I took a little time to reflect about my life (and others) up until this point. It does boiled down to just a few important decisions. If I would have just made a different choice, the life that I have would be very different from now. Let’s look at a few choices I made over the past few years.
Decision to go to College
I did consider listening to my dad and not going to college and rather select a trade profession and go dive into it after college. Looking back, I am not sure. I do have made some great friends and relationships that later on turned into key clients now. But I did not learn much in college, or at least 50% of the things I learned do not apply in real life. Maybe I would be in a much better shape if I am not in college? This is a hard one.
Decision to invest in real estate
Really inspired by that book Rich Dad Poor Dad, I gave it a try. You could call me lucky, but it all started with a decision—the decision that sometimes real estate can set me free. We all know it’s a lie now (jokingly). Real estate does need a lot of work, but if you do it correctly, it will give you a degree of freedom and control over your finances and your time, much more than other professions. I am glad I decided to invest in real estate. I would do it again.
Decision to quit my job
This is a pivotal moment – leaving that corporate workforce. I worked for UH, for HP, then for SLB. I didn’t see myself or my future in the workforce. The choice was clear. Give me the choice, and I would quit again.
Decision not to focus on sales vs. investing
I really think compound interest is a lie. It is only powerful when you have a lot of it. If you make a 20% return on $1,000, you have $1,200. That is not life-changing money. If you have 20% of a million, that would be a million and 200k. That is some good money. I do think that I focused too much on investing in my earlier career that I skipped the sales, the marketing, and the money-making part of it. If I could re-do my career again, I would focus on making a lot of income first. Just stack it up first and go from there. Don’t focus on investing that dollar to make a 20% return because if you’re really good at it, you have 20 cents more, and that’s it.
Decide to invest in real estate syndication and oil wells
This is the greedy side of me wanting to do no work and receive income. While some of it paid out well, some of it did not, purely because you have NO control in the deal and don’t really understand what you are investing into. This was a big mistake. I would not do syndication again, not on the LP side, simply because I like to have control of the things I am investing in. I am a good investor, so I will put my skill to use.
Decision not to invest in commercial RE earlier in my career
Earlier in my career, I had the opportunity to invest in a piece of commercial real estate close to my house. Long story short, I let my emotions trump the deal and ended up not buying it. Thinking about it now, it was a bad move. This is a lesson learned. The fundamental in real estate investing is math. If the math works, then do it. If the math doesn’t work, then negotiate to make it work. Keep your emotions out of the deal.
Decide to join eXp Realty
This is another pivotal moment. My life for the last 7 years has been surrounded by eXp Realty and amazing people. I am grateful to have met my sponsor and to have had the ability to sponsor and mentor so many other people using this platform. Thinking about this from an investor’s perspective: You have commission, you have equity, and you have cash flow. This is a strong three-legged platform with amazing support for anyone who wants to venture into the real estate brokerage industry. Definitely hands down THE major pivotal moment of my career. I would do it again.
Decide to buy a nice car
Looking at all my pictures, I have actually always liked cars. I wrote that down in every single goal-setting session, but somehow for the last 2 years, I kinda put that goal away and didn’t look at it. This was purely due to the power of proximity and influence, and I decided to get one. So far so good. I would make this decision over and over again, if not sooner.
Decide to do Airbnb
A big chunk of our income and wealth-building is coming from Airbnb. I am glad I started early and even got stock awards for this. I really love our tiny houses and would do this over and over again. Sometimes you get so deep in the weeds that you lose track of why you started. I needed this today.
A bit noisy about other people’s decisions
Let me be noisy for just a bit and look at other people since I mentor and sponsor so many. I cannot help but see some people struggle, but manage to make a few right major decisions, and now their lives are in much better shape.
On the contrary, I do see a few bright kids, but somehow, when it comes to major decision-making, they make not-so-good choices (in my opinion, of course). As a result, I see them busy but running in circles. Months and years go by, and they are exactly where they were. It’s the major decisions that trump everything.
Conclusion
My life, and your life, really boils down to just a few key decisions. Don’t mess them up because they will take your life down a different path. Some you can turn back from, some you can’t.
Recommended Reading: The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking.
