Since I've been home from the convention, working ON my business has been #1!

I've sent out tons of letters to people, looked at a bunch of houses and made quite a few offers.

I've put working on the projects at the bottom of my to do list.

I ordered a 20" x 24" poster with a picture of Block Island, Rhode Island on it. My favorite place in the world.

The caption underneath reads: "$500,000 a year means make $250 an hour!"

My wife asked me where I wanted it hung and I said she can choose. She hung it right in our kitchen. Big bold print.

$500,000 is peanuts to a lot of you folks, but that's a ton of money for this area and my family. Game changing money.

I start out my days NOW AND FOREVER as a result of the recent convention focusing on my $250/hr work FIRST! I'm still working on the properties, but only after my $250/hr stuff is done. Like today, I'm about to go out in 1 HOUR of manual work at the project.

I tell you what folks, it's tough. My natural inclination to go work on these projects is STRONG! I can hear the voice in my head saying get to the house, get to the apartment, do the paperwork, blah blah blah. It is tough habit to break, but I'm doing it.

For example, I am mailing letters. I figure that a minimum, each letter I mail is worth $30,000. I mailed 11 yesterday and I told my wife that that is $330,000 in income right there.

If I only get a 2% response rate, I have to mail A LOT of letters to hit $500,000. I figure about 835. I've mailed about 200 since I've been home. More than I've ever mailed since I started.

In all labor there is profit. That's what I tell the kicking and screaming

Voice in my head that says to get to the properties. I may not see immediate results from this, but I will see bigger results.

If I don't have a $250 task for each day, I've been creating one. Advertising, driving, whatever it is.

Congratulations on changing your perspective, NE.

I'm curious how you get the one letter = $30,000. I agree that one letter out of 200 might get you a house that leads to that kind of a profit, but don't get your wife too psyched up saying, I mailed 11 letters so that means $330,000 more income or she's gonna ask you for a new Denali and a diamond ring (or whatever her thing is). Now if you have figured out a way to make each letter worth $30K, I'm all ears...do tell. (wink)

Working on the biz is tougher than working in the biz, and I've had to fight it lately since cash is going OUT a lot faster than it is coming IN at the moment. We're still hitting our monthly goals, but it's been a rough 6 months with 4 evictions. This year has been el stinko for people deciding they can't/won't pay rent as agreed. Went for almost 2 years with no evictions...now they all hit. Bleh.

I have a dream of a paid off personal residence and it's on my kitchen walls: a chain 160 links long, each link representing $500. This chain is the remaining debt on our house. We've had it up there a couple of years, paying extra each month with income from the rentals. We're down to a little over $30,000 left and should be done in 18-20 months, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise! Visualizing the goal is key as you have found! The kids cut off "equity links" each month with scissors and we keep them in a gigantic clear plastic jug that used to hold cheese balls. They have learned the lesson about debt and mortgages: my hope is they do things differently from me and stair step their way up into nicer houses by paying all cash. One of our goals is to start them each with one debt-free house of their own--one of our rentals--to live in or rent out while they are getting started. Then maybe they'll get to where we are faster and be able to live and give like no one else!

Happy Friday!

Ally, I'm certainly not letting emergencies go, that's for sure.

Sid, my "one letter equals $30,000" is simply a motivational thing. To me, it's a potential $30,000 profit for each letter I send if I flip the property. It could be $300-$400 a month cashflow if I keep it to rent, which is my plan. $30,000 just happens to be more motivational to me than $300.

My wife will be fine. No Denali.

So basically Sid, if I want $500,000 in income and I have a 2% success rate, I have to send over 800 letters. It's all just Jedi mind tricks on myself. It's to help me sustain that goal of doing things that eventually makes me $250 an hour.

Stop day dreaming ! two ways to success, the doer's and the thinkers.

NE, I admire your enthusiasm. My problem is I micro manage and do virtually all the labor myself.

Andrew, I am in the same exact boat. Hiring

out for me is a nightmare for several reason. I'm a control freak. I also micro-manage and I know how long things take to do and I want them done in that time or quicker.

So what I've done is simply change what I'm laboring on. I'm prioritizing the higher dollar per hour tasks and doing those first. Then I'm doing the lower dollar per hour stuff with the remaining time in the day.

NE, love your post and enthusiasm.

We had a goal of $10,000 a month net when we started 10 years ago, we have reached that goal. We didn't need more than $10K to live comfortably. Nor did we want more. I like this quote, "For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name."

I just spent last 2 weeks did two major rehab with my handyman and his guy. He knows that I am a control freak. Cos I think and work on the project efficiently and effectively. I hate mistakes and make much less than most people in the business.

1. knock down half kitchen pantry wall, convert space into bedrooms. run hardwired smoke

2. get an apt ready for rent where the older couple had lived and smoked there for 20 years. Bring everything yellow to white(life), Convert double parlor to extra bedroom, old clawfoot tub to new, knob&tub outlets to new wiring..

I woke up 2AM, 3AM to get ready, I got dead tired after doing that for couple days..

Unless I pay big bucks to hire out to professionals, I can never relinquish the control cos I know the best when it comes to design the space and make sure it meets code(to certain degree).

I like the saying, Ignorance is a bliss! If I don't know anything, I have to hire out or get out. I learned so much in last 10 years, that becomes my own demon.

What's the point? “Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

Sorry, NE, my post may belong to a different title..

Go NE GO!

It won't happen until you DREAM it - and you are DREAMING it!

Letting go: when the DREAM is big enough you can let go and delegate.

BRAD