LUXURY HOME INVESTING TIP: THE NEED TO KICK ASS

Friday, February 19th, 2010

I may not know you personally, but I’m guessing you probably think of yourself as a modern man – or woman.

I assume that when you sit down to a nice steak dinner, you eat it with a knife and fork instead of your hands.  You hopefully shower and brush your teeth at least semi-regularly.  And when you want something, I’m relatively sure you ask for it – rather than club somebody over the head and grab it.

Yeah, you’re civilized.  You have manners.  You know how to play nice.  So it might surprise you to know that, deep down inside, you’re a caveman.

At least when it comes to competition.

As human beings, we’re hardwired to compete.  Blame it on our ancestors, who had to beat the living crap out of each other just to get some food, or shelter, or a mate.  Or our more recent ancestors, who decimated entire populations just to get more land, or more resources…or mates.

We all went to school, so we learned exactly why we were so uncouth back then.  It was necessity.  We didn’t know better.  We didn’t have modern conveniences like running water and Target.  The problem is, we have that stuff now, but that inner need to fight, to compete, to win is still there.  Somehow it became part of our DNA.  Which means it’s still there, right now, inside of you.

Yes, even you, Ms. Civilized.

You may not feel it, sitting at your desk job, or sprawled out on the couch watching “Deal or No Deal.”

But believe me, it’s there.  That need to compete – scratch that, the need to win — is a massive part of the human experience.  How else can you explain war?  Or politics?  Or the New York Yankees?

The question is, how does the average Joe the Businessman satisfy this primal need to kick some ass without going all Fight Club on the next-door-neighbor?

Simple.  He kicks his own ass.

(And maybe a little bit of the asses of his friends and colleagues.)

It might sound like a joke, but I’m being completely serious right now.  Every morning when I wake up, I know that my biggest competition is me.  And if I’m on track, I’m going to spend the day trying to top myself, to keep pushing and keep building, to do better than I did last week, last month, last year.  And I’m not just taking about the business of real estate investing.  I’m talking about my life.  I want to work harder, play harder and live better today than I lived yesterday.

And tomorrow, I hope I have such an amazing day that what I did today actually embarrasses me.

Pushing myself hard isn’t always easy – and let’s face it – there are days when I spend hours in my shorts watching ESPN and eating Froot Loops out of the box.  But it’s something I normally look at as a win-win.  Not only do I satisfy that inner, totally human urge to compete and win, but I also get the rewards only winning can bring – the reputation of a guy who knows what he’s doing, the money to do what I want, the kind of life I want to live.

So my advice to all you Average Joes and JoAnne’s is – step up and challenge yourself.  Try to top yourself.  And keep working at it. You’ll feel better, you’ll accomplish more, and you’ll satisfy one of your most primal, innermost needs.

Unless you’d rather go beat up your neighbor.