I read Sam Zell’s book "Am I Being Too Subtle?". Here are my main takeaways.

[Golan Corshidi]

Sam Zell was one of the pioneers of the REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and a billionaire real estate investor. Here are my five main takeaways from his book.

Book title: Am I Being Too Subtle?

First, the book is excellent for anyone looking to learn more about investing in real estate. He gets pretty detailed in his underwriting processes so I highly recommend checking it out. If you have Spotify Premium, you can listen to it for free. Here’s the link: https://open.spotify.com/show/55gfBKzFtocE9Yw8YUsnhR?si=d717286d4eb242cd

Avoid Competition: He refused to go for deals that had a lot of competition. He looked for situations with little to no competition to ensure he got a good deal.

Gratitude: The book opens with Sam Zell discussing the challenges and risks his parents took to survive the holocaust. He used this experience to motivate him in his work and be grateful for the opportunity he had. 

Long-Term Relationships: He felt that most people in the industry were too focused on the deal in front of them that they weren’t thinking about the long term. Relationships and trust take time and he talked about how many deals he got done simply because he had that long-term view. 

Focus on Calculating Downside: Many investors calculate the upside of a deal and get fixated on the best case scenario” He felt that to understand the risk of a deal, it's important to calculate the worst case scenario and what that looks like. He would only do deals where he could survive the downside.

Have Fun: He repeatedly used the phrase “Don’t take yourself too seriously” and this came out in how he operated. He had fun with his work and colleagues. This spirit of fun helped him to enjoy his work for many years.

Any other autobiographies you all might recommend? Real estate or not, just looking to learn more from the best!