#(which usually means its about the money and he wasnt happy about the split)

[just-turn-it-off]

"if hayley and taylor break up, paramore is over!"

???

hayley isn't an immature teenager anymore and taylor isn't josh

[dolce-fritz]

So being the new evil girlfriend is fun

So recently my Partner has had some majorly stupid ass drama with their ex. Like this girl, she’s loopier then the Olympic oval, Like normally I’m nice and don’t slander people but like. She’s just, hoo boy. A mess.

And yeah this is from a completely biased stand point. And I’m about to tell you why that I feel the way that I do about this girl from my own experiences. This is going to be long winded, so I’m putting it under a read more. 

So I moved from the lovely state of Utah this year, my homelifes never been 100% great. I love my mom but our issues clash and we do better separate. Not to mention I really wanted to try it out in another state again and this time the right way and not just a spur of the moment decision while i visited like what happened with Florida.

Well, planned my vacation to See my at the time friend to see if I really liked it there.  I knew about their recent split with their Ex, and the two seemed pretty amicable about it. The other roommate was.... hoo, a mess to say the least. and My friend didn't want to be alone with her because they actually had been wanting to tell her to leave because of the issues that she'd brought into the home. anyways that in itself was a bit of drama.

So I was like OK. I'll come check it out and if I like it I'll be your new room mate.

Well. I plan my trip about four weeks out. and end up pretty excited about it. Come to find out with no real surprise that My friends Ex is going to move out before Octobers over.

My friend starts panicking. again doesn't wanna be alone with the other roommate that they're having hardships with. So I say ok... I'm going to do this vacation, then im just going to move on the 20th so I can get my stuff packed.

Shits already starting to go down hill.

I get there. everything seems fine. The ex seems nice, things seem ok. the other roommates.... already trying to cause shit with me and im not even physically in the house. I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor in an old office space. bought a bunch of furniture because at this point. I know I'm moving here. Its going to happen. This is where I'm going to live might as well help my friend end up getting it taken care of.

