the first time.” This excuse is often rooted in a sense of perfectionism. Truly valuable experience is built on failure and success alike. So if you are in lack of experience, this is the time to get it. A successful business grows from and with experience. The only way to get it is to go for it.

4. "I need more money.”
This excuse can feel very real when you genuinely out of cash. Maybe your business is struggling at a low point or emergencies have used up your resources. The issue is when you say it and do nothing to solve the problem. Everyone can find alternative routes to find funding and cut expenses. For real estate investors, it may be a simple case of being an entry-level investor with tastes that exceed the price point. Most of us have to start small. Then grow from there.

Money is only an issue for those who allow it to stop them. Creativity, a willingness and desire to take on risks and hard work are the weapons that real estate investors everywhere use to get over that stumbling block.

5. "It's not worth it.”
This excuse demands an examination. There are many real reasons as to why an opportunity may not feel worth it to you. The valid excuses would be like:
I have weighed the risks, and it isn't something I can wisely pursue.
It doesn't fit with my brand, mission, or portfolio.

This opportunity will not further my overall business goals.

After careful assessment, this property is bigger than what I'm able to take on.

"It's not worth it" however, can be a just a hollow excuse if you haven't thoroughly examined your reasoning. Deep down, maybe you just don't want to do it.

Indeed, we all want investments and opportunities that excite us — but the boring, bread-and-butter opportunities are a necessary part of a stable growth. Don't overlook opportunities because they aren't "perfectly ideal.” Just because they don't inspire your passions in the moment doesn't mean they'll go to waste. You will never know what doors of opportunity this could open.

6. "I can't.”
We all should really remove this sentence entirely from our vocabulary!

The problem with this sentence, with this excuse, is that your words matter as they can absolutely be materialized. Whether you can or you cannot, saying aloud that you cannot do something — saying "I can't do it” — will end all possibility of you doing it. In every situation, when you say you can't, you'll never even try.

You'll find that the most successful people have at one point or another doubted their inborn ability to tackle the challenge set before them. We say that we're not good enough. Someone better should handle it. When it comes to our personal and professional lives, negativity towards ourselves can be disastrous to the success of a business.

Remember that you are good enough. You may fail, but you can try. If you truly believe in your business, investments and passions, don't let the pessimists and the naysayers, from inside your own head or critics on the outside, deter you from shooting for your goals, to be a successful property investor.