Dave's "Feel Free To Kick My Butt" Journal

I had to laugh at the name of your journal! Sounds like you've given YOURSELF a kick in the butt, so we'll just be here for the encouragement part! LOL
You've already done a lot, now it's just time to take it to the next level.
(I like your policy with your wife, too)

When it comes to the Success Academy, USE THEM, USE THEM, USE THEM!! Believe me, that's what they are there for, and when you become successful, they get to feel good about being a part of it, too! You both get blessed!
As far as being comfortable, remember what CBR (Matt Larson) says, "I'm not comfortable unless I'm uncomfortable", meaning Keep pushing yourself. You'll be glad you did.

To your awesome success!! (you and your family deserve it )

Rina

Congratulations for starting your journal. Your journal is a great idea to hold you accountable, track your progress and share some of your new found knowledge and experience with other DG Members. The key is do a little each day to move you closer to your goals and keep having fun with learning real estate. A mentor is a good idea, but the key to a good mentor / mentee relationship is both sides should gain something from the mentorship. Then either party would not feel it is one sided. A good example I read on the website previously was a new investor helping a seasoned investor. As he helped do real estate related tasks (for free) it was really a learning experience that benefitted both parties. Good luck with real estate investing and with all your future deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Dave,
No need to kick yourself for the nature of the way things work!The way i look at it is:If i do not fail...How will i know to succeed.This is your journey and you are doing fine in my opinion.In my experience of life,You can NEED it or WANT it...Anytime something worked out for me...I WANTED it!

Thanks for sharing in your Journal

I just made a detailed post of all the stuff i did today. I went to "preview comment" and accidentally hit the "textual smileys" link. It erased the whole thing!!!! It's 11:28 PM and I'm tired. I will rewrite it in the morning. I did a lot today though and was quite proud of myself. Oh well. I would like to thank you Rina, Joe, And Rosefield for your encouragement it is appreciated.

Dave,
My son and I are in this together and we've analyzed everything to death. Well, we finally took action and have been talking to and meeting with real estate agents and investors. We have been feeling pretty good about moving forward until today. We had a miserable meeting with some agents that were the ultimate naysayers. We left there feeling pretty bad. So we came right home and called the success academy. The coach set us straight and said "don't meet with the agents. Just call. If they're willing to be on board, great, if not move on." We're still stinging a little but we're not stopping. We're right there with you.
Katie

Dave,

Read your journal post. I liked the TE Lawrence quote at the end, that is the pure truth! Be like that every day and you will smash every obsticle that you come across!

Good luck buddy,

FOMAC

Failure to plan is planning to fail........

I just read your post and don't have much time but I wanted to let you know that I join with everyone else in this DG family when I say,
Yesterday is a cancelled check.
Tomorrow is a promissory note.
TODAY is CASH-IN-HAND. How am I going to spend it?
Dude, do what you can, TODAY! Learn from your yesterdays and make the most of TODAY!
Just a suggestion; if you fill in your profile page we can get to know you better, too.
I'm lookin' forward to hearing about your success in REI AND with your family.
Thanx for the blessing!
Jeff (cougrrr1)

Sorry about the suggestion. I was looking at another profile before I read your journal. I guess NOW I have to take my foot OUT OF MY MOUTH before I can kick you!
Have a blessed day!
Jeff
P.S. Your daughter is a CUTIE! I have six girls and believe me, they are worth EVERY second of my life that I am investing in RE and their lives.
GO GET 'EM, Dave!

Hi again i thought i would get to do this earlier as i usually have some time before work. But nothing kills morning plans like a grumpy baby. So here is my second attempt on yesterdays post. I was happy that in the few hours i had after dinner, that i got so much done. I was able to add two new names to my buyers list. I did this by calling some of my old landlords, luckily i have always left under good terms. On my first call i got to add their names and was also given a lead. Her daughter is looking for a house, so after a few other questions i ask her what price range she is looking for. She says "oh somewhere around 300,000", in my area of NY that is a nice house. I think my eyes turned into money signs when i heard that.
The call to an older landlord was interesting too. I call the number i had and someone else answered. He had sold the apartment building and also sold the cell phone because he had been actively advertising for tenants with that number. I ended up talking to the new owner for about 30 minutes and he and his wife are now on my list. He will give me a call when he finds my old landlords number. Another cool thing about this call was that during our conversation he started telling me about some of the troubles he has been having finding qualified tenants. He offered me a small "finders fee" if i can help him find someone. Its like mini-bird dogging! I figure i will come by plenty of people who are unqualified to buy but would like to know about a nice apartment in a safe neighborhood.
Some other things i did yesterday was put in a help request for some problems i have been having with my free probate website ( they already got back to me, two thumbs up for customer service). I also found a good non-circumvent agreement, which i hear is good to have if your doing a bird dogging deal. I found it on www.docstock.com if anyone needs legal stuff. I will tweak it tonight to fit my situation. Well that's about it for yesterday, i hope tonight is as productive.

