Never Give Up and Here’s Why

January 26, 2015

On Sunday, January 18, 2014, we witnessed one of the most powerful forces in the universe: Belief! The Seattle Seahawks proved to the world how important it is to believe in your self, to be confident in your abilities, and to be convinced of a result nothing short of a win. They NEVER gave up despite the fact that the entire deck was stacked against them. It got so bad that with 3 minutes and 7 seconds left in the game, the Seahawks probability of a win was a paltry .10%! Yes, that’s 1/10 of 1%! But they persevered until the glorious end.

Their fearless young leader, Russell Wilson, had ice running through his veins that night. He had thrown 4 interceptions already that day to an under-rated, un-drafted free agent receiver named Jermaine Kearse. But that did not shake his belief, his conviction, or his determination. He told the offensive coordinator that they’re gonna win that game and he’s gonna do it by throwing a touchdown to Kearse. As the game drifted into over-time, Wilson marched the offense straight down the field and in the final seconds, pitched a 35 yard perfectly thrown touchdown pass to win the NFC Championship for the second season in a row.

While I’ve never played in the NFL, I can relate to the trials of defeat, or likely defeat, and then triumph against the odds. In a matter of months, the Great Recession took me from a million-dollar lifestyle to sleeping in my parent’s basement. Instead of throwing in the towel, like the Seahawks, I took the lessons that I learned at the end of the last real estate bubble and completely restructured both my personal life and my business investing strategies. But this was not just a story of success and failure; it is a story of triumph against the odds with a personal touch. I never gave up, I believed in myself and my abilities. Also, I trusted my Team members and co-workers. I lived by conviction and I refused to stay knocked down, and I won!

Last year, I was another victim of the charlatan publisher, Andrew J. Waite. I’ll defer from mincing words here. The guy outright extorted me to advertise in his magazine! I spent literally ten’s of thousands of dollars attempting to keep this man at bay. He would constantly send me veiled threats that he could and would destroy my company and reputation in the real estate industry. However, his feeble attempts to destroy me have failed. I never gave up fighting for my company, for my reputation and for my family. I stayed determined and I stayed convicted. Additionally, I believed that the truth would prevail and it has!

My point in sharing these examples is to encourage and motivate investors who might be going through some hard times. Maybe your investing business is good, maybe you’re moving flips and investing in rentals, but there’s something in your personal life that eats at you and is discouraging you. I hate to sound cliché but I will anyway:

Believe

Stay determined

Stay true to yourself and your convictions

Refuse to stay down

Never give up