The past 6 months...

[Ironwill]

Hey everyone… Haven’t posted in a while, been busy quietly toiling away. Thought I would post a bit of an update.


The past six months for me have been an enormous opportunity for personal growth; My original plan was somewhat of a default path after recovering from a MAJOR failure in my first real estate endeavor. At the time, I was lulled into a false sense of security that going to school was taking sufficient action. In a nutshell, my intent was to go to school to become a property appraiser. I thought this would be the best way for me to break into the ranks of ultra-successful investors; as a knowledgeable professional. By becoming an expert in property values, their drivers and determinants, I would eventually be catapulted to the ranks of stratospherically savvy real estate investor super-stardom... Flawed logic in retrospect…Though I am certainly not insinuating that this is the “wrong way” of doing it, or that I would never have eventually gotten there, it certainly was a very roundabout way.


About six months ago now, I actually started working with a couple of fellow fastlaners; Zendolphin and PetethePeddler. They were working on a coaching program business idea (Boot to the Ass Coaching), and needed some volunteers who were willing to be coached in launching their respective ideas… I figured I had nothing to lose, and jumped on the opportunity. Their coaching has since become instrumental in my subsequently being able to redefine the entire trajectory of my path for the better…


By my own estimates, the original process would have likely tacked-on an additional 5 years or more to my plan; 2 years until I became fully certified as an AACI (essentially an appraiser able to value any type of real estate), maybe another 2-3 working at that same firm with a ‘good’ salary and building my own appraisal business to a point where I might have acquired the necessary connections and capital to become the investor/developer I aspire to become, and due to information that's come to light recently, the chances that it would have actually worked out that way are also very slim…


Instead, by reframing my understanding of what is actually possible to accomplish in real estate (starting with virtually nothing), I’ve already managed to tap directly into, and become a part of the relatively small network of highly successful investors in my market (just to clarify, I’m NOT a highly successful investor! Haha YET!). However, I continue to learn through consistent interaction with those who are successful and proficient at accomplishing things that are considered by the status quo to be “impossible”; for example, tying up $5M worth of real estate for $2; getting the seller to finance some or the majority of your acquisition while also helping him/her out of a potentially financially catastrophic situation; legally and ethically…No shit… I regularly associate with the right professionals (those in tune with the specific needs of creative real estate investors), people with money but no time, people with credit but no expertise, people with expertise and money and people with time with no money, all interested in helping each other succeed, because that in turn ensures the advancement of their own interests… Win-win… Just the way I like it…


Don’t get me wrong; school has been a HUGE benefit to me; having nearly completed my degree in real estate business has given me the edge in terms of being able to technically analyze deals, and understand the fundamental economics and dynamics driving real property markets at a much higher than average level of detail etc., as well as all the intangibles. Now it is all a matter of learning and applying how to actually leverage that knowledge in order to generate value for both my network and market, and ultimately how to translate that into profit; a process in which I am now actively engaged. That being said, would I personally do the whole school thing all over again if I had the choice? Probably not… I would use the time to learn the exact same things, on my own, and I would take the 10’s of thousands I plowed into a formal education and invest it… In real estate.


Dale and Pete’s encouragement along this journey has been invaluable in catapulting me to where I find myself today. The biggest advantage has been their help in navigating the uncertainty associated with this path. There have been some rough patches along the way; I can’t deny that! Times where I’ve just wanted to bury my head in the sand and say f$@&* it all… I’ve had my moments of doubt where I questioned myself and my abilities, and whether I could actually make it all happen; I also know those are not the last I’ve seen of those moments... But those moments are fleeting, and I drive on.


After all, nobody said building a real estate empire out of thin air was supposed to be easy… And I am definitely finding the creative real estate arena a tough nut to crack, (considering I am starting with no capital) looking to add value in the chain anywhere I can; for example, by partnering investors with money and no time with deals (that I find by leveraging my own time) in order to bolster my own stock of investment capital to fund my fastlane exploits. But putting it in perspective, in the past 6 months I’ve come light years ahead of where I would have been thanks in large part to the encouragement and one on one guidance to get out there and fail fast NOW, and establish my network NOW, learn and hone the practical skills essential to my success in real estate NOW, make things happen NOW… Not later, not after I have this degree or that certification… or whatever. All of that shit is ancillary, an asset, but not a requirement…


Thanks for reading, and much success to you all! Here's to a stellar 2012!