NAYSAYERS, BE GONE!
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing,
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
–Edgar A Guest
–We’re not usually poetic people, but this is just too perfect!!
Fact: the naysayers are everywhere!
Equally true fact: they only have as much power as you give them!
The minute you tell your social circle that you invest in real estate, at least one person is going to freak out—and not in a good way. They’ll tell you the worst tenant damage story ever. Or, if they don’t know that one, they’ll tell you about their 3rd cousin Bob, who lost everything in real estate. Or wait, they’ll tell you about how hot the current stock market is, or how safe their GIC is at the bank, or how smart their RRSP manager is with 4.8% returns. Etcetera, ……….
And then, when you start to have some success, they’ll follow you around with all the reasons that “you’re just lucky,” or “it’s just a matter of time before the market drops,” or some other doom and gloom scenario that is just around the corner.
Some of these folks have good intentions. They care about you. They don’t want to see you get hurt. They worry about what they don’t fully understand.
But here’s the thing. Most of our colleagues and investor friends are not speculators. We’re not investing on rumours, or rainbows and unicorn dust. Most of the people who read our real estate investors’ blog are smart, analytical and strategic investors.
We invest with a plan, and a back-up plan (or three!). We might not have all the answers to all the problems that come up—but we’re committed to finding solutions with someone in our network. And because these properties are our assets, we have control. We have the ability to get our investment back on track.
These days we’re noticing an abundance of negative thinking. If we post a good-news story, often, the first feedback that shows up is something contradictory. Maybe it’s a function of the media or social media? Maybe people have forgotten how to interact with other living breathing human beings after too much lockdown?
To be clear, real estate investing has risk. But we would argue that every investment has risk. That GIC is only earning 1.8% these days. Inflation—well, it depends on how you measure it, but officially it’s 3.4% in Canada (April 2021). So that “safe” money is actually losing value in the bank.
Money, politics, religion, and now COVID—everyone has their own opinion. And that’s a beautiful thing in a Democracy! So, to all the naysayers, I say, “you do you!” We’re unapologetically patient and picky investors. We’re carefully working towards our future vision and goals. And we welcome friends and family to join us along the journey to a future of #nolimits.
This article was inspired by Leah Goldstein who recently became the first woman to win the Race Across America, at the age of 52. It’s a grueling cycling race, where participants only sleep 3 “ish” hours a night—that’s 21 hours of cycling per day! Imagine how many naysayers she must have politely (or assertively) deflected and ignored to reach her goal! Imagine how much training, how many obstacles, and how much adversity she had to overcome. If one woman can do all that—imagine what a bunch of real estate investors could accomplish!
So we have a suggestion. If you’re looking for information and inspiration for your real estate journey, we highly recommend The BootCamp Blitz, July 9 and 10th with Corey & Tiffany Young, @FearlessInvestors. It’s virtual, so you can participate from any deck, couch, or campground with wifi! (almost no excuse!) https://www.fearlessinvestors.ca/a/45016/wKt2XwDF
Cheers to your financial freedom with #nolimits!
