Last time we were exploring how to make your fear of failure work for you instead of against you. We discussed how the fear and pain of a missed opportunity was the compelling catalyst, not the appeal of a luxury lifestyle or the accumulation of material possessions.
Mitigate Your Risk
I’ve been investing in real estate for nearly forty years. I’m still constructing my own income statement for any real estate I consider buying. Owing to recent explosive inflation, many of my old cost assumptions no longer apply. Instead, there is the painstaking process of getting a quote from my agent for property insurance, calling utility companies to verify costs, confirming property taxes with municipalities, and querying my waste hauling contractor for service estimates. Assumptions are made about how to market the property for rent and how much it will cost. If the property needs significant improvements – and that’s nearly always the case – then contractor estimates are needed for those costs as well. A rent survey is completed to confirm income assumptions. Then we think about how to staff the operation and estimate those costs.
In short, a concerted effort is made to avoid getting blindsided by unanticipated costs that can turn a good investment into a bad one. This effort gives us the perfect segue to the final success formula equation:
Passion + Hard Work + Preparation + Talent + Prudent Risks = Success
With talent, I’ve introduced another topic in the success formula that we’ll get to in a minute. First, I want to show you how the pieces fit together.
Passion is what fuels the hard work necessary to engage in the preparation required to be successful. Once prepared, passion motivates us to take prudent risks. That leads us to the final ingredient, talent.
It’s hard to imagine being passionate about doing something you’re not good at, but an example will be illuminating. Dale Carnegie is best known for self-help books like How to Win Friends and Influence People. This book continues to garner sales even though it was first published in 1936. However, before publishing this and other successful nonfiction books, Carnegie tried acting and even fancied himself a novelist – vocations that never panned out. Carnegie is clearly a talented individual, but like the rest of us, not at everything.
The key then is to focus your efforts on those areas where your talents are greatest. However, as can be observed from the Carnegie example, sometimes it’s hard to identify where those talents lie. Once again, passion helps solve the riddle.
Take a guess about your talents and dive into a corresponding vocation like your life depends on it – in other words, with passion. If it doesn’t work out, try something else. Eventually you’ll find your niche.
I love the real estate business. But along the way, I’ve also thrown myself into physical fitness – power lifting and body building – and music long enough and far enough to discover I don’t have the innate talent to make it as an athlete or musician. I’ve even been to a few open mics to try my hand at stand-up comedy – talk about taking a risk! But you won’t see me cracking jokes on live stream or U-Tube anytime soon. While trying and failing had some awkward moments – to say the least – I can move forward in life without wondering what could have been had I never tried. You’ll be the one to decide if I’ve got the chops to make it as a writer!
Let’s do the math one last time:
Passion + Hard Work + Preparation + Talent + Prudent Risks = Success
Don’t skip any steps and remember me when you hit it big.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 ESV