“Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.” – Booker T. Washington This article represents the tenth and final blog posting for our series “8 Steps to Sure Success.” I hope you’ve enjoyed it and learned from it as much as I have. But I wanted to use this final article as a reminder to all of my readers that this journey never ends. Once you reach your milestone, you will hopefully challenge yourself to reach for greater heights! Let’s do a quick re-cap of the “8 Steps to Sure Success.” First Step: Vision – Conceive it, believe it, and achieve it. Second Step: Virtue – Conforming to a standard of moral excellence and/or having the moral power to accomplish a given effect. Third Step: Know-how – Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Fourth Step: Focused Attention – When you remain able and willing to say “no” to any and every distractions and keep your attention focused, you will be successful. Fifth Step: Stay Under the Pressure – Pressure is the price of winning and you need it to prove your worthiness. Accept it, embrace it, learn from it, but stay under it! Sixth Step: Earn It – You’re not renting success like you rent a car. You are buying it with your blood, sweat and tears. Seventh Step: Calling, Electing, Training, and Empowerment – “Calling” refers to the invitation you should be broadcasting for others to join you. “Electing” refers to your choosing of certain individuals from your base of followers and pupils. “Training” refers to knowing the difference between training and teaching. My father taught me daily but he always had me by his side working with him, that’s training! “Empowerment” is the confidence that you bestow on your pupils by the responsibilities and knowledge that you entrust to them. Eighth Step: Sacrifice – If you’re not willing to put your dreams “on-hold” in order to help someone reach theirs, you have not earned the success that you desire. There’s going to be times, however, when you feel like there’s no hope. Maybe your dreams were crushed by a personal tragedy or a heart wrenching break-up. Maybe even a negative work situation or some other type of stumbling block. Remember, these are the times when you must push harder! You’re going to hit all kinds of obstacles along the way. The most efficient, effective way to get through those tough times is by charging straight ahead. I know from experience! If you’ve had a chance to read my book, “The Boom After the Bubble,” you’ll remember. After making my first million prior to the crash in 2008, my then-wife had left me and took with her every penny I had. I ended up...
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In this week’s DIY video, Andrew shows you how to go the extra mile and properly finish a basement. Instead of merely painting the walls white and leaving cement floors, Andrew properly finished the basement. Now, instead of just being a storage area, it is a comfortable and aesthetically-pleasing living space. ...
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“Relationships are all built on different foundations, but the ones that last are built on trust and open, honest conversations.” – Nishan Panwar I wish that I received a dollar for every time that someone has told me about the importance of building and nurturing professional relationships. By now, I’d have a pocket full of cash! However, so often in the real estate industry we hear about those that can’t help but sermonize about the importance relationships. Unfortunately, a large number of those people only “talk” about it but don’t seem to actually practice what they preach. Through the years, I have learned that building and nurturing relationships is paramount to success and longevity for my business. For example, my relationship with The Home Depot and Memphis Invest has grown leaps and bounds over the last 12 months. Consequently, our relationships are both profound and rooted in sincerity. I have found out recently how important it is to not only maintain important professional relationships, but to nurture and grow them. In the long run, both parties find that the relationships that are deep and sincere tend to work in the favor of all involved. It’s rewarding to have great conversation and brain-storming over coffee or a good meal. But what about a trip with industry leaders to the home of Elvis? Have you ever visited Graceland, the home of the “King,” Elvis Presley? Recently, my wife and I were blessed to spend a day at Graceland with executives from The Home Depot and Memphis Invest. We had a wonderful time that was full of laughs and lengthy conversations. All about the present and future of the real estate industry. Frankly, it was confirmation that our companies are all on the same-page and share the same values and goals for the very near future. We discussed many different topics but most importantly, we were all in agreement as to the desired future of our companies and their place in the industry. We will be working together to increase profits, build our businesses, nurture our professional relationships, and advance the progressive evolution of real estate investing. It is hard to overlook the importance of relationships in all of our professional endeavors. Having solid relationships creates less stress. It also promotes increased productivity, improves efficiency and benefits our labors in virtually every measurable way. Like anything of great value, solid professional relationships don’t just evolve on their own. In order to create and build lasting, meaningful relationships, one must do their part. They must take responsibility for their actions and do the things that will result in mutual benefits for all parties involved. While there are many things one can do to nurture relationships, there are several things that you can do – right now. And, when done consistently and with sincerity, each will help you nurture and...
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“Leadership: the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – President Dwight D. Eisenhower This week, I am pleased to announce a new 9-part series entitled: “The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership.” Thousands of readers pursued our most recent blog series “The 8 Steps to Sure Success”. It was so successful and popular to our readers that it motivated me to begin composing another multi-part series. This week’s article is a brief introduction to the impending series about the Seven Deadly Sins of modern business leaders. I’m confident in my opinion that most of us have, at one time or another, worked for a “bad” leader. I can recall several situations in which I literally despised my boss or “leader” at work! I employ a veteran of the US military and he once told me about a quote. One of his drill instructors barked at the recruits during recruit training. The drill instructor told his platoon, “A good leader never requires his troops to engage in work that he is not willing to do himself.” How many times has your boss given you a directive that you know deep down that they would never do themselves? I can think of countless times this has happened through the years! Nothing loses respect of subordinates like a boss that barks orders. Especially ones they’d never do themselves if the roles were reversed! Being a leader is probably the most difficult challenge any of us will ever face. At least during the course of our professional careers. It matters not how long we work at it, but practicing the proper behaviors is a never-ending task. Knowing and evading misguided behaviors is also never-ending. Therefore, over the next several months we will discuss the Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership and how to avoid them! Peter Drucker was once quoted as saying that “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Great leaders possess sensational social intelligence, the drive for change, and above all, a vision that grants them the ability to set their sights on the issues that truly merit attention. It would be irresponsible if we didn’t at least try to include these skill sets in our leadership quiver! So be sure to check in next week as we discuss the first Deadly Sin of Leadership – RELEVANCE. ...
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