Well. Day three of my vacation hits. The ex drops that her dad wants her to move out that day. completely screws the pooch for my friend and the other roommate. And basically bails on them and leaves the house just with the things she wants and then just leaves all the rest of her junk here like its her own storage unit. claims she’ll be back for the rest [ Spoilers never happened]  so that... right there puts this sour taste in my mouth. Cause yeah, me and her ex at that point are sharing a bed. Because like theres only three beds in the house until she ends up leaving and so my friends like ill just sleep with you. me i’m very fine sharing my sleeping space with my friends. i’ve done it literally all my life. hell a its not a goodnight sleep unless your on your best friends bed snuggling the shit out of her kaneki ken body pillow listening to true crime documentaries on the TV but like seriously it was no big deal to me. which im begining to wonder if it was a big deal to her. Either way apparently instead of waiting till i officially moved. she bailed and forced my hand. So I had to stay, I couldn’t properly say goodbye to my mom. couldn’t properly get my shit packed. all cause I really didn’t want to leave my friend alone till I could officially move in. So already, I started getting a slight distaste in my mouth for her. but I let it slide. I know how overbearing parents are sometimes.  well, so i cancelled my flights. money spent that i was never going to end up getting back that I could’ve later used towards something for the house.  The girl left. and I was left, Cleaning up the mess that she walked out of and left behind.  Turns out my friend was the only one that was cleaning up around the house. and working a part time job, while trying to side hustle some art for extra money.  They were the one that was handling all the utilities, while their ex was buying everyone food. Separate it would’ve been an easier task if it was just the two of them. but you add in the extra roommate that was only paying her share of rent and none of the food and utilities and shit starts piling up. Well.  sat down and looked at all the finances. found out that while yeah the Ex was making the most money. She didn’t bother to help out with any of the chores. I mean, they split the dish duty. And i’m sitting here wondering how long this pan of fish oils been on the stove for. had to buy new pans cause they were growing cultures.  Hell half her chores and the other roomates were doing the cat boxes. dude it was shit mountain in there. it was so bad the cats were going in the corner. Yet it was like my friend was expected to pick up after them and pick up their slack because they didn’t work as many hours as the other two. Which I’m sorry. if you can’t balance cleaning up after yourself. and working how the hell are you going to live on your own.  Well in comes me, the living off disability. [ which is not a glorious life] I have a lot of time on my hands. so first few days we douche out the house. things start looking good.  in comes the ex to get something and brings this utter douchebag of a man that boasts about him being the whole reason that they broke up. Which like when we were moving out the ex. the ex’s dads...girlfriend??? was like dont let them take advantage of you. which like made me pull up a shit ton of questionmarks. cause yeah i wasn’t going to let the other roommate do that cause i was kinda aware what her game was and it wasn’t playable with me.  everyone had their part to play in this household, and I wasn’t going to play mother for anyone. Well in comes this guy. boast about how he wont let anyone take advantage of her again and im like sure w/e dude. but like i started like... questioning wtf she was actually telling people that my friend actually did to her.  see, what i was told was that it was an intimacy issue. my friends pretty Asexual so like there wasn’t alot of physical involvement. and that things just weren’t going the way that their ex wanted them to. Turns out it was SOOOO much more then that. so curious me, got digging about this girl cause shit just wasnt really adding up.  and I started finding out things. At this time, friend started turning to partner. and eventually we started dating which made shit a lot more uncomfortable with me and this girl. cause yanno, new girlfriend. ex girlfriend. two things dont usually mesh well in situations like this.  Well so, started finding out that while in a relationship she was leading on a bunch of other guys, and at work would like do this whole “im bi” thing if the guy was cute. like she was very male centered for a “lesbian”  She was super horny on main during DND which made EVERYONE uncomfortable. to top it all off she was a narcissist, that had a victim that she could toy with.  She tried to convince my partners parents while they were still together, to talk to their child when there were behaviours that she didnt like. She tried to have an intervention with their friends to force them into transitioning FtM when they were happy just being nonbinary.  they would gaslight them, manipulate them, and  abuse them. I watched this girl in the span of three weeks tear my partner down with her words in front of me. and be nothing but venomous to them. for no other reason then they were actually happy.   While spining all these stories of how she was the one that was wronged.  Well, I started having enough of her coming around just so she could be mean to my partner. She’d come over. immediately go to our fridge to drink some of the booze she left and then pick at my partner for small insignificant things only because she wanted to fight. When i had enough of that. I told my partner, we’re going to DnD early. she can find her own ride.  She came to a family party, invited unknowingly by my partners brother that’s been over seas and in the military. She thought she was going to get a hookup complained she wasn’t having fun because he wasn’t paying attention to her. Snapped at my partners nephews because they wanted to play and made one of them cry. and was just toxic to be around.  That was strike two.  Strike three was watching how she conducted herself around our dnD group. she’d had this guy, mister “ i saved you from your bad relationship” on speed dial, and would tell him things. and then sit and shit talk him when she was bored with him to everyone. We were all sick of it.  The ending straw with me, was when we finally wanted to be done with this drama. told her three months before hand to get off the car insurance. and it wasn’t done. ended up causing a big thing.  She started saying that she’d leave the DND group to make things easier. because Thats what my partner would want. At this point i couldnt stand it any longer. Three months talking to everyone that physically knows her. and see’s what she’s becoming lead everyone to say the same thing about her She was turning into her mother.  No i know fuck all about that. i dont know her mother, i dont know anything about her. I know she’s on a shot that fucks with your brain and ends up messing with your body. I also was on the DEPO shot for three years of my life and its caused so many problems after i was off it.  and thats what i tried to impart to her my wisdom on.  therapy, and a depo shot.  now how we got there is really long winded, and highly dramatic.  id admitted to her our dnd group wanted to chat. she was pushy, respected no ones boundaries, and left our friends house a complete mess. just like she left ours... and god, she ended up pissing me off cause the girl left slippers caked in cat puke in my tub after staining my bathroom doing her hair dye. she disrespected my home, she disrespected out friends, and our friends home. and she was needlessly mean and cruel to everyone around her that didnt serve some purpose to her.  So yeah she had to go.  Here i am thinking that this is the end of it. but i get updates about how I’m apparently the worst abuser in the world just cause I told some spoiled brat of a woman to get off a shot that messes with the brain, and to seek therapy cause this girl needs help. Funny thing is im not the only one that said it. apprently just the loudest voice to have said it.  and this bitch still thinks i dont like her cause she’s not ‘ providing for us financially” We may not have a high roller life. but damn we’re doing just fucking fine. 

[ktrsss1fics]

Cheeseburger in Paradise: Two.

