Put That Fu$#!ng Book Down!
Years ago a tenant of one of my rental properties, Dale, asked me how I was acquiring real estate at the age of 22. Dale had just turned 29 and wanted to make a move in his career. As an event planner for a large company in the area, he was stuck in the doldrums of a 9-5 job. His bosses’ son had recently graduated college and was placed in a management position above Dale (not a happy camper).
As we all know, in the corporate and government sectors, nepotism often outweighs meritocracy. Entrepreneurial vivacity is stifled by automaton “rules.” The longer you drone away in the confines of these coffins, the more institutionalized you become…
Dale wanted in, so he probed:
“Did you inherit a lot of money? Or did you just hit the lottery? How do you do it?”
None of the above, I explained to him. My secret to real estate success boiled down to 3 simple things:
1. I applied the Rich Dad, Poor Dad principle of “make money work for you, don’t work for it.”
2. I actively sought advice from other real estate investors that we’re having success. I’d latch on to people I met at the gym, church, etc. that we’re making money in real estate and pick their brains for every ounce of knowledge they had.
3. I applied what I’d learnt and delved head first into the real estate game. My dogged pursuit of investing allowed me to leverage the little money I had into a diversified portfolio of residential properties.
“If that’s it, then I should have gotten started at 22 like you did Rich. I’m gonna do this man, watch.” Dale noted.
I forewarned Dale about some of the obstacles that he might come across, and that if he can’t get over them, or around them, he’ll just need to bulldoze right through them…
About six months later I stopped by my rental home to check-in on Dale. I was curious to see how far he’d come along on his journey.
I stepped inside and Dale greeted me with a huge bear hug.
“Rich, thank you so much for opening my eyes to all of this. Since the last time we saw each other not only did I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I went on to read:
Rich Dads Retire Young, Retire Rich
Loopholes of the Rich
Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad’s Guide To Financial Freedom
Rich Dad’s Guide To Investing
Rich Dad’s Real Estate Riches…”
NO, NO, NOOOO! Dale was stuck in a mode of paralysis by analysis.
Book reading is extremely important, but there comes a time when you JUST HAVE TO PUT THAT FU$#!NG BOOK DOWN and take ACTION!!!! Get out in the community and start networking with realtors, brokers, and other investors. Talk to mortgage lenders. Get pre qualified!
If you find yourself in the rut of perpetual analysis, break free and start taking risks. Baptism by fire. The best way to get your feet wet is by putting them in the pool, NOT BY READING ABOUT HOW TO PUT THEM IN THE POOL!!!!
Same thing goes with running online businesses. Don’t fear failure, embrace it. Go register an LLC. Setup a website. Ask your friends/family for money. File for an SBA loan. Flip burgers to finance your internet startup. BOTTOM LINE: Take Action!!!!
Along your journey remember these famous quotes by Thomas Edison:
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.”
“Vision without execution is hallucination.”
“Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.”
“There are no rules here — we’re trying to accomplish something.”
-
John
