Money's not a motivator for me, need help with mindset

[Matt Gehrls]

I'm reading Think and Grow Rich right now, and the six steps to change your mindset are very specific of the goal you write that you are supposed to repeat aloud twice a day. The problem is it revolves around money, and while I know I'm reading a book about growing rich, money is not a strong motivator for me. I don't think you're greedy if it is for you. It's just not for me.

That being said, at this point I'm not sure the book is doing much for me because it is hyper focused on money. Is there some way to change my mindset about reading about money? I need mindset help for a mindset book....

[Mike Cumbie]

Hi @Matt Gehrls,

I think you should find a different book to read. There are plenty of reasons to become an investor but if money isn't a motivator then don't read a book focused on the money aspect of it.

I don't know which one to recommend but I don't think you have the right one.

Good luck

[James Mc Ree]

I think Brandon Turner, in his book The Book on Rental Property Investing, addresses this point well and agrees with you.  Money is not a motivator for a great many people.  It is what money provides that drives us.

Brandon recommends thinking about your "Why?"  Why are you doing whatever it is you do?  That "Why?" is what will drive you.  Money may enable it, but so might relationships or other benefits of activities you pursue.  In real estate, for example, your "Why?" could be to provide great homes for people who might otherwise not have them.  It might be incidental that you profit from it.

Why do you invest?

[Thomas S.]

Each to their own but motivation can not be magically created by reading a book or repeating phrases in your head. You are either motivated or your are not. Artificial motivation is not sustainable.

Books have only two purposes, relaying factual information or entertainment.

[Matt Gehrls]

I don't think it's about creating motivation. It's about channeling it productively. You are right that if you aren't motivated you won't act, but I'm motivated and I need to channel my energy more effectively. If that means clarifying my goals or using strategies that might seem self-help like, I'll give it a shot. I certainly don't know everything.

[Theresa White]

While I agree that a book can't magically create motivation, books (like conversations with people and new experiences) can help you discover what makes you tick, provide new lenses through which to view your world, and open you up to new ideas.  Using a book to help find what makes you tick is perfectly fine, and using a book to learn new ways to focus/stay focused is definitely fine.  Use that library card...if one (or a dozen!) doesn't resonate with you, return it and grab something else with no money sunk into it.  Explore and enjoy the journey.     

For what it is worth, every year, I think about what I want my life to be like in one year, five years, and 15 years.  Maybe use that that in conjunction with working through what @James Mc Ree suggested.  I am not primarily motivated by money either--I would not work at a soul-sucking job solely because it paid a good wage.  But I have realized that the things I want to do in five years and 15 years, the opportunities I want to provide my kids, and the level of involvement and impact that I want to have in the community can all be more easily achieved and better implemented with good income and a comfortable slush fund.  The money is the enabler to make the things that do motivate me (traveling, working with children, etc) a reality. 

[Marcia Maynard]

I guess it starts with value clarification.... Who are you? With whom do you want to share your life? With what kind of people do you want to associate? What is meaningful to you?  What do you value? What is your purpose? What will be your legacy? Where do you want to live? How do you want to live? How will you take care of yourself and your family? What contribution do you want to make to your community and your country and the world? Where do you want to be financially next year, in 5 years, in 10 years? Why do you do what you do? Where do you find your joy? How do you create your happiness?

Create your own mission statement. Here are some of ours....

Residential Rental Property: "We strive to provide safe, clean, affordable, comfortable, and quiet housing for responsible renters in the neighborhoods of West Vancouver."

Short-Term Rental Property: "We strive to provide safe, clean, affordable, comfortable, and quiet lodging for travelers to the Vancouver/Portland metro area and Southwest Washington."

Here is why I'm involved in landlord associations and real estate networking...

To learn from others and share my knowledge with others so we can all become better landlords and improve our financial position and make a positive contribution to our community.

Look to Poetry. It can sometimes be inspiring, or at least illuminating...

GOOD BONES

by Maggie Smith

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.

Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,

a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways I’ll keep from my children.

The world is at least fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative estimate,

though I keep this from my children.

