I wrote in a previous post about all of the hats that I wear, symbolizing the roles that I play in my day to day life. Most people will have a similar list of roles, some more and some less, and they change throughout the course of our lives. For example, about this time next year, if all things go according to plan, I’ll be donning a new hat, one of Fatherhood.
At any rate, I’ve been mulling that post/concept over in my head and I’ve noticed a subtle shift within myself, relating to how I prioritize my tasks. One year ago, if you were to ask me what I did for a living, I would have told you that I’m a software developer, real estate investor and freelancer. But now, I’ve come to realize that if you were to ask me the same question today, I would probably flip the last two.
This is kind of a startling realization to me but it makes sense given our shift in priorities over the last few months. We paid off the car and built up a good emergency fund in preparation to live on one income. These things took money and so it’s taken some time to get our capital reserves back up to where they need to be. I also started this blog, adding to the list of hats and demands for my time.
But still, it was kind of unsettling to realize this shift had taken place since real estate is the future. It’s our chosen vehicle to grow our networth and passive income to eventually free ourselves from working. And I had de-emphasized, de-prioritized it, in favor of a second job! This has to stop.
There’s a causal relationship, a feedback loop if you will, between belief, action, and perception. You only act in ways which conform to your beliefs and your beliefs are, in turn, influenced by how you perceive the results of your actions.
We had put off looking for our next property because of our vacation. There’s already enough uncertainty around a transaction without including the possibility that you might be needed while you are gone. But now that we are back, I’m ready to get after it and put this money to work. We’ve got enough for another property and it’s burning a metaphorical hole in my metaphorical pocket.
Looking at a graph of my estimated passive income over the last year, it hasn’t really changed all that much. It’s kind of a step-function anyway since it makes a big stroke upward after we buy a property but it’s been flat for the last 11 months and I’m ready to see some upward progress. Wish me luck!
