Unimaginable Beauty
I have been fortunate to travel to many places on this earth but the remaining list of places I have yet to visit is quite large. It is a blast making new friends, the experience each new place has to offer, the food, drink, and culture is a dream that is only partially complete. The path to getting to all those far away places is currently in design. Since I am a builder my next goal will be to build a home with a vista such as pictured above. Quindio Colombia where the climate is a constant 60-70 degrees. A place where I can unplug from the connectivity culture. A quiet place where I can hike for hours and become inspired with creativity. It is hard to free your mind to think clearly in the midst of the constant bombardment of our connected life that chimes our dumb phones. We all need to have that place to just breathe and preferably for more than an hour. How we get there, to that special place, is a journey that we can and should control. It is incumbent upon us to direct the affairs of our life and if we choose not to then someone else will.
The older I get the more I understand the importance of planning. I am a creative problem solver with a critical path mindset seared into my conscience during my many years in the construction industry. An industry that is schedule driven, so I am relentless about removing chaos from the day to normalize the path to completion. Now I am on a new trajectory into somewhat familiar territory but where the language and rules are different. So to succeed in this new path I must explore, read, absorb and integrate what I learn with all the previous experience I have packed and stored in my bio hard drive. What comes out is always creative and sometimes bizarre and crazy, even laughable. The goal, of course, is to find a niche market and to successfully plan out a strategy to generate income that:
- Does not keep me chained down to a routine (think Woodstock-Richie Havens)
- Allows us the freedom to relax and enjoy the fun of being able to travel the world for months at a time as we please.
- To find success is great but sharing is more rewarding, therefore it is necessary to understand this process in such a way that I can teach it to others so they to can find the means to afford their dreams.
I have experienced much in life and through it all, I have learned that there is a certain familiarity that links it all together. Take business, for example, there are certain practices that never change and are a requirement for success. What has changed is how you obtain the knowledge you need to succeed. In this present age obtaining the knowledge of success has never been easier. This journey will be exciting, require hard work and as always some trial and error as we critique our path to success. Some would call it difficult times but that is a part of learning and a part of the adventure so embrace it.
Climbing a mountain is difficult but getting to the top is exhilarating. Believe me when I say that once you get there you don’t want to come down because the climb down is really hard on the knees and shins. So remember when you are struggling to get to the top that it is easier and safer climbing up then down so just chill, take a deep breath and keep climbing.
I have learned that we must choose our path wisely, get advice from those who have made it to the top and ask a lot of questions and finally, while there is never a shortage of experts in this information age to guide us we must never turn off common sense and blindly follow, never. Always drill down and connect the dots until it makes sense to you. To proceed before you understand enough to connect the dots could be a sign you have relinquished control and are following with your head down. When you are learning you are following but do so with your head up connecting to dot to make sure they add up. Trust but verify, check the source, THINK, and we will all succeed.
Finally, the most important thing I have learned is that money is not the most important thing. Not by a long shot so should not be our main focus. If you are building a dam that will hold back millions of gallons of water, the focus must be first the design, second the foundations, third adhering to the design to build quality. Do that consistently, day in and day out, and all of a sudden the project is completed and holding water. With the dam structure completed the water continues to flow downstream to the dam until it is filled to capacity. It does not fill up instantly, it takes time. When it fills up and water is flowing over the spillway you will know the dam is safe and have built something beautiful. Now you can relax and live downstream with confidence the water with continue to flow out as you need it.
That is what we all want, is it not?
Then we can all have a home with a vista as beautiful as the picture above.
Recent Comments
7
I love that photo! My husband and I talked about adopting a child from Columbia someday. Hopefully we will.
I understand what you discuss here and have felt very much the same lately. I am by nature a planner anyway but I value it more and more now as I struggle to manage a life with a job, husband, husband's job, 4-plex we own and manage, family, websites, health problems etc. etc.
