Who comes first…?
Whenever we fly on a major airline before the plane takes flight the flight attendant gives emergency landing instructions, it goes something like this- “Should the aircraft encounter disturbance or a drop in cabin pressure an oxygen mask will drop from the ceiling, please place the mask over your nose and mouth tighten the straps an either side and proceed to breathe normally- for those of you with children, remember to place YOUR mask on FIRST- then your child’s…” The reason for this is obvious, if you don’t get that oxygen into your brain FIRST you may pass out and therefore in the long run you will have been of no help to the child you love and care for. My parents spend their lives doing their best for my brothers and me at the expense of their own financial education and therefore, although they provided a loving home and taught us good work ethic, to be hardworking and ethical. They could not teach us what they did not know – So, we learned by WATCHING and WORKING with them – they taught us to get jobs, (doing ANYTHING even if we hated it) to always be listening and learning from others we were working for because we could always learn something from anyone- and it was obvious they knew something we had to learn- To work harder than anyone else (meaning, as hard as we could) to save money, to ALWAYS pay our debts on time, to utilize financing even HIGH interest financing when necessary to accomplish our goals, to become friends with as many people in our community as possible, the Mayor as well as the garbage man or mailman- to treat EVERYONE with respect and dignity, to become home owners as soon as possible, and to find a way to buy and own SOME NOT ALL little inexpensive rental properties to help us become financially stable and protect ourselves from the unexpected financially. Why? So we would learn to discover our God given ability to forever be independent AND from being a financial burden to others. Those were good lessons that served us well; something that would become extremely important to us in later years.
Now, have I always conducted myself with the utmost integrity, honored all I learned from my folks, been proud of my own behavior? Not hardly! But I do my BEST to be a burden to no one; now or in the future. That is the commitment I have made to myself – What’s yours?!
One last point- I understand that we as individuals do not as yet understand our God given limitless abilities and true self-worth. Please keep in mind that although the words I write can sometimes be strong and very direct, remember that as I write them there is no judgment of YOU in them, as I must FIRST always read what I write with my own eyes. So, these words are first and foremost directed at ME and for my benefit, AS IN MANY WAYS WE ARE NO DIFFERENT. As Guy Finley has always reminded us – “The Truth is like medicine- it taste bitter but it heals…”
Try to see that we ALWAYS have the option to choose to live our lives as victims and out of control or we can put our efforts and focus on doing what is under our control and be well with what is not- the trick is to SEE through our minds perpetual lying stories and excuses that keep us a prisoner of our negative thinking and our agreement to continue to punish ourselves. We, YOU, have no limitations; save those our thoughts have deceived us into believing are real and true. Be well.
Tony’s Daily Success Tip #2
No hope for me…
For those of you with no hope of ever getting started in the money making real estate business (or anything else your heart desires…)- PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING – Human beings come into this Life in a host of different flavors- Some look out at the world and see what is possible; some only see what is not. Some wake up and realize that all achieving any level of success (financial or otherwise) is no different than anything else they have mastered in their lives; the simple things, brushing your teeth, walking, blowing bubble gum, hitting a baseball or catching one someone else hit, swimming, GARGLING, making love, even going potty…
Nobody, and I MEAN NOBODY comes into this Life with a SURE FIRE ANYTHING! And YES there is a price to pay- BUT not always or even SELDOM always with cash or any of the excuses our minds can conjure up! What you want – YOU have to WORK & FIGHT for!
ALL of the answers to ALL of your questions, YOU already have. What most DON’T want to do is take the NEXT STEP! The one that puts you square in front of a mirror looking at the only person responsible for your entire life. THERE ARE NO SECRETS TO SUCCESS YOU WILL EVER DISCOVER if you are unwilling to take that first step by yourself & on your own! Everything else- INCLUDING the simple answer to those nagging lying questions like- ” I HAVE … no money, no equity, no friends, no contacts, no education, no experience, no knowledge, and the old “I don’t believe this really works, & I don’t believe I CAN DO THIS” ALL of them have absolutely NO validity but what WE give them- MORE IMPORTANTLY, a person who loves their misery more than anything else, will hang onto it at all cost. WE have to see through our self-created excuses and cowardice- We must learn to walk in the direction of our NEEDS FIRST , then our wants. WITH FAITH! (PLEASE look up the definition of the word FAITH and its origin) Success in anything, does not visit the individual who claims failure before taking ANY action to change their situation or improve themselves- to learn something new with absolute blind faith it WILL be possible. WHY CAN’T WE EVER SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OUR FAITH IN ACTION AND OUR ULTIMATE DESTINY. If you want to see and hear proof of people with a lot less going for them than YOU right now, when they first got into this business and succeeded beyond their own expectation – make the time and go to http://www.tonyalvarez.com/ and find those video interviews I have done with folks that have done what you THINK/BELIEVE is an impossibility for yourself. It’s that simple. Be well-
Tony’s Daily Success Tip #1
Hey, you know what? Success is a Commitment,
NO DAILY SYSTEMS- (ACTIONS THAT HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY)
NO PROFITABLE OUTCOMES!
