I pet a 450 pound tiger...
By Doug Fath,
...and thankfully I am still alive to talk about it.
It was quite a thrilling experience and I was scared out of mind.
(Don't worry I will show you some before and after pictures later on)
But here is how it went down:
I arrive at the Tiger Temple and as I walk
down to the tiger pit, I see about 8
tigers pacing anxiously.
Fortunately there are guides that coach you
on to handle these 450 lb tigers
Tip # 1
Pray you don't get bitten
(just kidding, ok seriously though here is what they said)
As my guide walks me to the first tiger he tells me to
Put my hand firmly on the tiger so that it knows that I'm there.
I double check with the guide since I am not crazy about the idea,
"You want me to pet the tiger firmly"? I ask anxiously.
My guide then raises his hand and slaps the tiger on it's backside really hard.
To my pleasant surprise the tiger doesn't budge and I follow suit,
slapping my hand on the 450 lb tiger and petting it firmly.
(phheww one tiger down a few more to go.)
I proceed to the 2nd & 3rd tiger and successfuly pet them firmly and snap a few pictures with them.
As I sit down with the 4th tiger and place my hand firmly on it's back
this tiger turns its head to look at me
"Holy %$&*" I think to myself, but nonetheless I don't move
still keeping my hand firmly on it's backside letting the tiger know I'm not
going anywhere and it eventually turns its head back around.
(he must have had an early lunch and decided to spare to me)
Now truth be told, the only reason I survived this experience was
due to the coaching that I received from my guide.
And the same can be said for investing in real estate.
Upon first glance you may not think so, but real estate investing is a lot
like petting a 450 lb tiger.
It's a good idea not to leave things to chance.
First off, if I wasn't told to handle the tiger firmly, I promise you
my initial instinct was not to slap the tiger and let him know I am the boss.
Whether it be purchasing your first property or taking your investing career
to the next level, if you have someone guiding you that has BEEN there
before it makes your life MUCH easier and significantly enhances your chance
of success. It is also an easy way to avoid making many common mistakes by learning from your guide. In real estate, it could be not making that $10,000 mistake or in my case it could be the difference between me writing this email with only one hand instead of two!
Secondly, when the tiger turned around to take a good look at me, my initial
reaction was "RUN!!!". But prior to getting started the guide said that
if the tiger moves or turns around that I should stand firm and do not move.
Thanks to his coaching I knew how to handle a situation I would typically
have no idea how to handle.
When it comes down to it, I've found that most people aren't
successful in real estate because they stray from their plan of action.
They get started with great excitement and a solid plan and then
they hit some obstacles and run into some unexpected situations
that they don't know how to deal with and eventually the obstacles
become insurmountable to them because they don't know what
to do, so they give up.
Having a guide/coach to hold you accountable to stick to your plan,
helping you through the difficult times when you want to quit can
be the difference between you failing as a real estate investor and you
embarking on a real estate career that leads to your financial freedom.