TWO WORDS TO SUCCESS IN REAL ESTATE
AND ONE EASY WAY THAT ONE INVESTOR
EARNED $4 MILLION IN EIGHT YEARS.
by Neil Jenman
Reading Time: Apx 3.5 mins
Most Australians are dreadful at selling and buying real estate.
When they buy, they pay too much. And when they sell, they sell too low.
Never has the saying: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance,” been more appropriate than with our real estate dealings.
BOOKS AND LIFE
Books play a huge role in my life. From business to personal matters, any success can usually be traced to books. Conversely, my disasters usually come from ignorance.
What you don’t know will hurt you.
Unfortunately, most people acquire knowledge – especially on important topics – from experiences, not books. By the time they get knowledge, the deal is done. The house is bought (for too much) and later sold (for too little).
The great costs in buying and selling real estate are not commission to an agent or stamp duty to a government. No, the greatest costs (“losses”) are from ignorance.
As the saying goes, “Too soon old, too late smart”.
Most successful people are avid readers. A captivating speaker called Jim Rohn once said: “The most expensive homes have libraries.”
Of course, none of us can be successful at everything. But all of us can be better at anything, especially if we acquire knowledge.
Whether it’s a major financial decision such as buying or selling a home or a major personal decision such as finding the right partner, books help you.
Many years ago, a friend’s personal life was a mess. A legacy of tragedy and turmoil. A string of unsuitable partners left him drained. In desperation, he asked: “Neil, what book can I read to get my love life right?”
I gave him a book *. Within six months, he met and married the girl of his dreams. That was 30 years ago. They are still in love. All because of a book.
TIME TO READ.
A common excuse for not reading is: “I don’t have time.”
Really?
It takes about six hours (360 minutes) to read an average book. There are 10,080 minutes each week.
Recently, I overheard a man say: “I don’t have time to read. By the time I get home, have tea and watch TV, it’s bedtime.”
The great tragedy with this fellow is that he is (what we Australians call) “a nice bloke”.
But his life could be much better if he spent ten minutes each day reading ten pages of a book. He’d read almost one book a month. No matter the topic, he’d be a success.
People who read books enjoy success that others dream about. In fact, many non-readers spend thousands of dollars on lottery tickets.
BOOKS CAN CREATE SUCCESS.
What if someone offered to pay non-readers ten thousand dollars to read a book? Most would agree with alacrity.
From what I learn from books, many are greater value to me than ten thousand dollars.
Twenty years ago, another friend read a line in a book written by Australia’s finance expert, Paul Clitheroe. When the GFC hit in 2008, my friend remembered that line. In March 2009, he invested $400,000 in the battered stock market. Seven years later, his investment exceeded $4 million. One sentence from one book for a profit of millions.
It is said that those who can read but do not read have no advantage over those who can’t read.
Think of the reading required for an eminent career. Take doctors. They spend five, ten, fifteen years studying to reach the heights of medicine.
And then what happens?
Like most professionals, they stop reading.
As I often say to my medical friends: “You spent years learning to earn a high income. Why don’t you take ten minutes a day to learn how to preserve that income?”
As any financially successful person will attest: There are two parts to being financially successful – earning money and keeping money. The second is hardest.
FIND A HIDEAWAY.
So whether you are a doctor or a plumber – a barrister or a nurse – be sure you are a reader – even if you have to hide away.
Recently, a friend built me a cabin in the scrub – miles from anywhere. An escape where I read and write books. Or sit with dogs and watch the sunrise. And wait for a visit from my wife. This little cabin, as modest as it seems, has greatly improved my life. I got the idea from Thoreau. He wrote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had do teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
I make no claim to be the most successful person. All I’m claiming is that I have freedom and happiness. I wish the same to any person, especially when venturing into the real estate world.
A BOOK FOR YOU.
To that end (and maybe because it was my son, Alec’s twenty-third birthday on September 20), I’d like to offer all good people one of two of my books. I am told that my best book on real estate is ‘Don’t Sign Anything’. Written 20 years ago, it’s still very relevant. If you spend a few hours with me – in the pages of this book, it will give you knowledge to succeed in real estate. Buying, selling or investing.
If you’ve read ‘Don’t Sign Anything!’ maybe you’ll like ‘SUCCESS TAKES CHARACER’. Of all my books, this gets the most emotive reviews. And gives me the most pride.
The two words to success – in almost anything in life – are these: Read books.
I hope you’re inspired to turn pages. Even for 10 minutes a day.
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