Guys – I’ve been writing this particular article for about four months; writing and deleting, writing and deleting, and on, and on, and on…  I don’t know what it is about this one.

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I seem to feel innately what I want to say, but I just can’t seem to get it out!

I could, of course, emulate my dear friend Brandon Turner and write about How You Can Buy a Small Multiplex and how you can do it in the next 90 days, or something to that effect, but I’d be crossing into Brandon’s territory which is severely punishable at BiggerPockets; so – I can’t do that.

Related: How to Buy a Rental Property in the Next 90 Days (With Bonus PDF!)

And to tell you the truth, I’d loose my mind from boredom…

No – there’s more to writing but this one is just so tough for some reason.  So, today I sat down in my glider with the intention to finally get this article out of my system.

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I am finally gaining some clarity on what I want to say and why.  This will not take long, so bear with me please!

Is America Over-Medicated?

I know – what a segue…  But the answer is abso-freaking-lutely!

I see people reaching for their favorite flavor of antibiotics over so little as a sneeze! We, as a nation, flat out consume too many drugs…

In short, there are two types of people in this world relative to medication.  Most people believe in pills, which is easy to understand since pills alleviate the symptoms and discomfort in the short term.

Pills may even expedite the recovery process (this time around anyhow), but what about later…

But then there are those of us who believe that the symptoms, as annoying, uncomfortable, or even painful as they may be, are indicative of the body’s immune system putting up a fight, and that the process of defeating the illness a lot of time, simply entails us getting worse before we get better.

Naturally, there are situations which warrant medication but do you see what I am saying..?

Personally, I tend to be all about allowing the body to fight – it may be a little more painful and take a little longer but what doesn’t kill us, will make us stronger!

What Does Any Of This Have To Do With Real Estate?

Nothing – except for the fact that Real Estate works exactly the same way!

It usually gets worse in the immediate in order to get better in the long-term.  Every new acquisition usually stretches us, at times to the point of breaking, before it gets better and contributes to the strength of our over-all business.

Seriously, did anyone out there imagine for a second that all those wonderful triplexes and 6-plexes that my friend Brandon writes about in his articles, really happen without pain?  Seriously…?

There is pain, my friends.  The process is painful for his wallet, for his psyche, for his time and even for his whole family to a certain extent.  How do I know this? Brandon is my friend and he’s got my number – that’s how!

Or, what about that 10-plex that I bought because it looked like $1,500 of monthly cash flow at 100% financing on paper, but having filed my taxes I realized that I’ve only barely broke even in the first year?

You think it wasn’t painful to spend $30,000 in the first 12 months, or to go through the process of evicting a bunch of people?  I am sure that over time this 10-plex will prove to be an excellent asset to own, but in the mean time – it’s a lot of pain my friends…

Related: One “Painful” Tip You Can Start Using Today to Get More Deals

But – Brandon And I Still Do It!

That’s right – we still get ourselves in the middle of situations akin to physical ailments and we take the pain as big boys do, and allow our investment immune system (otherwise known as skill) to fight and defeat the virus that we knowingly inject into our businesses via deferred maintenance and a bad tenant base.

We do this with eyes wide open, knowing and feeling comfortable with the philosophy that we must to go through pain in order to come out smelling like the couple of pretty roses that we are (well – may be Brandon isn’t pretty enough to be a rose; what’s another flower that better suits him? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section below!)

What’s Another Way?

Well – we could take the pill and make all of the aches and discomforts disappear.  We could buy A Class managed property at 4% CAP, and perhaps in a different time and place that will be something to consider, but for now we take the pain and benefit from the gain.

So, is buying real estate poison or cure?

Well it depends on how you answer the following question:

Question: Are you willing to set yourself back in order to propel ahead?

Incidentally, if your answer is “no”, are you sure that real estate is the best choice of investment vehicle for you?