Is anyone else terrified?

[Nicholas DeLouisa Jr]

Hi,

So, I read the Ultimate Beginner's Guide, and I'm reading blog posts and listening to podcasts, and making a list of books to buy, and all of it is overwhelming me to a fairly large degree.

Everyone talks about Analysis Paralysis, but I think it's really about FEAR.  I don't have a lot and I don't want to lose it.  I screwed up my credit when I was a kid and have worked my a** off to fix it as best I can, so it's too important to me to risk it now.

I'm afraid to ask for a mentor because I'm not sure I have anything to offer in this business that could be useful for someone, and I don't like the idea of some generous person taking me under his/her wing and guiding me and I can't return the favor.  I know I can do grunt work - painting, cleaning, hauling, etc. - but because of my job I don't have a lot of time to do that stuff.  So, I don't want to feel like I'm using someone.

I'm getting married in February, and while I have the full support of Future Wifey, I know that we have to keep all of this secret from her family because they are too judgmental and critical and any conversation with them ends in, "You shouldn't do that," and "why didn't you do this," etc., even when I know they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.  (example: I'm an electrician, they know I'm an electrician, but her grandfather still tries to 'teach' me about wiring a house.)  But FW hates keeping things from them and if I ask her to do that it will stress her out every time she talks to any of them.

I can go right now to a real estate agent's office and say, "Hi, my name is Nick, and I want to invest in some property," and when he starts asking me questions, most of my answers will be either, "I don't know," or, "What does that mean?"  I can read the books and memorize the lingo, and I'm pretty adept at math so understanding formulas won't be a problem.  But I feel like when I listen to people talk about this stuff, I'm lost.  Even things I thought I knew, I apparently misunderstood.

Ugghhhh

But I guess all of that is ok, because I know I'm green right now, a newborn, I'm just screaming a little bit.  Maybe it's because I'm hungry ...

-Nick