She had seven missed calls.

Two were from her mother and the rest were from him.

From the time she turned off her phone on a plane in Los Angeles to the time she turned it back on in a town car in Aruba, Niall Horan had called her five times.

Georgina Ferguson couldn’t believe it.

Before they left, they made a plan. One person would leave their phone off to use as a back up just in case. Brittany’s phone had died just before their connecting flight so it was up Georgina to keep them safe. She scanned through the text messages that had accumulated while she was in the air in search of the address of the house they were going to be staying at. Niall had ordered the girls a car so they didn’t have to worry about relying on strangers in a foreign country. Georgina had seen too many abduction films and knew she needed to have an exit plan just in case. She typed the address into Google Maps and turned on the Find My Friend application. If something went wrong at least someone (mainly her mother and Dave) would know where they were.

As Brittany made small talk with the Australian driver, three notifications popped on her phone. Two voice mails and a follow request from Find My Friend.

Niall had called her five times. Niall had left her two voice mails. Niall had requested to follow her - just in case.

Brittany’s comments from the plane swirled around her head. Niall liked her. She didn’t want to believe it. He was just some annoying boy who knew how to push her buttons. He laughed too much and cared too much and spent too much time trying to get her attention.

Maybe Brittany was right.

Maybe he did like her. She was just too stubborn to see it.

Georgina placed her phone to her ear and was instantly met by an Irish accent. The first message was wishing them a safe flight. The second was checking in and updating them on what everyone was up to.

“Who was that?” Brittany asked as Georgina hung up the phone.

“Messages from Horan.” Georgina said looking out the window before going back to her phone.

“What’d he say?” Her friend asked.

“Dave’s phone died so we need to call Horan if we need anything. Everyone is just drinking by the pool.” Georgina said in a low tone. “He wants us to go through the side gate when we get there.”

Brittany nodded. “What was the other one?”

“Wishing us a safe flight and reminding us about the car and the address n all that.” Georgina said checking their surroundings.

“That’s considerate. Isn’t it?” Brittany smirked.

“Extremely.” Georgina replied dryly.

“I’m calling it.” Brittany smiled. “You’re going to like him by the end of this trip.”

“You’re delusional.” Georgina mumbled.

“Could say the same about you.” Brittany teased.

“You are just as bad as my mother.” Georgina grumbled as a nice neighborhood came into view.

“I’m just saying G.” Her friend smiled.

“I’m gonna write that on your tombstone.” Georgina shook her head.

“Yours is gonna say–” Brittany started to say until she noticed the house they had stopped in front of.

It was something out of a travel brochure. A tall iron fence with intricate embellishments stood around a massive multistory house.

“He spent way too much on this.” Brittany said in awe.

“What do you mean?” Georgina asked sliding some money over the front seat to the driver.

“He said he’d take care of it all but this is just too much.” Brittany said getting out of the car.

“No one else is paying for this?” Georgina said surprised.

Brittany shook her head as she grabbed her suitcase. “That I know of.”

“That’s not fair.” Georgina said. “I mean I know he has the money for it but like he shouldn’t have to pay for it by himself.”

“Are you sympathizing with Niall Horan?” Brittany teased.

“Oh stop.” Georgina said grabbing the rest of their things from the car.

“He’s not that bad of a guy you know.” Brittany said.

“If you keep this up, I’m ignoring you for the rest of the trip.” Georgina said.

“Just give ‘im a chance.” Britt said as Georgina shot her a dirty look.“Last one.”

The two women gathered their belongings and headed for the gate. Some overly played dance song was blasting from the backyard letting them know they are in the right place. Georgina punched in the code to unlock the gate.

As the two women stepped foot on the property, Georgina’s stomach filled with butterflies. She knew why it was happening but she didn’t want to believe it. Niall Horan didn’t have feelings for her. She was sure it. This was just Brittany’s way to get her to cooperate. This was just a ploy to create a drama-free environment for the two weeks they were away.

At least that’s how it seemed.

They rounded the corner of the house to find a full fledged diving competition taking place in the pool. Drinks were being shared by the bar. One couple was using a lounge chair as a very public make out spot.The one person she didn’t want to see stood out in a pair of bright yellow swim trunks.

She was screwed.

Brittany made her way to her boyfriend who was acting as a bartender. Georgina left her luggage by the house before taking a minute to collect herself.

