Andrew Lietzow-MBA, GRI

Here are some focus points which I use on myself whenever I need more discipline in my life (nearly all the time!).

I'll start with the premise that Marshall Sylver is 100% correct when he says, "we'll either have discipline or regrets, so we must master discipline". To accomplish big goals, we must convert them to plans. Here are just a few of the ways to discipline oneself, in business and life, given in the first person as positive affirmations.

1) I work hard to get my technology working.

As an abstract random person, I have more trouble with this because I am a cornucopia of exciting, fresh ideas. I am constantly seeking out new ways to work more efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, this means that if I purchase a new gizmo to help me to do something better, I have to have the discipline to actually implement the tools I've invested in, or the company has invested in. We abstract randoms need the support of concrete sequentials, though we have lots of trouble understanding each other, so I have to force myself to finish what I've started to gain the efficiencies I

2) I like to use a vision/dream board to help me clarify what I really want. Again, Marshall Sylver recommends to not create goals, but to create plans. Plans are more concrete, and thus more motivational. Knowing why, what, and how are prerequisite to actually doing something, if we are to perform the task effectively and efficiently.

3) I let go of MWA's (minimum wage activites). I allow others the privilege of serving me with tasks that are not necessary for me to personally accomplish. I reduce my stress level by allowing others the to accomplish some of their goals, which includes helping others (i.e., me!) . When I let others do these jobs, I often find they are better at it than I, and this makes us both happy! I accomplish more when I let go of MWA's!

4) I've learned the six levels of deligation, and I am clear with those to whom I have deligated responsibilites. When I chose to deligate any authority, accountability, or responsibilities, I make sure we communicate well requiring expectations, so no one is disappointed. Sometimes, parents and even grandparents mess this up when they ask a child to do something then don't follow through with their expectations. That's a presciption for disasterous results in child rearing, and it is magnified in the work place. I accomplish much more when I make sure I'm clear with expectations and deligation.

5) Always be grateful and respectful of others. Be thankful for the clerk working the drive-up window at the fast food restraurant; and when they do a good job, I say, "thank you for being good at what you do" (and being thankful to God that they have a job, and that God has allowed me to have a different one!).

6) Be respectful of the earth. When you see liter in front of your path, stop and pick up a few pieces and be thankful to the God-given beauty that you're helping to restore. If you're a smoker, don't use the earth as your ashtray.

7) And, if you're a REALTOR, always give more in service than you receive in compensation. Don't just satisfy your clients, amaze them. Whenever possible, go the extra mile and you're never regret it. The referrals will just pour in to you and in a few years, you'll have a very solid client base which is continually growing simply because of how you've mastered the basic skills of good business.

Today's laskluster economy offers many significant opportunities for those who are willing to learn new ways -- new adaptions of old methods to a totally new set of problems. Larry Goins is just the man to bring that home to us at our 1st Annual Conference of the Two Rivers REIA of Central Iowa - May 9th, 2009 -- 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.

As an example, I was speaking with a Realtor yesterday who was down in the dumps. Bumbed out about business being down and seriously considering leaving the business. Unfortunately, when I told her that my business was actually booming, that I was taking new listings left and right and have figured out a system that helps with short sales, I imagine that wasn't what she was expecting to hear. I felt bad for her, yet when she said she thought they were complicated, it made me wonder how much time does today's Realtor need to spend in training, in order to keep their "axe" of knowledge sharp.

At our Two Rivers REIA meetings, every two weeks we focus on a topic, network about general topics, and constantly work to add value through education about ways to do deals. Savvy investors know that to stay on top, they can't allow their knowledge base to fall too far behind the competition. In fact, life is just a whole lot better for those who choose to be proactive in their acquisition of knowledge.

Which brings to why we chose Larry Goins to be our Kick-Off speaker for our Convention. Larry is at the top of his game. He continually keeps up with technology, the challenging aspects of real estate investing he has learned to turn into opportunities; he runs three businesses, and finds time to be a good husband and a great dad.

I met him on the National REIA annual cruise and made a decision I should try to bring him to Des Moines. He was worried the venue was to small but we're busy trying to prove him wrong -- Des Moines DOES have savvy RE investors, and many who want to get better, to learn new techniques and stay on top of their game.

And in today's fast-paced, global economy, it's world its critical that Realtors and LO's frequently update their knowledge base, to meet the changing demands of an ever-evolving client base who desperately need the services of a business savvy real estate consultant.

If you're anywhere near Des Moines, spending the morning listening to Larry Goins on May 9th may be exactly what the doctor ordered to get your RE sales or investing efforts to bear fruit. Check it out here.

The Two Rivers REIA of Central Iowa, LLC is pleased to announce our 1st Annual Conference, to be held at the Holiday Inn, Airport Conference Center, on May 9th, 2009. Tickets can be picked up that morning at 8:00AM, and can be purchased at the door, although there are early registration discounts available at our Conference Registration page.

Larry Goins is a highly sought after speaker because of his unique methods in playing a winning game in Real Estate wholesaling, his background in rehabbing and mortgage finance, and because he is full of energy and wit. Those who attend his presentation will not be disappointed.

Pete Youngs is also making a name for himself through his detail oriented approach to teaching what he calls "Rehab 101". What he offers is not a lot of hype but a method of in-the-trenches cost analysis for what the Scope of Work will cost on rehab projects, both large and small.

Included in the conference is a luncheon and a bus tour which we're calling our "Ugle Ducklings" tour. There are only 47 seats on the bus so if you want to learn first hand from a pro, you'll want to register early!