Hi! I just clicked on the web-site you posted for legal documents for bird dogging and gat some medical web-site in Australia. Is there another part to it? Thanks so much for the info, I am interested in learning how to bird dog and make some money while I am still reading Dean's Book. I will figure all this out and be ready to move on. So please let me know if I nedd another part to this website www.docstock.com Thank you Glenda

Enjoyed reading your entries here! Keep up the good work, and one action step at a time will get you moving forward toward your goals. And your wife called you out on your motivation for success haha - no excuses now I look forward to keeping up with you and your journal, and as you already proved to yourself by just talking about real estate things happen for you!

www.docstoc.com sorry!

Katie,
I had a bad experience with an agent too. Good on you for calling the academy, i just stopped looking(not the smartest thing on my part). I'm searching again though but if i don't find one, I'm not going to let it stop me. Much success to you both!
Dave

I just finished reading your journal. You are moving right along and geting things accomplished. Congratulations on adding 2 more buyers to your list! Thanks for sharing docstoc.com too. I wish you the best in REI.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

-Captains Log-

I didn't get quite as much done today as i would have liked. This part doesn't have much to do with real estate. When i first sat down to do some REI work i just couldn't get into it. I was depressed. The funny thing was i had no reason to be, i felt great yesterday and most of today. What i think happened was i was just feeling normal. I have been feeling crappy for so long that i didn't even realize it until i felt good again. I think that my mind is so used to feeling down that i was actually slipping back there for no real reason other than that's where my mind knows to go. I tried to just push through it and maybe get on a roll, but that didn't work. So i stopped, i tried to pick my daughter up but she didn't want me. It was like she was responding to the way i was feeling. So i sat back down and yet again i just couldn't get into it. Finally i got thinking about how i felt yesterday. The excitement i felt starting my journal again, the commitment i made with myself. I pulled out my grateful list from an exercise that Dean had us do on a call or blog or something and read it over. Slowly but surely i began feeling good again, strong, until eventually i was ready to tackle anything!!! Like i said this part doesn't have that much to do with RE, but i thought it might be useful to some people because I'm sure I'm not the only one around that lets the stress creep in until it feels like your paralyzed. I'm no shrink ( and I'm sure at times i could use one) but it really helped me to remember what it was about real estate that got me so fired up to make a change in my life. Once i "tricked" myself back into that excited moment i felt unstoppable. In fact i dove back into the books to find the best way to start coming up with killer deals to match with my newly developing buyers list. I think my favorites so far are Matt's 25:1 strategy, or possible lease options like Greg Murphy. I'm not sure how easy it is to assign properties using the lease option method, I'm going to have to reread that section a few more times to get comfortable with the whole process. Well that's it for tonight as it is 5 after midnight.

I'm glad you were able to 'trick' yourself into having a good day. I heard somewhere once a long time ago when we are having on of 'those days' that if we smile and behave as though it's a great day our mind believes we are having a good day. Our brain believes when we are smiling that we are happy. It works for me.

Something Dean said or wrote(can't remember where or his exact words)that was a great help to me is that we are going to make mistakes and it is OK. That was a great help to me because sometimes when I make a mistake I get on myself about it. That is a waste of energy. Not to say we shouldn't learn from our mistakes, just that we should learn and move on. Hope this makes sense.

