“In 2004 we got coffee and you told me about Rich Dad / Poor Dad. In 2008 you advised me and I bought my 1st condo 70% of market value. In 2009, inspired by your success, I bought my first 2 family. I just sold it and it’s given me >1 year of financial freedom to follow my startup passion.

Thanks for the advice and inspiration over the past few years. I wouldn’t have done it without your influence.

Slava”

The message is short and to the point but extremely powerful as at demonstrates what it takes to be successful.

Advice
Everyone gives advice but you have to be selective about whose advice you choose to follow.  I personally seek advice from mentors who have whatever it is I am searching for and looking to achieve.  If I was looking to lose weight I would seek out someone who has lost weight and has the body that I want to have.   I would look for someone who has already gone through the process, they have gone through the ups and the downs, and they achieved the result I am looking to achieve.  Obviously then,  it would make sense that I would listen to their advice.  Similarly, Slava was looking to invest in real estate.  He saw and wanted something that I had achieved, so he asked  for advice.

Action
Equally important though, Slava not only asked for advice from the right source, he listened to the advice and took action.  Too often we search for advice but then do not take action on it.  You commonly hear successful people talk about the importance of having coaches and mentors.  In addition to having a coach or mentor,  successful people also take action on advice they receive.

Stay Focused & Committed
You’ll notice that Slava’s journey started in 2004 and his big victory came in 2012…..8 years later!  I know Slava has had additional successes during this time frame as well as breakdowns and obstacles that have shown up.  The key is staying focused and committed to the goals you set for yourself.  Especially in today’s society, we are often looking for the “next big thing” or “shiny object” to chase or pursue.  When we don’t get immediate results or we find out that it’s going to be harder than we thought to achieve our goal, we start to look for the quick fix or the next big thing that is going to give us everything we want right now.  The problem is that doesn’t exist.  There is no such thing as an overnight success.  What you end up doing when you chase the next big thing is actually creating more obstacles to achieve your original goal.   Chasing the next big thing takes you off track. Achieving your goals takes courage, commitment and dedication to stay the course.

Inspiration
Slava mentions his gratitude for inspiration.  Inspiration is so important to achieving your goals because guess what….it’s not easy!  If it was really that easy everyone would achieve their goals! Inspiration is what keeps you going when you feel like stopping.  When you reach the point where you think you can’t go any further, you are ready to throw in the towel, inspiration is what propels you back into action.  Inspiration allows you to think the impossible and it’s what has you be crazy enough to go out and make the impossible, possible.

To Your Success! 

It was quite a thrilling experience and I was scared out of mind.
(yes I’ve included some pictures below)

But here is how it went down:

I arrive at the Tiger Temple and as I walk
down to the tiger pit, I see about 8
tigers pacing anxiously.

Fortunately there are guides that coach you
on to handle these 450 lb tigers.

Tip # 1
Pray you don’t get bitten

(just kidding, ok seriously though here is what they said)

As my guide walks me to the first tiger he tells me to
Put my hand firmly on the tiger so that it knows that I’m there.

I double check with the guide since I am not crazy about the idea,
“You want me to pet the tiger firmly”? I ask anxiously.

My guide then raises his hand and slaps the tiger on it’s backside really hard.

To my pleasant surprise the tiger doesn’t budge and I follow suit,
slapping my hand on the  450 lb tiger and petting it firmly.
(phheww one tiger down a few more to go.)

I proceed to the 2nd & 3rd tiger and successfully pet them firmly and snap a few pictures with them.

As I sit down with the 4th tiger and place my hand firmly on it’s back
this tiger turns its head to look at me

“Holy %$&*” I think to myself, but nonetheless I don’t move
still keeping my hand firmly on it’s backside letting the tiger know I’m not
going anywhere and it eventually turns its head back around.
(he must have had an early lunch and decided to spare to me)

Now truth be told, the only reason I survived this experience was
due to the coaching that I received from my guide.

And the same can be said for investing in real estate.

Whether you are investing in real estate investing or
petting a 450 lb tiger, It’s a good idea not to leave
things to chance.

First off,  if my coach didn’t tell me to handle the tiger firmly, I promise you
my initial instinct was not to slap the tiger and let him know I am the boss.

Whether it be purchasing your first property or taking your investing career
to the next level, if you have someone guiding you that has been there
before it makes your life MUCH easier and significantly enhances your chance
of success.  It is also an easy way to avoid making many common mistakes by learning
from your coach.  In real estate, it could be not making that $10,000 mistake or in my case
it could be the difference between me writing this post with only one hand instead of two!

Secondly, when the tiger turned around to take a good look at me, my initial
reaction was “RUN!!!”.  But prior to getting started the guide said that
if the tiger moves or turns around that I should stand firm and do not move.
Thanks to his coaching I knew how to handle a situation I would typically
have no idea how to handle.

When it comes down to it, I’ve found that most people aren’t
successful in real estate because they stray from their plan of action.
They get started with great excitement and a solid plan and then
they hit some obstacles and run into some unexpected situations
that they don’t know how to deal with and eventually the obstacles
become insurmountable to them because they don’t know what
to do, so they give up.

Having a guide/coach to hold you accountable to stick to your plan,
helping you through the difficult times when you want to quit can
be the difference between you failing as a real estate investor and you
embarking on a real estate career that leads to your financial freedom.

Lets be honest, most investors, start the process scared and unsure
(just like me in the picture below).

Having a coach on your team to guide you through the process is what helps you accomplish your goals, whether your goal is investing in real estate or being able to take a picture with a smile on your face, while you pet a 450 lb. tiger.

Click the image to download the Anatomy of a Real Estate Deal Flow Chart

Debt is crippling the nation, citizens are angry
and they’re not afraid to show it.

Given America’s debt situation, which I wrote about a few days ago
there is a lot we can learn from Greece.

Yes of course we saw the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Temple of Olympian God Zeus and some of the beautiful historic sites that go back as far as 449 BC.

But no one is really talking about that.

Instead everyone is talking about…

Debt

You can’t pick up a newspaper or turn on the television without hearing about it.

You cant walk down the street without hearing people talk about it.

You can’t walk through Sintagma Square without seeing protestors camped out 24/7.

There are many issues at play, but the crux of the problem is that Greece cannot pay its interest payments and its debt burden is expected to hit 172% of GDP next year (US’s debt is 59% of GDP).

In an effort to prevent a default, Greece just received it’s 2nd bailout loan in the amount of $220 billion, after already receiving a $221 billion dollar bailout loan last year.

Similar to the US, Greece’s problem is that their debt is bad debt, not good debt.

As a result, Greece’s parliament is making some big changes (austerity measures), and it is making the majority of the population hostile and angry.

1. Increasing Taxes
2. Decreasing wages by 15% to 30%
2. Social Security will be cut by $1.57 billion
3. Increasing retirement age from 61 to 65.

What would you do if this happened to you?

If your income got taxed an additional 10% how would this affect you?

If your salary got cut by 15% or 30% would you be able to survive?

Do you have a plan in place to provide for your family and allow yourself to comfortably retire if the same things happened in the U.S.?

If not, now is the time to start taking action.

Unfortunately for the Greeks it is too late to make changes, this is happening now.
If you hadn’t prepared ahead of time, it’s too late.

The writing is on the wall for America.

I’m not saying this is going to happen here, but it’s certainly a possibility.

What I am saying is this…

Learn from the Greeks.

Congress is already talking about raising taxes.

Look at what happened in Wisconsin earlier this year.

The good news is you still have time to take action and make investments that you control when you retire, where you control how much money you make and can pay the least amount in taxes…and that investment is income producing real estate.

But time is running out.