Are You "Intact", Or Are You Only 99.% "Pure"...?

There is nothing in the world like having dinner with a good friend and catching up.

Last night I had the pleasure of catching up with my good friend Alan Cowgill, who is in town teaching at Rob Bostick;s Rehabbers Boot Camp. As you know, Alan is the absolute MASTER of raising money from private investor sources, and his home study systems are some of the most comprehensive in the entire world of real estate education. Anything Alan writes or says, I buy.

Last night over dinner we got to talking about a number of things that "went down" in 2005, including the investment careers of a couple of friends. As we were talking I began to think about how much both integrity, moral character and credibility Alan has earned with me and others. Later on the way home I began to think more about the word "integrity", both as it applies to business and to life.

Integrity is one of the most misquoted words in the entire english language. Many people mistakenly believe it is identical to the word: "MORAL" - it is not.

In fact, in looking up the word this morning on Google, I came across a reference from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2005 Edition), in which it says specifically:

"... Persons of integrity may in fact act immorally—though they would usually not know they are acting immorally. Thus one may acknowledge a person to have integrity even though that person may hold importantly mistaken moral views. When used as a virtue term, ‘integrity’ refers to a quality of a person's character; however, there are other uses of the term. One may speak of the integrity of a wilderness region or an ecosystem, a computerized database, a defense system, a work of art, and so on. When it is applied to objects, integrity refers to the wholeness, intactness or purity of a thing—meanings that are sometimes carried over when it is applied to people...."

I agree with the last part 100%, "Integrity" = "Wholeness".

Which to me means, that you say what you do and then you do what you say 100%. This is much easier said then done.

Case in point: As many people know, we have an active "private lender program", thanks in large part to the mentorship of my friend Alan. Last year, we were telling folks that we would borrow "x" amount of money and pay "y" percent for six months. Important: "Six-months". Now all of our contracts say "one-year", but in my "pitch" I would say "six-months". So far, so good. However, a few of the projects we took on last year were taking longer then "six-months" as 2006 rolled around. So guess what kinds of phone calls and emails I got this year when we went into the seventh (and in some cases) eighth month.

You guessed right! Not very pleasant ones.

Now it seems like such a small thing, and some of you would say, "Well didn't they read their contract?"
When was the last time you read an entire contract for anything you were involved in: line-by-line...?

My point exactly, this entire real estate business is held together by something stronger than the desire to make money.

It is held together by "TRUST". and as the saying goes: "It is very hard to come by, and very easily lost".

Whether you are a multi-gazillionaire investor, or you just bought your very first book on how to make a million in your sleep, my one suggestion is that you practice the letter and the spirit of the word "Integrity" day one.

What you say, you need to do. And if you can not do it, then do not say it.

There are many areas of real estate investing where being 99.9% pure is more than sufficient, but anytime you are using money, or credit provided by others, "99.9 and a half, wont do".

As my mother use to say: "Wonder woman is DEAD...", sorry, no, she used to say " .... I make you no promises, I tell you no lies". Now we all know that in this business we all have to make commitments, so being non-committal is not the answer.

However, in those areas where we are making commitments to others, we need to make sure we "under promise and over perform" to ensure that we have enough "cushion" built in to our deals to be able meet to the commitments we make. And we have to be able to meet them even when life and circumstances throw obstacles in our way that would cause us to not be able to meet the commitments we have made.

To make promises and then not be able to perform in a manner similar to what we have promised is to be "inconsistent" and over time we will (unknowingly) earn a reputation for lacking integrity, and that is the "kiss of death" in this business.

Five Things #4 - The "Secret" Mental Exercise Used By All Succeful People...

As a kid I use to day dream...Truth is, I never stopped.
Sometimes as a kid, however, it would get me into trouble, such as when I had been given an assignment, but got "lost in the moment" thinking about the future and what I would do "out on my own", rather than dealing with the reality of what I was suppose to be doing at that moment in time.

I am constantly amazed at the wisdom of G-d.

Most of us have read, or at least are familiar with the story of Joseph (Old Testiment) and how his dreams early on got him into trouble with his brothers and father, but ultimately it was these same dreams that saved his entire family from the painfully slow death of starvation and pestilence.

But even without being as "gifted" as Joseph, we are all exposed to the wonder of the power of dreams.

However, most of us have this power squashed by well meaning adults who tell us to "get with the program and stop dreaming", and as a result we never harness the power of dreams.

Wealthy people, on the other hand, do possess a similar trait (one of a small hand full) in which they do realize the power of dreams. Or more specifically, the power to "See the Future" they want to possess and then work their way towards it.

Leading authors Steven Covey and Hyrum Smith both call describe the strategy of "Beginning With the End in Mind".
They are correct.

If you have every listened to THE STRANGEST SECRET, by Earl Nightingale you know that the Mind has a difficult time distinguishing between what is real and what is imagined, if what is imagined is focused on constantly. When Donald Trump was still in his 30's many people accused him of being "brash" because of his behavior, but if you talk to Trump about this period of his life, he will share that at 30 he was already believing he was as successful then as he is today, when he was still living in a one room studio apartment with no money in his bank account.

Whether it is Donald Trump, or Sam Zell, or Sam Walton, successful people share the ability to "Start with the end in mind, and work backwards". in other words, to day dream and then dare to lay down a plan to achieve those dreams.

