Crushing cancer with Real Estate (metaphorically)....

“We don’t get what we want in life, we get what we HAVE TO HAVE.” – Tony Robbins

I should probably start by introducing myself – Hi, my name is Shane. I grew up in Kansas City; my parents are still there and although I haven’t physically lived there in more than 10 years, it’s still where I would call home. I left in 2005 to attend the United States Naval Academy, where I graduated in 2009 and became an Officer in the United States Navy. I’m tempted to give you some sort of brief version of my life story…I tend to get bit carried away when I write…but for the sake of brevity, I can sum myself up as soon to be retired (medically) Naval Officer and newly christened cancer survivor, with an absolute passion for fitness, personal growth, wealth, and you guessed it…Real Estate baby.

I’ve always had an interest in Real Estate – I love looking at homes & buildings, appreciating their design and beauty, and I find a very strong connection with the idea of building, creating, or transforming. I started to dabble in some self-education a couple years ago while on deployment. I read Robert Kyosoki’s “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” (I know, shocker) and Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.” I recently read a quote that said “once you drink from the cup of knowledge, you’ll long for the ignorance you once had”…I don’t know about all that…I’ve found that the more I drink, the thirstier I get. For a couple years, my fear of the unknown and “losing” in Real Estate investment left me satisfied with a continual quest for education. I read a lot, went to seminars, and I ALMOST pulled the trigger on one of those insanely expensive “Fortune Builders” programs – don’t you judge me, I’ll bet you almost did once too. I finally got my feet wet via a Turn-Key company out of Chicago, and purchased my first SFH in April of 2016.

Purchase Price: $115K ($24K Down)

ARV: $130K (Ind appraiser valued it at $130K, company still honored original price).

Cash Flow: $782.00 (Section 8 Tenant)

I was already looking to move on from military life, but my last tour in the military would have kept me in Bahrain for a year, and I left the U.S. last May. Although I had quickly realized that Turn-Key investing really wasn’t the best way to build a fortune, I would be making extra money while overseas and for the time being, it would be the best was possible way to continue building a Real Estate portfolio from a distance. That was plan.

Sometime during June, I started noticing that…how can put this delicately? One of “my boys” was not like the other…on July 6, I was unofficially diagnosed (later confirmed) with stage IA Testicular Cancer. I was sent back to the states around 3 weeks later, quickly had surgery, and I am incredibly grateful to report that I am almost fully recovered from surgery and that no additional treatment has been needed to this point. Quick side note for the fellas…actually ladies as well because let’s be honest, you won’t tolerate the machismo bullshit we bros fall back on to ignore something like this…if something seems off…get it checked. Like right now. I caught mine at about the last possible moment of stage 1A – had I reached 1B, the cancer would have hit my limbic system and I’d have been in REAL trouble. So aside from being concerned about your general well-being, why am I bringing this up on a Real Estate blog? It absolutely turned my mindset towards RE investment inside out in the best way possible.

Getting diagnosed with cancer is scary AF…NOTHING really prepares you for it. I’ve seen and done some things that would be pretty “high” on a relative scale of human stress and fear because of my work in the military…but the diagnosis legitimately reduced me to full blown panic attacks. BUT….here’s the upside…when you decide to fight through it, and that you’re going to win no matter what, a lot of what scared you before seems pretty damn trivial in retrospect.

-Losing money? Making a bad investment? Will either of those things kill you? No.

-Will it be uncomfortable? Yes. Will it be an opportunity for learning and growth? Yes.

-Is the temporary pain of making a mistake WAY better than spending your life in quiet fear and never taking a chance? Is it more tolerable than taking that uncontrollable restlessness to your death bed? I think so. In fact to that one I would say F*%^ YES. I’ve also had consider this – it is abundantly clear that I am promised nothing about when my time is up…so I don’t intend to waste a single second.

My practical application here is that I’ll use my Real Estate investments, especially my progress this year, as a way to measure how badly I can beat cancer. When I earn more money back here in the states this year building up my empire than I would have saving up cash over in Bahrain, I win. I’ve made some great progress and met a lot of challenges, but I don’t want this to get to long so I’ll save it for later.

We’re all here on Bigger Pockets to learn, but the reason I am starting this blog is to document my journey and reinforce what I learn along the way in both success and failure. This will also be a great opportunity to create some public accountability for my goals. However, the ultimate aim is to create something that will help others run their own path, just far more efficiently. By starting this now, while I know almost nothing, regardless of where you are in your journey when you read this, you will know whatever your end goal is, you'll know it's entirely up to you to make it happen. Finally, I’ll always look to deliver you something of value that has helped me in terms of mindset. Thus, the awesome quote from Tony Robbin’s above. I read this every day. I helps me refocus my attention and energy on what matters the most – and it reminds me to embrace whatever fear has become my obstacle, and use that fear to run the path around the obstacle or straight through it. I.e. right now, I’m laser focused on kicking cancer straight in the ball (see what I did there?) and using my growth in Real Estate as one of the benchmarks for that success. Game. ON.