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Maximilian Marck
  • Gastonia, NC
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In friends, Virtue>Real Estate

Maximilian Marck
  • Gastonia, NC
Posted Jun 10 2019, 08:54

I've recently gotten a new roommate. I knew him in college (I just graduated in May), and he's  a great guy. He was an excellent soccer player, valedictorian, and I was vice-president under him in the Catholic Men's Household. He doesn't really have any entrepreneurial ambition, let alone real-estate aspirations. But him moving in has been a big boost in my commitment and motivation in real estate, but in everything else too.  

What I realized is that you need to find people who are more than just competent investors. You need people who share your values, and strive to habituate them. Virtue, as Aristotle says, is a habit in accord with reason. In other words, virtue is knowing what you should do, and habitually doing it. If you have people around you who are virtuous, it doesn't matter if they are entrepreneurs. My roommate knows that he should, say, go for a run, and he does it. I see that, and I am edified by it.

Beyond what virtuous friends can bring to your business habits, the more important reality is that the virtue that they inspire in you is more crucial for your happiness than any deal could ever be. The reason, of course, is that the happiness of virtue comes from an internal source. You can be virtuous in any setting, even if you have lost everything. There have been virtuous men and women in penthouses, but there have also been virtuous men and women in concentration camps and cardboard boxes. No matter what your circumstances are, virtue--courage, temperance, generosity, honor, friendliness, and all the rest can serve to make you happier in the most human way possible.

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