Archive for the ‘passion’ Category

Dreams Still Come True

Friday, September 21st, 2012

Dreams come true: without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.” — John Updike

One of my favorite blog authors is Lynne Spreen at Any Shiny Thing. Her article “Our Dreams Persist” describes the long and winding road that she traveled to write and publish her book “Dakota Blues.” I admire her persistence in the face of many obstacles to hold tight to her dream and to finally see it come to fruition.

Reading her story of how she wrote her book reminded me of my own experiences.

I first determined to write a book when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras in 1987. I didn’t have any idea, at that time, exactly what I wanted to write about. I just knew that I wanted to write a book that would be useful to others, and to hopefully inspire them along life’s way.

Time Marches On

It wasn’t until 15 years later, after starting my fixer upper and rental house business, that I began to put pen to paper (and fingers to computer keys) to begin writing my book. I thought that sharing my experiences with fixer upper houses would be that useful and inspiring book that I had imagined writing years earlier.

Four years later, through many iterations, and alternating periods of exhilaration and self doubt, “Fix em Up Rent em Out” was proudly rolled out on Amazon.com. Seeing my book finally published gave me a warm glow  that still shines inside me to this day.

The Seed Continues to Grow

What I find interesting, in both my experience and Lynne’s, is that once the seed of a good idea is planted, it grows inexorably and invisibly inside of us, until it eventually becomes reality. The fact that it takes years for the final completion of the dream makes it all the more satisfying.

Weekly Blog Roundup

Additional recent blog articles that I liked:

The Landlord Quick Fix at LandlordInvestor

21 Ways to Manage the Stuff that Sucks Up Your Time at Louisville Gals Real Estate

 Why is it Healthy to Change Bank Accounts? at Fearlessmen

Give your Family an Amazing Fall with these 8 (Frugal) Activities at Frugal Habits

Hording Gold at All Things Pondered

How to Save Money on Contacts and Eye Care at Work Save Live

How We Bought A $50K Duplex – Part 4 at plantingourpennies

Legal Battle Over a Sagging Balcony  at Blue Collar Worker

What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What You Want To Do With Your Life? at Untemplater

Auto Insurance Basics And Recommendations For Everyone at Financial Samurai

Household Budget Tips for the Upcoming Fall at My Money Design

Catering Your Blog To Your Readership at Modest Money

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Coming Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

How to Get Struck by Inspirational Lightning and Write Your Book

Monday, September 17th, 2012

I believe that every one who operates a fixer upper and rental house business, or anyone who is doing anything that they love, should also consider writing a book (and self-publish it, but that’s another article). Once we have paid our dues, and carved out our niche in our chosen field, we have a moral obligation to share that knowledge with others.

When you write your book, the circle is complete.

Writing blog articles is another way to share, but it doesn’t go far enough. A book is all your experience and wisdom concentrated into one simple package, like frozen orange juice. Someone can read it and be able to follow in your foot steps and do what you do.

Think Like an Artist

Where’s my coffee?

Writing a book requires the same perseverance and gusto that we bring to our chosen profession. However, it also requires something more. We need to be able to think like artists. Don’t worry, you don’t have to walk around with a tortured look on your face, grow a goatee, or sip coffee all day at French Cafés.

Thinking like as artist requires delving into the inspirational and creative natures of our personalities. In short, we have to be struck by inspirational lightning!

Author Julie Cameron, in her book “The Artist’s Way” describes a two-pronged technique designed to plug you into your inner source of creativity.

The two steps are:

1.) Writing morning pages; and,

2.) The artist’s date.

The morning pages allow you to bypass your “logic” brain, which is normally in gear, and shift into the “artist” brain. The artist’s dates are fun things that you do to refill your creative reservoir.

Morning Pages

Up a little too early?

The “morning pages” technique involves getting up an hour earlier than you normally do, and in longhand writing, write three pages using strictly stream of consciousness. Every day, just write three pages of whatever crosses your mind, and don’t stop until the three pages are full.

The purpose of writing morning pages is to get past the things that inhibit us from writing; our fears, our negativity, or our moods. It gets us past them to a place where we can hear that still, small voice. And, when we are in that place past the negativity, we can align with our creative energies.

As Cameron says “It is impossible to write morning pages for any extended period of time without coming into contact with an unexpected inner power.”

The Artist Date

An artist date is a block of time, maybe two hours a week, committed to nurturing your inner artist. It can be things like a walk in the county, a visit to an art gallery, attending a film contest, or visit a great junk store. It’s just you and your inner artist.

Seek out the mysterious.

The artist brain is drawn to sensory stimulation, like sights, sounds, smell, taste, and touch. Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; follow your sense of the mysterious.

