5000 posts – 4.5 years of BP

[Brie Schmidt]

This is my 5001st post on BP in just under 5 years of being a member of this community. So I thought I would take this time to reflect on all that has happened since then.

Before BP – I worked a 50+ hour a week corporate job and had 3 properties with plans to aggressively pay them off and in 15-20 years be able to quit my job and live off rent income

After BP – I quit my job within 9 months of drinking the BP Kool-Aid and now have 30+ properties and 90+ units and I started my own real estate brokerage and website business and networking conference for investors.

It has been a wild ride! I can’t even begin to quantify how much BP has contributed to my success and personal development. Not only do I have a network of hundreds of thousands of people to help me when I have a problem, but I am continually learning and developing every day by reading about other people’s experiences.

I have learned more in the last 5 years from BP than I had in the previous 30 years of my life. Not just about rental properties, but about life too. I think one of the reasons BP is so special is because REI is a lifestyle choice, not just a job. So most people on here are connecting on a business level, but also on a personal level. The foundation of our being is similar, so the aspirations of our soul are similar. It is a way of life. Not just some BS job you punch in and out for.

The relationships I have developed over the years has really been incredible. I can't count how many people I now consider "close personal friends" have come from people I met on BP. It actually negatively impacted my social life because I hate going to the same stupid social events where people talk about mundane things like sports or reality TV. But you stick a few real estate investors in a room with some wine and leave them there for 10+ hours and they will still be talking at the end and won't want to leave. I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the country to attend conference events people from BP have put on and I can tell you, every time it is a 12+ hour day of talking REI where I lose my voice and can't wait to get up early the next day and do it all over again. I love it.

The biggest impact over the last 5 years for me has been personal freedom. Freedom to wake up when I want. Freedom to work when I want. Freedom to travel when I want. I am kind of a spoiled brat to be honest. But through REI I was able to create the life that I wanted – which never would have been possible otherwise. Do I live in a 5000 sq foot house? No. Do I drive a new fancy car? No. Do I wear expensive clothes? No. Do I wake up to an alarm every day? No. Do I take a 1-week vacation per year? No. Do I only see my family at dinner and Sundays? No. REI taught me what is important and how to build a life around that. Is it always easy? No. Is it always fun? No Would I have it any other way? No.

So. Thank you @Joshua Dorkin for creating BP and to @Brandon Turner and @Scott Trench and @Mindy Jensen for helping shape BP into what it is today.  I would probably be some miserable crabby person if it wasn't for you.