For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.

For every loved child, a child broken, bagged, sunk in a lake.

Life is short and the world is at least half terrible,

and for every kind stranger, there is one who would break you,

though I keep this from my children.

I am trying to sell them the world.

Any decent realtor, walking you through a real ********,

chirps on about good bones: This place could be beautiful, right?

You could make this place beautiful.

[Thomas S.]

I am also not motivated by money aside from insuring I can keep up with my wife's life goals but I do appreciate the fact that there is nothing in our society of more value than money. To prove that try living with no money. I work for the sake of working, the challenges, something to satisfy the needs of a workaholic,  the money is simply a by product.

I spent 35 years in a career that was far from stimulating but understood that money makes the world go round.

[Richard Warner]

Man, money is not the true motivator for so many of us.
It's about freedom

[Richard Warner]

Also, Grant Cardone is a phenomenal teacher about business, sales, career, and finance. I've been learning from him for years. He owns $400mill in apartment complexes, came from absolutely nothing.

MyGCtv.com
Or
GrantCardoneTV.com

I listen to his CardoneZone and YoungHustlers podcasts every week. He'a got tons of content. We're on his Cardone Sales University and absolutely love it, we paid $1000 when it was on sale a couple months back.

Good Luck and hope this helps you some!

[Lane Kawaoka]

Freedom is a mid level goal. The next level is growth and contribution.

[David Zheng]

I don't understand how you could want to invest if money isn't a driving force. Sure it doesn't have to be the main reason, but why waste time investing if you don't care about the green at all

[Kevin Thomas]

Think of the legacy that you could leave by creating a prosperous real estate company.  All that money generated from your investments could be donated to a worthwhile cause further perpetuating a lasting legacy.  The more successful your business becomes the more your efforts could be shifted to find other ways to give.  Great people give back.

[Matt Gehrls]

Originally posted by @David Zheng:

I don't understand how you could want to invest if money isn't a driving force. Sure it doesn't have to be the main reason, but why waste time investing if you don't care about the green at all

 I love real estate, and am fascinated by it. It is a field that I can be in for decades and still have things to learn, and ways to grow; all while being able to do it how I want (as long as it is legal, moral, and ethical). I also want to build something. It is way more about those things than money to me. The money is the reason I can do it how I want and when I want so it is important, but the fulfillment is way more important in my mind. That's not to say your way of thinking is wrong and if that works for you, great! I don't work that way. Does that help clarify?

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @David Zheng:

I don't understand how you could want to invest if money isn't a driving force. Sure it doesn't have to be the main reason, but why waste time investing if you don't care about the green at all

 I love real estate, and am fascinated by it. It is a field that I can be in for decades and still have things to learn, and ways to grow; all while being able to do it how I want (as long as it is legal, moral, and ethical). I also want to build something. It is way more about those things than money to me. The money is the reason I can do it how I want and when I want so it is important, but the fulfillment is way more important in my mind. That's not to say your way of thinking is wrong and if that works for you, great! I don't work that way. Does that help clarify?

Sorry to call you out but your WHY is total BS. You like real estate just because you find it fascinating and you want to build something yet have no interest in money? It is BS because you cannot build anything without money. At the core of any thriving business is profit and cash flow. Even non-profit businesses need to make money or they go out of business. You fundamentally are misunderstanding how a business operates. Cash is your way to expand and purchase new properties. Cash pays employees. Cash pays mortgage, utilities, insurance and the list goes on. When you are old and unable to work, it will be the wealth you accumulated that will pay your bills. I am not talking about taking trips around the world, I am talking about paying for prescription pills and assisted living. So maybe you don't care about money, but do you care about being cared for when you grow old? Or do you expect to put that burden on the government or your children? Do you want to make a difference in the world? With money you can donate and impact change for generations to come or you could volunteer at the soup kitchen once a week and make a different in 20 peoples lives for one day. There are so many reasons to motivate a person and they all require money.

So either you don't have any motivation or you fundamentally do not understand what money represents. The only limited commodity is time and money is traded for time.

[Levi T.]

