Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I hear the word success bantered about from time to time and was thinking, success carries a different meaning for everyone.
As a real estate investor, I feel that I have reached some measure of success when my real estate investing can fully support me. Is that success?
I think almost everyone on this site has a different vision of what success means to them. I venture to guess that for some owning one single family rental gives them a feeling of success. Would I personally call this success no, but for that one individual that might be success.
My desire is that my real estate investments allow me the income to do pretty much what my wife and I want to do. Even if we all called that success it leaves a wide variation of results that could make that happen.
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
16y
Strictly from a financial standpoint- Success is having enuff money coming in to do what you want each day. To me, it is travel. My wife has been blasting me for traveling too much. She brought me a list of how many days we travel per year. It shocked me
2008-141 days (40% of year and 12 days per month
2009-143 days
2010- 98 days so far
In a 12 month period, we'll be in Europe 3 times, Egypt and Galopogos islands. We just returned from Norway 5 days ago and yesterday I booked a 17 day cruise around South America and the Antarctic. That was the last straw! She slept in a different room last night!
The other thing is these are paid in after tax dollars and not missed. To me financial success is not just earning larger amounts of money, but actually keeping it! That is the REAL success, imo. Leaving thurs for Vegas, a sons' wedding and then on a short cruise. Rich
Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Hopes and dreams change as well. I love to try new things, when I was in my late 20s I took an art class. Going in I had some interest, but discovered that I enjoyed drawing and painting. My vision of the future changed.
Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
I suppose you are referring to financial success and not personal happiness.
For me, success is in being able to get a decent investment return year after year and enjoying the process of getting those returns. The returns and the enjoyment are both important to me and one without the other would feel meaningless.
Pleasant Hill, CA · Member since 2008 · 428 posts · 43 votes
16y
For me success is:
1. Never sitting in commute traffic
2. Waking up without an alarm
3. Spending time with my family whenever I want
4. Feeling content that I consistently give back.
Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
16y
Success:
-Financial => Financial freedom via real estate or any other business
-Happiness => Being able to do that which makes me happy instead of that which makes me money
For me success means not having to trudge into work to do something I hate to make money. I also enjoy helping to educate others toward this goal too so success is making my students successful.
I think people are very bad at setting the RIGHT goals that take into account what will make them happy. Simply having more for more's sake is stupid unless the incremental effort is worth the cost. Everything in life is a tradeoff. The only thing you can never get back is your time.
John T. Reed has a book called "Succeeding" which is worth the cost and the time invested if you want to get a crystal clear vision on success. You can hit the highlights by going to his site, clicking on the title, and looking at the outline and the copy he uses to sell the book.
Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Personally, I have always felt that happiness is a choice. There are people that are very happy in what many of us would call miserable situations. Others that are far from being happy though financially they are very well off.
I happen to enjoy real estate investing and enjoy the interaction with people and the brainstorming which is often apart of a new investment. I enjoy taking a property that was a good investment and turning it into something of greater value. Perhaps that's why I look for that added potential in every property that I buy. To me it is not enough that an investment be good, there also must be some hint that it can be much better.
Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Originally posted by Vikram C.:
I suppose you are referring to financial success and not personal happiness.
For me, success is in being able to get a decent investment return year after year and enjoying the process of getting those returns. The returns and the enjoyment are both important to me and one without the other would feel meaningless.
Actually Vikram, I don't separate the two. I have always felt that it is harder to be truly successful if you work hard at something you don't really enjoy. Others might see your efforts as successful by there measure, but inside I suspect the person doesn't really feel they reached their potential.
Mobile Home Investor · Spanaway, WA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 578 votes
16y
Success has meant being able to be an investor full time since 1994. The investments paid off a mortgage on the only house we had ever lived in that was free and clear. Money went to the bank until it was needed for the next investment. Then comes a lull as you build up funds for another deal. For us, we seem to enjoy taking over from the mismanagementcompanies and turn something that was eating up the previous Owner into a "cash cow" that takes care of everything. After we get done smoothing out all their messes, it gets kind of uninteresting and we have to start looking for something new as a challenge.
Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Originally posted by Realtyman:
Success has meant being able to be an investor full time since 1994. The investments paid off a mortgage on the only house we had ever lived in that was free and clear. Money went to the bank until it was needed for the next investment. Then comes a lull as you build up funds for another deal. For us, we seem to enjoy taking over from the mismanagementcompanies and turn something that was eating up the previous Owner into a "cash cow" that takes care of everything. After we get done smoothing out all their messes, it gets kind of uninteresting and we have to start looking for something new as a challenge.
