If you have a child you’ll understand the story that I’m going to tell you. Last fall, when my son was about 18 months we had him tested by early intervention. To my wife and I, he seemed behind with his speaking compared to the other toddlers around his age. We had nothing else to go by, so it was natural to think our son was behind. We were concerned so we had him tested. Turns out he was perfectly fine and not only that all his motor skill tests he graded out extremely well.
Looking back on that time I now realize why we thought our son was behind. Even though we have come in contact with countless amounts of toddlers, the only ones that stuck out to us were the ones who were exceptional at speaking for their age. It’s only natural to notice things that stick out from the rest and ignore the average.
Don’t Compare Yourself With Others
It’s dangerous for sure and is a quick way to get depressed about your progress. Having a full time job, a 2 year old and a wife I want to spend all my time with leaves me with very little time to work on my business. The result is that I get things done slowly. I measure my progress 3 months at a time because doing it more often then that it would be tough to see the strides that I’ve made.
As I read blogs such as FlipThisWholesaler.net, louisvillegalsrealestateblog.com, REITipster.com and even a new one I just discovered houseflippinghq.com I get depressed and frustrated because they are doing so much so fast! They are sending out thousands of direct mail peaces, building websites, blogging like crazy, doing Podcasts and doing so many more deals then me it’s humbling. I can’t help think….
WHY AM I NOT DOING ALL OF THAT?
That is the same trap that me wife and I fell into with regards to my son. I get caught up comparing myself to these other successful investors even though our situations aren’t the same. The key is to work with your strengths and to never give up. Pivoting and changing directions doesn’t mean I’m giving up my goals. What it does mean is that I’ve learned something doesn’t work for me.
I’m 5 years into my investing career. I’ve learned a ton from the 5 deals that my partner and I put together in that time. Lets see what the next 5 years bring…I bet it will be amazing!
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Comments 5
Great inspirational story…. Keep up the good work!
Author
Thanks Shariyf! It’s funny how things translate from one part of your life to another.
Wow! We’ve been considering do the same thing with our 2 year old. The doctor had mentioned it was a little bit more difficult to understand him to than maybe it should be. We’ll probably end up doing it anyway just in case, but thanks, that makes me feel better aboutbmy kid.
The second wow is that I figured you were doing a few deals a month or something. I guess with a fancy website you can have all kinds of credibility behind your name. This in no way changes what I think of you, especially since you’ve got 5 more deals under your belt than I do, at least as of when I read this post. Again, it’s good to see someone else in the thick of it, working at it and maybe not “CRUSHING IT”. Thanks Scott. I’ll have to buy you lunch on of these days, I think you’re only a few hours away.
Author
It’s been a long slow journey for me. When you can’t put much money towards marketing and only have a few hours a week to do investing it’s tough to get momentum going and keep it. What I’m realizing is that I need to have as many things on autopilot as possible and then outsource other things.
I also realize I can only concentrate on one part of the business at a time or I spread myself too thin. That’s why I’m now concentrating on just generating leads through my websites. A steady flow from there will go a LONG way in getting me to the next level. When I can throw in Direct Mail again it will really be jump’n!
Thanks for the comment Dante! It’s great to know that there are other people out there with the same issues as me.
Thanks for the post. I really appreciate the blogs you mention as I try to stay informed as much as possible. Have you considered adding http://www.fortunebuilders.tv to the list? They have a lot of great content about the industry with tips, news and advice.