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

I'm reading Think and Grow Rich right now, and the six steps to change your mindset are very specific of the goal you write that you are supposed to repeat aloud twice a day. The problem is it revolves around money, and while I know I'm reading a book about growing rich, money is not a strong motivator for me. I don't think you're greedy if it is for you. It's just not for me.

That being said, at this point I'm not sure the book is doing much for me because it is hyper focused on money. Is there some way to change my mindset about reading about money? I need mindset help for a mindset book....

You don't need a book for any of that, in fact most of these money books are just hype and wasteful enlightenment from guys that mostly did not make any money, except from the books. There are plenty of better books about business and investing in general. Good to Great, Ground Sweat, Hooked, etc. I have a personally library of them, and many more.. The #1 key to success, is just taking a step forward, that's it. It does not matter what your motivation is, it's like going to get the mail, just go out there and pick it up. You never need motivation to do that, you just do it because. So in that same line of through; If you don't own properties, find one, then buy one, then rent or flip it, then do it again.

I buy and hold rentals. Rentals don't get any better as you can't rent the same unit to multiple people unlimitedly. It's not like a company that produces a product, or a website that sells memberships. What you have it what you have, so the only way you grow is if you buy another unit. So when I feel like it, I take steps to find more and buy more. Nothing fancy to it, just something you know you need to do, just like you know you need to go get your mail each day.

Lastly, maybe real estate is not for you. That's ok. I worked in tech my entire life, built many companies and made millions. I could have keep doing that type of work, but I was sick of it. I could no longer motivate myself to do it. So I found something else that did. There are a lot of things like real estate, like LBOs of small businesses, or just lending capital, buying notes, flipping old cars, you name it. Find what gets you working when it's your day off, not because you have to, but because you just do.

[Matt Gehrls]

Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @David Zheng:

I don't understand how you could want to invest if money isn't a driving force. Sure it doesn't have to be the main reason, but why waste time investing if you don't care about the green at all

 I love real estate, and am fascinated by it. It is a field that I can be in for decades and still have things to learn, and ways to grow; all while being able to do it how I want (as long as it is legal, moral, and ethical). I also want to build something. It is way more about those things than money to me. The money is the reason I can do it how I want and when I want so it is important, but the fulfillment is way more important in my mind. That's not to say your way of thinking is wrong and if that works for you, great! I don't work that way. Does that help clarify?

Sorry to call you out but your WHY is total BS. You like real estate just because you find it fascinating and you want to build something yet have no interest in money? It is BS because you cannot build anything without money. At the core of any thriving business is profit and cash flow. Even non-profit businesses need to make money or they go out of business. You fundamentally are misunderstanding how a business operates. Cash is your way to expand and purchase new properties. Cash pays employees. Cash pays mortgage, utilities, insurance and the list goes on. When you are old and unable to work, it will be the wealth you accumulated that will pay your bills. I am not talking about taking trips around the world, I am talking about paying for prescription pills and assisted living. So maybe you don't care about money, but do you care about being cared for when you grow old? Or do you expect to put that burden on the government or your children? Do you want to make a difference in the world? With money you can donate and impact change for generations to come or you could volunteer at the soup kitchen once a week and make a different in 20 peoples lives for one day. There are so many reasons to motivate a person and they all require money.

So either you don't have any motivation or you fundamentally do not understand what money represents. The only limited commodity is time and money is traded for time.

 You don't sound sorry at all. In fact, you seem to be itching for an argument where there isn't one to be had. I think you really didn't read what I said. Quoting the post you hated on so viciously "The money is the reason I can do it how I want and when I want so it is important, but the fulfillment is way more important in my mind."

You need to relax. We actually agree. You said yourself "there are so many reasons to motivate a person and they all require money." I said the same thing. I told you what my motivation was. For you to judge that is hateful, and rather rude. That's not the kind of thing I have come to expect from this community, and I wish you would take that attitude somewhere else.

