Boredum, what do you do?

Question

I just mentioned in another thread that boredum was probably the reason for my varied experience. Thinking back, when I got out of the military I was an agent for Metropolitian Insurance. I had a sales manager who told me that where agents mess up is when they get bored doing what works for them and they start doing things differently. So true, at least initially until you believe you mastered the next startegy and then you do it all over again.

For those of you who are high strung so to speak and get borred easily, whendo you try new things in real estate? I'm not talking about hitting a financial low and having to do something else, I'm talking about changing course in you business or starting other things just for the experiences, broadening your horizions or just because you are really bored!

How do you address this......as RE can get boring at times....

Nathan Emmert · Answer

I'm an optimization junkie.  I don't believe in perfection so I continually try to improve the process.  How can you do things better, faster, cheaper, with less risk, and ultimately more profitably?

I agree with others, turning your back on a winning formula out of boredom is stupid.  But even a winning formula can be continually tweaked, refined, and improved.

Most often the boredom comes out of laziness.  You grow content and stop doing the things you should because you don't feel you need to anymore.  Optimization, or search there of, requires that you continue to do all those things.  Finding the best lender, getting cheaper appraisals, more quotes, better handyman, more advantageous contracts, etc etc etc.

Rob Gillespie · Answer

Bill, 
this is soooo true for creators!  I know that after 15 plus years in the business, it is not as exciting when I do a deal as what it was when I was a newbie. With that said, I know better than to wreck a good thing, so I keep my current business going flipping contracts and running a handful of properties. 
I started working on mentoring new folks as my cure for boredom, but it is more work than flipping deals, LOL!!! I should just stick to what I have done for so long. At least sellers and buyers listen to what I tell them to do! LOL!

Eric M. · Answer

Take some time to work on your spelling...boredom.
:-)

J Scott · Answer

I can empathize with both Bill (get bored easily) and Nathan (like to optimize), so I do a couple things when I start to get bored:

- First, I'll try to optimize and more importantly, I'll try to *AUTOMATE*.  The more I can automate -- and therefore delegate -- the more time I have to try other things, without giving up the income stream.

- Next, I'll incrementally start to do other things, while doing whatever I can to maintain the income streams I've already created.  I actually do several things other than real estate, though I don't talk about them much.  Likewise, with those that I'm doing other stuff, I don't talk about real estate much.

- Lastly, I spend a lot of time reading/studying, trying to learn about stuff I want to do long term.  In the real estate world, this means commercial development, and while I don't have the time or energy to focus on it now, the fact that I am starting to put together a plan and a path in that direction, it keeps me busy...and thus not too bored.

Btw, I have a lot of respect for guys like you, Bill, who can gain expertise in a lot of different areas and can be successful at most/all of them.  Rich is another great example, btw.

Jeff Thompson · Answer

I can't speak from experience in RE, but this very much describes me.

I think the boredom sets in after reaching a level of mastery, and experts say 10,000 hours before you really master something. This isn't really a problem as you can delegate these tasks keeping half a watchful eye and only stepping in when you notice things abnormal (with your experience you can spot it quickly), and learn a related subject.

The problem is too many diversions to your attention, spreading yourself too thin, and jumping to something new and interesting before really mastering the last.  In my hobbies I never got bored of what I was doing, just something else captured my attention and things got left behind. I mean jumping to something completely not related, not a different aspect of the same area. (my "hobbies" have varied from cars, computers, home audio, car audio, electronics, computer programming, photography, motorcycles, hiking, bicycling, running, on and on the list goes) I'd say I never mastered any of them and I still find most interesting, I just don't do them anymore for various reasons.

I have stuck with the same area of work for 10 years now, but now I am truly bored with it. I could move to another related subject, but I never intended for this to be my lifelong field and want to move on.  Luckily I'm young (29), am financially able to start anew and have the GI Bill still so this is a good option for me.

Real estate/business seems varied enough to hold my attention as an area of study, but I wholly expect my focus to wander to different aspects over time and I'm ok with that. I just need to be mindful to avoid dabbling in too many aspects at once...

Account Closed · Answer

I tend to make every deal an adventure.  There are times that I'm not crazy about the landlord business usually it is when Murphy throws several wrenches at the same time.

What I've done works for me.  I have considered trying my hands at other types of investments though.

Rob Gillespie · Answer

Not about "paying off" I could not make as much off of mentoring as I do off of my deals. I just need to cover my time.  Every minute I spend working on someone else's deal is  a minute i spend away form my own deals.
I used to love to go to my attorneys continuing education classes with him to stimulate my mind. It was funny, I would be the only one paying attention and answering questions as all of the attorneys would be busy on their blackberries. LOL!

Bill Gulley · Answer

Ahhh, mentoring, been there done that and sometimes you pull what hair you have out. The most enjoyable classes I did were for attorneys and seasoned Realtor/real estate types. While it was a great networking jam it was not that profitable, but woth it. Another group I enjoyed was a claas in real estate rehabbing and investing for a local college. I actually enjoyed teaching for a couple years even when I was dead tired from the office working all day.

Keep at it Rob, mentoring pays off in the future.....

Bill Gulley · Answer

LOL!!!!  See how bored I get!   That"s funny.....you're right.....!

Bill Gulley · Answer

J. you posted while I was composing....thanks, I thought you would be one to venture into the unknown as well. Make work fun!

True Nathan, I too am a tweeker of any process, that's part of the fun of RE.

I wouldn't say I was lazy so much as always curious or I'd get an idea that I wanted to try out. A different approach to something that made what I was doing more profitable, streamlined or easier as you said.

I got a wild idea one time from  a lending situation and got in the grocery business. Another time I went in a partnership in a steel fabrication business. All involved real estate but I just ventured off so to speak and kept doing by lending/RE as well. I ended up having lots of irons in the fire and while profitable, I could have sat back, did what I had been doing and had more time at the lake.

I had people in the mortgage company so it was almost on auto pilot and I just did what I thought was the most complicated or interesting.

Just wondering if some of those that have been at it awhile jumped horses for a different strategy just for the fun of it, maybe for the thrill of the deal or to see if you could....

Boredum, what do you do?

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