Setting my intentions (New member introduction)

[Uche Ejiasa]

Hello all,

My name is Uche Ejiasa, or just Uche (like Prince or Cher) and I am as brand new as brand new can be to the world of real estate. Noob is as Noob does. As a precursor, please excuse the extremely verbose post that follows.

As my bio states, I am a wild dreamer with a big heart. I've taken the traditional approach to life (and still somehow managed to make that harder than it probably should've been), and that is go to school, get a good job, make a good salary. For so often in my life however, I feel as though I've always put my dreams and goals on hold for the sake of helping others. While helping others is a good thing, I realize that I've wasted a lot of time not taking my own future seriously enough to really go after those aspirational things in life most only dream of. I'm going to be taking quite a few leaps of faith here and be pretty vulnerable for a moment, which is NOT easy for me. 

I feel like I'm behind the curve. So many of my friends will tell me that I'm a moron for even saying such a thing, as they would attest that I've done pretty well for myself. I have a masters degree, have a mid-level management job in a discipline that I still find fascinating, and bring home a good salary. But honestly, I feel like I've forced myself to color inside the lines all my life. I feel as though I can think of a handful of times in my life where an opportunity has presented itself (just read @Scott Trencharticle about harnessing the power of luck) for me to take a chance at something big, and consistently I've talked myself out of it. To illustrate, there was a time where I had the opportunity to get braces for FREE, and I convinced myself that braces would be too embarassing and so I was better off just hiding my imperfect smile. Fast forward to today where I currently have braces (at 40 yrs old no less), am not ashamed about them, but have to pay for them out of pocket. A small but illustrative example of my point though. Fear of taking a chance on myself has ruled my life.

I will also admit that I like nice things. Not extremely opulent things, but definitely nice things. I love fashion, and while I'm certainly not above shopping at a discount store, you'll also find me wearing some designer level stuff. Not in an overtly flashy way (you won't find me covered head to toe in Burberry check or with "Fendi" plastered acrost my chest) but yes I do like nice things. And while I refuse to pay full price for them (it's amazing the deals you can find out there for this stuff) and can sniff out a bargain with the best, I say emphatically that I LIKE NICE THINGS!! Simple and understated, but lovely. This translates into other areas of my life as well, but I won't get into all that now. The point of me saying this is not to be judged, but to convey that when I consider what financial freedom means to me, that definition does not readily lend itself to a life of penny pinching and coupon cutting. If I pinch a penny, I want it to be becuase I like finding a deal, not because I need to. If I decide to rough it for a bit (which I love), go backpacking and sleep in a tent with no shower for a week instead of sleeping at a five star hotel, it will because I want to, not because I have to. Financial freedom to me is to truly live the life I wish to, unincumbered by any arbitrary or real financial constraints, within reason. That qualifier means that I have no aspirations to buy a yacht or to purchase a $100M palatial Italian villa, or own my own G-fill in a number. But I might wanna fly business class a few times. And I do wanna sit no more than five rows off the pitch of quite a few Man-U/Euro/Bundesliga/World Cup match. And I do wanna ensure my family never has to worry about money (I've got five siblings and aging parents so that's no small feat). And I do wanna wake up one day and do nothing but contemplate my belly button, and then turn around and work 18hrs the next day. And I do wanna change the trajectory of more than a few lives of underprivileged people.

These dreams are lofty. Maybe insane by the measure of some. But that's what I want. That's what I'm in this for. To get THERE. I don't really know that that number is (still figuring that out) but I do have a timeline in mind. By the time I'm 50. I'm 40 now, turning 41 April 2020, so daylight is burning. Which brings me to another challenge ahead of me. I'm no spring chicken. I wish I could wind back the clock and be 20 something. Knowing what I know now, I bet I wouldn't be so scared to just start. And that goal of getting THERE by 50 wouldn't seem so daunting either. But now I've got time against me too. I probably shouldn't be as risky now as I could be in my 20's. I don't have a wife or kids, but maybe that's still in the cards for me one day. There are so many things pulling at me, telling me that I should stop. That fight or flight reaction is kicking in, even just posting this diarrhea of thoughts. But I still intend to hit submit at the end of this. I don't intend on quitting my job and hope to accomplish this part time, although part time for me is darn near full time as again, I don't yet have significant others (wife/kids). 

And to take as stab of what I hope to hold in my real estate portfolio is 5-10 multifamily units and 5-10 commercial properties by the time I'm 50. Very generic, super unrefined, but those numbers sound ok for now. My continual education on these forums will help me refine those numbers and have a defined plan/path forward. While real estate will be only one of a few means I utilize to get to my 50yr old dream state, it will be a major contributor. 

Looking forward to connecting with and learning from all the content here on BP from folks who also started later in life chasing something they believed in and found success, whether you're a day one-er like me, or if you've got a plethora of deals under your belt. Both in the residential space or the commercial space. I'm eager to learn and eager to bring value to others however I can. And old African proverb states: "if you wish to go fast, go alone. But if you wish to go far, go together." I want to join the collective journeys of many and see us all cross those finish lines and I'm so excited to be a valuable, contributing participant on BP.

Here's to chasing my outlandish dreams and to hoping that even if I don't land on that far off moon, that the impact of landing on the stars still make me smile.