[Matt Gehrls]

Originally posted by @Levi T.:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

I'm reading Think and Grow Rich right now, and the six steps to change your mindset are very specific of the goal you write that you are supposed to repeat aloud twice a day. The problem is it revolves around money, and while I know I'm reading a book about growing rich, money is not a strong motivator for me. I don't think you're greedy if it is for you. It's just not for me.

That being said, at this point I'm not sure the book is doing much for me because it is hyper focused on money. Is there some way to change my mindset about reading about money? I need mindset help for a mindset book....

You don't need a book for any of that, in fact most of these money books are just hype and wasteful enlightenment from guys that mostly did not make any money, except from the books. There are plenty of better books about business and investing in general. Good to Great, Ground Sweat, Hooked, etc. I have a personally library of them, and many more.. The #1 key to success, is just taking a step forward, that's it. It does not matter what your motivation is, it's like going to get the mail, just go out there and pick it up. You never need motivation to do that, you just do it because. So in that same line of through; If you don't own properties, find one, then buy one, then rent or flip it, then do it again.

I buy and hold rentals. Rentals don't get any better as you can't rent the same unit to multiple people unlimitedly. It's not like a company that produces a product, or a website that sells memberships. What you have it what you have, so the only way you grow is if you buy another unit. So when I feel like it, I take steps to find more and buy more. Nothing fancy to it, just something you know you need to do, just like you know you need to go get your mail each day.

Lastly, maybe real estate is not for you. That's ok. I worked in tech my entire life, built many companies and made millions. I could have keep doing that type of work, but I was sick of it. I could no longer motivate myself to do it. So I found something else that did. There are a lot of things like real estate, like LBOs of small businesses, or just lending capital, buying notes, flipping old cars, you name it. Find what gets you working when it's your day off, not because you have to, but because you just do.

 Why do you think Real Estate isn't for me? I know your intentions were good in what you said, but I've been working in the industry for two years and this is it for me as far as I can see. Do you think I really need to be motivated by money to do that? Why?

I only ask so I can understand. You seem to have good intentions so I'm not mad about it, but it did surprise me to hear you say it.

[Levi T.]

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @Levi T.:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

I'm reading Think and Grow Rich right now, and the six steps to change your mindset are very specific of the goal you write that you are supposed to repeat aloud twice a day. The problem is it revolves around money, and while I know I'm reading a book about growing rich, money is not a strong motivator for me. I don't think you're greedy if it is for you. It's just not for me.

That being said, at this point I'm not sure the book is doing much for me because it is hyper focused on money. Is there some way to change my mindset about reading about money? I need mindset help for a mindset book....

You don't need a book for any of that, in fact most of these money books are just hype and wasteful enlightenment from guys that mostly did not make any money, except from the books. There are plenty of better books about business and investing in general. Good to Great, Ground Sweat, Hooked, etc. I have a personally library of them, and many more.. The #1 key to success, is just taking a step forward, that's it. It does not matter what your motivation is, it's like going to get the mail, just go out there and pick it up. You never need motivation to do that, you just do it because. So in that same line of through; If you don't own properties, find one, then buy one, then rent or flip it, then do it again.

I buy and hold rentals. Rentals don't get any better as you can't rent the same unit to multiple people unlimitedly. It's not like a company that produces a product, or a website that sells memberships. What you have it what you have, so the only way you grow is if you buy another unit. So when I feel like it, I take steps to find more and buy more. Nothing fancy to it, just something you know you need to do, just like you know you need to go get your mail each day.

Lastly, maybe real estate is not for you. That's ok. I worked in tech my entire life, built many companies and made millions. I could have keep doing that type of work, but I was sick of it. I could no longer motivate myself to do it. So I found something else that did. There are a lot of things like real estate, like LBOs of small businesses, or just lending capital, buying notes, flipping old cars, you name it. Find what gets you working when it's your day off, not because you have to, but because you just do.

 Why do you think Real Estate isn't for me? I know your intentions were good in what you said, but I've been working in the industry for two years and this is it for me as far as I can see. Do you think I really need to be motivated by money to do that? Why?

I only ask so I can understand. You seem to have good intentions so I'm not mad about it, but it did surprise me to hear you say it.

