I’m A Failure…Or Am I?

Last month, I did a knocking-on-sellers’-doors challenge.  To help folks better understand what real estate investing is really like, I posted my daily results on North Georgia REIA’s Facebook page – including pictures and many of the creative offers I structured!

For the month, I spent 9 days out getting face-to-face with sellers.  In total, I talked to 30 sellers at the door, 27 invited me in, and I made 23 written offers – including a $1 million offer on a $125,000 house!

Yesterday, I spoke with an investor who followed me on Facebook.  He said, “If I had been you, I would never have done a public challenge.” “Why not?” I asked.  He answered, “Because you talked to all those sellers but didn’t find a single deal.  Now everyone is gonna think you’re nothing more than a big, fat, ball-headed failure!”

Folks, this kind of thinking – being terrified of failing – prevents lots of people from attempting anything meaningful.  Hear this clearly: Failure is a critical part of success.  You cannot succeed without having failure mixed in for good measure!

Do you realize that when you fail, you’re in a company of GREATS?  Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.  Einstein was thought to be a dullard because he couldn’t talk until he was four years old.  Oprah was fired from her newscaster job – her boss said she was unfit for TV.  Walt Disney was fired from his newspaper job – his editor said he lacked imagination and had no original ideas.

If you’re not willing to fail – if you don’t recognize failure as a necessary friend – then you’ll never try anything new.  If you’re worried about your friends making fun of you when you fail, it’s time to ditch those losers and get some new friends!

Let’s look at last month.  YOU decide whether I was a failure or a success.

I got face-to-face with 27 sellers and made 23 written offers. Many sellers weren’t home, so I left a lot of We Buy Houses and Mobile Homes cards in doors.  I spoke with a lot of neighbors about vacant homes.

I spent the month throwing stones into the real estate investing pond.  This created thousands of ripples.  Where the ripples go is a mystery – but they DO go somewhere!

One other thing about failure: You fail only if you don’t get back up…if you throw in the towel and walk away.  I didn’t fail last month.  Rather, I got closer and closer to my next deal.  Here’s what I mean: On average, I must make 30 written offers to find a deal.  Right now, I’m at 23 written offers.  This means I’m only 7 offers away from finding our next deal!

To accomplish great deeds, don’t fret over the naysayers.  Simply roll up your sleeves, put shoe leather to pavement and get busy!