Competative Spirit

[Brendan Martin]

I was just affirmed that my competitive spirit is alive and well. 

At times I wonder if, since entering adult life, my competitive spirit has died.  I'm sure this is one of the things that has been driving me toward real estate investment or entrepreneurship in general.  Having worked so long in massive organizations where career progression has more to do with superiority than it has to do with job performance, I've noticed my own work ethic slowly slipping away.  I think now that what is happening in my addiction to the many, many, podcasts and articles and books and videos on all things entrepreneurship, is that my competitive spirit, my work ethic, my desire to produce something, anything, of value is stretching me to the point where I can no longer remain in my current state of hum-drum. 

What, you might ask, led to this tiny epiphany of mine?  Don't laugh... I noticed I had more votes than I had posts on the BP forum.  Yep, I'm that petty apparently.  My vote to post ratio is greater than 1... (I know, I know, who really cares?)
So, what is your motivation to start a real estate investing career? 

[Michael Boyer]

I was thinking something similar recently Brendan... some public sector and even large private sector organizations are less and less a meritocracy...it can be hard to even know what the metrics are in some cases. So achievement oriented folks can be in a quandary. In real estate, it is pretty clear to me when i get it right. 

For example, when I turn around a rental properly and rent it out, the market tells me if I outcompete other rentals every time. If I get it sparkling clean quickly, attract a great pool, show it smoothly... I know I am on track...If the tenant likes the place and terms and stays on long term, pays on time, with no issues, the rent check are clear indicators of success. 

You also provide a very tangible service, housing...a nice change from abstract jobs where the deliverables aren't as clear...Granted, you can't control some market forces and even real estate has gray areas (like you do to all right but still run into issues ) . But overall I find being my own boss in real estate a nice contrast to working in a bureaucracy in my day job.. Neat topic.