The Worst Thing You Can Have as a New Real Estate Investor is Thin Skin

[Jonathan Greene]

If you don't have money, you can earn it. You can get a new job, get a promotion, and learn a new trade. You can make more money over time. That problem can be solved. What can't be solved is having thin skin.

And we've all been there. When I was younger, anything someone told me that wasn't what I wanted to hear made me mad, like they were against me. People who disagree with you or don't think you are making a good decision are usually not against you. They disagree because they are for you.

These are some observations of thin-skinned behavior:

1. You take criticism as a personal slight and overreact in response to it.

2. You resort to personal attacks because you feel aggrieved by someone.

3. You can't let things die and don't know when to stop.

4. You think it's you against the world.

5. You call people mean, angry, or aggressive for giving you advice that isn't what you want to hear.

Too few people think their sense of self is not a big part of their real estate investing future, but they are wrong. Even before having your financial house in order, you need to have your mental house in order to operate and interact from a place of strength. When you have thin skin, your foundation is not strong. A strong foundation for a future in real estate investing is built upon considering all avenues and points of view.

Take the person who wants to invest in STR now and doesn't listen to others' advice on checking the local regulations and heat of the topic in the locale. They get the advice, but they can't be wrong, so they buy a property in an HOA that doesn't allow STR and in a town that has groundswells against it and requires permitting. This is happening.

Thin skin is akin to being emotional in real estate; they are tied together. The more emotional about real estate you are, the worse decisions you will make. If you open yourself up to all points of view before rejecting them, you will set yourself up with a better foundation for success.

Agree? Disagree? Let's hear it.