All Forum Posts by: Rigoberto Medina

@Landon Whitaker wow, that is very inspirational, that is so awesome. You are right in regards to Rich Dad Poor Dad, it really is completely life-altering. The biggest thing for me was allowing me to see the truth and forcing me to really take a look at who I am and why I make the decisions I make. What is truly eye-opening is that none of this is taught in school. My mom raised 3 boys as a single mom and she did a great job and worked super hard to always make sure we had food on the table and from her, I inherited her phenomenal work ethic but little education on how money works (I don't blame her one bit, just to make that clear, she did more than I think that I am even capable of on her own and having to deal with 3 knuckleheads the entire time). I think if more people were exposed to how money really works and how wealth is generated, especially in real estate, wow, it would just be phenomenal. 

  I have purchased "How to invest in real estate" and will read it this week, I have already started reading it, and will post a summary of the book when I am done (by Friday at the very latest, though I will likely finish it before). I will do this both to help me really understand what the book covers as it will force me to deep dive into the book before I post a summary, and also perhaps to help someone else who might read the summary get excited and want to learn more. I will definitely look into "Investing in real estate with no, or low money down" and that might be the next book I read and write a summary about. Thank you very much for your suggestion. 

@JD Martin, thank you for the guidance. I will check out the other forums and do my best to post my progress in the appropriate forums. In regards to "The intention journal", that sounds exactly like what I am looking for. I want something that I can use that I can document my progress, set milestones, and be able to look back to see what I have been able to accomplish and what my next step is. Thank you again for your help and hopefully, I will be seeing a lot more of all of you in the forums as well as once I start closing deals.

Thank you all for the replies and the kind words, it means a lot to me. Mr. Chad Magill, thank you very much. It is currently a mixture of fear and excitement but  I am going to do everything that I can to use that to motivate all my steps forward. Mr. Arturo Martinez, great to know that I am not alone in Corpus Christi. I will likely take you up on your offer in the future as I try to learn more about real estate investing, seems like a ton to learn. Mr. JD Martin, thank you so very much for all the advice and you are absolutely right. I am super excited right now but that is grounded in the realization that this is going to take a while, years to get to the goal that I have in mind, but I also know that even huge tasks can be achieved small steps at a time. That is the path that I am going for. Set specific goals, always keep moving forward. I know that I will make mistakes along the way but I just have to power through them and keep moving forward. I think setting super specific goals and drop-dead deadline dates will help me get there, its how I work best when I know something has to be done by a certain date. I am going to check out the websites that you mentioned and get the book that you recommended. As an aside, I saw that the BP store has something called the intention journal, do you think that would help in tracking my goals? the description seems to be exactly what I am looking for. Everything you said is solid advice. I get exactly what you mean about distancing yourself from negativity. I grew up as 1 of 3 brothers raised only by my mom, we did not come from much. I think the hardest part is going to be convincing them that this is for real and you really can buy and sell houses and its not just for the super-rich or something that you read about "other people" doing. 

In regards to future posts, do I post updates here or is there somewhere else on the forums where I can post my progress getting my financial life in order, learning more about real estate, and getting my investing going? I think it will help me make sure I stay focused and accountable, plus it might help someone else who might be in my situation and is looking for a way out of the huge debt and the "rat race" as Mr. Kyosaki calls it.

  Hello everyone, my name is Rigoberto Medina and I live in Corpus Christi, Texas (everyone just calls me Tony, it's a lot easier). I currently work in oil and gas as an authorized inspector and this is my first post on the bigger pockets forum, though I have been a Pro member since June of 2018. This post is going to be a little long, so moderators, please feel free to notify me if too long or to take it down if you so chose, but I feel that I have to share what finally got me to post on the forums. This weekend, starting on the 9th of August and going to the 11th I had to drive from Corpus Christi, Texas to Clayton, N.C. and back. This task gave me roughly 42 hours behind the wheel, by myself. I decided that I would use this time constructively and so I loaded an audiobook onto my cell phone that I have been wanting to listen to for some time. This audiobook was "Rich Dad/Poor Dad" by Robert Kyosaki and I have to say that it was truly eye-opening and perspective-altering.

  I am sure that many of you have read the book or listened to the audiobook so I won't detail everything in the book but instead, I will share what resonated the most with me and got me to take the step of posting on this forum, what will be one of many more to come. The very first thing that hit me, like a ton of bricks I might add, is that my decisions have been based mostly on fear. While that might seem like a simple thing to admit, allow me to explain. I am 6'2" 285lb life long martial artist and powerlifter, and a man who is proud (too proud I am seeing). As Mr. Kyosaki started to break down how we often make financial decisions, not to win but rather so that we don't lose, I could see myself in every example. I could see the fear of uncertainty steering me to stay in a "good job, with great benefits", to "play it safe", and while I always told myself "I'm doing it out of love for my family and their security", in truth, I did it mostly out of fear.

  The next thing that hit home was when the difference between assets and liabilities was explained. I started looking at all that I owned in my head and realized that I had surrounded myself with liabilities, doodads, and tons of other things but no assets. I live in a big house, have 3 vehicles, all the newest cell phones, tablets, etc., and they are eating me alive and stealing my opportunities, and I did it to myself and my family. It was a real wake up call and call to action. I decided right then and there, on that drive, that I had to change. I cannot live my life in fear and make financial decisions for my family based on fear and so I developed a plan. The immediate steps of my plan are as follows:

1.) introduce myself and post on bigger pockets (real estate is going to be my vehicle to financial independence and wealth for my family.)

2.) Get my financial life in order (I am setting aside 20% of all incoming pay to pay off debt, making sure I pay myself first even though that scares the daylights out of me, but it will force me to make my mind work to figure out how to pay all my bills after)

3.) educate myself on real estate. (I have purchased "How to invest in real estate" off the bigger pockets store. I will read this book and post a summary on the forums, if I am allowed to do that, by this Friday, the 16th)

4.) I am somewhat of a shy person, I have to break that shell. (I will attend my local real estate investor club meeting this Saturday, the 17th, and network with local investors)

5.) Develop a budget as well as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals and plan out how to get there (budget will be developed by tomorrow, the 14th, goals list also by EOD on the 14th.)

Step 1 is done with this post, though it terrifies me to post on a national forum (even as I type this out my mind is screaming at me that people will make fun or think that I am weird or a flake), it is my first step and I am now invested and dedicated. If anybody would like to follow this and help keep me accountable, as I finish my goals detailed above, I will post updates, also when I develop new goals, milestones, etc.