Life goals + how REI will get you there

[Jon Q.]

Most successful investors understand the importance of visualization and setting definite goals.

Let's celebrate successes and have a discussion about long-term goals and what specially REI will help provide for you.

I'll start.  My goal 14 years ago was to generate sufficient income to quite my day job, invest full time and travel the world.  Second, I want to acquire a 4br / $1-2M home in Berkeley, CA, where I currently reside.  I also want to acquire land and put in prefab housing in a few scenic locations (Mendocino, Kauai, Alaska), mostly because of how much I enjoy being in nature and backpacking.

I achieved my goal of becoming financially independent at age 33.  I'm now working on the second and third goals.  Over the last two years, I've enjoyed backpacking trips to the Grand Canyon (7 days), Jasper and Banf (Canada 10 days), and I've got a few more planned for November of this year with a trip to New Zealand planned  slated for 2017.

Please describe your future life.

What are your life goals?

What are your successes?

How will REI get you there?

[Brian Burke]

Quote from @Ryan Leake:

Brian,

We couldn't be more on the same page with your life goals when you set out and where I'm at now.

Curious to hear - how did your real estate investment strategy start and has it changed since you posted this reply in 2016?

Also, any luck with that condo on Kaanapalo Beach?? 

@Brian Burke 

Wow, Ryan…I don’t even remember posting that so thanks for the trip down memory lane. Reading that again kinda gives me chills because here I am six years later and checked every box.  I guess there is something to setting goals if you want to achieve them!  Even though I wrote this here and never revisited it.

I did upgrade the plane two years ago.  Great decision because not only is it a lot more capable but I bought right at the beginning of Covid, and since then prices took off so it’s worth more than I paid. Got the oceanfront condo on Ka’anapali beach five years ago and that was another great decision because now I live on Maui about 25% of the year and run my business from under a beach umbrella with the ocean only a few feet away.  I just don’t set my laptop on the sand because occasionally a larger wave comes up.  First-world problem.

I hit my real estate goal, too, buying about 4,500 units over the last 5 years.  One thing that played out differently than my post from 6 years ago was that I didn’t wait ten years to start selling. I’ve sold about 3,000 of the units already, many for nearly double what I paid, so there was no reason to wait. 

One goal that wasn’t even on this list also came to fruition—I co-founded a real estate lending company 5 years ago and then loaned over $1.5 billion to other real estate investors and now we’re selling the company to a public company. Didn’t see that one coming but sometimes when life presents you with an incredible opportunity, you seize the day.

Another one I didn’t foresee was writing a book—but BP published The Hands-Off Investor two years ago and I’ve received a lot of really great feedback from so many people who got a lot out of it. 

Now that I accomplished all my goals (and then some) I guess it’s time to come up with new goals.  I suppose some good ones might be to get better at golf, fly the airplane more (maybe to some golf trips?), maybe upgrade the plane again.  Business goals?  I don’t really have any at the moment. I’m going to watch what happens in the world and be ready to act when I see the right opportunity, in whatever form that might take. With all of the volatility, I’m not feeling rushed to act, nor am I seeing very compelling deals…but that could change next week, for all I know.