We Can't All Be Donald Trump - And That's Okay

When considering the many obstacles on the road to success, you might overlook “perfectionism”, but you shouldn’t. This sneaky stumbling block can stop you from even beginning your journey.

Nancy’s Colasurdo’s excellent article, “We Can’t All be Shakespeare- And That’s Okay”, takes a look at a ‘defeat mechanism’ that can stop us from even trying to accomplish our dreams.  And as we all know, if you don’t begin your journey, you certainly won’t get there.

As a coach Colasurdo has found that clients “often feel that they have to be perfect or aspire to be at the level of someone they feel is at the top of the profession.” Looking at the end game, some feel that such an achievement is impossible for them. They forget the many steps that a leader took to achieve his or her goals.  And they also forget that each one’s way is individual.

How might this apply to real estate investing? What if a would-be investor chose Donald Trump as a model, and said, “What’s the point of buying a small rental property, or two or even three?  That’s nothing to Donald Trump.” 

But just because your journey may be different, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it. When looking at others’ success stories – remember, their starting point may be different, they have a different path to take, but the important factor to emulate is the mindset that looks for opportunities small and big and makes the most of them one by one.

Donald Trump learned the real estate business first hand from his dad, Frederick, a successful developer in Queens and Brooklyn.  When ‘the Donald’ wanted to invest in Manhattan, his dad tried to discourage him. But Trump had a vision of what he could accomplish, he felt he understood the risks, and was determined to go for it.  His mid-70’s transformation of the Commodore Hotel into The Grand Hyatt, not only made him a fortune and set him on a road to tremendous success, but it also completely revitalized a rundown area of Manhattan.

Few of us begin with Trump’s assets or a dad like his for a mentor. Instead, we have to learn the business on our own from the ground up. But we do have the ability to adopt the Trump mindset – the approach of a champion. 

What does it entail? Doing your homework, understanding the finances, taking well-considered risks, planning every step, being prepared for challenges and dealing with them, capitalizing on success, learning from failures.  And to quote Winston Churchill, “Never, never, never, never give up.”

And little by little, step-by-step you will build your real estate business, write your own story, improve neighborhoods and achieve success your way. And you’ll be glad you didn’t wait to become perfect before beginning your journey.