I'm not saying it a mean way, I'm just saying maybe you want to look around smell the roses, find another investment vehicle if this one is not motivating you. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't say this is the only option, there for you must motivate yourself to do it. We all grow and change over time. I generally follow my heart, if real estate did not interest me, I would not do it even if it made me billions. Do what you love first. If yor having a hard time movtivsting yourself, maybe it's time for some soul search to see if your doing what your really love. Because to me, if I'm doing what I love, I don't need motivation as I already love it. Case in point with leaving tech.

[Matt Gehrls]

Originally posted by @Levi T.:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @Levi T.:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

I'm reading Think and Grow Rich right now, and the six steps to change your mindset are very specific of the goal you write that you are supposed to repeat aloud twice a day. The problem is it revolves around money, and while I know I'm reading a book about growing rich, money is not a strong motivator for me. I don't think you're greedy if it is for you. It's just not for me.

That being said, at this point I'm not sure the book is doing much for me because it is hyper focused on money. Is there some way to change my mindset about reading about money? I need mindset help for a mindset book....

You don't need a book for any of that, in fact most of these money books are just hype and wasteful enlightenment from guys that mostly did not make any money, except from the books. There are plenty of better books about business and investing in general. Good to Great, Ground Sweat, Hooked, etc. I have a personally library of them, and many more.. The #1 key to success, is just taking a step forward, that's it. It does not matter what your motivation is, it's like going to get the mail, just go out there and pick it up. You never need motivation to do that, you just do it because. So in that same line of through; If you don't own properties, find one, then buy one, then rent or flip it, then do it again.

I buy and hold rentals. Rentals don't get any better as you can't rent the same unit to multiple people unlimitedly. It's not like a company that produces a product, or a website that sells memberships. What you have it what you have, so the only way you grow is if you buy another unit. So when I feel like it, I take steps to find more and buy more. Nothing fancy to it, just something you know you need to do, just like you know you need to go get your mail each day.

Lastly, maybe real estate is not for you. That's ok. I worked in tech my entire life, built many companies and made millions. I could have keep doing that type of work, but I was sick of it. I could no longer motivate myself to do it. So I found something else that did. There are a lot of things like real estate, like LBOs of small businesses, or just lending capital, buying notes, flipping old cars, you name it. Find what gets you working when it's your day off, not because you have to, but because you just do.

 Why do you think Real Estate isn't for me? I know your intentions were good in what you said, but I've been working in the industry for two years and this is it for me as far as I can see. Do you think I really need to be motivated by money to do that? Why?

I only ask so I can understand. You seem to have good intentions so I'm not mad about it, but it did surprise me to hear you say it.

I'm not saying it a mean way, I'm just saying maybe you want to look around smell the roses, find another investment vehicle if this one is not motivating you. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't say this is the only option, there for you must motivate yourself to do it. We all grow and change over time. I generally follow my heart, if real estate did not interest me, I would not do it even if it made me billions. Do what you love first. If yor having a hard time movtivsting yourself, maybe it's time for some soul search to see if your doing what your really love. Because to me, if I'm doing what I love, I don't need motivation as I already love it. Case in point with leaving tech.

 I appreciate that. Thank you for clarifying. I have no trouble with motivation, just with mindset. I do my lead generation every day happily. I was reading because I can do more and should to achieve my goals more quickly. There is no rush, but I'm excited for it to get where I want it to go. This book didn't do that for me, and that's okay. It's just I was reading this with my accountability partner and I didn't want to bail on it. Reading it and not feeling like it was helping would be painful. After talking to him about it today, we are on the same page and looking for other books. Not for motivation, but for mindset. I do think that is the distinction that made this conversation head off the rails in some ways, and that's my fault for not being clear.

[Daniel Sprague]

I agree that money isn't the only reason, but real estate is numbers driven which boils down to one thing..... money, more specifically cash flow. 

To be successful at real estate you need to constantly run scenarios, crunch numbers, and crunch numbers again.  All of the numbers are based on monthly cash flow (money).

