The Day I Nearly Quit Real Estate Invest...

can crusher Hey Moguls, Cody Sperber here, starting this lesson off with a good quote from Willy, Shakespeare that is:

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
~ William Shakespeare

Well ain’t that the truth.

Once upon a time, I almost wasn’t a real estate investor. I know, right? Can you believe it?

I had the energy, the hope, the dream to become a successful investor. My bank account, however, was less than small.

But there was one thing that I had a ton of: time.

So I took action. I read books, went to seminars, conducted extensive research… in short, I did my homework. I was a sponge trying to absorb as much information on real estate investing as possible. In the end, however, I was overwhelmed, confused by contradictory research, frustrated with outdated information and just plain exhausted, convinced I would never become a successful investor.

But did I let that stop me? Heck to the no!

You know the saying “fake it ‘til you make it.” Well, I became a master at that. I managed to finagle a few no-money-down wholesaling deals all from the comfort of a kitchen table.

And then… I hit a dry spell.

Failure Only Happens When You Stop Trying

I did it. I’ll admit it. I threw in the towel. I gave up. In 7 (loooong) months, I did no more than 4 deals, and on the day I decided to give up the investment business, I had a door slammed in my face by a seller facing foreclosure.

She called me a “kid.” That may not sound overly insulting to you, but one of my biggest fears in the real estate investment business was that I wouldn’t be taken seriously – that I didn’t look the part.

The Pivotal Moment

So I took the advice of my friends and family, and I got a “real” job with a local real estate developer as a bookkeeper. During that time, my dad began to experience some major financial problems – I’m talking crisis mode here – and there wasn’t a darn thing I could do to help him.

quit Talk about shame and frustration.

But in the midst of losing it, I realized that I could end up just like my dad if I didn’t get control of my financial future. And I knew, too, that I never wanted to be in the position again where I couldn’t help loved ones in need.

I felt broken and uncertain of my future, but something in me wouldn’t give up. Not yet. I was still open-minded enough to check out a seminar to see if I could reignite my passion for real estate investing.

And lo and behold, the lessons I took away from that seminar rekindled my fire and drove me to discover why I wasn’t succeeding as an investor.

I looked young. So what?! I knew I had to find another way to make a name for myself. I decided to close the door to negativity, only interface with positive people, and most importantly, I began strategizing.

Lessons To Live By

As investors, we get caught up with instant gratification. We’re hungry for success, eager to make mad amounts of money and ready to pounce on any deal we can get our paws on.

But what about strategy, focus, and systems? We simply can’t win in the game of real estate investing without these 3 key components.

And that’s where one tactical lesson and a mindset change come to play. Finally understanding that I needed these three components – strategy, focus and systems – was my tactical lesson. Realizing (through the school of hard knocks) that my young appearance had nothing to do with my success as an investor was my mindset change.

Instead of believing that I wouldn’t be taken seriously, I chose to argue that I had more energy, a fresh outlook and more innovative ways of thinking and working. My youthful look would no longer be a detriment, rather, it was going to work to my advantage.

And look at me now. Because I changed my mindset, my life changed for the better. And it can for you too.

Keep it real, stay classy and keep moving forward.

Until next time,

Cody