Thanks - Posted by Tony Colella

Real Estate Investing Real Estate Gurus
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Posted by Bernd Hanak on December 08, 2010 at 11:18:42:

Tony,my friend, I have not done anything you should thank me for; in fact, I should be thanking you and Scott St.Aubin for outlining my business plan. I learned during your seminar and during the most enjoyable after-hours activities and from your DVDs, which generously outlined and summarized your hard- earned experiences and your realistic recommendations; all I contributed was implementing the plan. I am also most grateful to my friend, Bo Shomansuroff, who taught me everything I know about finding, selecting, evaluating, purchasing and placing a dw home. I believe in giving credit to those who truly deserve it. Our little subdivision has Tony,Scott, and Bo written all over it.

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Thanks - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on December 07, 2010 at 19:52:36:

While a post such as this might have best been written a short time ago during the Thanksgiving holiday, I find myself either giving thanks or trying to find it within myself to do so. Giving thanks for someone helping you?.. easy. Giving thanks when someone goes out of their way to make your life harder?. Not so easy. Giving thanks in a difficult economy… darn near impossible at times but that is when I know I need to do so the most.

I cannot begin to think of all the people to thank and would hate to miss someone but if you are like me I am willing to bet that your lives were never the same (hopefully for the better) since you found this site.

I remember the first time I sat next to Lonnie in person. For me it was like sitting next to a master, hoping you wouldn?t miss a word.

I remember the first time I hear Terry Vaughan speak and thinking, can anyone?s brain really work that fast and that creatively convoluted? If you have not heard him speak, don?t miss any future chance.

I have spent time with Ernest Tew in person as somehow I was often seated next to him at the dinner table. I regret that I did not get to know him better during that time and pray for him and his family now that he has become suffered his stroke.

I am thankful for Scott and all that he has taught me in how to fix things for myself and for all the time we spent trying to figure everything out. Scott has inspired me in many ways and no doubt we will find future adventures to conquer.

I am thankful for ?the usual suspects? who would not quit until the sun came up, no matter what (just ask Karl) until we figured it all out?. Whatever ?
all? was. Thanks Karl, Dr. B, Lin, Lyal, Ryan, Jeff and so many others that have attended some, all or a few. If you have spent time after midnight with one of the usual suspects then you know you are one too.

I am thankful to every handyman and in particular Martin and Bill for what they taught me.

I am thankful for my wife who reminds me that during the hard times we are going to be ok. I am thankful for the daughter we share and her boys we raise for without all of them, none of this would really be worth doing anyways.

Over the years we have forged many great friendships here. We have started new businesses, quite jobs, moved out of state and faced both good and great times. Without the folks I met here I know my life would not be the same and for that I give thanks.

We have learned new skills, thought outside of the box, thought back inside the box, worked in, under and on the box and still rack our brains trying to find better ways of doing so.

I thank God for all of it.

Hey, from a guy who truly dislikes mushy stuff?..I say, thanks to you.

Tony

P.S. Feel free to pass the ?thanks? along by posting if you feel comfortable doing so (and even if you don?t).

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Re: Thanks - Posted by Dr. B. (OH)

Posted by Dr. B. (OH) on December 08, 2010 at 08:33:11:

First of all, I give thanks to all those experiences, friends, family, and rascals in my past who have made me what I am today. When I look back I am reminded of my favorite t-shirt saying: “Life is not a race, it is a journey”. Can anyone not say it has been an interesting journey?

I am thankful for certain events occurring when I needed them. In the past several years I read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” when I was wanting out from “employment”. Found Lonnie’s DOW when I wanted an easy way to get started in “real estate”. Found CRE, Karl(OH), and more importantly, found great, honest, easy going, unpretentious friends from around the country at Tony and Scott’s boot camps. Oh yea, that includes you too Tony and Scott!

I am also appreciative of those of us knocking our brains around during these hard times. Thanks for the extra push, Tony. The cool thing is that we can’t get it wrong, we just get it our way in our time. We will look back on these times someday and have stories to tell that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

Which brings me to another point. We each have our own story to tell which is in fact, our journey. We create our own journey one moment at a time (thus our own life), we cannot create any one else’s journey. Otherwise, we would surely be overwhelmed. So for Pete’s sake (and your own) let’s enjoy creating our own lives as much as we can.

Steve

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Re: Thanks - Posted by JeffB (MI)

Posted by JeffB (MI) on December 07, 2010 at 22:36:40:

Tony,

Another great post. What am I thankful for? Many things. A God who has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams has to be at the top of the list. A healthy family that I love, is a close second.

As it relates to my investing career, there are a few specific things for which I am thankful, things that have altered the course of my career (or lack of) that I want to specifically mention:

  1. Lonnie taking the time to write a book that has changed my life.

  2. John Hyre speaking about Lonnie’s book at my REIA, when I had never done a deal of any kind, said a few words that really hit me.

  3. You, Tony, in this post convinced me to come to the CRE convention in St. Louis in 2005:

http://www.creonline.com/mobilehomes/wwwboard4/messages/48841.html

(note: dang,it took me a long time to find that post. The search feature on this site is really lacking. But, I AM thankful for this site)

  1. And once there, the friendliness of the group and one person in particular, Chris Reuman, who hit me upside the head with a 2x4 and made me realize exactly what was holding me back all this time. Life has not been the same since.

To all you guys and so many others I owe a debt that cannot be repaid. By your seemingly innocuous actions you have positively affected the life of another. All I can do is try to pay it forward, and hope that I could someday help someone else the same way you all have helped me.

Jeff

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Re: Thanks - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on December 07, 2010 at 20:31:39:

Forgive the terrible typos. I just re-read this post and only wish there was an “edit” button. I was not able to entirely focus on my typing as my 1 year old was trying out the keys on the right hand side of the laptop. I would delete and she would type 93433546601461.

So please ignore the odd sentences.

Thanks,

Tony

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Wow - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on December 08, 2010 at 08:41:18:

Steve, great post about life being a journey and enjoying the ride, so to speak.

I know that I am the kind of person that can all too easily get caught up in the goals and have to be reminded (by my wife usually) to smell the roses and enjoy the view along the way. I know this to be the case but I still find it difficult to do.

Tony

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Re: Thanks - Posted by Tony Colella

Posted by Tony Colella on December 07, 2010 at 21:39:32:

Ok, ok then I begin to realize people like Bernd that I didn’t mention and wham…so many names and faces.

Can I just say thanks and see you at the next event???

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Gratitude - Posted by Shawn Sisco

Posted by Shawn Sisco on December 08, 2010 at 10:23:19:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
-Melody Beattie

I have much to be grateful for. I think often of my business, and how that I need not be subjected to vile conversations, horrible music, co-workers mood swings, or countless other challenges that usually “come with the turf” of working for others.