Why more than How
On a near daily basis I speak to would-be real estate investors who all ask me "How" to do this or "How" to do that. I'm more than happy to help. Yet, taking the time in knowing the "Why" of what you are doing almost always allows me to better get to the "How" of what we'll do together.
WHY
What I have found in my life is that if a person knows why they are doing something they'll figure out the how.
For so many of us, our "why" in our twenties was financial survival more than funding a great retirement. Personally, I was working two and three jobs just to pay rent, make the car payment, utilities, food, wife, etc.
As I grew into my forties I had four kids at home and they were/are still my biggest "Why." But I began to pay more and more attention to the fact that my sixties and older were right-around-the-corner. So even though I was still living close to the margins I began find ways to put away some money here and there. My "Retirement Fund Why" had moved up in importance.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it. - Henry Ford
HOW
Conversely, I used to spend hours with people on the "How." I'd dazzle them with mathematics and presentation and then so many would do nothing. Nada. Zilch. I began to realize an ancient wisdom of great leaders and businesspeople that even if a person knows exactly how to do something they won't do anything unless it is in alignment with their "Why."
KNOWING WHY HELPS THE HOW
When I was in high school our geometry teacher took some time to introduce us to trigonometry. Do you know how much thought this seventeen year old gave trig? Right. I could not have cared any less.
Twenty years later I'm flying an airplane on a flight plan that has a significant cross wind to our destination. I did the calculations that allowed me to arrive at the right small town even though the wind was trying to move me to the wrong small town. My flight instructor was complimenting me on how I got this right the first time.
"See. It's just simple trigonometry" she exclaimed.
"That's trig? If I'd known there was a purpose to it I would have paid more attention."
If I had known that one day I'd be in training to be a pilot I would have paid more attention to my geometry teacher because I'd have known "Why" she was teaching the subject.
Before reaching out to me or whomever you will reach out to, ask yourself "Why would I like to have an investment property in my retirement plans?" I'm going to ask, anyway. Then we can see if owning an investment property is right for you.
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