Learn and Follow Your Purpose

I’m at an interesting place right now in my life. A few years ago I turned down a job at a big ad agency to start my own real estate biz. The gamble paid off…initially. I quickly taught myself how to buy and sell and rent houses using a variety of techniques. I’d kind of been studying the subject on and off over the course of 5 years or so, getting really serious about it while in my last semester of college (at the age of 30) (another story).

I’d had enough taste of the working world to know that I was no good at it. And not because I didn’t have any talent. But like many of you who may be reading this, I just wasn’t cut out for the cookie cutter 9-5 jobby job. I was too opinionated. My sleep schedule wasn’t conducive to it (my most productive hours are between 8pm and 2am) (Its 11:08pm at this very moment).

Not to mention the people. I sucked at being stuck in close proximity to people all day. As a result, they thought I was a real asshole. Hell, I was an asshole. I didn’t like being there. Loved the work at some points, but hated the JOB.

So, headed out of school, about to graduate from a highly rated Advertising program to which I enrolled AFTER already having been in the ad biz (without a degree) just to give myself some added credibility, I was offered the dream job. The Zimmerman Agency, a big firm down in these parts, was courting me.

Oh the prestige. Ah the feeling of pure ecstacy that would course through my veins to be able to tell my pompous program director at school that I’d been offered this job at the most sought after agency in the land. Well, I did throw it my pompous program director’s face (subversively of course), but while telling him that I’d decided to TURN IT DOWN.

Yes, I turned it down because I knew I was not going to do well there. I knew I’d love the work and hate the job. Heck, I’d already heard a few horror stories about working there. And those same stories would come out of just about any agency. Agency work is a tough life. Yea, its cool to be able to respond when asked what I do to say “I work in advertising” but those moments of manufactured self worth aren’t enough to overcome the soul sucking hell that I know that life would be…for me. Not saying theres anything wrong with agency work if its that your thing, it just wasn’t for me. Not corporate type job would be.

I was 30, but I’d already had enough work life experience to know that I wasn’t cut out for anything other than entrepreneurship. I knew I had to try and make a go of it on my own. That’s why during my last semester of college I transferred my internship from Comcast Advertising Department over to my friends real estate company so I could come and go as I pleased and get him to sign off on everything.

I used the extra time to study creative real estate investing. I scoured the internet for good information on the topic. I’d found one “guru” several years back, and I bought his updated course and found one or two others. I studied the materials voraciously night and day. I got on newsgroups and asked questions. I emailed other news groupies directly who’d posted good answers to other people’s questions. I spent some savings and went and attended a “bootcamp”. I met some other aspiring investors and some that were already making a living at it. Soon, I had the courage to step out and start putting what I’d learned to work. I did my first little mailer campaign to a neighborhood I liked where I found some fixer uppers. I had a guy I’d found who’d partner with me on the right deals. I had some other quick flip strategies in my hip pocket (wholesaling) to call upon as well.

Soon, my fervor paid off. I hit paydirt. I found a few deals in quick succession. One was a 17 unit townhouse deal that I got a partner to front the money for. The other two deals I flipped (wholesaled) to another investor for a quick $17k. I was off and running.

I used that money to ramp up my marketing efforts. I found another partner who was willing to put up some money with me and man the efforts needed to rehab any fixer upper type deals. During this time I created “Second Chance Real Estate, LLC”. Got a website up and running. Got a logo and cards made. My friend who’d let me do the internship at his place was letting my run my little operation out of a cubby at his management company. I got free access to the internet and the copy/fax. I had all I needed.

Things went well for a while. I bought and sold a bunch of properties. I got another rehab partner and got into another chunk of properties with him. All hardcore fixer uppers and some subdividing required of bigger lot into smaller lots (2 of these type deals). Those all blew up in my face. In fact, several of those are on their way to foreclosure potentially right now. Have been for a while. And that partner will only text me at this point. This is the maturity level of my choice in that partner. Ah well.

