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I debated for days about posting this as it technically is not my real estate goals for the first quarter of this year. But it is directly affect by those goals. I was laid off in January of 2011 after 10 years as an engineer. It came as a surprise, but I was confident I could finally put into practice my five years of real estate learning. I had done about one of everything in real estate (or at least tried everything once), but I thought I would find a ton of Master Leases and an occasional wholesale or keeper. I failed.
The consequences of my failure forced me last month to take a 6 month contract position at an Aerospace company and resume getting regular paychecks. I know no job is secure, but this is certainly a far superior company to the last one. I know the job can end at any time, but right now that is not likely. I think this has been the best thing for me. Why?
One reason I failed is I thought it would be easier. I thought I could fall over the deals?that never happened. I need to be more persistent and ignore all the rejection from sellers. I need to adjust my marketing to find sellers. I need to be more outgoing with them and friendly and less matter of fact (Bad engineer! Bad!).
Another reason I failed was I wasn?t organized and disciplined enough to continue to try after failing repeatedly to get responses to my marketing. I wasn?t ready to be on my own, and frankly I had been sloppy in all aspects of my life. I need to take a break from looking for new real estate opportunities in the next three months. I need to refocus on things I have ignored: family, fitness and my spiritual life. If I don?t have that ?Base? in place, I cannot hope to build on anything.
I have totally changed my diet (my wife has as well), I am exercising regularly, I am spending time with my family and applying myself to my new position. Will this make me rich? No, but after seeing enough relatives (relatively young relatives) die off in the last year, I know I need to make changes now. Once I have my daily routine down (waking at the same time, going/leaving work at the same time, going to the gym at the same time) I will be in a better position to have the discipline/initiate I need to succeed in this business. One good aspect of my job is that I am able to listen to phone call recordings or other information in the learning depot while I work on my ipod. I will continue learning in the next 3 months.
If a deal falls into my lap in the next three months, I will go with it, but until I find out why my marketing was so miserable, I am not going to continue to spend money and not get leads. I will take my leave of searching, finish my basement, improve in leading my family and improve my fitness level. Once I have completed those items, I will start again looking for opportunities. I will still talk to people about what I do and find out if I can help them/someone they know.
I suppose if I have a goal for the 2nd quarter of this year it is to increase my case flow $1000. Master leases are the only thing that makes sense in my area so that will be the vehicle.
I remember Mike Cantu saying on one of the Tuesday night calls?you can be financially free in 5 years, it just might not be the first 5 years you work towards that goal. Here goes on the next 5 years.
Greg
I’m glad you posted your goals.
At the October Winning Strategies seminar, I talked about how you need to have a holistic approach to your business and life.
All the money in the world willnot buy you good health ( as Steve Jobs found out) And too many real estate investors do not spend any time working on improving their health, weight control and diet.
When things are not working in your real estate business, sometimes the best thing you can do it get away from it for awhile and reassess what is BROKE.
Sometimes it’s trying to go after a type of deal that no longer exists in this market or one that is hard to achieve ( like rehab and sell to retail buyers)
Sometimes it’s marketing
Sometimes it’s personal interaction ( or lack thereof) with sellers ( trying to do too many things over the phone instead of in person)
Sometimes there is a discovery that as much as you want the financial freedom that real estate can provide, there is a disconnect in the skills or attitude needed to make it happen. But those skills and attitudes can all be learned!
This time away with a focus on your health and getting back in to a routine will help you make the right decisions when you decide to get back in the game.
It took me 10 years to achieve the cash flow goals I had. But the first 5 years I was not even working on cash flow because I didn’t know any better. Those chunks of cash are nice but they won’t get you financial freedom or security.
It’s not how long it takes that matters — it is that you are diligent in pursuing your dreams. Even if it takes 20 years, you’ll be much better off than the average American who retires from their job just as broke with no cash flow investments.
You’ll get to your goals!
Jackie
Update:
My goals are proceeding with relative success, although I have a ways to go.
Basement is nearing completion and will be done before Memorial Day (including carpet installation and moving everything). Once it is complete, I will have my own office and organization will be much improved. Right now my office is also a nursery. It’s a real mess.
I’ve lost 22lbs and gained at least 15lbs or muscle from my weight training. I am generally sleeping better, feeling better, more alert and enjoying not having that fatigued feeling I had when eating fast food, pizza and sugary treats all the time. It’s made quite a difference. Plus I fit in my clothes now!
My contract assignment is a mixed bag. I’ve had ups and downs, but the steady income and overtime pay has been nice. I can’t tell what my boss is thinking because she changes her mind every other week. One week I’m an allstar, then a few weeks later she seems irritated with me. I thought a few months ago they would have offered me full time employment. I’ve gotten the “we’re working on getting you a permanent position” line a few times from her. Good thing I’ve got a highly receptive BS meter from dealing with tenants over the years. On the plus side, I’ve been listening to CDs and downloads with Miller, Schaub, and all the Depot stuff while I am at work. A lot of what I have been doing in the last few months there is mind numbing, but I don’t mind as I can learn and complete my work simultaneously. As a result of that, I am very anxious to get back into finding opportunities.
I am still very high on Master Leasing and think I need to try to do some Highest bidder sales again. My first one was an epic failure, but it seems a lot of folks are having great success with them. It sure would be nice to do one a month and continue to build with long term leaseholds.
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