I must say that I enjoy the challenge and the experience as well. It is exciting to implement the things you know will bring greater potential to a property. I never buy potential, but I look for it never the less.
Along the way I am building a team. It is my hope that my team can also make a decent living from my investment activities.
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
16y
Strictly from a financial standpoint- Success is having enuff money coming in to do what you want each day. To me, it is travel. My wife has been blasting me for traveling too much. She brought me a list of how many days we travel per year. It shocked me
2008-141 days (40% of year and 12 days per month
2009-143 days
2010- 98 days so far
In a 12 month period, we'll be in Europe 3 times, Egypt and Galopogos islands. We just returned from Norway 5 days ago and yesterday I booked a 17 day cruise around South America and the Antarctic. That was the last straw! She slept in a different room last night!
The other thing is these are paid in after tax dollars and not missed. To me financial success is not just earning larger amounts of money, but actually keeping it! That is the REAL success, imo. Leaving thurs for Vegas, a sons' wedding and then on a short cruise. Rich
Real Estate Investor · Portage, MI · Member since 2010 · 470 posts · 315 votes
16y
Success is something that I always seem to get to some degree. Even if it is a "lesson"! My plumbing contracting business was a success since I was always busy, made a great income and never had to advertize, just repeat customers and referrals. My student rental business allowed me to retire early, until I became restless, sold out to my partner and moved to restaurants. We completed our 5 year plan in 4 years and made lots of $$$. Then, as a contractor / developer, my wife and I started a 78 unit condo project just before the economic - housing downfall. Although our 5-6 year sell out has been revised to add another 5 years, we consider it a success! We have a long list of potential buyers waiting to sell their homes to buy. We build Energy Star 5+ and Green Built Certified. We have changed the condo market in our area in a positive way. Still, we are happy and love what we are doing. We just would like to sell more condos, faster! Until then (and beyond) we are doing the short sale buy/sell. We still love what we are doing and are happy but, we needed to change our business focus to match the economic realities and investment opportunities. Now, as we were ready to leave our weekly condo open house at our model home/office, another potential buyer came late, causing Jackie to go show a spec that we have and giving me time to answer this post! It is a good thing that we love what we do and working together because we sure spend a lot of time doing it!
Yep! We’re successful!
Bill
Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
16y
Good question Charles! Success can be different things to different people but I think for the individual to feel it, it is self esteem, based on real accomplishments, it might be realizing how friends and family see you, how you are known in your community. Being know for honesty and integrity is something money can't buy and that stays with your name after you are gone, your reputation. I remember people telling me about my grandfather and how they felt about him. It was if I was being honored simply by his being my gradfather. Next to your good name, time is the valuable. Keeping yourself in good shape is the best investment you can make. Having more free time at an early age for me was a sign of my success. Then having enough money to enjoy my life, to do things when I want to and not worry about what it costs. Lastly, knowing you won't spend it all and that your heirs will have something to make their life easier means alot as well. Good luck, Bill
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
16y
Congrats to Bill P. Very diverse and very successful, and your wife is on board!.
I agree with other Bill on feelings of being successful. My post as I pointed out was strictly from the financial success standpoint. Rich
Wholesaler · romulus, NY · Member since 2008 · 18 posts · 5 votes
16y
If I was to look down on earth,(i among the clouds) I would see that success has A broad meaning to us human's. It could be address in a variety (personnel:financial,etc.,the list is l o n g).
But thorough it all it becomes divine. I submit a few quotes to narrow my relpy -"I can't do it" never yet accomplished anything: "I will try" has accomplished wonders." - George P. Burnham
That is success - " Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible". - Anonymous
Even a word can help achieve success. Another
"What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it; boldness has genius, power and magic in it."- Johann von Goethe This I have to enter into my point - " At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable."-- Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) American Actor ( We all remember that little mishap Mr Reeve, got into)..
So, everyone has desribed success (individuaity)
and everyone is correct ; my point is Life is not holding a good hand; Life is playing a poor hand well. thanks Joseph
Real Estate Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2010 · 449 posts · 173 votes
16y
Really great thread!
I kind of see it in two ways. There is the more general success - you start something, and it is completed to the satisfaction of all those involved. That's the definition I'd apply to how I perform my day job. I've been doing it for a good amount of time, and became very good at it - definately a success in most people's eyes. The only problem is that passion (other than the occassional spark) has been gone for some time.
The other kind, the success which is special, to me is when you complete a step towards a goal which means a lot to you. The goal I have that means more to me than anything is to free myself from day job, so that I can spend as much time as possible with my family. I'm 40 next month, still pretty young, but you do start realising that time is finite, and I don't want to waste a second of it away from what really counts in my life. Each time we complete a step towards that, that's success to me.