Recently, I was in one of my favorite marketing forums (name withheld) where I usually exchange brilliant ideas with other geniuses, and one of the members happened to mention some negative things about real estate, some of the teacher/gurus, and how ‘this real estate stuff doesn’t work.’

This guy was insulting several of our well-known teachers that we’ve come to know and love. After reading a little bit of what he said, it was clear to me that he hadn’t done any deals, and like most people who say this kind of stuff, was speaking from a place of ignorance and/or frustration.

“Guru X is a scamming d-bag who only makes money from selling courses!”

“Guru Y USED to do deals, but not anymore, and now he just sells this stuff to people who don’t know any better.”

Normally, I don’t like to waste my time with small-minded or ignorant people. But in this case, I chose to set things straight, because there were plenty of other people who would also be reading what was said. And those people deserved to hear the truth.

So after taking a few deep breaths (I’ve gotten wiser & more patient as I get older), I decided to take the high road, and ‘educate’ this person about our fine craft of real estate investing.

Since it’s always best to speak about FACTS rather than speculation, I explained some of my personal experiences, both in the learning environment of some boot camps I’ve attended, as well as what happened when I applied what I learned.

I also pointed out the experience of several friends of mine who have done just as well or better than me, because you can’t argue with success!

Finally, I admitted that none of the people, teachers or “gurus” of these real estate classes are perfect human beings, but the fact that they’re out there sharing what they know and trying to give the best of what they’ve got is better than anonymously hiding behind your computer, criticizing those who are out there busting their butts teaching this stuff!

Hey, we’ve all had teachers or have been to a learning event where we just don’t get out of it what we want. And there are times when we still have some serious questions when we get home.

But the REAL experience comes when we get home and start to try and apply whatever it was that we learned.

I’ve been to more events than I can remember. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve learned or how much those events have helped change my life for the better. After learning and APPLYING what I learned, I was buying and selling houses like crazy. And making crazy money!

I would have continued doing this, and may have even become a ‘guru’ myself, if it hadn’t been for the market crash/recession and all the subsequent law changes that came along a few years ago.

I’ll admit that I also made some bad business decisions that were no one else’s fault but my own. And like a lot of other investors, I took some time off from real estate to get things figured out for myself. And that’s ok, because it allowed me the time to focus on developing some other cool skills, like marketing, copywriting, and website design.

And raise my 2 sons.

Everyone knows that real estate can be as confusing as crap. There are so many variables involved with getting deals done – especially in the beginning, when you’re still learning everything.

Getting your marketing going to generate leads.

Sifting and sorting thru those leads to find the right ones that you can actually do something with (vs. those sellers who can’t understand why you can’t pay them full price, in cash, plus all their closing costs, and close by noon tomorrow lol).

Presenting them with your offers… and getting one accepted.

Getting the right title company or closing attorney who actually understands what it is you’re trying to do and not saying it’s illegal.

Finding the right buyer who can perform in the way they need to.

Dealing with those fun-time title issues that come up.

Contractors! Need I say more?

Oh, and let’s not forget about loan officers, underwriters, and banks, oh my!

I could go on, but you get the idea.

So you see, this is NOT easy. There are a TON of issues and challenges you’ll need to overcome.

BUT… when you DO close that deal, and get that check (or checks, depending on how the deal is structured),

it’s a beautiful thing that takes ALL that pain away that you experienced up to that point!

And the way I see it, it’s a heck of a lot better than having to work some miserable, god-awful job that you hate – every single day, dealing with people you don’t like or can’t stand. Screw that!

So say what you will about gurus. But I know the truth. They may not be for everybody, but neither is being an entrepreneur, working for yourself. When you find the right teacher, you should do everything you can to get around them and soak up every precious bit of knowledge possible… then go apply what you learned as quickly as you can.

Will you make mistakes? Yes. It’s absolutely, 100% guaranteed. Will you work hard? Same answer – especially in the beginning. Is everything going to work perfectly for you? Don’t even kid yourself.

But that’s not just business…that’s life!

So get over it. Get over yourself. And get your backside in gear, taking action, making mistakes, and laughing yourself silly on the way to the bank.

Do you have to agree with me and my viewpoint/opinions/ideas here in this article? No, absolutely not. If you have something different to say, I can respect that, and we’ll just… “Agree to Disagree.”

Thanks for reading & we’ll see you here next month!

Tony Pearl