INFLUENCES AND ATTITUDE, con't

Let me give you one more example... another example using my father-inlaw.
He is a very good person; in fact we get along fantastically. Back in
those early days he was just a father and was cautious; he did not want us
to get hurt. When I first married, I told my wife, “I want to invest in real
estate. I want to do this.” My wife is fantastic; she supports me and is
definitely not the negative influence that is so often prevalent. She said,
“That’s great.” Again, she comes from a traditional family, so she stated,
“You know what? My father would love it if you would take him along.
He knows a lot about construction and different things.” I said, “Great! I’ll
take him along.”
Well, I started bringing him along to the potential properties, and he would
talk me out of every one. I finally realized what he was doing and I went
to my wife. I said, “Honey, I’m sorry, but I cannot involve your father in
this anymore.” She said, “Why?” My response: “Well, he’s talking us out
of every single investment. I cannot do it.” She said, “Okay, fine.” So, we
found a deal by ourselves.
About a week before I was going to close on the deal, I said to my fatherin-
law, “We are going to buy this property.” He said, “Oh, really?” I said,
“Yes, we are closing in a week.” Then he went silent. I asked him if he
would like to see it and he said that he would. He looked at the property
and went through it, not saying too much. He knew my mind was made up
and that I would do it, regardless.
We put together a deal and purchased the property. It was fantastic. I made
$40,000 the first year-and-a-half with no money down. When I was
working at the bank making $9 an hour, I barely had any credit and
struggled to make a $65/month ring payment. We bought that property and
made $40,000 in 18 months. It was fantastic! Now the tables are turned.
My father-in-law is all about being positive. Why? Because he saw a
success story and that’s important. Had I listened to the outside influences
and negativity, I would not be here today. I would not have made millions
of dollars in real estate, nor would I be facing a multi-million dollar future.
I remember my own father. Why did he work six days a week, drive
exhausted, and sleep in his car to see his children? What motivated him?
The love that he had for us was greater than anything else he wanted in his
life. If you can find that core motivation, you can drown out the outside
influences and move forward.