So, I agree that money shouldn't be the only reason you do this, but you are going to need an intrinsic love of numbers to be successful in this business which means you will be thinking about money a lot.

Good luck

[Neil G.]

Whats in my pocket after a walk around my acreage on a lucky day? A handful of organic fruit and/or nuts, fresh picked! Priceless.

[Levi T.]

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @Levi T.:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @Levi T.:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

I'm reading Think and Grow Rich right now, and the six steps to change your mindset are very specific of the goal you write that you are supposed to repeat aloud twice a day. The problem is it revolves around money, and while I know I'm reading a book about growing rich, money is not a strong motivator for me. I don't think you're greedy if it is for you. It's just not for me.

That being said, at this point I'm not sure the book is doing much for me because it is hyper focused on money. Is there some way to change my mindset about reading about money? I need mindset help for a mindset book....

You don't need a book for any of that, in fact most of these money books are just hype and wasteful enlightenment from guys that mostly did not make any money, except from the books. There are plenty of better books about business and investing in general. Good to Great, Ground Sweat, Hooked, etc. I have a personally library of them, and many more.. The #1 key to success, is just taking a step forward, that's it. It does not matter what your motivation is, it's like going to get the mail, just go out there and pick it up. You never need motivation to do that, you just do it because. So in that same line of through; If you don't own properties, find one, then buy one, then rent or flip it, then do it again.

I buy and hold rentals. Rentals don't get any better as you can't rent the same unit to multiple people unlimitedly. It's not like a company that produces a product, or a website that sells memberships. What you have it what you have, so the only way you grow is if you buy another unit. So when I feel like it, I take steps to find more and buy more. Nothing fancy to it, just something you know you need to do, just like you know you need to go get your mail each day.

Lastly, maybe real estate is not for you. That's ok. I worked in tech my entire life, built many companies and made millions. I could have keep doing that type of work, but I was sick of it. I could no longer motivate myself to do it. So I found something else that did. There are a lot of things like real estate, like LBOs of small businesses, or just lending capital, buying notes, flipping old cars, you name it. Find what gets you working when it's your day off, not because you have to, but because you just do.

 Why do you think Real Estate isn't for me? I know your intentions were good in what you said, but I've been working in the industry for two years and this is it for me as far as I can see. Do you think I really need to be motivated by money to do that? Why?

I only ask so I can understand. You seem to have good intentions so I'm not mad about it, but it did surprise me to hear you say it.

I'm not saying it a mean way, I'm just saying maybe you want to look around smell the roses, find another investment vehicle if this one is not motivating you. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't say this is the only option, there for you must motivate yourself to do it. We all grow and change over time. I generally follow my heart, if real estate did not interest me, I would not do it even if it made me billions. Do what you love first. If yor having a hard time movtivsting yourself, maybe it's time for some soul search to see if your doing what your really love. Because to me, if I'm doing what I love, I don't need motivation as I already love it. Case in point with leaving tech.

 I appreciate that. Thank you for clarifying. I have no trouble with motivation, just with mindset. I do my lead generation every day happily. I was reading because I can do more and should to achieve my goals more quickly. There is no rush, but I'm excited for it to get where I want it to go. This book didn't do that for me, and that's okay. It's just I was reading this with my accountability partner and I didn't want to bail on it. Reading it and not feeling like it was helping would be painful. After talking to him about it today, we are on the same page and looking for other books. Not for motivation, but for mindset. I do think that is the distinction that made this conversation head off the rails in some ways, and that's my fault for not being clear.

It sounds like maybe the "excited for it to get where I want it to go" could be what your looking for. Figure what you have to do to take leaps and bounds to the next stage. Sometimes you buy large and process the acquisition, then buy more when your ready. Other times you sell a few, just to buy twice as many. I don't believe in limits personally, if you can find a way to buy and cashflow a million units properly tomorrow, why should you not? Worst thing that could happen in life is that you never attempted. Find the edge of your comfort level, and go for it. Best

[Rocky V.]

