Real Estate Investing is a great way to create residual income and build long term wealth. In my opinion there is no other business where a normal person can build life changing wealth if they take the time necessary to learn how to invest in real estate the right way, develop goals and action plans, and implement proven business models.However, one of the biggest mistakes both new and old real estate investors make is thinking that the fastest way to succeed in real estate investing is finding properties at deep discounts, investing a few dollars in repairs, and then selling them at or near retail. Although this strategy sounds like it makes sense on the surface and even may work for a while, in reality it’s what gets many real estate investors in trouble down the stretch. The real key to insuring a long and successful life in real estate investing is to look at investors who are successful and study what they do and use their models in your business.Those of us who have been around for a while and have enjoyed great levels of success in our real estate investing business understand that the very first step should be the development of a business and action plans. If you do not know where you want your investment business to go, how can you expect to get there?Highly successful Investors understand that you must set clear goals, and make plans to achieve them. Goal setting is a vital component in any business that has achieved great levels of success. For example, a famous study conducted at Harvard University found that only 3% of Harvard’s graduating class of 1953 had clear written goals with plans to achieve them. Some twenty years later, the same class was polled again, and it was discovered that the same 3% was worth more in terms of wealth than the other 97% combined!!As a new real estate investor, what you should take from the above example is how important it is to develop a business plan to increase your chances of being a 3%er. There is no great secret why a select few enjoy real success in real estate investing -because there are a lot of 97%ers. Therefore, you must set clear goals, and develop plans to achieve them in order to be a 3%er in the business of real estate investing.