She could do this. Right?

Without a second thought, she headed towards her friends. Greetings were briefly shared with everyone around the bar.

She watched as Niall got out of line for the diving board and headed towards her. A few curse words were mumbled under her breath causing her best friend to laugh. Georgina looked up to find Brittany watching her.

“Remember what I said G.” She whispered. “Be nice just for the trip.”

Georgina attempted to think of a snarky comeback but the most popular member of their group had appeared and was hugging her best friend.

The sound of the excitement in his voice made her body tense up. She didn’t understand how someone could be that happy all the time.

Before she could she critique his every move, a pair of blue eyes was staring back at her. She put a fake smile on her face and got ready for to play a part.

“Fergie.” Niall smiled pulling her into a hug.

“Hey Niall.” Georgina responded as nicely as she could.

The young man stepped back and studied her face closely.

“What?” Georgina asked confused.

“Y'alright?” Niall asked scanning her features.

“Yeah why?” She asked still not understanding what he was doing.

“You called me by my first name.” Niall explained. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t sick or anything.”

Georgina rolled her eyes trying to fight a blush from forming. “You’re so annoying.”

His signature laugh filled the space between them.

“So what’s that about?” She asked nodding to the line at the pool.

“Jamie said he was better than Tom Daley.” Niall said.

Georgina couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “He’s such a twat.”

“Right?” He said with a laugh. “We thought it’d be a fun competition.”

“Who’s winnin’?” She asked somewhat interested.

“Surprisingly Mags is.” He said nodding to a girl in a red bikini.

“She used to be a ballerina.” She said. “That makes sense.”

“She did?” He said smoothing over his wet hair.

“We’ve discussed this before you goof.” She said trying to be playful.

“I’m sorry I don’t remember every conversation we have.” He sassed.

“You remember my order at In N Out but you don’t remember our friends childhood hobbies.” She shook her head. “Tsk tsk Horan. Shame on you.”

Niall’s lips turned up into a big smile. “Let’s go get you settled brat.”

“So we had a bit of an issue yesterday when we got here.” He said once they got inside.

“What happened?” Georgina asked.

“I had sort of planned out where everyone was gonna stay but uh the couples ganged up on us and took the entire second floor.” He explained running a hand through his hair nervously. “It’s kind of a mess and now we are stuck down here. Just because we aren’t part of a pair doesn’t mean our opinion is invalid.”

“So you mean to tell me that you are paying for this monstrosity of a house by yourself and those drunks out there told you where you are going to be sleeping.” Georgina marveled at the thought.

Niall sighed. “She told you?”

“Yes but we’ll get to that in a second.” Georgina said. “You’re too nice to them Ni. You should have gotten first pick and then they could have fought for whatever was left.”

“I know I know. It’s just they are all so used to getting what they want and I already made them wait to come on this trip so I just let them.” He said sounding insecure.

His eyes fell to the floor realizing he might have said too much.

“They are kind of bullies.” Georgina said trying to lighten the mood. “Like that night when we went to Santa Monica and they said they got to take the first Uber home because they didn’t want to be split up but like you were gonna puke and Ash was nearly dead so you deserved the first one.”

“That was bullshit. It was a short ride to Keith’s place and they couldn’t be apart for what was it.. ten minutes?” He shook his head. “Absolute bull shit.”

“So what did they leave us poor singles with?” Georgina asked with a smile.

“Well uh two rooms on each side of the first floor. One shares a bathroom with Keith and the other shares a bathroom with me.” He said quietly.

Georgina was quiet.

“If I’m honest, Keith should have been left at home. He is being a real creep and talking about all the women he’s going to bring back.” Niall went on to explain. “So I wouldn’t choose that one. I mean if you want, I can switch to that room and you can keep the two over here.”

“Stop being a people pleaser Horan.” She said.

“I just want everyone to enjoy themselves and I’m worried they won’t.” Niall admitted shyly. “If me changing rooms will help, I’ll do it.”

“Keep your room. I get to take showers first. Got it?” She smirked grabbing her luggage and walking past him.

Niall stood still for a moment. He wasn’t used to this side of her. She was usually a little standoffish and cold. But here she was joking around with him.

He couldn’t believe it.

“So which one is mine?” Georgina asked pulling him back to reality.

“Uh the one on the left.” He said nodding towards the door in front of her.

