It just gets burned into the air for us to breathe and then we have to go pump more oil.

When I was a kid that would mean we had recess indoors because taking a breath of outside air could be as bad as smoking a cigarette, or standing downwind of a fire.

Loans were given away to anyone who's breathing and there was huge demand for the houses.

For those who have given their all and live and breathe real estate, and if they don’t drop out and spend time 40 hrs a week for 4 months doing research in RE, hitting 100 roadblocks and finding a solution around it, they might succeed.

Once you've done that and realize nobody died or lost their limbs, you can take a deep breath, rinse, and repeat.I think you're taking the right steps.

then great.Longer term (maybe) BRRRR (which phonetically feels very relevant in DFW) : Personally I like the process of updating properties etc, gives me a lot of satisfaction, but I'll need to keep in mind its a business so some level of training and discipline will probably be needed before jump in here.In-state / Out-of-state : open to either and that will really be determined by the support network I can find/create (trusted realtor, property managers etc..)Excited to hear more from the BiggerPockets community on how to build that experienced network and make that first deal...feels a little like cold-plunging..the first one is probably the hardest (just making the plunge) and no doubt i will be breathing heavily for a while, but after a bit, you get used to it??

Kinda like my addiction to breathing -- there no down side, so I don't plan to stop doing it anytime soon...But wait, this was part of Buffett's quote (you left this out):"History tells us that leverage all too often produces zeroes, even when it is employed by very smart people."

wow Bob, take a breath.

My best advice is to a deep breath and look the other way for a while.

In light of the "Detroit bashing" which is often common here on BP, you're posts and the post of others like you who can see the forest for the trees and dare I say, somewhat optimistic, are a breath of fresh air.