All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Hi Dick,

Thank you. I look forward to chatting with you as well.

Good for you. Let us know when you get that Z4. I always enjoy when someone attains their goals and can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Not much of one to promote any candidate as I try to stay away from politics as much as possible, but I grew up in NYC and have never seen or heard of a politician in our generation that had the leadership skills as Rudy.

When its written of how Rudy cleaned up NYC I don't think most who weren't there really understand how much he cleaned up the city. I can remember major areas of Manhattan where you couldn't have stop your car at a red light without having what they called "squeegy guys" run up to your car and start cleaning your windows (without your permission) and then demand being paid. Most of the time they made your windows dirtier, but they would get very abrasive and threatening to each driver if you didn't pay them. In NYC, you can hit a red light pretty regularly every 1-2 blocks so imagine having to deal with this 10 or more times within a short period of time. Rudy got rid of this problem. As in most cities, there are places where individuals can go to get a meal and have shelter and NYC was the same. Panhandling is one thing, but the squeegy scenario was just a mess.

I can remember walking in Times Square and every street corner at least one prostitute would solicit me and my friends as we waiting for a green light. Didn't matter if I was in a car or not. Rudy cleaned that up.

There used to be a major strip club row near many areas such as Broadway that people would walk by to get to Broadway shows and other attractions. It was extremely sleazy. Rudy got rid of them and brought Corporate America in. Where there used to be strip clubs you know have companies in those locations such as Disney.

Before he was Mayor he was I believe the District Attorney or Assistant District attorney. Want to talk about tough on fighting crime, on multiple occasions he went after John Gotti trying to clean up and get rid of organized crime. Back then the mob ran most things and for a guy to go after them and live it is understood that Rudy was clean and trying to protect the citizens of NY and fear is not in his vocabulary.

Let's not forget that the US needs to be respected to avoid foreign attacks. I still remember the Iranian hostages being released the day that Reagan took office because Iran knew what President could be messed around with and which one they knew wouldn't stand for it. Rudy would be feared by other nations, which is not necessarily a bad thing in today's age of terrorism.

Before Rudy, there used to be major riots whenever there was even the hint of a racial incident, whether it was truly racially motivated or not. Famous activists would get involved and basically put gasoline on the fire and stir up more problems. Rudy kept them at bay and the riots ceased and true justice was sought out.

Rudy was part of closing down the Fresh Kills Landfill. It was the largest landfill on the face of the planet and the largest man made structure on the face of the planet. When the space shuttle was about 600 miles up from the earth the astronauts could view 2 man made structures, the great wall of China, and the Great Kills Landfill. Closing it down did wonders for the environment and the local citizens of Staten Island (one of the boroughs of NYC). It was only temporarily re-opened due to 9/11 as that was the closest place to put all the rumble from the Towers which was later sifted through looking for remains.

The city was in such a mess that many people wanted Rudy to stay in place for the benefit of the city as the attacks happened so close to his leaving the office.

Rudy even crossed party lines in his recommendation for Democratic Governor Cuomo over the Republican candidate who later went on to win the election, showing that he publicly and privately truly gave his opinion and support without worrying about partisan motives doing what he believed best for his constituents.

These were just some of the positive things that Rudy did for NYC.
Keep in mind that Rudy was mayor of a city that on any given business day had over 8 million people in it as many workers would commute daily from PA, NJ, and CT to work mostly in Manhattan. He basically was the leader of the biggest city in the country (a bigger responsibility than that of many Governor's in states of smaller sized populations).

I'm not saying that he never made mistakes, but he is tough, fair and gets the job done.

We live in a 2 party system. Not saying it is right, but it is the reality. I've voted for different parties over the years.

I'm not the biggest Clinton fan. I wasn't too happy when Hillary made the move to NY strictly for political motives when running for Senator. I'm not saying that good things didn't happen during the Clinton Presidency, but let's keep in mind that the internet and technology revolution hit during that Presidency, the country was going to be prosperous no matter who held the executive office. Let's not forget Whitewater and some of the other unmentionables that went on during that Presidency though.

Anyway, didn't mean to write so much, just giving some facts and some opinions.

The truth is I respect all opinions as that's what makes this country so great, the fact that we can freely express our opinions.

