Stay the Course

How do you succeed as a real estate investor?  How do you succeed as a person?  Simple: Stay the course!

But what course?  Whose course?  Heck, how do you know if you’re even on the right course?

Your course begins with an idea – YOUR idea!  What feels right to you?  Answer this question: What were you put on earth to do?  Ever thought about this?  I mean, after all, you’re here for a reason, right?  What’s that reason?

For eighteen years, I sold Electrolux vacuums door-to-door.  It paid me a lot of money.  Only one problem: I wasn’t put on earth to sell vacuums door-to-door.  So why didn’t I quit much sooner?  Because everyone around me told me that I’d be a fool to walk away from the huge money-earning potential Electrolux offered. 

Think about that.  I kept doing a job that I hated because of someone else’s dream.  It wasn’t my dream.  How sad!

Fortunately, at twenty-four, I discovered something incredible.  I realized that I loved everything about real estate investing.  Sure, it took me eleven more years to build up the courage to leave the safety of Electrolux and become an investor, but at least I eventually took the plunge – and I’ve never looked back!

How about you?  Are you doing that thing that you were put on earth to do, or are you living someone else’s dream?

Life is a journey, and as with any journey, you need to know two things: First, where do you want to go?  Second, where are you now?  Once you find the answer to these two questions, then it’s just a matter of figuring out how to get from here to there.

Know that the journey won’t be green lights all the way to your destination; you’re gonna run into obstacles and set backs.  But remember: Obstacles are those nasty things you see when you take your eyes off your goal!

I got my flying license on my sixteenth birthday.  One of the amazing things I learned was that once I leave the ground, the wind is always trying to blow me off course.  To reach my destination, I’m forced to constantly make in-flight corrections.  It’s the same way with life.

I loved playing golf with my dad.  Truth be known, I was better than him, but I never won a bet from him.  We’d be on the eighteenth tee; I’d have him by five strokes.  No way I could lose, right?  Then he’d say, “Son, whatever you do, don’t hit any of those houses down the right fairway.”  All of a sudden, all I could think about was hitting one of those stinking houses…and that’s when the wheels came off the cart, resulting in my dad winning the match.  Don’t let what others say to you and about you cause you to get a serious case of “stinkin’ thinkin’” like I did! 

Gary Johnston tells us that the wealth process begins with our thoughts.  Well, so do poverty and failure.  Be mindful of what information you let in your head!

Kim and I have done several things to shield ourselves from stinkin’ thinkin’.  First, we don’t have TV and haven’t had it for years.  Second, we rarely listen to talk radio.  Third, we consistently listen to great teachers like Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn and Wayne Dyer.

One of my favorite Zig quotes is: People say that motivation doesn’t last.  Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily!

Look, if you are living up to your potential and think what I say is hogwash, then hogwash is exactly what it is.  But if you think you’re falling short of being all that you can be, why not give some of this a try – after all, what do you have to lose?  Just think, if you don’t change your direction, you’ll end up exactly where you’re headed.  Are you sure you want that?