Green logic, Bertrand Russell and a Girl Named Meka

When I was a freshman in college I took an Introduction to Logic Class. As a business major I thought that taking the class would be a good idea; plus the girl I had a serious crush on was a philosophy major so I figured I’d see her in class.

The first 2 months of class were brutal. We studied proofs and theorems and no matter how much I studied I could not figure out how to decipher them. Proofs like this:

(A ? B) ? (C • D)
(C ? D) ? (A • B) / ? A ? C

My professor, Billy Joe Lucas, was very patient with me. I’d visit him during his office hours and we’d go through the proofs and he’d explain the logic (sic) behind the logic. I never got it. It was completely different language and after 2 months in and countless hours studying I had made zero progress. (You’ll see how this relates to green real estate in a minute).

One night after a typically bad cafeteria dinner I resigned myself to more proof studying. I was at it for about 2 hours when something happened. Somehow I started seeing the proofs in a new way and they made perfect sense. I flew through the proof I had just spent an hour working on and solved the next one in under a minute. At that moment it just clicked for me. Here’s what happened after that:

I got straight A’s in all of my logic classes over the next 3 1/2 years.
I never studied, never prepped for tests and did all of my homework on my 2-minute walk to class.
I ended up minoring in Philosophy (with a concentration in Logic).
I dated the girl (Meka) I had a crush on for 2 years.

Here’s how this relates to green:

Real Estate Investors want to go green just like I wanted to solve those proofs.
They will waste time and money going about it the wrong way. Just like I did by staring at the same proof for hours.
Investors don’t have many sources for expert advice. I had only had one person, Billy Joe, who, while he could cook a mean chili, couldn’t help me much in solving proofs.

What’s most important here is not the process of going green or becoming a Philosophical RainMan. The RESULTS are the key. Once I figured out the way to think about proofs, it became effortless and my results (grades) were excellent. It is the same thing with green real estate investing. Once you get it, you get it.

I have seen this time and time again with clients. In the beginning of our work, they count on me for everything green. We work hand-in-hand on their projects and they begin to experience success. After we’ve worked together for a while, they’re able to see how I think and begin to think differently about all of their projects.

It is then that they become true green CEO’s. It becomes an effortless process for them that is highly profitable and puts them light years ahead of their competition.

Put simply, once you learn how to ‘think green’ in your business it’s hard to stop. Going forward you can’t help but think green because you are conditioned to see that green is the clearest and easiest path to your success.

The key is to take that first step. While most people sit staring at the pool the truly successful jump right in. They take that chance and find that they have the whole pool all to themselves.

Is it time for you to jump in?

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.