“How much do I owe you?” She asked stepping inside the room.

“Fergie…” Niall started to say but she cut him off.

“Unlike the rest of their friends, I wasn’t raised to be disrespectful.” She said quietly. “I can’t let you pay for this entire trip by yourself.”

Niall watched her closely as she spoke - his eyes full of admiration.

“How much can I chip in?” She asked.

“I appreciate the offer.” He said sincerely. “But-”

“No buts. I’m gonna pay for something. Whether it’s part of the rental fee or for groceries or for drinks when we go out.” She said stubbornly. “We all have well paying jobs there is no excuse for them to think just because you are who you are that they deserve to get off without paying a dime.”

Niall cheeks turned rosy as the woman in front of him continued to rant about their friends. He had never seen her this passionate about anything. Not only was it slightly attractive, it was also really nice to see someone care about him.

Money wasn’t an issue. If he wanted to rent a mansion in a foreign country for a week, he could. But the fact that she was concerned about him spending too much meant something.

“You know what Fergie?” He said softly.

“Hmm?” She mumbled glancing up at him.

“I’m glad that you’re in my life.” He stated sincerely.

“Why’s that?” She asked placing her suitcase on the bed.

He shrugged, “You actually give a shit.”

She didn’t know how to respond. He took the moment to explain.

“I know I can come off a little strong sometimes and I can be a bit persistent with things but like out of everyone you give it to me straight.” Niall said trying not to show how he actually felt. “There is no bull shit with you. If I’m being a twat, you let me know. If I’m being too clingy, you let me know. If I’m being too much, you let me have it.”

Heat danced across her body as his words floated around her. This was not happening. Niall Horan wasn’t admitting how much he appreciated having her in his life. This wasn’t real life. She was still asleep on the plane and this was all a dream.

“I uh just wanted to let you know I appreciate it.” He smiled.

Georgina still didn’t know how to respond so she resorted to what she did best.

“You kind of forced yourself into my life so I’ve had to learn to adapt.” She teased making him smile even more.

“That’s how I make all my friends.” He joked. “Just annoy the shit out of them until they get use to me.”

“Sounds about right.” She laughed.

“Want me to give you a minute to like relax?” He asked trying not to over stay his welcome.

Georgina shook her head. “I’m good. We can go back with the others if you want.”

Niall headed towards the door. “Want a tour?”

“I’m only allowed on the first floor so I don’t need to see the rest.” She said following behind him.

“One day we’ll get the credentials to make it up there.” He assured her.

“Or we could just find more single friends.” She suggested.

“You do have a point.” He nodded.

“Why aren’t you as drunk as the others?” She asked as they stepped outside.

“Didn’t want to risk something happening to you and Britt and having no one to come help.” He admitted shyly. “She didn’t call me when she said she would so I got a little worried.”

“She almost made us miss our bloody connecting flight.” Georgina complained.

“How?” He asked trying not to laugh.

“Her phone charger was in her checked bag and her phone died so she wanted to buy a portable one at one of those shops.” Georgina explained. “The queue was outside the shop and she still wanted to buy it.”

“Is that why she didn’t call?” He asked looking over at their friend.

Georgina nodded as she watched Brittany dance along to the song that was playing.

“Sorry I called so much.” Niall said slightly embarrassed. “She told me she’d call in between flights and she wasn’t answering so I was hoping you’d pick up instead.”

“S'fine. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up.” Georgina apologized. “We decided to keep one phone off so we wouldn’t end up having two dead phones.”

“Smart idea.” He said glancing back at her.

“Well now that we are safely here do you wanna get something to drink?” Georgina asked keeping her eyes off the boy beside her.

“There are plenty of beers in the fridge.” He said turning towards her. “And they made some tropical juice thing with rum if you want that instead.”

Georgina scrunched up here nose trying to make up her mind. Niall found it cute.

“Or there’s water.” He added trying to help.

“Water’s for fish Horan.” Georgina joked. “Bring me something that’ll get me drunk.”

With that, Niall laughed his way to the bar to make her something to drink.

