Overcoming Adversity Builds Strength And Character.

Hi Folks, I read an article from a Realtor(R) about the struggles she is having and how she has reached a crossroads and has to decide whether or not to stay in the business (I'd link to it but it's a private post).

Her article got me thinking about my own situation a few years back. The market in my area crashed in mid 2006. My income dropped over 80% in 2008. In the middle of it all my wife had major medical issues. 

Giving up real estate never even entered my mind. I'm way too independent to work for anybody else. Plus I was 50 years old at the time and only have a high school education (barely). With the entire economy in the pits my options were limited.

So, I had to make my real estate business work. I had to make some drastic changes. The first thing I did was eliminate as much debt and as many monthly bills as I could. I took it down to the bare minimum in a very short period of time. This required selling all of our real estate including doing short sales on 2 of our properties.

We became tenants for almost 2 years while I hunkered down and revamped my entire way of doing business. I focused on growing and expanding my business online, learned how to list and negotiate short sales and started focusing on attracting investor buyers with cash.

I worked on my health. I changed the way I ate and started working out.

I also started meditating every morning for an hour and thinking about where I needed to be as if I were already there.

Success is a mindset. Without the right mindset there is nothing you can do that will change your situation.

Success also requires taking action. We can't hope, wish or pray for business. We MUST go get it. Especially in this market. The days of business coming to us are over and may never be back.

It's now been almost 4 years since we really hit bottom. We have a new home (albeit much smaller) in a great community. I have 2 agents that work for me. I've lost 45 lbs in weight and almost $800,000 in debt. My income needed per month has dropped from about $12,000 to roughly $3,500. I co-own the most active short sale network in the world. My wife is healthy. And life is very good.

It turned out almost exactly how I had envisioned it during my morning meditations. Funny how that works.

I'm sure many of you have some difficult decisions to make. You are at the crossroads. Pick a road then travel it with your head held high. And don't forget to make a plan. Then work it as hard as you can. I hope this helps.

***By the way, I means WE. As in TLW and BB :)

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?