So here's my dilemna
In general, I love to work on and see a project complete successfully. I currently work as an IT computer administrator, and there is a never ending line of projects to complete and I love the feeling of completing them successfully. Thus, I figure that I can carry over that into real-estate. And I can... as soon as I get to the point of working on the (real-estate) project. I have done it on short-sales and I love it when those complete successfully. I have had other short-sales that didn't complete, but, for the most part, that was Ok, because I fought the good fight: the working of the project was "successful". My biggest hang-up is getting these things started. Having to market and get the word out and network and door knock and cold call and meet with strangers and convince people to work with me. I obviously can help these people out. I've helped other people out already. I have the contacts and resources to make the project successful. But just getting past that "Hi, I'm Dean. We've just met me, but....." ARGH! It drive me nuts. It makes me not want to make the call. It makes me not want to go knock doors. I know that if I just do, there are $5000-$10,000+ per month checks waiting for me to cash them. All the pump-you-up hype that every motivational guru out there spews doesn't get me going. Those $5000, $10,000, $15,000 checks don't get me going. I should be cranking $100,000+ per year income without a second thought. I know that there are other people that do it; I talk with them regularly. I know what to do and that if I do it, it will be others talking to me about how I do it on a regular basis. I know that if I do this, I won't have to wake up at 7:30AM every morning to clock-in until 5PM. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda, I know we've all heard this stuff a million times before. But why can I not get these things up and running?
I thought that maybe if I can just get people that are motivated to call me instead, that will "break the ice" so to speak. Ya know what happened? I didn't want to do marketing or advertising. I didn't want to put up bandit signs. I didn't even want to go to the store to buy the poster board and magic makers. "What a pain", I kept thinking to myself. WTF??? It seems, that anything that will make me a piss load of cash, I just can't seem to get motivated to do it.
Now, take, for example, things that are trivial and valueless. I have no problem going out and renting a movie. I actually look forward to it. I have no problem playing video games. Sometimes, I can't wait for the next time to play. I have no problem sitting around and being lazy and taking a nap. I have no problem wasting hours at work surfing the internet about things that have no value except maybe rarely on Jeopardy. I can BS with just about anybody about gossip for hours on end. All these things that I have no problem doing, none of them will put food on the table nor pay the bills when they're due. Anything that does pour in the cash and stuff my wallet, I get this feeling of "What a pain". Even at my job, I could excel to get promotions, but "What a pain". I just don't get it!!! What is my deal???
At one time, I kept default attributing it to my light case of ADD. I have a real short attention span and bore quickly. However, I have met with other entrepeneurs and business owners that claim that its their ADD that keeps them going.
So, I don't know. I know that the money is sitting just in front of me staring at me. I know that I can do this stuff once it gets going. I know how to talk to complete strangers and network and sell myself about what I can do. I've done it all tons of times. But what a pain it is to get that stuff started as opposed to doing time-wasting recreation. What a pain (it is to collect and cash checks).... Again, wtf??
Any ideas?
Re: to Norm Chrostowski - Selling drugs? That's so small time. I've personally considered getting into Somalian piracy. :eyes: One of my co-workers brought up the point that that might not look too good on a resume after retirement. So, I shifted gears a little and suggested anti-piracy. At the very least, I'd get to keep all the loot and nobody would complain! :woohoo:
Originally posted by John Strobel:
something isnt spelled out for you...you give up.
This, I believe, is the big underlying issue. For me anyways. And, this is one of the biggest requirements of the entrepreneur in general. The business owner has to be the one to spell out for him/herself what to do and then go get it done. I figure that once I get this hurdle taken care of, I'll be pretty much good to go on all the rest of it. Working on it. :mrgreen:
It's apparent that you really enjoy writing. Maybe you could try your hand at writing something to help individuals avoid the pit falls of procrastination. I would title it,
"The Otiose Entreprenuer"........lol
Dude seriously. With all the time you've wasted here, you could have started a business already. If your looking for attention, or sympathy, you won't get it here. This site is about self-motivated people getting it done, or at least trying to get it done. Sitting around on your ***, posting here will not get it done. Go do something. With all the writing you've done, and all the reading I've done listening to you whine, all I hear are excuses...period...EXCUSES. RE is definitely not for you. I apologize for my candor..now back to your video games.
And piracy?....you couldn't make the decision to get on the boat!!
With all the time you've wasted here, you could have started a business already.
Now we're getting down to the truth!
And piracy?....you couldn't make the decision to get on the boat!!
LOLOL!!!!!
That is a great one Norm. I am LMAO!
So far in this thread, I have heard blah blah blah, yada yada yada and a couple good jokes with a few stupid ones.
Can we get down to biz now! This thread is a waste of computer space. Dilema? How about our dilema of how to get this stupid thread to go away!
Dean,
I'm also in IT (software engineer and sysadmin), and I can relate somewhat with some of your comments.
Have you considered treating your RE business the way you'd treat one of your system deployments? If you've done any large scale deployments (on several hundreds of machines), then you'll know that it requires some planning. After all, you might not want to provision a system, that you intended to be your authentication server, as one of your file servers. Similarly, you plan your REI business activities, so that you can execute those plans effectively.
Although it's possible for one sysadmin to do every job during a large-scale deployment, the tasks are usually divided between several team members, and sometimes some of the work (or subsequent maintenance) is outsourced. Have you designed and refactored your REI plans to the point where you can subdivide all of the tasks into neat, discrete subtasks/subsystems? If so, then have you considered outsourcing the subtasks that least interest you, or that aren't your main line of business?
Ultimately, this is what I plan to do. Nevertheless, I admit that I initially found a lot of the business of REI to be full of business, until I dug a little deeper. The money and lifestyle are nice benefits, but that's not what attracted me back into REI. I was already comfortable with what I earned in IT. The things I like most about REI is negotiating deals (another form of problem solving). I LOVE to haggle--even on something as insignificant as a paperclip. For me, it's less about being competitive, because I enjoy the art of negotiation--of course, I'm in it to win it though. :mrgreen:
Stated another way, you need to determine--if you haven't already--what drives you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you wanting to do nothing but collect checks passively. Show me the money, and I'll help you to put your deals together--for a price. After having closed a deal or two, I'll come on by and woop you up in some Tekken (my favorite--or any other game) too if you'd like. :D
I'm sure there are plenty of others here willing to make you a similar offer.