They Volunteered and Raised Their Own Rent

© Can Stock Photo

     My wife and I started investing in buy-and-hold rental real estate a few years ago. We are looking to sustain a very comfortable retirement, as well as build a good additional piece to our legacy. Having abundance to us, means we have more to share or give away. We've been able to build a small nest egg, through some traditional employment we've had. And, we were able to leverage some of that to get us started. We're also helping other people create additional income from home. But, for now, I want to relate a story that just happened to us today, about our real estate.

     We've owned this one building for around 2 1/2 years now. We are not slum landlords by any means. Rather than take all possible income out of a building, instead, we treat it as the valuable long-term asset it is. When there are repairs, or upgrades that need to be made, we invest in them. We still take a profit, so we still have to weigh whether an investment is prudent now, or can wait a little bit of time. But, we keep it on the plan, and do what is needed.

     We have also developed a rapport with our tenants. From the moment they apply, we try to connect with who they are, and what they need, for a home. In fact, some form of the word "home" can be found in the name of each building's LLC. We've also shown some pay it forward kind of acts. We have gifted baked pies to all of our tenants on Thanksgiving. It was inspiring to us, when we were buying the pies, and whipped cream to go with them, in the store, a woman asked if we were having a party. Why were we buying so many pies. When we told her that we were buying them for our tenants, she told us to wait. She ran off into the store, and came back with a bottle of sparkling apple cider, for each of the pies, paid for them, and gave them to us to include.

     As great as that is, there's more. Today, as my wife was collecting rent from one of our tenants. The tenant told her that this was the last time she would receive that amount from them for the rent. Curious, my wife asked the tenant what they meant. She was then informed, that starting next month, the tenants were going to pay us an additional $50 a month. They went on to state, that they appreciated the way we treated them, and, the building they consider their home.

     Draw your own conclusions, or, be inspired, and change just one thing you do. Or not. I am again amazed at the blessings received when giving has been for the big picture and providing value for others without expectation of receiving anything in return. I am reminded, again, that giving is far better than receiving. And, it's contagious. Together, let's start our own viral explosion of paying it forward, and paying it back. Any challenge will be overcome, and awesome achievements will be accomplished when more of us share our abundance, lend a hand up, and give in a true positive spirit of love.

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with gratitude and in service,



Tony Koker
A Mentor with a Servant's Heart

Time Always Wins

Ruled by the Clock

      Time always wins. Tick, tock, tick, tock time marches forward. Sooner or later, we will stop, but it will not, just like taxes.

      Awareness. Are you awake enough to know what you're doing? Often I find myself in auto-pilot. I find myself focused only upon what I have to be doing. The alarm goes off. Maybe I can snooze it, once or twice, but mostly I have to resign myself to getting up and getting ready. Have I mastered that task list that determines my fate, or am I following someone else's lead? Have I convinced myself that satisfying their demands also serve me and my family and friends? These are questions I find time to ponder and attempt to use a slight edge to implement.

      Always busy, doing something. Even sleep is something. If I don't get enough sleep, I cannot think clearly enough to be sure I've taken a vivid review of the task list.

      Wasting time, productive use?

      Productive is also subjective. Productive for whom? Them or you and yours?

      The order is important, too. Priority and time both need to be considered. Some things have windows of time where they need to be accomplished. Some things are preparatory - they need to be done in advance of some point in time, like a scheduled meeting. Others have to be done now, like right after a meeting, to capture what steps will need to be accomplished before the next meeting or event occurance. Of course priority should never be ignored.

      You and Yours, then short-term emergency, or, at lease, short-term priority escalation or life-long priority? Emergency or short-term priority escalation, in relative terms, that I use, relates to this whole concept of being able to really only perform ONE task at a time. And, manage but a handful of tasks. This handful should be the most important. Survival, comfort, luxury, perhaps that is the order you choose? Or, do you consider it more noble to forego some level of comfort for the survival benefit of others?

      Even survival is subjective. Water, food, clothing and shelter likely lead the list, but the whole requires much, much more. There's the physical, which was just (mostly) addressed, but there is also the emotional and the spiritual. How often do we neglect or even fail to recognize these? True work and life balance really requires that we find opportunity to satisfy the needs of the whole.

      So. Are you really multi-tasking? Are you really busy doing what's important to you? Or, are you just busy, doing just enough, and passing time to a future event (looking forward to something)?

with gratitude and in service,

Tony Koker

Photo credit: CanStockPhoto.com

Resolve a Habit of Persistence

Persistence

      My life is perfect. Everything is like it should be. A picturesque summertime float on a calm, crystal clear lake. The sun out with but wisps of clouds in the royal blue sky. Not too hot, not too cold. I want for nothing. Friends and family surround. Laughter and reverie abound all around.

      Then, there's that sound again. It sounds like a knock on a door. Is it another distraction, or, another opportunity?

      I wake. Dream over for now.

      I have to return to the task at hand. Do I continue working, or, do I pause and consider making a decision?

      Now is not the time to rethink. I am in work mode, now, today. Back to the formula. Just execute. Saying my self talk I am able to regain focus.