[therealestatesparkblog]

How Adopting 7 Kids at Once Led Me to Launch My Real Estate Investing Career

The truth is that I did not get involved in real estate in a meaningful way until later in my life. I have been a chiropractic physician for 29 years, but Im really an entrepreneur at heart. I have started or purchased six multi-discipline medical clinics in my career and have been involved in a number of other businesses. None, however, have matched the combination of relative safety and potential returns afforded by real estate. Still, for some reason, I could never pull the trigger and launch my real estate investing career. Unfortunately I sat on the sidelines for a number of years. I hoped to get started but never did. Like many of you, I read Robert Kiyosakis Rich Dad Poor Dadand a few other real estate books, but it wasnt enough. Looking back now, I can point to several life events that lit a fire under me and finally got me off the bench and into the game. Over the past few years, I have flipped a couple houses, owned a small apartment complex, developed a large commercial retail strip center, syndicated a 125-door multifamily townhome complex, and am just finishing the co-syndication of a large self-storage deal. I am in my 50s and wish I had started earlier. No matter your age, though, if you are procrastinating like I did, hopefully you can use one or more of the following five steps to get started. 5 Steps to Launch Your Real Estate Career1. Find your passion. Twenty years ago, my wife and I became interested in adoption. We had two biological kids at the time and wanted to adopt a third child. While working with an organization that facilitated the adoption of Eastern European orphans, we heard about a sibling group of seven Russian children that the Russian government was going to split up and send to three different countries. My wife decided she would make it her personal mission to find a family that could keep these siblings from being separated. The idea of someone taking that many kids into their home blew us away, and we made a list of all of our friends and acquaintances that we thought might be able to afford such a monumental task. The Russian government announced they would be separating the children in a few months. As the date approached with no takers in sight, we began to ask ourselves if there was any way we could adopt them ourselves. Its a very long story, but fast forward to August of 1988. We were told at the U.S. Embassy that we had completed the single largest adoption in U.S./Russian history (at a single time). It was a big culture shock to bring seven Russian speaking kids into our home for sure. But the real shock was just around the corner when the financial reality of our decision began to hit home. Nine sets of clothing, nine bikes, nine soccer teams, nine college educations, nine weddingsyou get the picture. The financial pressure began to build. I rapidly set out on a course to produce more income. I started or purchased six different medical clinics. I developed anathletic club, which eventually grew to 1,500 members. I purchased a sports performance enhancement franchise. And we even started a coffee shop/deli. Some produced more cash flow than others, but the one problem all those businesses had in common was that they took immense amounts of my personal time. I was fairly successful at creating additional income, but I was killing myself. My family life was suffering. I quickly realized working 70-80 hours a week would not work. There are few things that I am more passionate about than my family, so I threw myself into a massive search for ways to create passive income. It was this search that eventually led me to real estate. You can do the same thing. Figure out what you are passionate about. Focus on the end results. Getfired up and use that passion to fuel your real estate dreams.