Have a great day!
Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

Thanks for the post, what you said does make sense. I'm the same way, the first thing that happens when i make a mistake is that i get mad at myself for making it! I have learned to let go of it and move on but that is still my first reaction. The part that was strange for me about yesterday was the fact that i had no reason to feel that way. It was just habit. But today feels good and that's all that counts. Hope you have a great day too!
Dave

I can testify to the fact that it is a constant and conscious process to erase your old tapes, so to speak, and re-record fresh and new ideas. But you did exactly right by pulling out your positive thinking tools and bouncing back. Just like you wrote down your list of things to be grateful for - you should write down your goals, and positive affirmations. Writing things makes them more powerful in your mind. I write small goals every day that I know I can accomplish, therefore getting feelings of success every day. And if I accomplish even more its a great bonus! Dont ever forget how powerful your thoughts are, and that what you focus on most is what you create in your life! And also - one of my greatest lessons is that there ARE NO FAILURES. You can only know where something will take you by trying. If it doesnt work its not failure - its a lesson learned. Be proud for trying and either seek a solution to make it work, or move on to the next endeavor. Well, theres my 2 cents for the day haha. Sorry for rambling, but I've been there, and still slip back sometimes, but its gotten where I pretty much always instantly find the silver lining in everything now instead of getting mad or depressed. So keep on keeping on and always come here for support - its the best place in the world!

Hi Laura,
Congratulations on all your success, i read your story. (Did you ever think you would have a story?) very inspirational. I appreciate what you said about writing small goals every day, i think I'm going to steal that one. I'm really starting to believe i can do this, investing i mean. Where as when i started out a year ago i wanted money, hoped for success. But now i can see it, in my head I've completed 100 deals. Thanks for the encouragement and best of luck to you.
Dave

I like the name of your journal as I look to find my own journal yours cath my eye and I read all the post. Fist a big tanks to all that participate in helping Dave. If you notice the first to post are all people who allready had sucess in REI but they have a big heart because share all with out conditions.
Second I can relate to your situation Dave I feel like I dont move as fast as I would like and that discourages me. I wil bookmark you journal and keep me acountable and you can do the same for me?

We make ourselves what we tell ourselves. If you tell your body you are stressed, trust me, you will be stressed. Let's be realistic, we are so fortunate to be alive and be able to see and walk around freely, while many cannot. I looked at one of our students who was in a wheel chair, and said to her, "what is preventing you from walking." She said, "I don't know." I was shocked to see the next semester, she was walking with a walker, and it takes her more than ten minutes to walk a few feet. The fact is, she was in an accident some years ago and was taking the easy way out until she was challenged. We have to be thankful and grateful and make success our main goal. Our destiny is in or hands. We have to kick each other in the butt and get these deals going. All the best and God Bless.

Sandra

I, too, am having a slow start in REI. Whenever I read on DG.com how someone has yet to finish reading the new book and has already made their first deal, then I feel I must be doing something wrong, or perhaps, not doing something right. I, too, have been a loyal customer (both books, foreclosure finder, success academy, EDGE materials, and most recently, Empowering Conversations) and have gained a great deal of knowledge without producing a great deal of results.

You are ahead of me, however, with your buyer's list. After the Success Fest and the mini-book, I became convinced that the first step is to have a buyer's list. So far, I have not been able to put one together.

As far as the butt-kicking goes, I am reminded of a video blog where Dean talks about giving yourself little blue ribbons for accomplishing small steps along the way to your goal: a blue ribbon for finishing the book, a blue ribbon for talking to real estate agents, another for finding buyers, etc. The idea is to reward yourself for each milestone along the way to that first deal. Ask yourself: a year and 2 weeks ago, did I have a buyer's list? When you write down the things you are thankful for, did you include the small steps you have taken toward your goal? Did you write down that you started a journal on DG.com?

Sorry to ramble on; all I really want to say is to keep on "keeping on" and never surrender.

Hi cashflow,
thanks for the post and i do agree that most everyone here is very helpful without asking anything in return. I think we are all very fortunate to have a site like this with people who genuinely care, even though most of us have never met. I will definitely follow your journal, we can all help keep each other accountable. thanks again.
Dave

Hi Sanbern ,
Your so right about making ourselves what we tell ourselves. It's all about perspective, i recently got some good perspective. I came across a you tube video about a guy named Nick Vujicic (yes that's the right spelling). Do a you tube search for him and tell me what you think. If he can have success with all he has dealt with, my problems are nothing. Best of luck to you.
Dave

