English is my second language. Growing up in Japan, I was fascinated by everything about it: its sounds, its grammatical structure (which is entirely different from my first language), and the cultural values that it carries with it. To me, Japanese represents a language of tradition and social hierarchy. In contrast, English represents a language of freedom and independence. As a teenager, I was determined to learn it, master it, and put myself in an environment where English was to be my everyday language. Except for when I had to study other subject matters in school, my focus was almost always on learning and understanding English. My ultimate goal was to change my life for the better. Gaining command of English – my second language – was my ticket to freedom.
Having arrived in America as an adult, life was not always easy. To start out, English that I studied as a second language in Japan gave me a good foundation but, in reality, it felt mostly academic. Despite the sense of inadequacy that I felt due to the language barrier, I knew that life was going to be much better than the status quo that I might have lived in the country of my origin, especially as a female. I was highly motivated to do whatever it took to adapt to my new environment, which I chose.
Eventually, by taking nothing for granted and working hard, I basked in freedom, both financial and otherwise, for 28 years. I was quite confident that I was very-well positioned for a comfortable retirement. That sense of accomplishment and well-being, however, was shattered when the technology-stock bubble burst in the year 2000. This event resulted in huge losses in my retirement accounts. I became very uncomfortable with the idea of leaving money in the hands of those on Wall Street whom I had never met. Suddenly, the sense of freedom that I had enjoyed in the country of my childhood dreams was being threatened.
This experience was as life-changing as all of my childhood experiences combined, which had driven me to seek freedom outside of Japan. From early on, I knew that there was no freedom without financial freedom. Once again, I became highly motivated to do whatever it took to remain free. I needed to find another tool, over and above the English language, that would help me retain my freedom. My antenna went straight up in the air, looking for answers as to how I could deal with this enormous challenge.
Soon, real-estate investing emerged as a doable alternative. At least on the surface, it did not seem too difficult. After all, I live in a house, which is a piece of real estate. How difficult could it be to buy and hold additional properties as investments? Well, if everything else remained constant where there was no banking or sub-prime-mortgage crisis, it should not have been too difficult. The fact is, however, the stock-market crash of 2000 was just the tip of the iceberg of a much deeper issue which impacted many aspects of the overall economy – at least from the perspective of those of us who were counting on stable returns – during our retirement years – on our investments on Wall Street. Then came the 9/11/2001 attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Then came yet another major stock-market crash of 2008. These macro events, each of which happens to be man-made, have had a huge impact on our lives. Yet, for most of us, they are beyond our control.
Human society, by its nature, will always remain imperfect. Unlike elsewhere, however, America is a country where I am free to choose how I live my life. I firmly believe, therefore, that it is my responsibility to determine the things over which I do have control – so as to remain free and independent. Each macro setback that I had experienced became yet another motivator to not only learn more real-estate-investment techniques but, far more importantly, take action by using these tools.
For almost a decade after I first arrived in the United States at age 23 in 1972, I avoided getting on the phone for fear of not being able to fully comprehend what the person on the other end of the line was saying. By the time I began working for Chrysler as an MBA at age 35 in 1984, I had gained enough confidence to be part of corporate America.
Today, it has been almost a decade since I decided to become a full-time real-estate investor. This meant I graduated from being an employee of a company owned by others to becoming my own boss of our company at age 55 in 2004. And, oh, what a steep learning curve it has been!
Once again, until very recently, I was scared to death about getting on the phone – just as I was when I first arrived in this country nearly 42 years ago. This time, it wasn’t so much about not understanding the question as the fear of not being able to explain clearly how I can help people with their specific real-estate issues. There is no question, however, that I have been trained thoroughly. Recently, my real-estate coach said, “Reiko, I know you know this stuff inside and out. Now go do it!” At that moment, I felt just as scared as when my flight instructor told me to go solo for the first time. I guess I needed be pushed out of my comfort zone – to just do it. Each call is about helping solve people’s real-estate problems. When their needs are met, I get paid. What a simple concept! I have begun to enjoy what I do – a lot. Come to think of it, I have been fascinated by every aspect of real-estate investing – just like the English language. As of this writing, my 65th birthday is right around the corner. I’m preparing myself as if I were going to live for another 50 years.
Gaining command of the language of real-estate investing – my third language – has become my ticket to sustaining my financial freedom. And I’m still learning, slowly but surely, every single day.
Happy investing!
