Why networking gives me wings

[Mathew Lambright]

This is my first hour on BiggerPockets and I am truly excited to become a member of this community. Thank you for reading.

A little over a year ago I was sitting with a good friend of mine, talking about how I wanted to take our long time talk of "getting into real estate" into a reality. I didn't really know how we would do it, I just knew we would. 

My friend suggested that we look into the local investor network and see where to go from there. So we joined, told them we were "from the same household" to get the 2 for 1 discount (roommates count, right?) and got started. 

I quickly realized that I had a passion for communicating with people on a face to face bases. On top of the fact that, even in a community that had a residual reputation for maybe being a little bit snake-like (thanks gurus), most people were genuinely pretty amazing and (to me) super knowledgeable about real estate. 

Soon I began to realize the priceless value of just listening to people talk, and learning from some of the brightest minds in local real estate. But maybe it wasn't priceless. Many gurus and mentors out there are charging what is equivalent to a college education to give understanding and mentor-ship to people. 

So I listened. I stayed late after networking meetings. I spent $5-$6 and bought these people drinks. I got to know people. I got involved. 

I soon realized how amazing the real estate investment community is. Here you have an incredibly large group of people that simply do not need to compete directly, because they have done well enough with themselves to feel pretty confident that....the next deal will come along just fine.

My associate and I have recently discussed this. He believed that networking gives me fuel, and it's true. I spend hours sitting and chatting with people about their deals, their troubles, their triumphs, and most importantly their lessons. My questions are ones where I can learn from their biggest mistakes, so that I can simply bypass as many as possible! It does give me fuel, and I leave in disappointment if I haven't met anyone new with a story to tell. 

Because of all of this I have met some of the most AMAZING people in the rapidly growing sea of Portland. Being a tiny fish in an OCEAN it can be intimidating to make those first moves. And yet, I have been able to team up and make Portland, obtainable.

These amazing people are the reason the pieces come together. I would like to say thank you to the great people that are not afraid to share their advice and help others progress. So, my first post to BiggerPockets forum is not to ask for help on anything, it's simply to say...

Thank you. 

I look forward to interacting.