"... It Never Ceases to Amaze Me..."

Andrew Carnegie discovered "IT",
Napoleon Hill get's credit for first discussing "IT", in public.
Earl Nightingale hammered home the importance of "IT" No, actually he said, the "VITAL importance" of IT.

... But it never ceases to amaze me, seeing "IT" - in action.

I flew to Springfield, Ohio earlier this week to see my friend Alan Cowgill, and talk about my upcoming private placement for some of our commercial deals in the pipeline - it was suppose to be a quick day trip, but actually wound up being two full days.

Yup, TWO FULL DAYS - The amazing thing is that we did not use up two precious days talking about raising money!

Now, your sitting there saying to yourself, "Sherman, how in the world could you waste the opportunity to have the Master of Money Raising in a face-to-face setting for TWO DAYS and not use all of it discussing raising money...???"

We started down that path, and then "IT" took over - and it was AMAZING when "IT" happened.

IT - is the power of the Mastermind.

Yes, just two guys in a room (actually for some parts of the two days Alan did have one of his key people join us) and the Power of IT - The Mastermind - showed up. As we got to discussing our businesses, Alan began to share with me some of his most successful strategies, which opened a door for me to do the same. Before either of us knew it, we were both discussing future plans and more importantly we both began to revise some of those plans based on hearing ourselves talk about our business challenges and opportunities with someone else who faces the similar opportunities/challegnes each and every day.... It was INCREDIBLE.

Then a very strange third thing happened - we both started coming up with ideas for making massive amounts of money, by changing and improving upon things we are doing right now, and it flowed like water...

Fortunately, for both of us, Alan had one of his guys set up a tape recorder in the room so I could have both a checklist and a a tape of our session together when I went home. I thought I was going to have a ton of good stuff on raising money, instead I now have a complete road map for several business ideas, as does he - the power of the Mastermind.

I have been hearing about the power of a good mastermind group for years. I actually pay money to be included in a very strong top-level mastermind group that meets four times a year, but it still never ceases to amaze me how powerful it is even when just two friends get together and start opening up about their challenges and opportunities in business and set aside the time to really discuss these things in depth.

If you are not going to the REIA club meetings, you are missing the boat! And if you are not seeking out people at your level (and above) to "mastermind" with, then your business is never going to be where you dream it should be.

Aggressively seek out opportunities to be in a room with "Like-Minded" people for a dedicated period of time, and be willing to open up. It is amazing what can happen when the "mastermind" takes over, and what both (all) of you will come away with.

"...The Less You "Work", the More You Make...?"

I got an email, o.k. (it was not an email it was really SPAM) yesterday from a "real estate investor" and it says the following right up top:

"...One of the most important truths of growing your real estate investing business is: The less you work, the more money you make. It's painfully obvious...."

"Painfully Obvious...???" Give me a break!!

Ron LeGrand started a saying years ago, which goes something like this: "The Less I work, the more I make..." and anyone who knows Ron (well) knows exactly what he means by this statement.

The aforementioned email did not come from Ron, in fact it took Ron's comment in a completely different direction than what Ron actually has to say on the subject.

Anyone looking at Ron LeGrand's work ethic might be inclined to label Ron as a "Workaholic". Seriously, you don't own TWO private jets just because you need to get across country every "once in a while". But if you know Ron, you also know that he does not see it this way because he has a tremendous passion for what he does. I know, I had the chance to fly with Ron on his jet on one of it's maiden voyages and talk to him about this and other topics important to real estate investors.

As Ron shared with me, a few years ago he found himself doing EVERYTHING. Mainly because he had fallen into the same trap every entrepreneur falls into of believing that "No one can do it as good as I can..." While listening to Robert Kiyosaki (yes, even multi-millionaires listen to other multi-millionaires for advice), the light bulb went on for Ron, when Kiyosaki was explaining the four cash-flow quadrants and how many people never get out of the "S" quadrant into the "B" and "I" quadrants because of their "No one can do this task as good as me..." way of thinking.

So, when Ron SAYS: "the less I do, the more I make", what he is referring to is the power of delegating tasks.

Every successful real estate investor and entrepreneur knows that they are, ultimately, responsible for the health and success of their business. Learning to delegate tasks, however, is a major step towards true financial freedom. Delegating does not, however, mean "doing nothing". It means learning how to get it off your desk and into the hands of someone else and "letting go" of the notion that "no one can do it is well as I can..." Many new entrepreneurs would do well to get themselves an personal assistant as quickly as possible once they get a system down and are making money. HINT: the better your profit margins, the quicker you can get to this place. In fact, we all know of many entrepreneurs who have made millions without employees, but I can think of NONE who did not at least have a virtual assistant to help "get things done"!