Here is a pic of some of my "Why".  I choose to enjoy life with friends and family.  Take numerous trips a year and many times work only 3 days a week.  This is all possible due to my rental portfolio.  Not sure why so many Americans live a life of work, work, work and forget what it is all about.  You need to figure out your why and once you do I'm sure it will be impossible without MONEY.  CHEERS!! 

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:

Originally posted by @Matt Gehrls:

Originally posted by @David Zheng:

I don't understand how you could want to invest if money isn't a driving force. Sure it doesn't have to be the main reason, but why waste time investing if you don't care about the green at all

 I love real estate, and am fascinated by it. It is a field that I can be in for decades and still have things to learn, and ways to grow; all while being able to do it how I want (as long as it is legal, moral, and ethical). I also want to build something. It is way more about those things than money to me. The money is the reason I can do it how I want and when I want so it is important, but the fulfillment is way more important in my mind. That's not to say your way of thinking is wrong and if that works for you, great! I don't work that way. Does that help clarify?

Sorry to call you out but your WHY is total BS. You like real estate just because you find it fascinating and you want to build something yet have no interest in money? It is BS because you cannot build anything without money. At the core of any thriving business is profit and cash flow. Even non-profit businesses need to make money or they go out of business. You fundamentally are misunderstanding how a business operates. Cash is your way to expand and purchase new properties. Cash pays employees. Cash pays mortgage, utilities, insurance and the list goes on. When you are old and unable to work, it will be the wealth you accumulated that will pay your bills. I am not talking about taking trips around the world, I am talking about paying for prescription pills and assisted living. So maybe you don't care about money, but do you care about being cared for when you grow old? Or do you expect to put that burden on the government or your children? Do you want to make a difference in the world? With money you can donate and impact change for generations to come or you could volunteer at the soup kitchen once a week and make a different in 20 peoples lives for one day. There are so many reasons to motivate a person and they all require money.

So either you don't have any motivation or you fundamentally do not understand what money represents. The only limited commodity is time and money is traded for time.

 You don't sound sorry at all. In fact, you seem to be itching for an argument where there isn't one to be had. I think you really didn't read what I said. Quoting the post you hated on so viciously "The money is the reason I can do it how I want and when I want so it is important, but the fulfillment is way more important in my mind."

You need to relax. We actually agree. You said yourself "there are so many reasons to motivate a person and they all require money." I said the same thing. I told you what my motivation was. For you to judge that is hateful, and rather rude. That's not the kind of thing I have come to expect from this community, and I wish you would take that attitude somewhere else.

No judgement or hate. I was trying to make points to help change your mindset, which is what you asked for help doing. Even though you say money is not your motivation, it is the underlying need. Many people have misunderstandings about money rooted in flawed concepts such as, "money is the root of all evil" and "money doesn't buy happiness." Nobody in the world acquires investment property just to make stacks of money. The image of a rich person sitting around counting stacks of money is not based in reality. 

Everyone who wants money has other motivations, yourself included. The reason I said your WHY was BS is to challenge you and provoke you to think about the real thing that motivates you. 

Here is an unrelated example. Think of a body builder who lifts weights. Someone may argue they lift weights to get muscles, but the muscles are only a means to an end. What they really want is to look a certain way, be stronger or use the muscles to compete. They want to look a certain way to attract attention, to build confidence, to build respect, compete to make money, be a role model or any number of many other WHY's.

My point is that money is not a WHY, it is a means to an end. Have you considered you may have unhealthy feelings towards money and that could be holding you back? Nobody is saying your WHY should be money, just that money will help you reach your WHY. 

[Joel Owens]

The last day we are here before we move on most people on the planet are not thinking about money. They are thinking about the experiences of times they laughed, times they cried, things they accomplished, legacies for their family, the day their children were born, when they married, etc.

Money is just a byproduct from doing what you love.

I love retail commercial real estate. I do very well with it. The money is nice but helping people with their goals and hearing about their lives is what I take pleasure in.

Don't choose a career or field just for the money. Over time that will leave you with an emptiness. People try to fill that emptiness with even more money and moving up the corporate ladder but it can still be unfulfilling.

If you can do what love and make good money at it that can be a recipe for great happiness in life.