Some people have simply forgot how to day dream.

The circumstances of life have "beaten it out of them".

While others know how to day dream, but it never goes beyond being "just a dream".

The key is to exercise the discipline of writing down the dreams and putting in place the steps required to move forward, while getting the resources (along the way) necessary to complete the journey.

Let me offer a few suggestions on how to "properly" day dream, that is dream in a way that yields productive results:

#1 - Understand the importance of day dreaming. It is impossible to dream if you are constantly in the throws of putting out forest fires. You absolutely have to create time just for you! If you have an employer that offers "flex-time" then seriously think about working a longer work day for four days in order to get a fifth - just for you. But do not use "your day" doing stuff for other people. "Your day" is just that - YOUR DAY. A Day to rest, a Day to plan, a Day to Dream. Dream about what could be, while choosing to leave alone (for a day) what is.

#2 - Pick up and read ( I mean really read, as in with a red pen or highlighter) the Book: WHAT MATTERS MOST by Hyrum Smith. If you have never read this, you are probably not operating your life as efficiently as you could. Simply reading this book will help you to set aside the one day a week you need just for you.

#3 - Carry a pen and paper with you at all times! You can go to Borders (See it is good for something ;) and pick up blank journal books for a few bucks. Keep one at your desk, in your car and on your night stand near your bed. When an idea materializes - WRITE IT DOWN. Do not let it slip away.

#4 - Get your self a piece of good Mind Mapping Software and use it! My favorite tool is called Inspiration. It works on both PC's and Mac's. It is a fantastic tool! You can download a free version at: http://www.inspiration.com/freetrial/index.cfm

#5 - Make a habit of going to conferences and workshops, or more specifically for real estate investing, to real estate club meetings and make sure you DO NOT GO EMPTY HANDED. Some of my absolute best "break through" moments have come while listening to speakers with a pen and paper in my hand. I may (in fact, probably) have heard the speaker before and even have their materials, but for some reason while sitting in the room listening, I start to dream and a flow of ideas comes across for the first time. If I have a pen and paper, these ideas are not soon forgotten!

The lives we live today, are nothing more than the life we lived first, in our mind's eye.
If you are not satisfied, it is because the dream you had in the past was not "big enough".

Start today, practicing the habit of dreaming "big enough", and then exercise the discipline of writing it down, so you can begin to acquire the resources you need along the journey to make the dream(s) come true.

"Do We Really NEED All The HYPE...?"

I received an interesting email this weekend in response to something I sent out last week.

It really caused me to stop and think, ultimately I decided to share it.

The person must have been having a royally bad day, because he started off saying how much he enjoyed my blog and the content, and that I send it out daily (except for last week), then he laid into me about "...however, it seems that sometimes you resort to hype when attempting to get your point across. This offends me, and causes me to question your integrity..."

He is entitled to his opinion.

But again, his email did get me thinking. He is right! There is a lot of "hype" when it comes to information we all get, and some of us share with regards to real estate education and information. You just have to watch cable TV between 2:00 AM and 6:00 AM. and we all laugh about the real estate infomercials, and then secretly wait up at night to catch that one commercial, one more time, and the phone number -> then go order it.

"Sherman, are you telling me that you have actually ordered a real estate product from late night TV...?"

Of course I have!!

And somewhere in my negotiating, or acquisition tactics over the years is that small piece of what I learned from the late night course, combined with everything else, showing up in the portfolio or profits in a bank account.


"o.k., so some of that stuff is legit, but do we really need the hype...?"

Before I answer this, let me ask you just one question:

Are you the type of person who shoots up straight out of the bed each morning well in advance of when you NEED to get up and get about your day, or do you use an alarm clock...?

Is the alarm clock sometimes "loud and obnoxious"?? So, why use it? Why not just let nature take its course and get up when it "feels good"?

....Umm

The truth of the matter is that some people do not use an alarm clock. They either have the self-discipline to go to sleep early and therefore wake up refreshed when the body says "let's go", or they have a genuine zest for life. Spending each night dreaming about what tomorrow will be, and then springing out of bed each morning without the aid of an alarm clock.

For these folks an alarm clock would be a waste of money. In fact an alarm clock would be simply a "loud and obnoxious" device next to their bed, and doing without is just fine with them. One less contraption required in an already complicated life - "Throw the dumb thing out, along with the coffee pot - we don't need no stink'n caffein!" A member of a select group of people who needs zero stimulus. A select group that simply sees something once and immediately understands the wisdom of doing a thing and then just going out and doing it!

Others (as in the majority of us) need an alarm clock.
We probably also need the automatic coffee pot with the high octane caffein set to go at "O'Dark Thirty".
We also may be the ones who do well with the assistance of a coach or mentor, and from time to time need to be coaxed. This group not only sees the wisdom of doing something, but also recognize and provide for their own circumstances, and choose to place an alarm clock by their bedside table to assist in "getting the motor running" in the morning.
With each and every story we hear on the infomercials we too get, "juiced".

"Do we NEED the Hype...?"

Or more specifically, do we NEED the Hype associated with real estate information...?

For some the answer is NO WAY!

For others it is ABSOLUTELY!

And for many it is simply "Some times".

For these two latter groups, the "hype"- is the thing that reminds us to do what we already promised ourselves we would do.

It is our "alarm clock".

... one guy's opinion.