The other day I received an email from a subscriber. She wrote:
You need a course in English before you start writing long emails.
Please find out the difference between "there" and "their". Since you don't know the difference, I consider you untrustworthy and will not bother with any offer you may have. Some of us are educated; you are not.
Don't worry. The DM has thick skin... like a rhinoceros. :)
I have thick skin... like a rhino!
I wrote a response to this subscriber but since I get emails like this from time to time, I thought I'd post my thoughts about her email for anyone else who might be thinking the same thing.
A little more about The DM
It's no secret that I don't know the difference between the spellings of "there" and "their". I do have an editor who edits a lot of my work but she doesn't work 24/7 and sometimes a message is just too important to get out to the world!
Fortunately, you don't have to have perfect spelling to know how to make money in real estate.
The truth is, I barely graduated from high school and I never went to college. I simply wasn't an academic student. But the great thing is that you don't have to let your weaknesses define your success in life!
There are lots of other successful people in history who are well-known to have been poor students – Winston Churchill, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and even Einstein are all said to have been poor students! (Now I'm not suggesting that I'm even close to achieving the political or scientific breakthroughs that these historical figures achieved, but we can all be inspired by how they rose above their weaknesses to be successful in their own fields. They didn't let their weaknesses define their success... and neither do I.)
We're all good at something. I may not know the difference between "there" and "their" but I am a good Deal Maker. That skill has helped me to achieve my dreams. And I want to help you achieve your dreams, too, which leads me to my next point...
<h2>Two words worth defining</h2>
We all define education differently. And although the email writer didn't say this, I would also add that we all define success differently, too.
I've met a lot of educated people – people with MBA's and even Ph.D.'s – who can't pay their mortgage and who are forced to work a 9-5 job every day until they are dead. They are well-educated and even "successful" by many standards.
On the other hand, I've had a HUGE education (but not one sitting behind a desk). And I would say that I'm "successful" by some definitions – I've traveled the world I became financially free by age 27, I then took a 2 and a half year trip around the world, and as I’m writing this I’m 15 months into it a 5 year trip around the world (my favorite place so far was Santorini Greece). I've met some pretty cool people, I've made a lot of money, I've written 5 best-selling books (without knowing the difference between their and there :) ), and I've helped tens of thousands of people become more successful on their terms.
Heck, I've had highly educated people ask me to help them achieve the success that their educated careers weren't allowing them to achieve!
So it's true – I may not know the difference between "there" and "their" but I am educated and successful.
What this means for real estate investors
As you become a successful real estate investor, you'll meet people who won't always have positive things to say about you. Maybe it won't be about your grammar; it could be about something else. It can be so easy to let these emails upset you. When I first started out, I remember how these emails used to upset me and I would literally lose sleep over them! I'd almost be afraid to push the "send" button on an email because I was worried about criticism like what the subscriber above wrote.
But then I decided a few things and I'm sharing these successful-mindset tips with you:
- Don't let your weaknesses define the level of success you achieve.
- If you don’t press send and get the word out and TRY to do a deal, you'll never do the deal… and the deal is where the money is.
You can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time. Just make sure that you do your best and add value to as many people as you can. - Share yourself. Don't try to hide behind a façade. (Note: I have an editor who edits some of my work and I have a lawyer and accountant to keep accurate info. When it's important to be perfect, they help me. But I'm not afraid to be ME in my emails – warts and all).
- The people who get caught up in the really insignificant details (like whether it's spelled "there" or "their") are not going to do deals with you anyway. Here's a quote one of my great mentors would always say: "Mark, you have time for somebody not everybody: It is not your job to keep these people happy.
- There are systems in place (like the unsubscribe function) that these critics can use if they want. Don't bend to their will.
- And most importantly, remember this: It's important to do your best and be professional but never let perfection stand in your way of getting the job done… because perfection is unachievable and in my eyes, if you’re trying to be perfect, you are unsuccessful in many areas of life (just from my observation)
I may not have an MBA but as I lay in a hammock on a Caribbean beach with a Carib beer in hand (while my business makes thousands of dollars a day) I don't regret it!
Your street-smart friend and mentor,
Mark Evans DM,DN