This is a question that I first heard at the beginning of my real estate investment journey. I thought about it many times, just not in those specific terms. As I examined it a little deeper, it became more evident to me, I had not fully fleshed out “What is my Why?” This question boils down to:
What is the reason I get up in the morning, go to work, and try to be a functioning and contributing member of society?
I quickly realized the question, at least in my mind, is asked incorrectly. I think it should be asked:
WHO IS YOUR WHY?
For me, the answer is simple, and probably the same as most of you. Family. This is such a deep answer and cannot be unpacked in an article on a website dedicated to real estate investing.
You might find yourself getting up every morning, going to a job you don’t like in order to put food on the table and clothes on the backs of your loved ones. This can be a very stressful situation. A lot of folks would not want to push through for themselves, but do it for their tribe.
Humans have a God-given desire to love and to be loved. That is where I think the “why” lies. Sure, there are people who want the “thing” whether it be a new house, new car or to “stick it to the man.” Most of us really live this life, with all of its pleasure and pain, for the people around us.
They make it “worth it”.
Our existence on this planet is not a solitary existence. I could go on about my personal philosophy of life, but this is about helping you peel back your “who.”
This is where we get interactive.
Ask yourselves these questions:
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- Why do you work as hard as you do?
- Who do you want to provide for?
- What is your end goal when it has to do with your retirement?
- What would you do if you didn’t have to work (or work as much)?
- Who would you do those things with?
My hope is they will make you want to take action.
My “who” has grown into helping people outside of my family also! I believe when doing most things, you get more joy in doing them with or for others. As real estate investors, we want to help the tenants who rent from us. In my life, I have had landlords who took care of the places we lived and treated us fairly. As First Gen Investors, we want to be that for others. There are plenty of slumlords out there. We are not that.
Here are a couple of examples.
In our first duplex, the tenants made it difficult to get into the apartment when we took ownership. The property was kept in disarray for so long that they doubted our intentions. We explained that we wanted to go in and make their home better. We were able to update light fixtures, change the toilet, redo the floors and put a fresh coat of paint on the walls.
On a separate property we acquired, had the ceiling evaluated after noticing a sag in the ceiling. The resident told us not to worry about it because it wasn’t leaking. We spoke with the property manager to get it fixed because it was the right thing to do…
This group of people have now become our “who”.
As a First Gen Investor, you too have become our “who.” We see the hesitation many of you have in investing in real estate. There are plenty of reasons we were not taught to invest. It has become a passion of mine and our team to help you understand the benefits of real estate investing.
Our goal is to:
Educate you so that you can…
Grow your investments which will…
Give you opportunities for wealth creation
This will also help you get back the ever-elusive time with your “who.”
Keep them in mind when building your First Gen Foundations!
Bryan Escudero
President and Co-Founder
Proud to be a First Gen Investor
It’s not only making a difference in our own personal lives, but making a difference in the tenants’ lives as well; they can begin to “trust” good intentions and live in a home they can be proud of, which in turn might help them become more intentional in a positive way.
Thank you for the article and the real-life & specific examples of how this is playing out to you personally.