Being a Newb doesn't mean you have to be a Noob
According to Urban Dictionary, "Newbs are those who are new to some task and are very beginner at it, possibly a little overconfident about it, but they are willing to learn and fix their errors to move out of that stage. Noobs, on the other hand... expect people to do the work for them and then expect to get praised about it."
I had to really think long and hard before I wrote this post. I am hoping that I don't upset those of you who are new to this investing site. But I think it really has to be said.
I've been a member here for a while and still consider myself a Newb. I have invested quite a bit of time, energy, and resources into this and don't know if I will ever not consider myself a Newb. The fact is, there are a lot of different ways to make money in real estate and I have the attitude that I will never stop learning. It was the recent podcast by @Joe Fairless with Robert Kiyosaki that really got me to write this post for the rest of the Newbs out there.
Don't be a Noob.
What do I mean by this?
I mean don't just post questions without asking follow-up questions. Better yet, once your questions are answered and you have taken action, give us your results! I mean, if you know anything about BP, it was started by a Newb known as @Joshua Dorkin who has acted like anything but a Noob. He developed this site as a way to answer some of his own questions and now look what we have. How relly un-Noob of him!
I mean don't just ask questions - answer some for others too! I have seen too many Noobs jump on here and ask questions without ever posting an answer to other's questions. Look at folks like @Ryan Billingsley or @J Scott as examples of people who not only pose questions but then spend a lot of time answering other people's questions.
I mean expressing sincere appreciation to those who take time to help you out. Especially if their answer helped you solve a problem. I cannot tell you how gratifying it was for me to receive a message from @Dawn Aotani thanking me for some advice I gave her. She said it led her to an action which eventually got her to a new deal. How awesome for her and how cool of her to not be a Noob and reach back to thank me!
My point is, I love helping out other Newbs like myself. When I respond, it makes me research and think hard about what I am saying. I don't want to give bad advice so this actually forces me to learn in the process. But it takes a lot of time that's quite valuable to me.
So I have been forced to more carefully consider when I offer up my advice. For one, I am not the fastest typist in the world. For two, I tend to write a little long-winded. And third, I want to make sure that all of the time I take to thoughtfully respond to questions or problems is going paid in-kind to others. I cutting the Noobs off.
Maybe you are a Newb who has been acting like a Noob because you are afraid of sounding like a Newb (say that three times really fast).
Go ahead and sound like one.
It's OK.
I promise.
We're all Newbs at something.
