By Bill J. Gatten
North American Realty Services,
Creator of the Equity Holding Trust™ (the PACTrust™ and NEHTrust™)
During a visit with a good friend yesterday I was reminded of something I hadn't thought much about in months, which I'd like to share with you guys. If it affects your life like it did mine, you’ll be glad I took the time.
The friend, a woman of 50 or so, confided in me that she was flat broke, that she'd lot her business, didn't know where this month's rent was coming from...or even this month's food, and that her unemployment benefits had run out. She said she knew she would make it in the real estate investing business…eventually…and just wanted some advice on how to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible.
Well, being the old softie I am, I couldn’t resist telling her to go pound salt, get the hell out of my office, and go bitch to someone else. I had enough problems of my own what with my Mercedes’ transmission dragging on the ground, my Black Lab being pregnant by a sheep, a bad case of prickly heat and a gangrenous left…(oh never mind).
No! No!! Just kidding...I wouldn't do that (…oh ye of little faith…).
Here's what actually transpired:
I told my friend (...for the sake of confidentiality we'll call her "Suzie"...although her real name is Evelyn Fenster) that what she needed to do was stop trying to chop down the trees for a while, and spend some time sharpening her axe. This, of course is not what a person who sees themselves as ‘down-and-out’ and on their last leg wants to hear. What would be much preferred is to hear that there is a guardian angel hovering two feet above who is about to drop a load of fresh manna on them at any minute (BTW did you know that “manna” is the root word for manure?).
Well, OK, the guardian angel… it may have been there, but probably just sitting on a chair smiling understandingly and waiting to see how “Suzie” was going to attack her challenge, and thereby get to know herself...and her strengths…and qualify for entry into the next realm (whatever and wherever that might be).
My suggestion to Suzie was that for the quickest fix, she might use a technique that was given to me by my son Michael a few years back, and one which I have used very successfully since that time. That is the technique of appointing a mental director or “chairman” or “manger of life affairs” to manage the fulfillment of my needs and goals.
The essence of the “Director” concept is that in our daily lives we are 100% in control of everything that happens to us (or which befalls us). It is therefore ‘We’ who create the situations in which we find ourselves, and it is We who get ourselves out of those situations…one way or another. The various ways out of a bad situation includes: doing nothing and languishing in a stupor until it blows over; admitting defeat and living on pity and handouts; mugging old ladies; living off the government; knocking over an ATM machine; prostitution ('tried that...cut my price twice and still no takers…except for some old guy in a rubber chicken suit who I turned down when I found he was lying about being able to lay golden eggs); robbing a bank or liquor store; getting drunk and staying that way; or going “dry-land snorkeling” with an exhaust pipe.
OR…we can just STOP. We can relax and let our depression take over and have its way for a while, letting it naturally distort our problems, magnifying their various components so that we can better see and finally deal with them.
Contrary to what most people think, non-clinical depression is a god-given protective device that allows us to separate the dilemmas and the quandaries from each other. A dilemma is a choice between two bad things (e.g., the frying pan or the fire); a quandary is a state of perplexity in not knowing what to do next. The former is unsolvable and should be tossed into your mental trash can…it’ll either go away by itself, work itself out or kill you, no matter what you do: it doesn’t need, and cannot use, your help or energy. The latter, on the other hand—the quandary—now that’s the good one. A quandary is always solvable, simply by eliminating indecision and procrastination. The problem with quandaries, however, is that they are comprised of hundreds of tiny microscopic components that we’d never be able to see if we opted to take a pill or a bottle of booze in order to hide or run away from our natural depression reflex.
What are the myriad components of depression? They are all the random solutions your “internal staff” is coming up with…all at the same time: they are a cacophony of confusing demands, laments, bright ideas, test solutions and a bunch of begging and mewling that simply cannot be sorted out and processed by one brain.
Your male side wants this, your female side wants that; your child-self wants one thing; your adult-self wants the opposite; your parent-self wants something completely different; your Fear is demanding retreat while your impetuous and curious personality disagrees completely, and so on. The fact is that all of these disparate inputs are blocking and neutralizing each other, short-circuiting any possibility for logical mental processes, mush less resolution.
The solution? First of all, come to grips with the fact that your life is no more than a movie script that you wrote and that you are starring in. You wrote it, you are directing it and you are playing all the parts. You are all the actors; you are the camera crew; you are the makeup man/woman; you are the choreographer; you are the costume designer; you are the lighting manager, art director, set designer, electrician, best boy and grip. Next, upon acknowledging the reason for the cacophony and your inability to effectively process useful problem-solving data when times are REALLY tough…appoint a single director and turn the confusion over to him/her/it.
