Posted by LK on April 14, 2006 at 21:14:50:
Well said.
convention skeptics - Posted by LK
Posted by LK on April 14, 2006 at 17:20:10:
I was leaning towards attending the convention in Atlanta. Ive read several books but no courses. Ive been buying for 3 years. When trying to recruit friends for the convention I get the question “If these gurus are such successful real estate investors , why would they waste their time lecturing?” Im not that skeptical but I cant answer that question. Is there better money in selling information than buying and selling real estate?
Re: convention skeptics - Posted by ken in sc
Posted by ken in sc on April 16, 2006 at 18:26:59:
I would quit trying to recruit people and just come. Why are you recruiting? Do you need a partner, or competition?
The first RE event I went to was a John Schaub weekend in Vegas. I went by myself, and was so scared that I might be getting taken by this man Schaub, that I didn’t even tell hardly anyone that I was going, lest I have to face the embarrasement when I got home. Well, that trip started a change in my life - a career in RE Investing. Later, I founf CREonline and began attending these conventions. What fun and learning. Forget those people and do what is right for you. If you are in the biz, there is no way you can’t find some value by attending. Frankly, attending by yourself is recommended as you won’t have to worry about how the other person is doing or feeling, and it will force you to meet other investors. As Anne said, they are an easy to talk to group, and als can be very informative.
Ken
LK - Did you decide to attend the convention? - Posted by John Corey
Posted by John Corey on April 16, 2006 at 11:00:02:
LK,
There have been some great responses. Have you made a decision? If you are going get some business cards, send some emails to people you want to meet and write up questions that you need answered when you are there.
If you break the replies down they tend to fall into two buckets.
- The convention has value independent of your friends’ and relatives’ opinion. As they have never attended and the people who replied have been there in the past you have to ask yourself who are you going to believe? Also note that there is no reason that you need to buy anything that happens to be on offer at the convention. Just go and meet people for 3 days, take notes and ask how people who are a bit ahead of you in REI how they got to where they are given that most of us had a similar circle of supporters when we started. As you already have 3 years of investing experience maybe you can help some others at the convention who are trying to start.
Now for the other observation about the replies.
- Poor people hang with poor people. Rich people with rich people. Those who want to improve their lot with others who are doing the same. Those who are comfortable where they are hang with others who are also comfortable in their present style. Only people who want to break out of their environment will hang with people they are not used to being with.
People form circles and include people who are like them. They tend to want to exclude people who are not like them. They also feel that they need to protect their circle by making sure people do not leave so they trash talk ideas that seem different. Rather than call this bad or good lets just say that this is how small groups work. Therefore you need to keep your eyes open to such behavior when you look for advice.
One sign of a successful person is the ability to leave behind the folks who want to hold you back while not being overt that you are doing so. They do not know they are an anchor. It is not their fault if you do not succeed. Hence you have to make new friends while still being polite to the relatives and close friends who may never understand.
John Corey
PS. This feels a bit confused or choppy as I re-read it. Sorry. Hopefully you get the point.
Re: convention skeptics - Posted by Anne_ND
Posted by Anne_ND on April 15, 2006 at 08:04:47:
LK,
I’m sure that some speakers do make very good money selling information. But the motivation of the speakers has little to do with what you’ll get out of the convention.
While I have gotten much from various seminars I’ve been to, I get the most out of talking to other investors. I spent 8 years investing in a place where the closest REIA was a five-hour drive away. The annual CREOnline convention was my chance to meet others and talk about the challenges and rewards of investing.
If you do have any inclination to go I would urge you to do so. We are a friendly group. If you can’t get your friends to come along, just walk up to anyone and say hi, or look for people whose posts you like and introduce yourself.
I hope to see you there,
Anne
Re: convention skeptics - Posted by John
Posted by John on April 14, 2006 at 21:41:05:
When i started in REI the worst critism I faced was with friends and family. My mother was/is the worst. She claims I am chasing rainbows and get rich quick schems. She practically disowned me. My wife was in doubt but went along with my first deal and became a believer when she saw the $40K payday I got. My friends are mostly renters and those that own their homes believe debt free is the only way to be. I just smile and say nothing. I make it a point not to talk REI to them. They are of the mindset that you work for a company 30-40 years and hope the company will provide for them in retirement, and SS will still be around. They have to save up for a couple weeks to buy a hundred dollar TV, living paycheck to paycheck. So you think I want comments or advise from them.
I joined the local REI group and made new friends. These are the ones that I associate with mainly, we encourage each other. I am a small time investor here compared to some. I am full time and struggling but own 7 rentals worth about $1.5M and have a 60% ltv.
Success breeds success. How many millionaires hang out with welfare recipients? NONE
The people teaching at the convention are sharing their time and knowledge. Sure there will be courses you can buy if you choose. But the teachers are successful in their own right but they have a desire to share what they learn. I know a national speaker very well and he makes more in REI than he ever could speaking but he feels the need to share his success.
Re: convention skeptics - Posted by Todd-Ohio
Posted by Todd-Ohio on April 14, 2006 at 17:46:07:
Short Answer (in form of a question):
If Donald Trump is so successful in real estate, why is he giving speeches (that are dirt cheap to attend)… why does he have a TV show… why does he sell a board game… why does he write books… etc.?
Success begets success…
Instead of “recruiting” people who don’t appreciate learning from successful role models, you’re better off going to the convention (or a similar event) to meet people who ALREADY DESIRE to learn from other successful individuals, the same way you do.
We all have caring, loving friends and family members that are cool to “hang out” with, but sometimes we have to distance ourselves from their ambivalence, or outright negativity, toward reaching OUR goals.
Re: convention skeptics - Posted by LK
Posted by LK on April 16, 2006 at 22:13:44:
Thanks. Recruit was probably a bad word. I was very interested in the convention so I was passing the information on to a few friends. I may have been skeptical myself but after reading the post on this news group and participating, Im convinced. I think its great that other investors are willing to take the time to share information on this forum.
Re: LK - Did you decide to attend the convention? - Posted by Richard
Posted by Richard on April 17, 2006 at 19:43:33:
Nice post John…and 100% accurate.
Best of success.
Richard
John C’s right again - Posted by John Merchant
Posted by John Merchant on April 17, 2006 at 12:18:47:
My buddy John’s nailed it this time.
As the “Success” writers and lecturers have been telling us for lots of years now, we become what we want hard encough to become, and constant positive input from what we see, read, hear, and the people we’re with all go to feed that need.
You also ask why they’d bother with teaching if they’re all that successful.
I believe the answer to that is they each and all love to teach and pass on to others what knowledge and experience they’ve had that’s helped them.
We all see some great examples right here…people like Johh Behle, David Butler, Bill Bronchik, John Corey, etc., all giving lots of free and valuable time constantly when they really don’t need to “phish” for new business, customers or deals.
These guys all get a kick out of passing on what they know to the other guy, and I’m dead positive they’d each tell you, that they also get a lot of knowledge out of these forums. I sure know I learn as much as I ever impart, hopefully more.