I Know, you’re BUSY- YOU SEE THAT WORD- BUSY… That;s how the evil spirits steal our lives as TIME ticks on by. So to beat them we must first be aware of TIME and then set specific actions to bring about certain WANTED outcomes. Please dedicate 15 to 20 minutes of your entire fun filled day to set just 3 specific action steps that you can either do yourself- automate by computer software- or delegate to some TRUSTED individual who will gain monetarily and with recognition for their efforts and faithful work. Then consistently grease those wheels with your loving care and attention. Nothing but wealth for ALL concerned will ever come from what I wrote. Skip any step and Regret will always be you best friend. WOW! I Cant believe I just wrote that- I guess 32 years of business and financial ups and downs did teach me a few things…
Buenas Noches & Good night
GURU IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD -PART 1- THE TERM
Have you ever heard the term “guru” used in real estate blogs, articles or other posts on real estate communities and social media? I’m sure you have. But, have you EVER found ANY of them using the term in a positive manner? I never have, not a ONE! Typically, in its derogatory fashion the term guru is used to describe or identify someone who is really not truly knowledgeable about the real estate investing game, or maybe someone who basically “overcharges or scams” a new unwitting student to real estate investing/speculating. Most of the time the person writing or making the comment is trying to make a point, but instead of constructively referring to their own facts or supporting their own position or point of view with something concrete, they just site complaints of the many that decided to pay the “ridiculously over-inflated prices for basic real estate investing education” and move on to use a comparison between themselves (or someone they want to pump-up as the good guy) and the devious elusive “guru”.
The point is that anytime someone wants to make themselves look good, win public opinion and prop themselves up as the savior of the wannabe real estate investor community, all they have to do is taint the reputation of someone else teaching real estate by labeling them a guru. I’ve read so many real estate articles and posts where the title “guru” is used in a derogatory fashion I’m starting to think it has never had any other meaning but a derogatory one. I happen to respect and revere the term guru. But I keep seeing it in article after article, post after post especially by individuals trying to benefit from undeserved accolades (much as the real estate “gurus” they are trying to besmirch.) This is probably not the wisest method of trying to make an intelligent point, as it basically amounts to no more than demeaning or degrading the term “guru” and then applying it to whomever, or whatever the writer or speaker is trying to deface. But unfortunately, most folks buy it!
For the record, I must admit that over past years I’ve been guilty of making similar unwise and immature statements myself about a host of things. Honestly, I think we all do it, occasionally without regard for the damage we may cause to others or the impact we can have on someone else’s decision making. But when connected to real estate it’s become an epidemic!
For the sake of accuracy, let’s take a closer look at the true original meaning of this big bad term “Guru”. As I’m sure most of you already know, according to Merriam-Webster “guru” pronounced gu•ru noun ˈgu̇r-(ˌ)ü, ˈgü-(ˌ)rü also gə-ˈrü, is defined as
: a religious teacher and spiritual guide in Hinduism
: a teacher or guide that you trust
: a person who has a lot of experience in or knowledge about a particular subject
“In Hinduism, a personal spiritual teacher. In ancient India, knowledge of the Vedas was transmitted through oral teaching from guru to pupil. The rise of the bhakti movement further increased the importance of gurus, who were often looked on as living embodiments of spiritual truth and were identified with the deity. They prescribed spiritual disciplines to their devotees, who followed their dictates in a tradition of willing service and obedience. Men or women may be gurus, though generally only men have established lineages.”
So actually the TRUE meaning of the term guru is pretty cool, and deciding to continue to sarcastically use it to demean someone we are basically trying to crush is extremely inappropriate.
I suppose the appropriate term to use for such an awful underhanded individual would be closer to “Charlatan” pronounced char•la•tan/ˈSHärlətən,ˈSHärlətn/ and defined as
Noun: charlatan; plural noun: charlatans
1. A person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud.
Synonyms: quack, sham, fraud, fake, impostor, hoaxer, cheat, deceiver, double-dealer, swindler, fraudster, mountebank.
YEA… THAT’S THE TICKET!
As for the actual title of guru, well I suppose anyone that has ever helped us in any way to see, learn or understand anything we wanted to master by explanation or actual example (even if the only thing we learned from them was that real estate is definitely not for us) then I’d say the person we received that wonderful gift from could, in fact, be considered our guru… whether we paid them or not!
Oh, by the way, I LOVE GURUS! 😉