Related: If I Started My Real Estate Business Again Today, THIS is What Id Change 2. Harness fear. As humans, nothing makes us react quite like fear. Fear comes in all shapes and sizes. There are literally hundreds of types of fears and phobiasfear of pain, of disease, of injury, of tight spaces, of rejection, and of failure, to name a few. People will do just about anything to avoid their fears. If they are forced to face fear, they go into fight or flight mode or they are paralyzed by fear and do nothing at all. Fortunately, a random encounter with a couple of patients changed my investing mindset forever. It was March 6, 2009, and the stock market was in the final throes of its great crash. I walked into a treatment room, and there sat a patient with tears streaming down his face. It was odd because this was a big burly guy who had just retired from a local factory and was a pretty tough character. I soon found out he was not crying because of his back or neck pain but because he had just lost almost all of his retirement savings in the stock market. Apparently, this gentleman had taken his retirement payments as a lump sum and had recently dumped it all in the market. As he sat on my exam table, he explained how in a few short days, he had lost more than 70 percent of his retirement savings, and those savings had taken him 40 years to amass! I am not usually at a loss for words, but nothing in my medical training could have prepared me for that moment. A couple of days later, I was seeing another patient. Mrs. Smith (not her real name) was a 50-something retired school teacher and seemed to be in a better mood than normal. I noticed her cheerfulness and asked her why she seemed so happy. She went on to explain how she and her husband had taken all of their retirement funds out of the stock market about a year previously and had used the funds to buy rental property. Their rentals were leased, and frankly, they were really enjoying retirement. Fortunate to have gotten out of the market when they did, this new landlord was not affected by the downturn in the markets at all. I had really never trusted the stock market. I mean, with the almost-daily headlines of one major bank after another caught cheating their clients or gaming the system somehow, this ladys message really hit home with me. Even so, I had always been too afraid of missing out on that once-in-a-lifetime Amazon or Microsoft stock pick to shift my investing away from the stock market. Right then and there, it finally hit home. When it came to real estate, I was afraid to make a mistake that would cost me money. Since I was not sure when or where to start, I just sat doing nothing for years. I had analysis paralysis, but I realized I was much more scared of ending up like my first patient, crying in a doctors office somewhere having lost the majority of my retirement. I finally made a commitment that real estate would be my investment vehicle of choice. 3. Find your motivation. A few years back, an MRI revealed I had a torn rotator cuff, torn labrum, and arthritis in my shoulder. Decades of occupational abuse and years of chasing baseball scholarships had taken their toll. My orthopedic physician announced I could either give up my chiropractic career immediately, or in about four years, I would need a shoulder replacement. Suddenly, I was heading toward for an untimely retirement. I was shocked. I had dedicated the last 29 years of my life to helping people heal. My entire identity was tied up in being a healthcare provider. At the same time, Obamacare was rapidly eroding away my practice of two-plus decades. I had no idea what I would do, but knew I needed a plan and needed one quick. After much angst and a considerable amount of prayer, I decided it was time to jump in with both feet. I still have a medical practice, but am working full-time on a plan to exit healthcare as soon as possible. Even though I didnt recognize it at the time, life circumstances helped me find my motivation. Each individual has their own unique mix of life experiences and desires that fuel their drive for success. For some, its the thought of a penniless retirement. For others, it is the commitment to never let their children grow up in poverty (like they did). Some people say that success is a lake home or traveling the world. Others have an altruistic motivation to give back to those less fortunate. There are 1,001 books on ramping up personal motivation. For me, however, it boils down to a very simple concept: Focusing on my goals 10 times more than I focus on the roadblocks. Every time I run up against what seems like an insurmountable roadblock, I pull out my list of goals and focus on what I want to accomplish. Time spent focusing on what matters most turbocharges my motivation levels. The roadblocks seem to work themselves out. Whats your motivation? Related: How to Jumpstart Your Investing Career as a Multifamily Deal Finder 4. Hire a mentor. Every athlete from t-ball to the big leagues has a coach. They need someone they can learn from who is more experienced. Someone who knows the ins and outs of the game. Its no different in real estate. If you are serious about learning the craft, you need to find someone to teach you the ropes. When I finally got serious, I hired a mentor. I knew if I spent my hard-earned money on a program, I would take it seriously. There are lots of mentors and training programs on BiggerPockets. For me, I knew the more expensive the program, the more commitment I was likely to have. I am not talking about a weekend seminar with a few handouts. I chose a company called 37th Parallel Properties. Their program is a comprehensive year-long mentorship. It includes visits to real assets across the country (much like getting an MBA in multifamily investing). Dont get me wrongnot everyone needs to pay for a mentor, but dont attempt to go it alone. Learn from someone elses mistakes. Its one of the many reasons I am such a big fan of BiggerPockets. You can learn so much just by hanging out in the community and reading the advice of experienced investors. Whether you hope to invest in single family homes, self-storage units, large multifamily communities, or mobile home parks, there is always someone with expertise willing to share.

5.Leverage the experience of others. Maybe you dont need to change careers like me. Maybe you just want to use commercial real estate to turbocharge your portfolio. Maybe you just want to be a passive investor and have very little interest in toilets, tenants, and trash. If you are an accredited or sophisticated investor, syndicated deals may be the best approach for you. Some companies offer syndicated real estate investments. They specialize in sourcing lucrative real estate assets and packaging them up for passive investors. They typically underwrite the project, perform all due diligence, line up debt, and complete the purchase. The companies then operate and oversee these assets so that their investors can realize great profits minus the headaches. Choosing a company that you feel comfortable with is the key to any syndicated investment. While it is a much quicker way to jump into the fray, be careful! Take your time and choose the specific deal and syndicator carefully. Ask lots of questions and always check references. So, what is holding you back? Whats it going to take to get you off the sidelines? Dont procrastinate like I did! Hey, if an old chiropractor can do it

What motivation led to your first investment? What did your journey there look like? Take a moment to share what it took to make your first real estate investment! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/seven-child-adoption-launch-real-estate-career