Another expert on strategies dealing with this same "Less I do, more I make" philosophy is Michael Gerber, who advocates in his series of books on "The E-Myth", that the primary job of the successful entrepreneur is to "Work ON the Business, not IN the Business".

Not to attack the SPAMMER, excuse me, the sender of the email, who professes to be a "real estate investor"... But DUDE - Get a Clue...!!!

The LESS YOU WORK - THE LESS YOU WILL MAKE!! This is particularly true if you are just getting started and have yet to complete your first deal, or formulate (as in borrow someone else's, then make your own) strategy and put in place systems for acquiring wealth through real estate.

Real Estate Investing is not about "Being a Lazy Bum", it is about BEING IN CONTROL: Control of your time, Control of your money, Control of your life.

Many folks know my philosophy about "Mondays... what a sick joke", but folks who really know me, know that I work "strange" hours - the hours I like to work, and taking off Monday's is both a reward and my way of exerting control. You can not do that if your (financial) life depends on a 9-5 pattern, as taught in school.

Truthfully, when you really get good at what you enjoy, it is not work at all. More importantly, the returns you can get from real estate far exceed what you can make in any hourly wage job, even some of the highest paid ones.
Granted, most of the "effort" in this business comes from the "learning how to's" and getting your mind "fixed", that is deprogramming it from years of "poor man/poor woman" thinking that they teach in schools and most colleges.

But it is patently dishonest to say there is no effort involved, or to tell people they can just "buy a course and stick it under your pillow because the less you do, the more you make..."

If you got the same email, you may want to send the "investor" a note suggesting that they go to www.realinvestors.com and click on the link to the Talk Radio Archives and listen to what Ron LeGrand really has to say on the subject before they send out more bogus email!

"Why Real Estate Investing is Like Flying to Sringfield (Columbus)..."

I have a good friend who is a professional pilot.

This should not come as a surprise given my background, but Pete and I actually met after the events of 9/11. His son started coming to our real estate investor club meetings while still a senior in High School.

Like any good parent, Pete came once to "check this thing out", and before you knew it, he had turned himself into a professional pilot AND real estate investor.

We were talking a few weeks ago about the parallels between real estate investing and getting a plane off the ground. He should know, not only is he a successful rehabber, but he flies 767's Jumo's across the Atlantic for a major carrier.

What is striking is what Pete shared with me, which is according to Pete, "...there are many, many things that need to come together before a jumbo jet can take off…and then it’s ready! The pilots have the controls and the plane is cleared for take-off. The sole focus now are the pilots at the controls and power of the engines producing 103% of their rated thrust for take-off. 103% you might ask…how is that possible…it’s possible because the effort to get the jumbo into the air is not sustainable…can you see the parallel for real estate investing…it takes a 100+% effort to get your dream airborne and once airborne the effort can be relaxed. Once a jet is clear of the immediate obstacles…the thrust can be reduced to the 96% range…the faster the jet flies and the higher is climbs…the less energy is required to keep it there…once cruising the thrust can be reduced to 75% and the pilots can relax…and the flight attendants can now begin their work and take over the effort…can you see any parallels yet? In the course of getting a jet going…there are many team members participating…while some are busy, others are waiting for their turn to participate. Everyone in the cabin is face front and totally involved in take-off.

There is a ton of great advice in that one pragraph. But the thing that struck me on the way to Springfield Ohio yesterday is that EVERYONE is engaged in the successful (I'm really not that interested in participating in any other kind) take off of an aircraft.

Once the door closes, cell phones and electronic devices get turned off, everyone faces front and is in their seats - fastened in. Going down the AOA (sorry, getting technical here, going down to the taxi ways) the flight attendants take their seats and strap in. As Pete indicated to go from zero to 10,000 feet requires 103% of available power, and from zero to 10,000 feet, everyone is facing front and fully engaged. At 22,000 feet the aircraft engines are still at 10#%, but the flight attendants now get up and start serving, and most of the Game Boys(r) and other electronic dudads have already been on since 10,000 feet. And at 30,000 feet, the pilot reduces power and let's folks start walking around.

The point of all this is that regardless of what real estate strategy you intend to deploy, wholesaler, rehabber, lender, it takes complete concentration and effort (Oooooh, he said the "E" word), yes effort (as in learning and doing) to get the plane off the ground. It will require the assistance and dedication of others - even the ground crew has to be "on board" in helping to get the flight ready. Someone has got to get the "garbage off the plane", and get the old baggage off and the new baggage on!

And most important, regardless of your final destination, Springfield, Ohio, or Honolulu, HI, we all get the planes off the ground using the same techniques, systems, check lists and 103% of effort, then once you hit that cruising altitude, you can then throttle back, relax and take it where you want to go...