Terry Sprouse

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Inner and Outer Wealth

As I promote my book “Fix em Up, Rent em Out: How to start your own house fix up and rental business in your spare time,” something curious happens. When I appear on radio shows, one of the most frequent questions that I receive from the show host and from call-in listeners was, “can you explain what you mean by The Zen of Repairing Properties?”. That was the title of a chapter in my book. I was surprised by the response and attention that that chapter attracted. I thought, what’s going on here?

On the radio shows, I explain how I felt a sense of exhilaration and deep satisfaction, as I was making repairs on my fixer-upper house. It was like a religious connection to the spirit, or to my true nature. I could tell that I was on the right path, and in complete harmony with my deepest connections by the feeling of joy and fulfillment that I felt.

In fact, that chapter on The Zen of Repairing Properties was one that I most enjoyed writing because it was so close to my heart. The more radio shows that I appeared on, and the more calls I received, the more I considered expanding my thoughts on that chapter.

Many books discuss the business side of making money in business, but few address the spiritual dimension. Money provides happiness on one level, but we have all known or heard about people who are wealthy yet their lives are in complete disarray. Spiritually, their tank is running on empty.

Although the same principles apply to many types of businesses, I think real estate investing and the rental house business are uniquely suited to tie the spiritual and the profit sides of business together.

Lao Tzu, in The Book of Life, said:

Man at his best, like water,
Serves as he goes along:
Like water he seeks his own level,
The common level of life,
Loves living close to the earth,
Living clear down in his heart.

Herman Hess, in Siddhartha, said

Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself.

As the Bible says,

What does it profit a man to gain the world, and lose his own soul?

Is it possible to serve like water, find that sanctuary within, gain the world and not lose our souls? I think the odds are pretty good.

To be continued . . .

Here are my upcoming radio guest spots:

June 23, Greg O’Conner, WKHM, Jackson, MI, 9:30 am
June 26, Jason Mansmith, WRPN, Ripon, WI, 9:15 am
June 26, Peter Stewart, WABJ, Adrian, MI, 10:00 am
July 1, Jeff Anderson, KSPR, Waterton, SD, 7:00 am

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