If you plan on learning to invest in real estate you must first do research and decide what your goals are. Most people think that real estate is a get rich quick scheme, however that is far from the truth. To become a successful real estate investor takes time, so be patient. There are many types of real estate strategies and techniques and many people tend to get overwhelmed when deciding which option to choose.

There are a lot of gurus out there that teach different strategies and most people tend to of read a lot but never take action. This is the most common mistake most people make when they try to become a successful real estate investor. One way to overcome this is to study one subject at a time and then take action on that subject before moving on to the next subject. For example, you could study a course on wholesaling, then go out and flip your first house for a small profit. You should use the techniques that you learn through the course and then apply them, such as: put out bandit signs, place ads on craigslist, set up a pay per-click-campaign. Then talk to sellers that call, make offers, write contract, set closing date, assign contract and get paid.

If you notice everything is focusing on just wholesaling. Once you receive your first check and start making money you can then move onto a new subject. In my opinion wholesaling is the first subject that should be studied if you plan to become a successful real estate investor. The reason for this is that your job as a real estate investor is to find below market deals. Wholesalers are the source of good deals. By becoming a wholesaler, you can pick and choose the deals you want to do and assign the rest of the deals to another investor.

Once you've accomplished this, you can then go on to the next subject. Some good examples of what you might study would be lease options, "subject- to", probate, short sales, REO's, and so on… One suggestion would be to map out your learning process. Decide which subjects you want to study and what order you want to study them in. Write all of the subjects that you want to learn down on a piece of paper then number them in order of importance. Then study them one at a time focusing on one subject and then moving on to the next. You may spend several months on each subject but that's okay. Don't move onto the next subject until you have actually implemented the techniques that you've learned from the previous subject.

You may only be able to learn 3-4 subjects a year. The key is to be realistic with yourself. It may take you one to two years to become a successful real estate investor. Of course you can speed this process up quite a bit by having a mentor. Every successful person that I know has a mentor and you should too. I still have mentors have been investing in real estate for more than 10 years. It took me about 1 year of rigorous studying to become a full time real estate investor. Just stick with it and you will be surprised how easy it is to become a successful real estate investor.

Tim Herndon is the founder and CEO of www.PropertyLeads.com, a national company that provides lead generation, marketing, management, and mentoring services to real estate investors.