Hi moriah,
Thanks for the comments, I have had a lot of little "plateaus of success" as Dean calls them, and I'm much further along then i was when i started out. I read those posts too where someone just read the back cover of one of Dean's books and did there first deal an hour later with no money down, cash flowing $1000 a month and are closing their second an hour later.
OK, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. But we have all seen those people who just go off like dynamite and "instantly" make money, and i am really so happy for them. But i also say ,why not me? What must i be doing wrong? I don't know about your "why" but mine is all about ACTION! I haven't reached my goals because i haven't taken the right amount of action. It's what Dean tries to knock into our heads with every call or blog that he does, and every successful student says the same thing. I think a lot of us confuse the action of learning more with the action of taking action (if that makes sense). I could explain the principle of a lease option, or assignments, or just about any other strategy but without the doing I'm still broke. I'm starting to believe it's not so much about the education at all, at least in the beginning. I think if it were broken down it would be something like 90% action 10% education, but most of us
(at least i) have it flipped to 90% education 10% action. We can't start until we know everything there is to know, the problem with that is there is always more to know so we never get started. Sorry- i started ranting (more to myself than anyone else). Back to you... start today to build your buyers list, call for rent ads and ask if the landlord is looking for more properties, call your landlord if you have one, put ads on Craigslist. Search "buyers list" on this site, it's where i got most of the ideas that have been working for me. We have been beating our heads against the wall long enough, time to get out there and make it happen. I don't know about you but I'm fired up and know of some things that i have been putting off. I'm going to get them done right now!! Take care, good luck and sorry if this got a little long.
Dave

Wow Thursday is just about over this week is going by quick. Well here is what i did today. I tried to fix my probate website following the instructions e-mailed to me. Emphasis on tried, i guess i will have to call tomorrow and speak to someone real. The computer guys at work would probably call it an id-10-t problem which can be understood by changing the 10 to io. Funny until i remembered all the times they said it about me. I found a list of just about all the local Realtors. I am going to see if anyone has suggestions on who is the best, call them and see if they are interested in making money with me. I found the name of the guy who owns a property I've been looking at. The property is empty but i was able to find the information on the county website. Well i guess that's about it for today. Good luck to everyone and happy investing.

I know i said i would post my progress everyday and i missed a few. I have been having some recent family issues, and even though I'm progressing, some more stuff just came up to try to trip me up. I'm literally skirting the rim of bankruptcy, very stressful. But I'm not letting it stop me. In fact that's one of the main reasons for keeping this journal, to get it out in the open, out of my head, so i can keep moving forward. I have been in contact with more buyers, and have written a letter to the owner of an empty home I'm interested in. I still haven't contacted any RE Agents but i will soon......tonight. Well that's all for now.

Dave, I took the time to read most of your last few entries and don't know exactly what to say. But feel compelled to say something. I'm new to this myself and don't feel I have the wisdom to give advise regarding realestate...but I have been married for over 20 years and I know that marriage can sometimes be tough. Especially when your wife says something that cuts right to the heart of the matter and it's negative in tone. As far as that goes....I would use those negative vibes from her as fuel for yourself to show her that you can be a mans man. In my own life...whenever I wanted something bad enough I didn't stop for one minute untill I had it in my posession. The key is wanting it bad enough no matter what it is. In my opinion... You called your journal " Feel free to kick my butt" for the simple reason that you don't have that self determination to get it done even in light of your many described troubles. I guess I could "kick your butt" because you've invited me to do so. What I think you really want me to say is "how bad I feel for you" because of your unfortunate circumstances. It sounds like you have no time at all to waste...so my wish for you is that you find your self motivation soon and don't stop untill your "FAMILIES LIFE" is all for the better. I don't know you...but I do believe you can do anything that you put your whole heart and soul into. I wish you and your family the best that life has to offer! I hope you consider my comments just a little bit of a "butt kicking" with a lot of "compassion to boot you". Again...I wish you well!!!

Just checking on you Glad to see you are still determined in spite of the adversities life puts in your way. You can and will do this as long as you hold on to the reasons that drive you. The passion to better yours and your families lives, help others, and control your own future! And what you say is absolutely right about the difference between the action of learning and the actual taking action on what you've learned! There comes a time when you just have to take those first steps. Call a realtor and walk through a house. Drive around a neighborhood and call a FSBO. Whatever it is....once you start the ball rolling your confidence and learning grows in leaps and bounds and its SO exciting! I knew nothing about this when I started, and was basically a pretty shy and private person. I am 180 degrees from then, and still amazed every day what I've accomplished. I wish that feeling for every single person on this site!!!!! Keep at it!