Numbers ARE important...But can we talk about JOY?

[January Johnson]

I'm an experienced REALTOR on Florida's Emerald Coast specializing in short-term rentals.  Every day, I have conversations with investors who want certainty on "the numbers".

What are "the numbers"?  What do "the numbers" say?  Clients want to know--WITH CERTAINTY--that "the numbers" will ensure their success.

I get it:  You pride yourself on being "unemotional" about investing.  You want "the numbers" to be unimpeachable and to speak for themselves, and then you want to do at least as good if not better than the seller who came before you.  Of course.  We ALL want that, and as your REALTOR, I want that FOR you.  Numbers ARE important, but they aren't everything.

I'm here to tell you about the things you CAN'T put into a spreadsheet, and that is the potential for LOVE AND JOY.  Hear me out.

When a client zeros in on a property they want to know more about, I always ask, "Do the numbers work for you, and DO YOU LOVE IT?"  Because if you LOVE the property, that impacts how you talk about it, how you furnish it, and how you market it, and those things directly impact your financial success.  I believe that how much you love the property and the process of managing it levels up your initial intention (to invest, to gain financial freedom, etc.), which in turn, CREATES JOY.  And JOY is a very high emotional state.

Simply put, THE EMOTIONS WE FEEL BECOME THE ENERGY WE EMIT.  And everything is energy.

Money is energy.  Food is energy.  The people you surround yourself with are energy.  What you do with your time is energy.  Do these inputs bring you JOY?

When we're living in the energy of joy, we allow ourselves to be Super Attractors. The closer we are to the emotion of joy, the more easily we attract what (and who!) we want--properties, partners, vendors, and yes--financial success.

When we’re really far from joy, we feel desperate, fearful, or powerless, and we attract what we don’t want--stress, worry, incompletion, and confusion.

The very nature of this business is uncertainty. All too often, we get so stuck in the process--in "crunching the numbers"--that "analysis paralysis" seizes us, and we cannot see anything else.  When we let the "noise" of the news or the clickbait doom and gloom that's everywhere around us get us down, we certainly cannot see or feel JOY.  You CAN step outside of the fear and create an empowering state from which to operate.

Take a breath and ask yourself, "Does what I'm doing here make me happy?  Do I LOVE IT?  Does it bring me JOY?" And I challenge you that if the answer is "No", to reevaluate, to change direction, to sell/divest, to dissolve and reform partnerships, and to start again.  (It's OK to start again!)  I'm not talking about quitting when things get a little challenging.  There is JOY in solving problems, doing what others say cannot be done, and in gritting it out to triumph over past failures or naysayers.  Keep doing those things!  But in everything you do, SEEK THE JOY.  

I invite you to open yourself up to the JOY of investing. The JOY of success. The JOY of the struggle and release that precedes the FLOW STATE all peak performers are after.  And I leave you with this:  It's NOT the financial success you're after, it's the JOY that comes from having achieved it. 

How are you seeking JOY on your investing journey RIGHT NOW?  Share your energy with me here, and let me know!

[Jeff Copeland]

A little touchy feely for me, but you do bring up some great points. Investors (especially newer ones) do tend to get wrapped around the axle over "the numbers". 

But here's the thing, the numbers we project during due diligence are never going to be more than an educated guess. They are never going to be exact. And even if they were perfect, 15 different things could happen tomorrow that change the global, national, or local economy and/or real estate market. 

Sure, it helps if you love the property and it brings you joy, but love and joy don't pay the mortgage. 

I think an important corollary to what you're saying is to be confident in your ability to implement your strategy, or abandon it altogether and change course if needed due to external factors. 

If you are confident in your ability to implement Plan A, and/or shift to Plans B, C, or D if needed, there's no reason you should ever lose money in real estate. Thus, there's no reason you should get so bent out of shape trying to guess the numbers on the front end. 

Just keep it between the ditches and keep moving forward (and if it brings you joy, even better)!

[January Johnson]

Thanks for your thoughts.  This is exactly why I posted--because the numbers ARE important, but there is another dimension.  I appreciate your perspective completely!