The Real Cost Of Not Taking Action

Our brains are hardwired to identify risks, uncertainties and avoid them like the plague yet some of the most vivid regrets in life come in the form of things we didn’t do.

Let that sink in for a moment. Read it again if you need to.

So what separates the action takers from the people that sit back and watch others go after their dreams? What gives certain successful people the confidence to press forward without knowing the all the variables?

Preparedness. In a world that is constantly shifting around us the only thing that you can control is how prepared you are. You might be reading this and thinking “Come on Marcin… it’s an oxymoron to say be prepared before you take action but take action without knowing all the variables!”

When I say be prepared I mean focus on the “context” of the situation that you’re facing. Don’t get too caught up with the “content” early in the process.

For example if you’re looking to acquire and restore a 200 unit apartment building you should start with the high level view of the market, landlord laws, location and the numbers on the property. This all represents the context of the deal. There’s no sense in fussing over the flooring, paint colors or cabinets this early in the process. That’s content that can be addressed once the context of the deal makes sense.

Put this way what I’m saying is obvious yet I can’t tell you how many people I talk to get caught up way too early in the “content” of scaling a real estate business and are unable to step back and consider the context of the situation.

The pattern is almost always the same. They come to me to learn how to scale their real estate business. They get excited at the possibilities of doubling or even quadrupling the size of their portfolio. They almost immediately begin to overthink everything that’s required along the way and many just freeze and do nothing.

The ones that push on and make progress all have one thing in common. They stay focused & committed to the context of the situation and strive to operate from that mindset. Simply put, they don’t clutter their day with incoming content that is out of context.

In stark contrast the #1 tell tale sign of someone who’s struggling to scale their portfolio is time. They simply don’t have "enough" of it and are not prepared to invest in the people to give them their time back to stay focused on the context. Whether it’s a full time administrator to help you keep everything organized, filed and documented to a coach to keep you focused and headed in the right direction… most real estate investors act as lone wolves and end up operating (often times frustrated) at a fraction of their potential.

Their definition of “prepared” means knowing everything about everything before doing anything and it shows. This thought processes paralyzes them and keeps them operating in their world of 8 or 18 units.

You can’t focus on making connections, sourcing deals and learning how to raise capital if you’re on hold for 2 hours with the utility company, trying to figure out how to use Quick Books or negotiating pricing on a hot water tank.

The real cost of being “stuck” where you’re at today and not being able to take action takes months, sometimes years to become evident (if ever) to the lone wolf. By then the lost opportunities, forgone rental revenues, appreciation and personal regrets become painfully obvious and costly… both financially and mentally.

I’ve always been prepared to write the check to be prepared. For me it’s too expensive not to be ready to take action.

Marcin Drozdz

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