You Gotta Start By Crawling Baby!

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Wow, am I ever grateful it’s 2010. 2009 was a pretty brutal year economically, business wise and action wise for us. We still have a few headaches that have followed us over into 2010, but with some strong action and forward movement on our part, instead of waiting to see how it plays out this time, we should be on a much stronger footing for 2010.

What I have realized as I reviewed some of the mistakes and shortcomings of 2009 was how far we have actually come. Yes, we lost money in 2009 on Real Estate, in fact a considerable amount which pains me every time I reflect on it. However, Real Estate also put us in a position so we had money to lose. If we hadn’t have started purchasing properties back in 2003 I would probably still be working at my old job, making a comfortable living, but not very happy. This life is so much better!

Financially we are twenty years ahead of where we were back then, even after the slowdown. Lifestyle wise we have the ability to show up to our children’s recitals in the middle of the morning, pick up our children after school and make our work fit around our hours. Sure, I had flexibility at work due to a great boss and plenty of seniority, but nothing like this.

None of this would have happened originally though if we didn’t start crawling and make that initial purchase that started us moving forward.  That initial purchase led to the next one and the one after that and so on. Much like a baby learning to crawl, there are struggles and surprises as you learn. Unlike a baby, these struggles and surprises can be bumps and bruises on your finances instead of your body.

Surprisingly many people who run into these setbacks in Real Estate tuck in their tails and become the loudest mouthpieces about how Real Estate can wipe you out and what a bad investment it can be. It’s amazing these people are able to walk. If they had the same mindset when they initially started crawling, they would have never left the safe spot they started at on the floor. Obviously, they didn’t stop trying to crawl though and managed to not only overcome crawling, but also learned to walk, talk and run.

So what changes our mindset as we grow older and potentially wiser? If we really had acquired wisdom as we aged, wouldn’t we realize we need to crawl before we walk or run in many of life’s adventures? Do we simply get too caught up in the fear of making mistakes that could cost us money or could damage our pride? Why do we lose the gusto to reach for that brass ring that appears to be just out of our reach?

As more people come to me for guidance and mentorship about Real Estate investing, I am seeing a colossal difference between the people worn out by day jobs and the people just entering the Real Estate business. The excitement they bring, the willingness to not only learn to crawl with their Real Estate investments, but the desire to learn to walk the talk to move forward can be an adrenaline rush to me. It reminds me of how when we initially started we ate, talked and dreamed of Real Estate almost 24 hours a day and how crawling eventually leads to walking and running. So remember, you gotta crawl before you start running!