Escape From Pianosa

I grew up naïve. I believed that everyone was decent. More importantly, I believed that people meant what they said. I mean, why would you say something if you didn’t mean it? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

I realized that my model of the world was askew when I entered real estate and I started meeting a new class of people…

People who swear up and down that they are ready to buy today, but clearly have no idea what they’re doing.

Like the lady who said she was ready to buy. Today. All cash. Just have to see the property… and estimated its repairs at $300,000.

I said “really? $300,000? For the ugly half of a 900 square foot duplex? How did you come up with that number?” She told me that she spent $40,000 to renovate her garage, so ya know, just extrapolating.

Or the contractors who rob people blind.

Or the people who sign contracts and then disappear (even after giving you a large deposit).

Or the tenants who seem normal at first and then spiral off into increasingly erratic and bizarre behavior (like the tenant in this story).

Why are relationships so important in business? (I don’t know Mr. Trump, why don’t you tell us?) Because it’s so hard to find people you can trust. Yeah I know it’s trite, but all the flakes, hucksters and time-wasters can cost you so much time and money that the trustworthy, conscientious people are worth that much more.

The problem is obvious—it’s too easy to get away with craziness or dishonesty.

What we need is a rating system, like eBay—with everyone’s rating hovering over their head like a halo. Every time you do good, you get a green plus sign. Every time you screw someone over, you get a big red minus sign.

Until then, find people you can trust, and hold onto them!

1. Sign up for a networking event or social gathering where you won’t know anyone.
2. Go alone.
3. Walk into the room/bar/pavilion and approach the first group of people you see.*
4. Open your mouth and start talking…

If you’re like me and you grew up as an introvert, you’ll probably feel everything from terror to exhilaration. But really, once you get going, it’s a lot of fun and you’ll feel like a natural. Try it. Once you start you won’t want to stop…

*Ok, I’ll be honest. My first stop was the bar. I have a profound respect for any organization that believes its members are worthy of the Open Bar. And a beer in the hand is the perfect prop for socializing. A prop, not a crutch. Drinking yourself into oblivion to summon your inner extrovert is considered cheating. You’re not fooling anyone you drunk.

Update: more on becoming an extrovert here.

Forbes.com interviewed several of this year’s top billionaires, and as I was reading through some of them, I noticed three things that repeated over and over again:

1. Exercise daily.

2. Follow your passion.

3. Read. A lot. At least two hours a day, but many said they read four or more hours a day.

Great advice, and by the way it might help you to live longer as well; many of them are in their 80s.