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Satisfaction from making a difference? |
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Category: Inspirational Current Grade: A+ Total Views: 2363 Member Comments: 2 |
Posted on: 10/25/2008 Posted by: Matt Miller - Content Director Blog Points: 3104 View all blogs >> |
So, it's either really late at night or really early in the morning depending on how you look at it. I'm having one of those sleepless nights...the one where you've lost your drive/motivation/passion and you don't remember where you left it. The "Is this all there is?" question has ran across my mind about a dozen times in the last hour, and each time the answer is different. I don't know if this has anything to do with me getting another year older as of last week, or if it is just my lack of satisfaction for not accomplishing more with my time. I get things done; a LOT actually. However, I don't feel the same level of satisfaction from it that I once did. I'm living my ideal life about 90% of the time. Getting to 100% of the time wouldn't be worth the effort to me, nor would I actually feel good about spending that much money on entertainment when I could donate it to some worthy charities, or just pay off the national debt.
When I first started out investing in real estate, I felt satisfied providing good working-class people with good houses to live in with fair rents, and treating them well. As of earlier this year I felt satisfied buying houses in need of rehabbing, getting them fixed up and rented to good families, and helping improve the working-class neighborhood one boarded up house at a time. Now, I still feel a slight sense of accomplishment when I see one of my houses fully rehabbed and a good family getting ready to move in, but I don't feel the satisfaction I used to.
I used to have hobbies, most of which were just time-wasters. Sure it's fun to conquer the world in a game, but its a fake accomplishment(sorry all you WOW people out there, but spending 2 hours with your online buddies to kill a dragon isn't something that should fill you with a great sense of accomplishment). I try to use my time more productively now, and do a pretty good job at it. But, something is still missing. I still feel dissatisfied. I feel like I am ready to move up to the next level of achievement. I'm ready to make a bigger difference than I have been. Now, the only question is "How?". 
I'm interested to hear from you; what really gives you satisfaction from making a difference? Don't just limit it to investing. I'd like to hear what everyone does to make a difference, from volunteering to build houses with Habitat for Humanity, to singing in your church choir. Share your story!
Thanks for reading my rant 
-MM
SecretHoustonRealEstateDeals.com
Seeing my wife happy and knowing that our properties will be able to take care of her long after I'm gone give me a sense of peace, that everything is going to be alright no matter what happens. I don't worry about money, I worry about managing my time as effectively as possible.
I am also the president of a local landlord association, so it's great that we are constantly in touch like-minded people at our meetings, to test our muster, inspire us, and we get to help out those new landlords, and those less fortunate in our communities. That is a big kick back in my life right now. Just being involved. Volunteering FEELS great! We also hold monthly food drives for local charities.
We also have strong faith in our spiritual lives too which gives us a life purpose beyond flipping properties, or being a landlord. We are active in our church, our local community, and donating our time to those causes is priceless.
Something that puts life into perspective for me from time to time. When Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for the Roman Census, there was no room at the inn. They had no place to stay. Who was the last person they probably spoke to before our Lord was born? A Landlord! He didn't have a suitable rental but he gave them what he had for room and boarding so they were not homeless. We are all in the housing business one way or another. We all do our part in the grand mosaic of life.
What keeps me moving? The next deal! I just love hunting for it, shaking it upside-down, checking out the numbers, and finding buried treasures inside the deal.
Here is a quote I like. I say it all the time and it helps me to keep focused. "If you want to be a good person, help people. If you want to be a great person, help a lot of people."
- Brian Lucier
Get out of my head Matt!
I have these same questions. I too have played hours of on-line games over the last five years and it took way more than 2 hours for my group to complete Kara and kill Nightbane. If people don't know what I am talking about that's a good thing as they haven't sunk hundreds of hours leveling up a character in World of Warcraft.
At the end of last year I got to the point where I wondered what the hell I was doing. I was extremely obese, my health was on the decline, and I was starting to drift away from my family. I had to take some action, I want to be around for my kids as they grow, but more than that I want to be a good role model for them. Last year I was the guy who came home on the weekends went to a soccer game, but spent the rest of the time on the couch or the computer.
With the help of my local hospital (Kudo's to Lowell General Hospital) I have gotten the weight off and I can now be more active in my kids lives. I am getting a great amount of satisfaction from going biking with them and taking them on hikes. I am really looking for to this winter as we already have a cross-country ski trip planned.
I have broken my life up into some major categories where I am focusing on adding more satisfaction. The two categories I want to touch on here are "Health" and "Professional".
In the health category my goal is to be able to do more physical activities I have lost a lot of weight, but I want to gain strength so I am taking up weight training again.
In the Professional category, for six years I ran my own consulting company before I closed it down to go to work for one of the largest companies out there. At over 300K people I have spent the last 12 years getting lost in the corporate world. Now I am looking to move some of my earned income to passive income and my involvement with REI is part of my plan. My goal is to get back to being my own boss by doing what your doing providing good quality housing to people who need it.
Well there you go. That is some of the things I am doing to try to gain satisfaction and make a difference. It not whorled peas or shaving the whales, but in the lives of my kids and my wife my actions are having an impact.