I have been slowly learning to say No to everyone's random suggestions or requests. I like seeing friends but if they aren't close friends and I will injure or make myself sick doing whatever they want me to do, I have to say no. This is a common problem for me due to my health issues. I have to keep myself healthy in order to go to work and live so that has to come first. I also have to take care of my husband and close family (they take great care of me too) etc. It is much easier to come up with a plan than to be blown around each week by random suggestions of what someone wants to do then be so worn out I can barely make it to work or have to use up all my leave being sick.
My husband likes to wing it as the Marine Corps taught him to be prepared for anything so he has had a hard time adjusting to all my planning! We understand each other better each year however and now at almost 11 years together we are finally getting it figured out.
Despite his teasing about my planning, he appreciates that I planned our wedding in Hawaii, planned out how to buy the 4-plex with his VA loan etc.
Now we plan to continue buying investment property as fast as we can and between that and websites we hope to gain our financial independence well before normal retirement age. I have worked for state government for 10 years, starting in my late 20's so I have a healthy retirement saved up that can continue to grow over time. Thank goodness my parents taught me the value of investing early, education and finding good jobs so I could be where I am today and hopefully be able to support myself even if my health problems limit normal employment.
I am SO glad I found WA and learned how to build my own websites here! My husband is planning to start a website as well. It is a slow process but like you said if we stick to the plan and follow the steps we will be successful and build a beautiful dam of success!
Jessica
Smart girl, investing in real estate is a tangible asset that should pay an ROI monthly while increasing in value over time. I did the same in my youth but made a big mistake and lost it all during a big market correction due to the Savings and Loan failure and the first Geroge Bush no new taxes pledge that he reneged on. What I did not know at the time is that you must have 25% liquidity of your total investment property. That is so you can get through a cyclical downturn able to pay your bills. When people lose jobs and don't pay rent you have to cover that until you can evict and get paying tenants. So don't rush into the storm you can not see without the cash to cover your costs in a downturn. It takes me 3 months to plan a vacation LOL but we are moving fast seeing the land and taking in as much as possible. So planning is a good thing but when it is not important and time is not a real issue than just winging it and going with the flow is fun and relaxing. Surprise your husband sometimes by handing him the keys and loading the car and let's go. When he says where, say I don't know that's why I gave you the keys, we have 3 days so let's get going! It is a gift to see the big picture but the devil is in the details and success comes from executing on the details not seeing the big picture so keep on planning.
We just did a small version of that on Saturday. We started driving and didn't know how far we would go! It was great.
We live in one unit of the 4-plex and it was in very good shape when we got it (new roof, new heating system) so it is a great investment since we basically live rent free now. Therefore it was a very low risk for us. We paid no money down with the VA loan which is counter-intuitive to many people but in this case worked out very well since we save so much in rent! The idea is to let others pay for the property instead of sinking your own money into it. As long as you have a safety net (like you mentioned) it works well. Property is very expensive here (as is the cost of living in general) so this was the only practical way for us to buy our own place at this time.
I hate living in an apartment but it is worth the financial security for the time being and will be an awesome investment for us down the road!
good for you, you may have to change your name to wingitgirl! Great investment and the rent you do not pay will become the additional income you can use to pay part of a single-family home mortgage, maybe one with a small apartment. I remember the cost of living there is high. Do you get oil royalties?
The plan is to get another 4-plex or Tri-plex next and then maybe a duplex and THEN a house...by then the income from all the other properties can pay for the house! Houses are a rip-off here now! The average house is about $400,000!
Yes, we get the Permanent Fund Dividend if that is what you are asking. It was cut in half last year to pay for state budget expenses however. Alaska is broke since the price of oil went down.
You need to look into being the General Contractor and reduce your costs by 15 to 20% then you have something new.
We already fix everything ourselves unless it requires a licensed plumber/electrician etc. My husband's best friend lives close by and he is a general contractor so we can get free advice! He is also one of my premium referrals here at WA since he built a website for his contracting business!
Between him and my husband they fix everything at my Mom's rental property also.