To make things worse, the market started turning and in a hurry. My primary strategy was fix and flip. Well I hated fix and flip. Yea, I made some money at it but it always meant dealing with a partner who knew about the “fix” end of things (I didn’t nor do I have the desire to) OR dealing with a bunch of fixer upper sub contractors myself and managing the project on my own, which I hated. So I hated fix and flip AND the market started to turn. So I couldn’t even fix and flip if I wanted to because there was no one to flip them to. No one could get financed anymore. Banks were tight and buyers were scared. I hit the wall.

Sure, I hate a bunch of rental properties, but a group of them were bleeding cash (the one’s now headed to foreclosure) and the other’s barely made enough to cover themselves after mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and management.

And that’s when it hit me. I was through. I’d built a business that I didn’t like AND it wasn’t making money anymore.

And that’s where I’ve been since. Its been probably a year or so now and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do next. I’ve looked at some other real estate angles, but I can say that after fully exploring the subject, I just don’t want to do it. I want to continue to have real estate holdings as something I do on the side, but its not my passion. It was for a while, and then I saw what that world was really like, and I didn’t like it. Even if it was making money I’d still feel unfulfilled so truth be known, it’s a blessing in disguise. And man, it’s a pretty good disguise sometimes. But honestly, it was time for me to look at myself and ask what I really feel passionate about and what I really feel like my unique contribution is. All such answers to that question have led me back to Communications.

Advertising was a stab at Communications. I knew that I wanted to create communications that impact people. Problem with advertising was that it wasn’t impacting them in any way that felt meaningful to me. Sure, there was the occasional pro-bono work that was cool, but mostly it felt hollow. Advertising was close match for me, closer that some others I’ve tried earlier on in my life, but still a no-match nonetheless.

And that is where I’ve been for the past year. I’ve known that I needed to get back to using my communications skills to somehow inspire and educate, and do so as an entrepreneur. The exact answer to the question of “what to do” has been elusive. And I’m still working on it. But I know I’m close. The fact that you are reading this now is evidence that I’m moving in the right direction.

Truth is, I’ve got limited funds available to me so there is a sense of a time element to this “figuring it out”, but, I can’t rush it. It’ll come when its ready. Until then, I keep spending every day researching and reading. I’ve looked at writing a book, becoming a speaker, creating a TV show, or a radio show, or a live blog online, and then at creating my own “info products” and marketing them online.

Its weird, each one of those searches has kind of led to the next. A name I found in one research project led me to a book or a movie or a blog which led to something else and then a phone conversation led to a recommended video online which led me into a whole different world of stuff. And though to someone on the outside of this process it might just look like I’m lost and going in circles or something, I actually find these little synchronistic connections along the way, like little pebbles, that let me know I’m headed in the right direction.

So, with that, I’m not sure exactly where my path is going but I do have some clear goals in mind about what I’d like to be doing and what my life will look and feel like when I get there. Until then, I’m just continuing to allow myself to be guided as I continue to ask for it and follow my nose where it takes, trying to enjoy the journey as I go. Hope you too are following your journey toward the life you feel you were meant to live, scary is it may be sometimes. Let me know if you have something regarding your journey you’d like to share. Love to hear from you.

Chris

I’ve been checking out a lot of other people’s books and blogs on figuring out your purpose and finding the courage to step out in that direction. There’s some good stuff out there and there’s some rehashed blah type stuff as well. I’m starting to archive some of the good stuff. In the coming months I’ll start finding a way to give you guys some of the good stuff I’ve found. One recent site I like is this guy at www.careerrenegage.com His “manifesto” is a free download and its pretty good for someone who is thinking about finding a way to break free and start following a more fulfilling career path. Like his site too.

A lot of people are really starting to take a good hard look at breaking out

This is a site devoted to figuring it out. Your purpose. Why your here. What is your calling? All of these concepts are one’s I’ve wrestled with for many years. I’ve got a lot of experiences and I hope to share them with you and vise versa. If you have something to share regarding your current search for your purpose, please share them. For now I’ve gotta run. (literally, I gotta go get some exercise).

Chow