Truth Bomb Tuesday: Don’t have what it takes? That might be a blessing.
When I first started out on my journey as a property investor, I was a bit bitter about how far back in the pack I was starting.
I was a single mum, running a struggling business. I had barely two-cents to rub together after paying for the groceries and electricity and so on.
And I had seen first hand through my accountancy practice how much easier the game became once you had a good stack of cash behind you.
I had worked with some high net-worth individuals. They bought and sold properties like they were changing their pants.
I didn’t have that. I barely had enough money for pants.
But because I didn’t have money, I developed hustle. I got game. I got smart.
And in hindsight, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I learnt how to hustle, and it was that hustle that took me from the edge of bankruptcy to financially stable.
But it was the same hustle that took me from financially stable to financially independent.
Developing hustle was a gift, and it’s a gift that keeps on giving.
And in that way, not having money was a blessing.
Which means that having money is a curse.
This is a weird paradox. Many of the things we think of as blessings are actually curses because they stop us from developing our own inner resources.
So money is one because it stops you developing hustle.
What else?
Well, I’d also say have high capacity – having the ability to really put in the long work hours and smash stuff out.
That’s great if you have it, but if you don’t have it then you need to develop efficiency.
You can’t rely on your ability to just slog it out with hard work, so you need to become efficient – you need to learn to do more with less.
Talent is another one. It’s great if you’re talented in whatever field you’re in. But if you’re talented you can come to rely on your talents, and never develop a capacity for hard work.
You think things should come easily to you because they always have. That’s what talent does. It makes things come easily.
But if you’re always expecting things to be easy, then you might never develop the ability to just put your head down and work through it.
There’s probably more I can think of.
The point is, many of the things that we think of our blessings are actually curses when we look at our growth journey over the long run.
And we might think we’re at a disadvantage. We might see all the other blessings that other people have, and feel a bit bitter and resentful that we don’t have those things going for us.
That’s where I was at.
But in the long run, if those disadvantages don’t kill you, they can actually be incredible teachers.
They can be the things that will shape you into a formidable force.
So don’t feel bitter that you don’t have a head start.
Be grateful that you have such an opportunity to grow and learn.
And then go out there and tear it up!
DB.