Constructive Criticism Will Help You as a New Investor More Than Blind Faith

[Jonathan Greene]

I get involved in A LOT of side discussions (when a thread goes off the rails and away from the original post) on BiggerPockets. Whenever it happens, it happens because an investor either doesn't like the delivery of my message or doesn't like that I didn't give them an answer to a very vague question. I ask many questions back to help them, but they see this as an affront because it's not what they asked for.

The greatest coaches in the world will tell you to arrive prepared, do your research, and ask good questions to get the best answers. I can't imagine someone arguing with this (but I'm sure there will be someone). Just because you are new to investing, new to the site, or new to a meetup doesn't mean you shouldn't show up prepared. The more prepared you are, the better responses you will get. The less prepared you are, the more you will get pitched. You become a mark.

Constructive criticism is your friend. No one who has grown a business from small to big will tell you that they got there by surrounding themselves with only people who tell them what they want to hear and deliver it in a warm handbasket. Different deliveries, different opinions, different questions, different mindsets - this is how you learn.

In the real estate investing world (the real one, not the forums), many people who will be the nicest to you will sell you something shortly thereafter. When you only want someone to sell you a dream, everyone will sell you that dream. When someone criticizes your plan but has nothing to sell you, how could they not be acting in your best interests? Why would someone with years of experience hop onto an online forum just to mess with you? What would they have to gain from that? Think bigger.

Blind faith will get you nowhere in real estate investing. Everyone telling you that your plan is excellent will not help you. You want the people who find the cracks because that is how you get better. That is how you learn. Wherever you are in your investing journey, stop taking everything personally that doesn't fit what you want to hear. You will get places much quicker by having constructive dialogues with those who challenge you, not those who appease you.

What do you think?