Perhaps you have experienced situations where you needed to give a sharp focus on something so much so that everything else was either postponed and/or ignored completely. Well, for me, the summer of 2015 was one such period of time. It reminded me of the intensity I felt during the MBA program years ago.
In terms of routine care around the house, anything related to yard work was ignored. Our landscape had been created such that it contains nothing but perennials, meaning little maintenance is required of me to make it look nice each spring and summer. Still, earlier blooms die and some unsightly weeds do pop up. Left unattended, well, you get the picture. (I should figure out how to grow our business like weeds!) Although our favorite professional lawn-care provider kept the grass cut neatly every weekend, the rose bushes and the rest of the flowerbeds looked less than perfect. Overgrown tree branches did not get trimmed back away from our driveway, either, meaning, every time we drove underneath them, they brushed our car. Ordinarily, it takes me less than an hour each week to keep the place looking nice – while enjoying the outdoors and the smell of roses – but, this summer, I had to close my eyes to these imperfections.
In terms of exercise, my usual 25-minute, intense workout in the morning had to go. Even my 5- to 9-hour, daily work-out routine on the treadmill – yes, I work out while I work on our business using my PC – had to go, too, because I needed to be at a table where I could spread out my study materials.
In terms of business, my 15-minute daily routine of checking online banking first thing every morning – just to make sure that our cash flow was under control – went out the window. Our weekly score card, which keeps track of our business performance, was also ignored; I had to later backtrack and see how we did. With that said, David carried the weight and kept up with regularly-scheduled marketing and with our rule of responding to all incoming leads within 24 business hours. The fact that he was on top of them was such a relief, knowing that business was running just as smoothly without my direct involvement.
In terms of relationships, as usual, I had little time for social life unless events had been scheduled way in advance. I even had to miss our oldest granddaughter Jessica’s high-school graduation party out of state. Of all the things that I had to forego, this one bothered me the most…
Today, I am only a year younger than the age at which my mother had passed away. Most people my age are in retirement mode, enjoying the company of family and friends, travelling often and/or reading books for fun. But not me. Until and unless I reach my goals – or I am no longer able physically and/or mentally – retirement is not in the cards, nor do I want it to be. I simply love what I do.
Having experienced the market crash of 2000 – and 2008 as well but with much less impact personally by then, thanks to the steps I had taken since 2000 – I know firsthand what it’s like to have liquid assets that are vulnerable on Wall Street. I also know that millions of people – who worked all of their lives and saved their hard-earned money diligently over the years – are wondering how safe their savings are, and are worried about their financial future. I know this because I’ve been facing these financial uncertainties head on since 2000 myself.
Because of the headaches associated with owning rental properties – despite the fact that we don’t even manage them ourselves – I have been increasingly interested in lending private money to those who are experienced real-estate investors, who buy, fix, and flip properties. I also know that a lot of people who were in the business of lending money to other real-estate investors lost a lot when the real-estate and capital markets crashed during the last several years. So I have been on the hunt to learn how to do it the right way so that my money is secure when I do begin lending it. I decided that the best way to learn to do so was to be a private-money broker for a few years first. When I understand HOW to minimize risk and secure a good return on investment from the professionals who are already making money in this business, I should be ready to lend my own money.
Several months AFTER I had passed the exam to be licensed as a Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) in the state of Michigan in December 2014, I found out that, in order to function as a private-money broker for commercial loans (involving entities, NOT consumers), I needed to have a Real-Estate Broker’s license as well.
With our buy-and-hold strategy for investing in real estate, I was never interested in making money by offering services to others. In fact, contrary to most others who become licensed as a Real-Estate-Sales Agent, I obtained my license in 2005 strictly for our own investment purposes. It enabled me to use the vast database contained within our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for making our purchase decisions. I never had the need to have a Real-Estate Broker’s license – until now. When I learned that I must have one, my reaction was “whatever it takes” to have a peace of mind about my financial future. This is how I became laser-sharp focused on my immediate goal to be licensed as a Real-Estate Broker.
After finding out about this requirement, the soonest I could sign up for the six-week Real-Estate-Broker Class was in July 2015. For that class, I knew I would have to skip one of the sessions. I did not want to wait until 2016 to sign up, however. Thankfully, the instructor said that, so long as I was able to make up the one session, it would be fine. So I did in June, BEFORE the official class sessions started, so that I could enjoy my trip to Nashville, Tennessee, for which I had made a commitment a year prior.
For most of July, I kept up with my investment-work schedule in the mornings and allocated time to study in the afternoons and into the nights. By August, however, keeping up with the studies – in preparation for the eventual state exam – required a lot more time, so much so that even our investment business had to take a back seat. The homework requirements were quite intense, to say the least.
Despite all of the time having been devoted to studying, the exam that our instructor gave in the class – which I needed to pass in order to move on to the state exam – was extremely difficult.
I had scheduled for the state exam for the morning of August 20, 2015, which was the day after the final review session with the instructor. After the tough school exam, I began to wonder if I should have allowed more time. My original rationale was that I wanted to be done with the ordeal as soon as practicable. But, of course, if I did not pass, it would have meant having to reschedule and retake the exam, prolonging the pain and agony.
The morning of the exam came. David and I enjoyed breakfast at McDonald’s – an infrequent treat for us – near the test site. In contrast to the previous days and weeks when my nerves were on edge, I felt rather calm. Regardless of the test result, I knew I had prepared for it the best I could – with David being my best cheerleader every step of the way.
Unlike the school exam, the state exam turned out to be a breeze. In fact, I needed to use only 136 minutes out of 180 allotted. And, yes, I passed the exam. Thank goodness!
Back in 1984, as a reward for becoming an MBA, I became an FAA-licensed private pilot – prior to starting my career at Chrysler. Thirty-one years later, as a reward for passing the state exam to be licensed as a Real-Estate Broker, I was able to attend an event to Meet and Greet U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Blue Angels and their support staff at Willow Run Airport on Friday, August 28, and watch their Show on Sunday, August 30, 2015. Oh, what a treat this was! It was such an honor to be able to meet them in person and shake their hands. I felt like a little kid again, being so excited about what life offers to me. I devoted this month’s blog post for “War, Peace, and Gratitude” to this experience with the Blue Angels with pictures taken with many of the pilots.
For one reason or another, I have not been able to resume flying since way back when. But I have no reason to complain. Even flying, which I love, had to take a backseat to what has always been the most important activity for me to focus, which is the pursuit of freedom and independence. Today, my daily and weekly routines are back, which help me get closer to my ultimate goals.
Passing the state exam the first time also enabled David and me to not have to miss the annual family reunion, hosted by our favorite Aunt Katie and Uncle Al in Wisconsin. There is something magical about being among 60 or so extended-family members each year. I especially admire those who welcome foreign-exchange students to their homes. That takes commitment. That, to me, is the manifestation of how they choose to live their lives through their belief in God. And every single one of the students is such a delight. The live music by talented family members – not to mention Uncle Al – is fantastic. Attending the family reunion is like coming back to the oasis of genuine love and respect for one another. We come home to Michigan feeling 100% rejuvenated for the next 12 months. Life is good in the country of my childhood dreams.
Happy investing!
