Still haven't closed on a prop & frustrated

[Jason Rodriguez]

I love this website and all the information it contains, but now being on it everyday and soaking up all this different knowledge has become overwhelming and frustrating, especially when you just want to close on that first deal to get the experience that sitting on a computer can't give you. It all looks & sounds good but when it comes down to the wire, i have to ask myself every morning how in the world is a poor college student going to get thousands of dollars to get this RE flipping venture underway. I know there's different means on getting the capital to start but so far from my experience it's close to winning a scratch off ticket unless you know someone personally that has money to invest (i wish). You can keep asking and asking, people will sound interested but then the total outcome will still be 0 no HIT. With something involving real estate the knowledge is priceless on the internet which means you can stuff your brain until it hurts. Then have your mind play tricks on you and start making things more difficult then it should be (overwhelmed).Then the eagerness kicks in but you have no money and the only way is to depend on finding someone to believe in your vision willing to give you whats needed to actually get it done (frustration) So what am i to do now? 

I guess this is me venting on my current situation.

[James C.]

Jason,

I'm reminded of two things... 

One: Someone once asked Ray Charles how to get to Carnegie Hall. His response "practice,  man, practice"

Two: is something along the lines of "if you don't know where to start,  throw a rock up in the air. The next person who walks by where the rock landed say 'you're the first person to walk by the rock'"

You've got 9375 voices in your head saying "how", "you can't possibly", "that will never work". You need to ignore those voices and go do something.  Go find a deal. I absolutely guarantee you'll screw it up. Probably the next 10 too. Get them out of the way, and learn from every screw up. Eventually, you'll find one you won't screw up too badly and you'll close it (or wholesale it, or whatever your exit strategy is)

When I started in Real Estate  (as an agent) they would send buyer calls back to my desk and I would walk away. Literally let the phone ring until they transferred it to another agent. 

I threw a newspaper route from 4 to 6 AM, in the office by 7. Worked until 5 PM, taught night school until 9:30 PM ish. Went to bed and did it all the next day, for 3 years until I had enough of a client base to give up the newspaper route. Kept the teaching, because I liked it. The newspaper route became my farm. Made some good money on the farm, could have made more had I been smarter. Could have made a bunch more money as an agent, but was young and dumb. I did make a decent living, and had a bunch of fun.

I bought my first property (Condo) 4 years after becoming an agent. From there, bought a bunch of NPN, and bought (house hacked) a 2 unit in year 5. Lost everything in divorce in year 6. Just getting back into REI, but much smarter this time.

It doesn't happen overnight, it doesn't happen by wishing, it doesn't happen by studying. It happens by willing to be wrong, by willing to learn, and by strapping on a set of big old brass ones until you get it right. 

Put a bit more impolitely: Pull off the Huggies, pull on the pants and get to work.

Good Luck!

Jim