Like many entrepreneurs, I’ve always felt blessed with the gift of self-confidence: confidence to take chances, try new things and even risk failure. But, high self-confidence can come at a cost.

This became evident early on in my career as a small-business owner turned part-time real estate investor. My strategy was to acquire one or two investment properties per year, simply dictated by my capacity. It wasn’t until a chance meeting with other investors that I started to see the flaw in my thinking.

At a friend’s suggestion, I attended a local networking group where I was introduced to a few successful investors. What I quickly learned was they weren’t doing it alone. They were capitalizing on their networks, utilizing staff and creating systems and processes. They were even employing strategies I hadn’t considered to build their portfolios, faster and larger than mine. So, I decided to sit down and listen, attending as many workshops as I could that this group offered and connecting with as many investors as possible.

Fast forward a few years and my personal portfolio had increased significantly, and I was able to go into real estate full time, co-founding a company. After some early success, our results started to plateau due to internal capacity, and again I knew we needed help. Eventually, I joined a CEO networking group where I was lucky to connect with the first person who could coach us toward success.