Everybody talks about getting a mentor. When I was getting started I heard that too. What do you do with that information? Go to the yellow pages and look under Mentor? Go to church and pray for God to send you a Mentor? Stand on the corner with a sign saying “Mentor wanted”. What I suggest you do is to find someone that has out of life that you want. He has the time with his family, the health, wealth, fitness and happiness you want and do what they do.
In the real estate area, I went to the local real estate investors club. I didn’t care as much about the speakers I looked at the vendors. The real estate lawyers, mortgage brokers, realtors, inspectors etc. I talked to them. These are the workers of the industry. I found out who they were working for that actually were doing deals. I called those people. Some of them were kind of “Sanford and son” type landlords. These are the guys driving around in a beat-up old white van fixing toilets. But some were living the lifestyle I wanted. A couple of these guys were not “my type” of person, but a few were. I found out that a couple of them made their money by being a lawyer or some other good job and just owned some real estate. But a couple were actually making money from their real estate. I asked those guys what they were doing. Why they did it that way and how did they do it. That is how I developed my mentor. I never called him a mentor he never called me his mentee. We just had some conversations about real estate. After you do a deal or 2 they realize you are actually serious and then they actually start to give and take information with you. It becomes a symbiotic relationship. You become a benefit to them also. One thing that they don’t have is a person to talk about their business to that is in it and actually doing it.
The 3 stages of the real estate investor. First is dependent, where you need stuff from everybody you see. Then independent, that is where you are making offers and doing make-readies and leasing find deals etc. The third is interdependent. At that state you are getting help and giving help. You are then IN THE GAME. People call you with deals, they ask you should they do a deal, you give deals to them when you are too busy etc.