The director is that entity whom you have chosen to take charge and to decipher and resolve all conflicting data that comes into your mind from your many selves. This entity is entrusted with directing all the others to shut the hell up and do what they are supposed to do and take directions in resolute silence. This is your “Director,” your ”Business Manger” your “Chairman of the Board,” your God, Krishna or whatever other titles you’d like to ascribe to it. I refer to my own as “The Director” and I have put him in charge of all of my goals and aspirations, and all the hard stuff in my life…and you know…he REALLY does a good job.
The Rules:
When communicating with your Director you must always do it in writing, and in your own hand (pencil preferably). Mental supplication (praying) just gets lost in the chaos of your mind. By simply writing a letter to him/her explaining your situation as succinctly as you can without leaving out the essence of your desire or goal, you are given what you ask for. In the letter, you must state exactly what it is you need and what you’ve already done, if anything, to break down your barrier and ease the problem. You must also clearly state exactly when you’d like your need to be manifested. You then fold the letter you’ve written and place it in a private (secret) place and leave it alone (your “director’s box”…mine is a tin box with a picture of Elvis on it…I think it once held cookies or something).
Your letter might look something like this:
Dear Director,
With all due respect, I currently find myself in a difficult position, and truly need your help. This month’s house payments and car payments are due and I do not have the money to pay them at the moment. Since these sums are all due and payable within one week (by 08/16/02 at the very latest), I currently need enough to cover them as soon as possible. I ask that you give me a final solution to this problem and the wherewithal to carry it out within this time frame. I will accept cash, check or money order…or anything immediately salable or pawn-able that could get me out of this discomfort.
I am hereby leaving this request with you and demanding that it be fulfilled within the above stated date, if at all possible. The amount requested is $3,600.00, but I could get by for a while on just $2,600 if I had to.
I am willing to travel as necessary to obtain this money.
Respectfully,
-0-
Understand that your director can only do what is reasonably possible and cannot, and will not, do the impossible. Therefore if you ask for $100,000 by next Tuesday and don’t indicate that some lesser amount and a later date would work too, your director will not stop short at just $98,000 that might be available instead…it will just keep plugging away until it happens (which may be too late to help you). Over statement or being too specific could also create a failure in the process and you could simply end up with nothing. It is imperative that you be specific about what it is you want, but that you never are too exclusive. In other words, if you ask for a new car of a certain type and specify that it should be red, there might be a hundred cars just like the one you asked for, but since none of them are red, your director will overlook them and not present them to you because you specifically said you wanted a red one and ones subconscious (reactive) mind does not quantify or delineate. A red car is one thing, and a blue car of the same make and model is a completely different thing…a thing that you specifically did NOT ask for.
By the way (speaking of red cars), this is exactly the process I used to get the Nissan Pathfinder than I’ve been driving since 1995. We were VERY short of credit in 1995 and my Jeep Cherokee was on its last leg. So I wrote a letter to my director explaining that I needed a new SUV with a stereo tape deck and a rear spare tire rack and that I wanted a red one, but that I would take any color. Viola, two days after putting the note in my director’s box, I was driving past a Nissan dealership in Arcadia, CA where I saw a red Pathfinder parked on the lot. I stopped and got out to inquire about the possibility of getting financed without any credit, and within one hour I was driving it home…no down…no credit application (just killer interest rate…which was fine with me, given my circumstances, and since I had to have a good car, and since the payment amount was not that crucial to me).
Here’s another letter I wrote last year after having sold our home in Granada Hills (bought for $300,000 sold for $510,000):
01-12-02
Dear Director,
I need a new home by or before the end of January of this year about 2 weeks away). I wish to pay nothing out of pocket and wish to avoid any credit qualifying or approval process. I choose to continue living in the San Fernando Valley and would prefer the Northern end, but would accept any five bedroom in good condition the cities of Granada Hills, Chatsworth, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Tarzana, Reseda, Topanga Canyon or Sherman Oaks.
I am beginning today to make FSBO and landlord calls.
Thank you for giving me the means, and for and handling this as quickly as possible
Respectfully,
Bill J. Gatten
That day, in making FSBO calls I found three houses (on the first day) that were available with seller financing, but one was not at all what we wanted and the other two sellers both wanted some cash up front. The last one I spoke with wanted a full $150,000 up front, but indicated he’d stay on the loan. Within 15 minutes of that call a Network member who needed an up-leg 1031 exchange property, and who had $150,000 coming from her down-leg property called me. She indicated that she had to get rid of the down leg property within two weeks or pay big income tax. Well, needless to say we moved into our new home within that two weeks, and we and the Network member we are now 50:50 partners (EHT Eq. Share) in a property we got for $530,000, which is now worth about $600,000 and which will be worth $800,000 when all my refurbishments are completed. Thanks Director!
Tools you will need: 1) piece of paper 2) pen or pencil, 3) box, 4) secret spot 5) brain (optional)
Good luck in everything you try, and congratulations on everything you accomplish.
Bill Gatten
To find out more about Landtrust and Equity Transfers Using Landtrust, Click Here.
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