An Important Lesson from a Class of 7 Year Olds

Recently I went to my daughter's end of school year play. She was so excited for me to come and for good reason. It was clear that the kids worked really hard and they put on a fantastic show. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.

There was a lot more to the show than entertainment. They had several skits and each skit was a life lesson the school was trying to teach the kids. There was one skit where three dogs each had an extra large bone to chew on and eat. Dogs love bones. As they were walking around bragging about their bones they came across a river. They looked into the river and saw three "other" dogs with bones. After a brief discussion, they decided it was best to take the bones from the other dogs so they could have more. They jumped in the river and ended up losing their bones. It was later that they realized they were looking at their reflection. What a story!

As I write about this wonderful show and the important lessons that us as real estate investors should understand, I am reminded of a less than successful investor that I spoke to a few weeks back. Joe felt as if he was one of the smartest people that have tried this business and was definitely the smartest person in the room that night. He has done it all, yet he was not financially free. He later complained about how hard he worked and how everyone tried to take advantage of him. I was as nice as possible, but when I heard he was in several lawsuits with other investors and lenders, I could not take it anymore. He was way too arrogant with some crazy sense of entitlement that I will never understand. He believed that people owed him. There was one common denominator and he could not see it. The dogs from my daughter's play saw it. It is his reflection. He is the problem.

I think there are two really important lessons from the story about the dogs, which is further supported by Joe, the entitled investor.

GREEDY DOGS LOSE THEIR BONES.

Those dogs had everything they could have wanted. They were happy and had their needs and wants met. Yet they wanted more. They risked their bones to try to get more, and lost everything. Too often, I see investors chasing dollars lose a deal, or worse, lose money. Some common greedy maneuvers I see include; listing a house too high, not dropping the price fast enough, and negotiating too hard with a buyer or a seller or contractor. I see this with many wholesalers right now. Pricing the home too high and either it never sells or they sell it to someone that will end up losing money on it. How many times can you sell bad deals before the word gets out? I have found that it is always best to leave a little meat on the bone and be happy with the money you are making. You will have longevity in this business and will end up making a lot more. As soon as you get greedy, it is just a matter of time before you are out of business.

YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANYTHING.

YOU MUST EARN WHAT YOU GET.

Those dogs were lucky to find the bones they did. It was their intent to take the bones from other dogs because they felt they deserved them. For what reason though? They did not earn them. I don't see this as a problem with most

investors. In fact, most investors, especially the successful ones, understand that they have to work. They understand that building relationships are important and they do what it takes to preserve them. Joe and the dogs are the exact
opposite of what you will see from a successful investor. Nothing will be given to you, in fact the more successful you become, you will see that people with a sense of entitlement will try to take from you. But that cannot stop you. You have to be in charge of your own success, your own life.

Don't be greedy but understand that success is out there for you. Now go earn it!