If you think that the title above is hype, read the following six items that are 100% true, as you will learn and internalize the deeper you read into this article.
I never spent one penny on real estate training!
I never spent money on carpet in a house I was renovating. In fact, I have avoided spending any money whatsoever on HVAC, roofs, kitchens or bathrooms in any house I was renovating.
I never spent time reading a book on real estate investing.
I didn’t even spend money to buy the best state-specific lease from the #1 landlord-tenant attorney in the two counties of my rentals. That attorney does more evictions than any other attorney in both those counties. That’s why he’s the best.
I didn’t spend any money getting proper title work done or for proper documentation used at formal settlements for private lending (in the olden days when I still made private loans, which I no longer do).
I wouldn’t consider spending money to learn about the mechanics and strategies to establish and build tax-free net worth and tax-free positive cash flow from investments using self-directed Roth retirement funds.
Yet I have made a lot of money by investing in real estate, including hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax-free equity that generate significant tax-free positive cash flow that will be crucial for “my retirement” (I don’t understand the concept of “retirement” but I’ll leave that topic for another article).
How is it possible that I never spent any money to learn about real estate investing, yet I made a lot of money investing in real estate?
Was I able to magically get the training for free, the legal documents for free, the contractor work for free, never pay a coach and get experts to line up for free to teach me about self-directed Roth 401k?
No. I got none of that for free.
So how did I not spend any money on all that valuable knowledge, materials, labor and documentation?
I will answer that question with a question.
Are you a real estate investor or are you a real estate spender?
Yes, you read that right…I asked you if you are a real estate spender. Does the phrase “real estate spender” sound strange? If “real estate spender” sounds absurd to you, that is a good thing. A very good thing. So, good, that there is hope that you will be very successful (or more successful).
What is the difference between the word “spend” and the word “invest?” Think about that. Think hard about that. Try to articulate in words what is the difference. Write it down. I mean it, write it down. Then explain it to your partner. Then explain the difference to a child! I bet the child will quickly understand the difference between “spend” and “invest” as you explain it and then you, as an authority figure, will be teaching that child a HUGE lesson in life that may be one of the most valuable lessons he/she may ever learn!
When you change the internal vocabulary in your mind when you speak to yourself, it will change your performance in life.
Note that I still haven’t explained the difference between “spending” and “investing.” I only asked you to figure out the difference and articulate it.
Now I have another question for you.