The Four Hour Real Estate Investor

Tim Ferris is one of my favorite people. He’s witty, smart, exciting and exceedingly entertaining. Though I’ve never met the guy, he’s on my short list of desired acquaintances.

You may be wondering, “Who is Tim Ferris?” The answer is hard to encapsulate in a few short sentences. He’s self described as a lifestyle entrepreneur. I was introduced to him several years ago as the New York Times Best-Selling author of The Four Hour Work Week. Reading that book was a pivotal moment in my business development. I highly recommend it.

More recently, Mr. Ferris has published 2 other great books. One of which arrived a few weeks ago at my house via Amazon.

I am an avid reader. It’s one of my favorite hobbies. So as soon as the book arrived, I dove in. The Four Hour Body did not disappoint. This text book sized encyclopedia contains case study after case study of the outliers in personal health. With chapters focused on topics from increasing muscle mass to optimizing sleep patterns, the book exceeded all of my expectations.

One of my favorite chapters focuses on injury prevention. It discusses some of the remarkable recoveries made by professional athletes after what should be career ending injuries. As I read through the text, a theme presented by a world renowned physical therapist caught my attention. Balance.

This therapist shows that by balancing strength, mass and flexibility in the body, injury can effectively be eliminated. He discusses case studies and examples involving NFL teams and Olympic athletes. The idea is really fascinating.

As I meditated on the idea, it occurred to me that I’d seen similar results in my Real Estate investing career.

When I first got started, I focused my attention on wholesaling. I made good money doing this, but I also spent a lot on my business. So even though I could generate $5,000 to $30,000 on a transaction, every transaction counted.

If you have dealt with a number of wholesale deals, you probably know that there are reasons that can cause a deal to fall apart. Title issues, shaky sellers, unqualified buyers and even calculation errors can cause a deal to fall apart. When they did, it put a major crunch on my cash flow. Just like an injury, it really hurt.

It wasn’t until I began adding rental properties and flips to my Real Estate investing strategies that I saw a more consistent and predictable income flow. And as my strengths in each of those areas grew, my business became more and more balanced.

Now when deals die, it still hurts. But it’s certainly not career ending.

Balance is important in Real Estate investing and in all aspects of life. It might not prevent the pain, but it will keep you out on the field.

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