Tag: dream big

There is Never a “Right” Time

Life happens and is always happening…we can make excuses for why it isn’t the “right” time or we can just lean in and figure it out.

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Boy isn’t that the truth! Life happens and is always happening…we can make excuses for why it isn’t the “right” time or we can just lean in and figure it out. One of my favorite authors, Grant Cardone, says it best “Commit and figure it out later.” I have been doing that my entire life, and learned it from my mom, but didn’t realize that it was a thing – and a rare thing at that.

So many of us are afraid to fail, of being disappointed or embarrassed if it doesn’t work out, or for loss – money, time, effort. But what if it doesn’t fail and actually works! Imagine how different life would be! And it would help build confidence to try more and grow more.  I don’t think there is such a thing as failure unless something shady was done along the way. If you were honest and had integrity and put your heart and soul into anything, even if it doesn’t turn out how you would like for it to, you still learn along the way and can use that experience to problem solve in the future.

I can think back to so many times in my life when I had an opportunity to dive in and take a chance, whether it be on a property, a business or even a relationship and yes, for a split second I would have my doubts about the timing of it. If it felt right in my gut, I was always a definite yes to whatever it was. That yes may take days of digesting, but it would always come. Pit in your stomach = bad. Butterflies = good.

One prime example is a quick excerpt from my book “Vacation Rentals: The Ultimate Guide” and it was when we had the opportunity to purchase the chalet property. Jeremy had recently lost his job, we had recently had a house fire at one of our rentals, we were elbows deep into the planning and construction of our car wash and didn’t know where we would come up with the money to purchase it from. Needless to say, we were extremely scared about the future and all the chances and risks we were facing and taking on, but there is always a way to figure it out, if you want it bad enough, and that is what I do best!

‘Later in the week he let me know that he could have his brother, who still lived nearby, open it up for us. He also said that he and his wife were thinking of selling it for $275,000. So, if I got Jeremy on board and we were able to secure financing, I would need to come up with $55,000 plus closing costs, worst case scenario (unless I could get it for less). Where the heck was I going to get that from!? At that point my husband’s position as Construction Superintendent at a gas company had been eliminated a couple months before, we had just had a house fire at one of our rentals from the tenant’s trash catching on fire, and we were about to break ground on building a brand-new car wash – all while somehow living off of my income indefinitely. We had traditional home rentals and the Florida vacation rental, but we were not living high on the hog off of the investments. What I do best, however, is knowing how to work hard, think out of the box, and get out of my comfort zone to make things happen, as long as whatever it takes is legal of course ;).’

So, we did, we figured it out! And thank God we did, because you would not be reading this right now if we hadn’t. We trimmed the fat off our finances, worked around the clock, and got creative with coming up with the money. We could have easily said – “This isn’t the right time.” THERE IS NEVER A RIGHT TIME.  That property has been such a blessing to us financially, its been an education, and has opened hundreds of doors in our lives that would have never been opened if we hadn’t.

I hope that this blog post helps you both personally and professionally. It translates across all avenues in life. I talked about fear in a recent podcast episode with Rachel Jenks on the Brand Boss Show. We are more afraid of the feeling of fear itself, than actually doing whatever it may be. What is the worst that could happen? Most of the time it’s all in our heads and that can hold us back from some pretty amazing moments and chapters of our lives.

I would love to connect with you below or on social!

Chris

If They Can Do It, Why Can’t I?

Have you ever wanted to try to do something or emulate someone’s successes so that you could be successful like them, but didn’t know where to start? You dreamt up a wild, crazy idea or dream, only to get excited for a moment and then overwhelm yourself with the idea and how it may not work out. Then the fear of the “why you shouldn’t” and the uncomfortable possible outcomes flood in, and make you not do anything a moment longer…

I have been there many times throughout my life. Sometimes at the most random moments or while traveling, sometimes during work and maybe even during adversity.

Sometimes, however, this thought or dream is planted in the back of your mind and again at random times, you get reminders of it or see signs of things that make you think, “Maybe I should think about that again or try it to see where it goes.”

When these thoughts come back, that is when I tend to have the self-talk, a lot of prayer asking for wisdom and favor, and normally ask myself: “What is the worst that could happen, if I just try? If they can do it, why can’t I?”