Your inner artist needs to be taken out, indulged, and listened to. Our creativity uses this time to confide in us and to bond with us.

Get Going!

Morning pages and the artist date are a two step process for the aspiring au thor. The Morning Pages draw from your well of inspiration, and the Artist’s Date fill the well again.

“Someday” never comes.

I know, every time you imagine writing that book of yours; you get that glazed, wistful look in your eyes, thinking “yeah, someday I’m going to do that.”

Snap out of it!

You should allow these two techniques to jump start your creative juices, like inspirational lightning, and to begin writing your book!

Julia Cameron on Morning Pages & Artist Date

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Coming Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

The Secret to Success (video)

Friday, January 21st, 2011

The secret to success in life and business (even the fixer upper house business), according to Napoleon Hll and Ralph Waldo Emerson, is to be persistant and to follow your intuition.

 

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Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

Masters of Our Fate (video)

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

We are masters of our own fate and captains of our own soul because we have the power to control our thoughts.

Bob Morgan was a stuntman on the film How the West Was Won. He was run over by a train during the filming but made a miraculous recovery with the help of a strong positive mental attitude.

Control Your Thoughts and Reach Your Dreams

Control Your Thoughts & Reach Your Dreams

Monday, October 25th, 2010

What things do you actually have control over in your life?

When you think about it, there are actually very few things that we can control.

For example, I was forced to give up my dream of boxing. I ruined my hands in the ring. The referee kept stepping on them.

We are required to buy insurance for our cars and houses. The kids must go to school and have supplies and clothes. We choose food, cars and most consumer goods based on the advertisements we see on television. Different levels of government and social pressures decide many things for us, or leave us with limited options to choose from.

And, it doesn’t get any better as time moves on. It seems the older we get, the fewer choices that we have. Men still chase women when they get older, but only downhill.

The One Thing We Control

Napoleon Hill says that we have control over but one thing, the ability to control our own thoughts. This is the most significant and inspiring of all human traits. It is part of our divine nature. This divine tool is the sole way to control your own destiny.

Mind control is the result of self-discipline and habit. You either control it or it controls you. The most effective way to control your mind is by keeping it busy with a definite purpose, supported by a clear plan.

The Ultimate Question

A lot of people I know have read Think and Grow Rich, and they say that they think it is a great book. But, very few know the answer to the following question.

What does Napoleon Hill say that you must do twice daily in order to make your desires become reality?

On page 36 of my copy of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says that you should have:

1.) written a concise statement of what you want,

2.) how you plan to get it, and

3.) when you will get it,

then you should read your written statement aloud twice daily, once before retiring at night and once after arising in the morning.

What Does This Have to Do With Real Estate?

In the early 2000’s, I thought my job was going to be cut and I that would be unemployed. I decided I needed a steady second income so I wouldn’t have to rely on my 8:00 to 5:00 job to bring home the bacon .

After I concluded that buying fixer upper houses and renting them out was the best second income for me, I wrote down my desire on a piece of paper and carried it around in my wallet.

I wrote, ” I will find and buy a fixer-upper house in the next 60 days.” In less than a month, I found and bought my first fixer upper house, and that was my start in this business.

That was the first time I experienced the power of this technique. I have had many subsequent successes with the technique as well.

Like most of us. you have ideas and dreams. But, if you go beyond just identifying them and you write them down, and put your passion into them, they are more likely to come true.

Confessions of a Fixer-upper-holic

A Passionate Life, Turn Your House into a Rental

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

In the movie Man on a Wire, French tightrope walker, Phillipe Petite, runs a cable between the two World Trade Center Towers in 1973, and walks across the 200 ft wire.

It is truly an awe-inspiring feat. People on the ground watching commented:

”It was extraordinary, it was very very beautiful. It was like he was walking on a cloud.”

“It’s beyond anything you can possibly imagine. It’s mind boggling. The awe of the event and the overall largeness of the scale was magical. It was just profound.”

Even one of the NYPD officers who were sent to remove him said, “I personally thought that I was watching something that no one else would ever see again in the world. But it was a once in a lifetime experience. Everyone (all the police) was spellbound in watching him.”

Petite planned the event for 6 ½ years.

He said, “There is a great joy when I am on the wire. Passion is something that knows no bound. It’s not that I am ready to lose, it’s that I’m ready to gain. It’s living intensely. I lose myself in my passion. I do not care about the aftermath.”

“If you are passionate, you are going to do what you want to do all day long, and you are going to become the best at it.”

Movies like Man on Wire remind us that passion is an option and a choice in our lives.

Sometimes it may take something like losing our job to realize that we are not following our passion, and to provide us with the opportunity to pursue that passion.

Following your passion can involve something as simple as turning your house into a rental.