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Lessons Learned: What I did Wrong This Week

February 5, 2010 by Scott Costello · View Comments 

One of the best ways to improve habits and continuing on a positive path is to look back and analyze your actions.  I’m going to start a new post series called Failure Friday Lessons Learned that I will attempt to identify something I did wrong or could have done better over the past week.  The infraction may be something big or it may be something tiny, but if not corrected I will be destined to repeat that same mistake over and over again.

What I did Wrong This Week…

I sent an email instead of making a phone call.

During the past two weeks I started advertising for short sales on craigslist to see if I could attract any Realtors who may have some short sale listings.   I’ve described this in detail here in this post, Short Sale Comissions.  After two weeks of posting ads, I finally was contacted by someone who had a few short sales.  Great!  so I shot Nick a quick email letting him know. This is what Nick had to say to my email..

call me. Email is for disconnected relationships.

It took me 1 half second after reading his reply to pick up the phone and call him.  Just take a minute and think about those 5 words, “Email is for disconnected relationships.”  I’m not going to go into a long post explaining what that mans, It’s just correct.

The lesson I will be taking from this past week is that Real Estate Investing is about building personal relationships with people and you can’t do that unless you talk with them on the phone or face to face.  Email is good for sending notes, it’s not good for establishing that bond which is so important to success.

What did you do wrong this week?

If I’m admitting to one of my mistakes, I only think it’s fair if you admit a mistake you made this week.  So fess up and leave a comment.  It feels good to admit your error in judgment and I can guarantee it will be helpful and reassuring to someone else.

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  • Great idea, Scott.

    And I definitely like the new name much better. :)

    My screw up for the week was pretty much the same as it is every week- not managing my time properly. If I took more focused action and spent less time screwing around, I could be 100x more effective.

    I'm working on it, though.
  • strugglinginvestor
    If you ever figure it out, let me know. I will say my to-do list helps out a lot. When ever I find myself not really knowing what to do next (which is when I waste my most time) I look at my list and get back on track.
  • Nick gave a life changing lesson. I hope everyone realizes the power of the advice he just gave. My mentor beat this into my head so hard. And it makes all the difference.

    99% of people these days hide behind technology. It is actually easy to get to the top of the pack if you just listen to what Nick said. You will stand out.
  • strugglinginvestor
    You can count me as one of those people who used to hide behind technology. The crazy part is that I never realized I was doing it.
  • I waited until Wednesday to start my week. An all too common mistake that I made last week...and the week before. Of course when you work two jobs and Monday and Tuesday are your days off, the motivation can be hard to find. Still searching...
  • strugglinginvestor
    Best way to start is to start small. Make it a point to spend at least 10 minutes to accomplish a simple task and then build from there.

    Thanks for sharing and I'm sure there are many of us who can relate to this.
  • Scott, cool post! I'm glad you called me so quickly. Don't worry, we'll get some-ting started soon. Yes, I spelled that wrong on purpose :)
  • IngridinSC
    Mistakes, mistakes, how many have I made this week? Let me count them...ugh....

    I guess you could say that I had one major "umbrella" mistake....the mistake that basically is the source of all the other mistakes, and that was a complete and utter lack of focus and direction. Oh, sure, I started out with great intentions, but then 2pm would come around, nothing was done, I had to pick up the kids from school, and the day was shot even further. This went on for days...ugh....I need to create a schedule....
  • strugglinginvestor
    Thanks for sharing your mistake ingrid. Let us know how you solved your problem this coming week.
  • Scott,
    I like the concept. I'll be honest though, I hate the name. Failure has a very negative and downbeat connotation. I would call them learning Fridays or something similar. You only fail if you don't learn from your mistakes. I'm glad your taking the steps on short sales. It adds another weapon to the arsenal. I'm strongly thinking about doing the same as well.

    Jason
  • strugglinginvestor
    I wasn't to fond of the name either, but I was tired and I couldn't think anymore. haha
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