Then, I write down the goal. Writing it down somehow makes it seem more real and less scary. I think of and write down the first few steps that it would take to get to that goal. I try not to get overwhelmed by the end result, but only focus on the first 2 steps of whatever it might be.

I had one of these moments last year, around the time of the shutdown. The world had literally shut down and I felt helpless and lacking. I was supposed to be the leader at my businesses, the teacher then to my kids, and a wife to my husband. There was so much unknown all around me, but deep down I had faith it would all work out and that we would get through it. I wasn’t sure how, or what was ahead, but I had to find some type of control in my world, a healthy outlet to get through it.

That is when I got my sign of what I needed to do… I had recently read a book that encouraged me to tell my story and write my own book so that I could help others with their lives, with my knowledge and life experience. I had never thought in my life that I would write a book, or even have the time to do it, but apparently – it was time! And why not, what did I actually have to lose – if someone else can do it, why can’t I? The book idea I had was teaching people how to buy, create and operate vacation rentals.

When I first learned about vacation rentals, I had been in real estate in a variety of roles already, from Broker/Owner of a real estate company, to landlord, entrepreneur, etc. I had one of those “moments” that planted the seed several years ago, that intrigued me about trying something new and getting into a new adventure of owning vacation rentals.

With a husband, three sons, and several businesses, there was little time to travel – let alone have a vacation home someplace to regularly visit. By chance, I had a conversation with a local gentleman that had purchased a vacation home in Florida that was much more expensive to maintain and own than originally planned. He explained to me that he had decided to have a property manager rent it out as a vacation rental so that he not only had a free vacation home, but also had basically a free place to visit and stay at that others were paying for and maintaining for him while he wasn’t there. (Insert lightbulb moment here for me – If he can do it, why can’t I?!)

Fast forward through a huge learning curve, highs and lows (and when I say lows, I mean lows)… I used it all to help educate and inspire others to step out of their comfort zone and take chances. Additionally, I explained tons of other benefits of real estate investing, even with little to no money down and one being an additional income stream.

My book is called Vacation Rentals: The Ultimate Guide, and although it appears to be a manual of how to buy, operate and grow vacation rentals, behind the cover it is so much more!

My common threads throughout the book are:

  1. Setbacks are ok, keep going;
  2. Bumps in the road do not mean you should turn around;
  3. Life is what you make it, so make it happen! And above all:
  4. Do everything in excellence!
  5. It doesn’t matter who you are or your pedigree, you can make a name for yourself with hard work, consistency and goals.

I have included an excerpt from my book and hope that it inspires you to dream big, set the goal, make a plan and have faith that you can find the right teachers and knowledge along the way to make it happen!

Conclusion (Vacation Rentals: The Ultimate Guide)

Ever since I went down the path of owning my own vacation rentals, I felt like I became a conduit of information and realized that it sparked so many questions and curiosity. Ultimately that is what made me realize I wanted to teach and empower others to do the same.

It is such a rewarding and profitable industry, and I know that with the right tools, you can do it too. I hope that I have helped you and allowed you to think out of the box for your future and next steps. Whether you currently have rentals that you can upsize or convert, you have a down payment to buy an existing one or create one, or maybe you want to buy one with “No Money Down” – you can, and the sky’s the limit!!! I cannot stress this enough. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Write down the goal, plan on the steps, then put in the work… anything is possible!

Short-term sacrifices lead to long-term rewards; consistency is key. I can remember being 17 years old and having to get up at 5:00am to go to my waitress job thinking, “Why the heck am I not like most other kids my age and not just sleeping in!?” But that thought would only last for a second and I would make myself get up and go. The same thing has happened many times in my adult life. I remind people regularly, including my kids, that these short-term sacrifices pay off big time – if you are consistent.

Maybe you can’t jump all in to the industry right now because of financial reasons – just start small, and don’t give up. If you’re hesitant because of nervousness or not wanting to take a chance, just visualize yourself doing it and what the outcomes could be. You may realize – how can I not do it!?

Like I said at the beginning, life is what you make it, so let’s make it happen!

Chris