So how would you Describe Success?

Question

I hear the word success bantered about from time to time and was thinking, success carries a different meaning for everyone.

As a real estate investor, I feel that I have reached some measure of success when my real estate investing can fully support me.  Is that success?

I think almost everyone on this site has a different vision of what success means to them.  I venture to guess that for some owning one single family rental gives them a feeling of success.  Would I personally call this success no, but for that one individual that might be success.

My desire is that my real estate investments allow me the income to do pretty much what my wife and I want to do.  Even if we all called that success it leaves a wide variation of results that could make that happen.

Any thoughts?

Rich Weese · Answer

Strictly from a financial standpoint- Success is having enuff money coming in to do what you want each day. To me, it is travel. My wife has been blasting me for traveling too much. She brought me a list of how many days we travel per year. It shocked me
2008-141 days (40% of year and 12 days per month
2009-143 days
2010- 98 days so far

In a 12 month period, we'll be in Europe 3 times, Egypt and Galopogos islands. We just returned from Norway 5 days ago and yesterday I booked a 17 day cruise around South America and the Antarctic. That was the last straw! She slept in a different room last night!

The other thing is these are paid in after tax dollars and not missed. To me financial success is not just earning larger amounts of money, but actually keeping it! That is the REAL success, imo. Leaving thurs for Vegas, a sons' wedding and then on a short cruise. Rich

Ralph S. · Answer

Not only different for each of us, but different at different times.

When I was in college, success meant being able to afford a full tank of gas.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Good question Charles! Success can be different things to different people but I think for the individual to feel it, it is self esteem, based on real accomplishments, it might be realizing how friends and family see you, how you are known in your community. Being know for honesty and integrity is something money can't buy and that stays with your name after you are gone, your reputation. I remember people telling me about my grandfather and how they felt about him. It was if I was being honored simply by his being my gradfather. Next to your good name, time is the valuable. Keeping yourself in good shape is the best investment you can make. Having more free time at an early age for me was a sign of my success. Then having enough money to enjoy my life, to do things when I want to and not worry about what it costs. Lastly, knowing you won't spend it all and that your heirs will have something to make their life easier means alot as well.  Good luck, Bill

Harry M. · Answer

Really great thread!

I kind of see it in two ways. There is the more general success - you start something, and it is completed to the satisfaction of all those involved. That's the definition I'd apply to how I perform my day job. I've been doing it for a good amount of time, and became very good at it - definately a success in most people's eyes. The only problem is that passion (other than the occassional spark) has been gone for some time.
The other kind, the success which is special, to me is when you complete a step towards a goal which means a lot to you. The goal I have that means more to me than anything is to free myself from day job, so that I can spend as much time as possible with my family. I'm 40 next month, still pretty young, but you do start realising that time is finite, and I don't want to waste a second of it away from what really counts in my life. Each time we complete a step towards that, that's success to me.

Bill Patterson · Answer

Jackie is not only on board, she is a full partner!  She is also active on BP and heads up Serendipity Group, LLC, our short sale business!

Bill Patterson · Answer

Success is something that I always seem to get to some degree.  Even if it is a "lesson"!  My plumbing contracting business was a success since I was always busy, made a great income and never had to advertize, just repeat customers and referrals.  My student rental business allowed me to retire early, until I became restless, sold out to my partner and moved to restaurants.  We completed our 5 year plan in 4 years and made lots of $$$.  Then, as a contractor / developer, my wife and I started a 78 unit condo project just before the economic - housing downfall.  Although our 5-6 year sell out has been revised to add another 5 years, we consider it a success!  We have a long list of potential buyers waiting to sell their homes to buy.  We build Energy Star 5+ and Green Built Certified.  We have changed the condo market in our area in a positive way.  Still, we are happy and love what we are doing.  We just would like to sell more condos, faster!  Until then (and beyond) we are doing the short sale buy/sell.  We still love what we are doing and are happy but, we needed to change our business focus to match the economic realities and investment opportunities.  Now, as we were ready to leave our weekly condo open house at our model home/office, another potential buyer came late, causing Jackie to go show a spec that we have and giving me time to answer this post!  It is a good thing that we love what we do and working together because we sure spend a lot of time doing it!
Yep! Weâ€™re successful!
Bill

Dale Osborn · Answer

Success has meant being able to be an investor full time since 1994. The investments paid off a mortgage on the only house we had ever lived in that was free and clear. Money went to the bank until it was needed for the next investment. Then comes a lull as you build up funds for another deal. For us, we seem to enjoy taking over from the mismanagementcompanies and turn something that was eating up the previous Owner into a "cash cow" that takes care of everything. After we get done smoothing out all their messes, it gets kind of uninteresting and we have to start looking for something new as a challenge.

Account Closed · Answer

Personally, I have always felt that happiness is a choice.  There are people that are very happy in what many of us would call miserable situations.  Others that are far from being happy though financially they are very well off.

I happen to enjoy real estate investing and enjoy the interaction with people and the brainstorming which is often apart of a new investment.  I enjoy taking a property that was a good investment and turning it into something of greater value.  Perhaps that's why I look for that added potential in every property  that I buy.  To me it is not enough that an investment be good, there also must be some hint that it can be much better.

Kenneth Wiley · Answer

achieving your purpose that you set out for yourself

Account Closed · Answer

Simple. It's when I can walk down the meat counter at the supermarket and pick up anything I want WITHOUT looking at the price.

Haven't gotten to that point, yet.

So how would you Describe Success?

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