Of course, the best part of the conference may just be the people you will meet who are fellow investors or investor wannabes from all over Central Iowa and beyond. We fully expect people will drive hours to see our conference because we're making it very affordable compared to having to fly to some boring location, like Las Vegas or Orlando. Instead, we're bringing the experts right here to beautiful Des Moines!

Hope to see you there!

On Wednesday, April 15th, Cathy Nelson with Red Maple Property Management will be doing a presentation on the in's and out's of rental property management, or something along those lines for the Two Rivers REIA of Central Iowa.

Her presentation will be of particular interest to those who want to own property in Des Moines, Iowa (a very solid market right now), but who do not live here. Absentee landlords can enjoy the benefits of Real Estate ownership, without the headaches of landlording if, and only if, they have a good property manager to oversee the property for them. I'm sure this is a lot easier said than done.

Join us, at 900 Des Moines St., Des Moines, for our latest Wednesday night meeting of the season prior to our summer break. We will resume Wednesday night meetings again on September 19th, the third Wednesday of the month.

The first third of the last century was the "age of big business" -- the age of capital, conglomerates, monopolies, and steel trusts. In the US, many of the gigantic mansions, which we experience more often today as publicly owned museums, not privately-held personal residences, were built by industrialists who used the power of creative thinking and inventions to lead us out of the agrarian age, into the industrial age.

The second third (+) of the century was the "age of big labor" -- all the way from the great depression, through WWII, through putting a man on the moon, on into the quagmire that resulted from the Carter-Reagan exercise in contrasting approaches to excesses in governance. For over four decades, the middle class grew at an astoundingly fast pace, the US economy and the rise in GDP seemingly unstoppable. Indeed, there was a massive shift of wealth away from the steel magnates and industrial monopolies into the hands and networth statements of the common man; In the Clinton-era, it seemed nearly every citizen would be afforded the luxury of personal home-ownership, almost by right.

Yet, this period led to a time of great extremes; shortages in the supply of all kinds of raw materials - petrochemicals, agri-chemicals and fertilizers, copper, gold, water -- shortages of nearly every kind; in 1998, we had moratoriums on new developments unless they were all electric because of shortages in natural gas. This led to the Carter-Reagan era and to the deepest recession since the Great Depression. The last third of a century, then, saw the pendulum swing dramatically back toward capitalism; back to "capital" dominating "labor"; back to tax cuts for the wealthiest, hoping the crumbs from the table would trickle-down to the masses.

The debacle and excess of Carter-Reagan lead to the greatest losses of investment capital and tangible wealth since the great depression. And following 25 years of this, we saw instututions which had prospered for decades upon decades -- Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Washington Mutual, Merrill Lynch, etc. -- declare bankruptcy or be quickly sold to a supposedly strong suitor.

At the heart of it was the excessive greed of man. Not the self-preservationist, innately attractive greed factor which is in our being and causes us to seek a healthy increase; no, that is not the greed I'm referring to. This is the excessive greed that believes an $80,000 Hummer is a good little metro car, for mom to run to Starbucks and pick up a Latte.

The greed evident in Enron, a company which nearly cornered the electrical supply in California, bilking governments, consumers and their employees out of millions, and millions.

The end of that era came in 2006, with a shift of political sentiment back to a concern for the masses -- not so much for labor, and certainly not very much for capital. No, what happened in 2006, and in 2008, was an abrupt stopping of the pendulum such that the age of the consumer has passionately been embraced.

Some folks think of Governments as only bad. Certainly, excesses in Governments can be bad, yet it is the great stabilizer, which seeks to balance the interests of capital and labor, yielding a balance which benefits the majority, we consumers.

Now, with the recent 2008 election, we have ushered in the age of the consumer. The Bernie Madoff's of the world are being carted off to jail, the board meetings, stakeholder meetings; cabinet meetings that seemingly had to be held in secret will be exposed to more light. The complete exposure of how our Federal Government spends our money needs to become totally transparent. As a result, we'll see a renewed focus that government exists to benefit the vast majority of its citizenry, not merely the wealthy and the well-connected.

The question remains, however, how will Real Estate investors, be they owner-occupants or investors take advantage of this economic climate in a modern-day, TARP-centric world?

I propose that we'll do it by getting back to the basics. That 1st-time homebuyers will once again purchase ragged, old, fixer-uppers and REO's, planning to build sweat equity into this very first purchase; to engineer into their family's future a firm financial footing for their second home, their third, and ultimately for their retirement.

Banks will revert to their tried and proven mantra; "If you really needed money, why did you come here? We only loan money to people who don't really need the money". Or, they will again require a clear business plan or an adequate financial footing (FICO - 650+) for any would be home-owners; offering evidence they understand markets go down just as easily as they go up. Reserves for emergencies will once again be the norm.

In the end, what will transpire is the greatest shift of personal wealth to those who are clear, purposeful, decisive thinkers, since the great depression. Those who made loans on a whim, hoping to make exorbitant returns on the backs of the poor -- and taking risks that far exceeded the usual standards of any prudent business person -- will take their lumps, lick their wounds, and get back to the basics.

Those who speculated on wishes and hopes will either quickly correct course or see their wishes and hopes turn into deeds-in-lieu, or outright foreclosures.

If you live within a few hours of Des Moines, I invite you to a meeting of our Two Rivers REIA of Central Iowa, of which I am the founder. If not, then I recommend you visit a local REIA chapter meeting near you. The National REIA offers links to the 200+ chapters around the nation, here.

The seeds of success lie in the details of the "how-to" and in the "doing of a thing, in the certain way". Those who use the power of thoughts to control their actions govern those who refuse to apply adequate discipline to prevent regret.