“Some people want it to happen, some wish it could happen, and others MAKE IT happen.” – Michael Jordan : NBA Super Star

Have you ever been sitting around maybe watching tv and see a an infomercial for some new thing and say to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” We’ve all had that experience. Or even worse you see something and realize you had that same idea before. This has happened to me a few times in my life. Those moments when you realize you missed an opportunity.

The thing is, yes it was a missed opportunity, however could you have even done anything about it? Did you have the skills or knowledge at the time to get it to production?

What about your dream to start your own business? Sounds amazing until you realize the time and effort it will require not to mention the sacrifice of probably not making any money at the beginning and the fear of failure.

These are all normal thoughts and feelings. We’ve already discussed getting over fear in an earlier blog post. But this topic is more about desire. How badly do you want it? As the opening quote says, if you want it badly enough you will make it happen. Or put in another way, here’s a quote from Jim Rohn, “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” That goes for everything in life. How many of us each year set a new year’s resolution to get in shape or to lose weight? We say it because we know we need to but in the end we usually don’t do it or don’t keep it up on a regular schedule. We find an excuse, “I’m too busy”, “I’ll never be able to do it, so why even try?”

This is the scarcity mindset. A limiting belief. You need to have an abundance mindset. Don’t say you can’t, ask yourself “How can I?” Think outside the box. Be motivated as if your life depended on it, because if you think about it, it does! What do you want your life to be? Do you want to be doing the same thing you’re doing now for the next 20, 30, 40, or 50 years? Or do you want to live the life you dream of?

Let me share two examples from my own experience.

Before I first got started investing in real estate, I thought I’d never be able to do it. I didn’t have enough money, and probably never would. Mainly because any investment property needs at least 20% down, or so I thought. And with my low or probably negative savings rate, I would never be able to make that happen. It was a pipe dream. I could have just gave up at that point and went back to life as usual. That’s what most people do when they hit a roadblock that has no foreseeable way around it. But I thought maybe someday I will, in the meantime I’ll keep learning more. Lucky for me I kept learning.

At some point because I was consuming so much information, I was spending every free moment studying, learning, networking, that I reached that breaking point where I had to just find a way to make it happen. I knew it would be hard if not impossible to find someone to partner with me if I had no experience. So I needed to get my first deal myself. I took a 90 day challenge that I would find and get under contract my first property within 90 days. This motivated me even more. I searched for and analyzed dozens, maybe hundreds of properties. Searching the MLS and Craigslist and even looking in the paper ads.

Then around the 45 day point I found it! And because I was determined to make it happen I used creative financing. I didn’t have the CASH and I didn’t have 20% for a down payment. But I had enough funds in my 401k and could borrow from it with no penalty AND I found a portfolio lender that would lend on investment property with only 10% down. Using these two strategies I was able to acquire my first rental property.

I was now officially a Real Estate Investor! I was so happy. Not to mention afraid as well. But it worked out well. That one deal now showed people I was serious. It was a four plex which kind of held more weight in the minds of other investors & lenders than just a single family house. Yes, just one deal under my belt was enough to later convince a private lender to go in with me on a one-Million dollar deal. That deal unfortunately later fell through because somebody else beat us to it, but that lender would not have even given me the time of day if I was not even a “serious” investor.

The second example is one I am working on right now at this very moment. About two years after that first deal, I keep learning and networking and one thing leads to another and now I got this deal sent to me which two or more years ago would have seemed impossible. But I have since expanded my abundance mindset.

I got sent a deal from one of my agents in another state. It was what seemed to be an amazing opportunity to flip some land. Most people shy away from land since it is totally speculative. And I normally would too. It is a liability, not an asset since it doesn’t produce income. But this one seemed like the perfect opportunity because of the full story surrounding it, which I won’t get into here.

The deal would cost $540,000 to purchase 2.3 acres of prime location commercial land. There was no way I could afford that. There was no way a bank would approve me for that much debt with no additional income to offset it. I would be way over my debt to income level. Which was upsetting because I found a bank that would lend on this to me for 15% down and interest only payments for 12 months. The other “impossible” factor about it was that I needed to close in just 3 weeks. The expected or anticipated sales price for this lot would be anywhere from 1.2-2 Million dollars in less than a year. It was already worth at least double the purchase price. If I had not been spending my time networking and contacting people, I would not have even known about this opportunity.

From the moment I got sent the deal I knew I could not do it alone. A scarcity mindset would say, “I don’t have that kind of money” and then pass on the deal. But I said to myself, “I can make it happen, or at least I will do everything I possibly can to make it happen. I will find a way”.

So before I had the deal under contract I started reaching out to some people. I had some friends that had mentioned they would like to get involved in real estate and would be willing to work with me at some point. But land is a hard commodity to sell. They were too scared. I reached out to some other acquaintances that are involved in real estate but again, land was not in their vision. I finally found a guy that would put down half, but he needed at least 60 days, that wasn’t possible. I began to doubt that I could make it happen. But I wasn’t willing to give up.

I decided to go ahead and get it under contract first. I signed the offer and then waited for the signed acceptance from the seller. I didn’t get one. So I asked my agent, what’s going on? She said there was another offer on the table. I thought for sure I lost it. But I had my agent and the selling agent who I had spoken with, on my side and convinced the seller to go with me even though the other guy could close sooner and likely had the money to do it.

So I got it, now I had to get moving! I reached out to everybody sharing the details. No takers, no responses. Then I finally published the deal seeking a partner in the marketplace on BiggerPockets.com. I got some responses from there. Then I found a great potential partner who responded, and on the same day I also got a reply from an email I sent from another guy in the real estate world that does a lot of flips in the location of this land. After speaking with the people from both of these options, I decided to work with the guy there locally. He had the resources to get the money. I bring the deal, he brings the money and we split everything 50/50. BOOM!

This deal is just in its infancy so I will definitely keep everyone posted on the outcome about a year from now. We want to hold it for a year for tax benefits to have the profits be capital gains rather than normal income.

The point of me sharing these two experiences was to illustrate that anything is possible. Just like your parents and teachers used to say, “Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.” Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Whether you think you can or you can’t. You’re right!

Don’t let your limitations stop you from achieving your dreams. Get out there and find a way to get it done. Go get the skills necessary, find out what you need to do to get started, and then take those steps. If you want to work from home designing web pages but know nothing about programming or web development, find the resources to learn those skills. If you want to start earning passive income through real estate, start reading books and connecting with other investors and lenders.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Take it! Get out there and start your journey to the life you want to live. Or do nothing and keep your life the way it is now. Which is more risky? Where do you want to be 10 or 20 years from now? The choice is yours, how badly do you want it?

MAKE IT HAPPEN! YOU CAN DO IT!