Also, it doesn't have to be just written words that are contained in your list. It is a good idea to also use pictures of the goals you want to obtain. One of the first goals I had as an entrepreneur was to own a Mercedes. Before ever even starting my first business I went to a Mercedes dealership, sat in one of the cars, took in the new car smell, and took one of the brochures home. In the center of the booklet was a 2 page pull-out with a full picture of the dashboard. I put that picture right on the wall in front of my desk.

I would look at it each day and dream of one day driving that car. Back then I wasn't involved in real estate, but there were some times, especially when getting off the phone with a nasty potential customer, that I would end a call and be angry. The first thing I would do was to look at that picture and my mind would go to thoughts of why I was making these calls, and understand that if I was to drive that car one day part of the process would be to have nasty potential customers (who never became customers) on phone calls from time to time.

Well, that picture is no longer above my desk, but guess what's parked in front of my home right now?

Keep those goals in front of you. You'll have good days and bad days, but trust me when I tell you that when you achieve those goals you'll be glad. To this day, that car still puts a smile on my face everytime I see it, let alone the feeling I get when I'm driving it.

Never give up on your goals, keep them in mind always, make your actions congruent with obtaining them, and those goals will become reality.

You should write down both long and short-term goals. What's most important is that they are visible to you each day so that at least once a day you can read them. Whether it's a screen saver on your computer, a list on your fridge, or a piece of paper on the wall in front of you by your desk, the important thing is to read them each and everyday. You will find that by doing this your decisions and actions will change and be more in accordance with those goals.
They say that 95% of people who write down their goals and read them regularly actually attain those goals.

Here's something that I recommend to someone that is new to any industry when they are seeking advice from someone. In their mind they should be asking themself, "Is the person giving me the advice a person who became wealthy in the industry I am speaking to them about". If the answer is "yes" then I would listen to what they have to say. If the answer is "no", and chances are that will be the answer if speaking to friends and family families, then What Do They Know.

Keep the naysayers and negative people away or at least at bay from your decision making. It's usually best not to share your investment decision with those that are close to you, but don't understand the industry. Even if the advice comes from the heart, if they don't know, then they don't know. How can they possibly give you sound advice on something they don't know about and truly understand.

People who make money in this industry are educated and have learned from the educated. Ask someone on this site if an investment is good to make and you'll get an answer based on experience. Ask someone who knows nothing about REI and you'll get a whole different answer. Which answer do you think you should listen to?

There's a saying that goes, "You can be rich, you can make excuses, but you can't do both."

While a situation may not seem perfect (and let's be realistic, there really is no "perfect" situation in life), there is always opportunity out there.

I would say the opposite is "Doing". People usually fear the unknown, something they have never done before. It reminds me of a saying that goes well with what these investing forums are all about, "More fortunes have been lost from fear than from actual failure".

It's about calculated risk. Learn about whatever industry you are interested in. Learn from experts (people who have become wealthy from that industry) as they know the true ins and outs, and can guide you from making the newbie mistakes. Then do.

If it's REI you're interested in then wholesaling is an excellent way to start without having money. You can contact someone that is a distressed seller or motivated seller. They're easy to find in the classifieds whether in the newspaper or online. Contact the owner and after doing some comps make an offer and have the right to assign the contract. Make sure there is sufficient discount built in and then assign the contract to another investor. No money out of pocket and if it's sold or assigned you just made a nice paycheck. That can get you back on your feet. Done in the right area or if you do enough of deals you can actually make more than you used to.

We all go through tough times. Remember, it's not what happens to you, but how you react to it. I had started a business over a decade ago, soon after I was in a bad car accident that took me over 3 years to recouperate from. During my recover from my bed I started a company that became one of the biggest in its industry. Just have passion, persistance and a never say die attitude and almost nothing is impossible. Some of the most successful have been to the top and fallen more than once. They just got up, dusted themselves off and moved forward. Remember, once you have made a good living you already have the knowledge on how to make a good living. Nobody can take your knowledge away from you.

Good luck to you.

I've seen the term "mandate" used just as John has stated. When dealing with banks the contract is usually done through their lawyer ("mandate"). The term could be used on the buyer's or seller's side. Basically it's the representative of the buyer or seller and they can be also viewed as the true "direct source" to the buyer or seller.