Hi all,
I read a quote today that just screamed “Spread me far and wide” – its message is especially true in property investing, but can be applied to many decisions around $$. It is this :-
“Heads I win, Tails I don’t lose very much…”
The story behind the quote was of a family who took a punt on a property in the US that was selling for a distressed price. The property was a Motel on a busy highway. The family occupied two of the rooms/suites – so they had their shelter. The turnover for the Motel had a good history, and they reasoned that, even in a downturn, enough $$ would come in to keep them fed and the mortgage/rates, etc covered. The family became the “staff” so wage costs were minimal.
Many years later, this family owns a huge proportion of all of the motels in the US. And it all started with havng a go with an investment that promised “Heads, you win, and Tails, you won’t lose very much”.
If you always buy property with a large upside and minimal risk, you can be the beneficiary of that quote too.
Have YOU got a saying that deserves to be a “Quote of note”? Please share it in reply,
Good judgment comes from experience – experience comes from bad judgment– Jim Horning
and another I have used on here from time to time:-
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.Jeff Rich or Derek Bok – I thought I should at least TRY to give attribution – Googling it gave me two names as possible authors….
What about YOU? Do you have some sage, witty, or memorable quotes that make YOUR day?
One quote I have loved for many years, courtesy of Richard Bach (renowned author):-
Your conscience is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness. Listen to it carefully
I found this quote always gives me an “Aha!” moment – it seems almost evergreen, as though I should ponder it daily…. See, I do believe we need to be “self-ish” (i.e. putting ourselves first) from time to time.
Consider the need for an adult to “Fit their oxygen mask first before assisting others!” If a parent were not looking after themselves FIRST, they would quickly become disabled to the point where they were unable to assist any children travelling with them. And how much would a little one “kick up” if terrified about this strange yellow thing going over their mouth if Mum hadn’t already put one on herself? If Mum does it first, it almost becomes a game, and far less terrifying for a toddler – true?
And, the good book tells us to Love one another as ourselves. It doesn’t say love others MORE than you love yourself, or love yourself LESS than others. So, yes, we DO need to think of SELF – and sometimes we MUST put ourselves first for the benefit of all around us.
Our conscience helps us to stay “on track” re our selfishness
Winston Churchill was one who came up with inspiring broadcasts (his Battle of Britain dissertation lives in my memory, even though I wasn’t alive when he made the broadcast).
He also had a sense of humour and an understanding that shone through in some of these sayings:-
• A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
• In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.
• We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
An email arrived yesterday that put the phrase “Look both ways before you cross the road” in a whole new light for me.
In essence, the writer was saying, “We tell our kids to apply due diligence when in a situation that could go pear-shaped quickly unless they are careful (i.e. crossing a road).”
And yet, some parents would rush in to a major decision without applying any kind of “Stop and Think” measure. i.e. Due Diligence.
Just like when we are angry, we are advised to “Count to ten” – yet potentially life-changing decisions can be made in a heartbeat… Emotions can play a part in so many ways:-
like, at a “seminar” to create wealth, some slick salesman goads us into “securing a future for our kids” (by buying one of their over-priced, poor quality OTP houses) – sign up today, or you could miss out. And we have a Solicitor that can handle all of the details for you….
No, no, wait a minute – “Look both ways before you cross that road”. These sharks are doing 110KmH down that road, and they are heading right for you…. so don’t you step out !!
Instead, stop and think – or stop and ask !! Don’t risk your future on someone else’s say-so – especially if they “just happen to have something to sell you!”
;)
Has any one of you had to “Look both ways before they crossed a particular road?” If so, care to share?
“Doing the right thing, is always the right thing” Gary Vaynerchuck.
and not sure who quoted this one but I think its a partial Tony Robbins quote.
” I believe life is constantly testing us. For our level of commitment. Life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve”
Active Investor & Broker; Based in Northern NSW, servicing Australia wide; Author of '34 Proven Ways to Maximise Your Borrowing Power' (download free from our website)
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
– Plato
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
– Theodore Roosevelt.
Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.
– Richard Feynman.
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”
– Chinese proverb
“Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk.”
– Joaquin Setanti
“The most difficult struggle of all is the one within ourselves. Let us not get accustomed and adjusted to these conditions. The one who adjusts ceases to discriminate between good and evil. He becomes a slave in body and soul. Whatever may happen to you, remember always: Don’t adjust! Revolt against the reality!”
– Mordechai Anielewicz, Warsaw, 1943
“Sometimes it’s better to light a flame-thrower than curse the darkness.”
– Terry Pratchett