Character Counts in Real Estate Investing
Filed under: Home Buying, Real Estate Investing
“Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”
—William James
Who you are determines what you perceive, and what you perceive determines what you do. That is why your character is so important. Developing character and living out loud are what life is all about. The choices you make develop your character. Think back about choices you have made that developed your character. This is an ongoing process throughout your life. Your character can change at any time, slowly or quickly, positively or negatively. Most people simply allow life to shape them, but you can consciously influence the process by deliberately making choices. In my three-disk set of CDs entitled Believe & Achieve, I give examples of this taken from
real life experiences.
Think of someone with a great talent who built up something and then, somewhat mysteriously, just permitted it all to fall apart. This can often be attributed to a character flaw. A person’s character can be most clearly revealed at a time of crisis and sometimes it is responsible for otherwise inexplicable results. An inflexible character can trap people.
You may remember the fable of the scorpion and the fox. Upon seeing the fox set out to swim across a deep river, the scorpion asked for a lift. The fox said he was afraid the scorpion would sting him. The scorpion pointed out that if he did that, they would both drown. That seemed logical to the fox, so he let the scorpion cling to his neck as he swam across with his head out of the water. The scorpion stung him and they both began to drown. The fox asked why the scorpion had stung him. “It’s my nature,” the scorpion said. As with most fables, you are free to draw your own conclusions from the story. For our present purposes, the message can be read as not allowing yourself to develop a self-defeating negative behavior. Do not end up hard-shelled, toxin-laden and compulsive. The decisions you presently make determine, to a great extent, your future character. Are the decisions you are currently making likely to lead to an open, welcoming personality? Only you can answer that, and only you are in control of it. You can control the development of your character.
Through conscious decisions, you can strengthen positive personality traits and diminish negative ones. Find out your character weaknesses and work on them. Knowing your weaknesses enables you to repair them, like cracks in a foundation.
To begin this process, here are nine questions to ask yourself:
- Do your words and actions match all the time?
- When you say you will do something, do you always do it?
- Are you the person right now that you want to be for the rest of your life?
- Are you truly open to change and growth?
- Are you committed to taking action in your life?
- Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?
- Do you see the benefits of a good strong character?
- Are you an ethical person?
- Do you really want to change your life?