      Clickety clack, clickety clack, like a train going down a track. The knocks on the door fade away. I'm returning to my zone.

     

     

      I recently became reacquainted with a verse in scripture. It has resonated so well with my self talk, that I have printed it out, hung it on the wall, and have added it to my daily self talk routine:

           "... I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down ..." Nehemiah 6:3

     

     

      Persistence and focus seem to intertwine themselves with each other. These are crucial as I succeed with any resolution.

     

with gratitude and in service,

Tony Koker

Image credit: CanStockPhoto.com

Ain't Nothing Like a Hound Dog!

Ain't Nothing Like a Hound Dog!

     
"Ain't nothing like a hound dog, crying all the time." Famous lyrics, but they remind me of a story I've heard told.
     
Picture, if you will, a raw wood house, grayed by the weather. A larger farmer's porch in front, with steps up, small columns, a railing and a roof overhead for rain cover.
     
Found on the porch, away from the stairs in the front and doorway to the house is found a wooden rocking chair. Next to the chair is found a beat up old metal container of some sort. The top is hinged and can be opened when needed. Inside this box can be found all manner of material for idle time busy work. Perhaps a chunk of wood being carved into various shapes will be found.
     
To the side of the chair on the porch, when the owner is in the chair, can be found his faithful companion, his basset hound, or hound dog, for short.
     
While sitting in the chair, rocking slowly forward and back, whittling away on this new sculpture, the occupant of the chair is engaged with a passerby. On the way to or from, they engage in banter about people, events, things and ideas. Whatever seems to be the most pressing topic for discussion of the moment.
     
Invariably the discussion leads to complaints of frustration encountered by either or both of them. Likely the issues are out of the control of either of them. But as misery often enjoys the company of its kin, they both can be found to echo the unpleasantness with eager enthusiasm. An observation might include that one actually seems to try to outdo the misery of the other.
     
It too almost seems as though they moan in sympathy of each other.
     
Each time they relate such a condition, the dog, too, can be heard to howl almost right on queue. First one, then the other, and finally the third, like a symphony of low tone instruments, cascading a symphony of emotional expression.
     
Not as familiar with the animal as the owner, the passerby asks about what the dog has to complain about.
     
Not skipping a beat in his rocking or handiwork the owner presents an explanation thusly. The dog had come to rest upon a nail that is sticking up from the floor of the porch. It is pressing sufficiently against his hyde that discomfort or even pain is being felt. But, it is not significant enough that the animal will gather together the energy necessary to get up and move to another spot. It just chooses to complain to the universe, another note in the chorus of three.
     
Are you stuck in the chorus, too? Have you examined why you remain, yet are not happy nor fulfilled? Discover how to break free together, with us here.
Image credit: CanStockPhoto.com

You Never Know What You're Going To Get

      Like that now famous line from the movie Forest Gump, the title of this piece talks about the randomness in life and a box of chocolates, and, yet, how there are universal waves, rhythms and harmonies that get amplified and strengthened by those who recognize the positive and useful nature of these and pick them up and use them. The key belongs to those who are open to sensing them. Two seemingly disconnected activities which I am about to present, illustrate this principle. How you connect the dots is up to you.

      The book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, was written after interviewing 500 highly successful people and compiling the results over 20 years. A lifetime mission, funded by a close friend and personal mentor to Napoleon, Andrew Carnegie. The book documents a singular secret masked among 13 principles of success. On a journey through various stories illustrating each of the 13 principles, Hill holds out the hope that the readers will discover the secret, and put it to use and be rich. Written at a similar time as we are in now, it was inescapable to separate money from being rich, but Hill illustrates being rich in the fullest and most positive ways. Once discovered, the secret is simply understood and known to be known.

      I cannot profess to know a lot about the following, but, for the time being have to rely upon a special feature I experienced on a public television broadcast recently, where Tai Chi was discussed. The concepts I find in my notes include Effortless Effort, Balance, Being Powerful versus be Forceful, and an emphasis on Conservation of Energy versus the Consumption of Energy. The following was presented as a brief summation:

• Be In The Moment
• Freedom
• Power
• Flow

      And, finally, (paraphrased) "Be content with what you have, lacking nothing. The world belongs to you."

      Having just recently been exposed to the description of Tai Chi, but having spent a lot of time working with coaching and mentoring people using Hill's book, I had another epiphany that the centuries old practice also was an expression of clues to the very same secret of Hill's work.

with gratitude and in service,

Tony Koker

P.S. Find Your Heartfelt Mental Music Again. Resolve to Quiet the Worldly Chatter. Mastermind with Us: 30 day Cleanse

Image credit: CanStockPhoto.com

FAITH: VISUALIZATION OF, AND BELIEF IN ATTAINMENT OF DESIRE

      I am reminded of a journey I've taken with the Boy Scouts. We set out for a weekend campout where one of the objectives is to hike up a mountain until we reach the summit. Initially this began as a simple exercise on paper and listing the task among those that we might set as objectives. Many other ideas were put forth, but the hike remained after the final cuts were accomplished.

      Some of the scouts had researched the objective. They provided pictures from the summit. We were all able to visualize being above the tree line, standing firmly on the rock boulders and grassy and mossy surfaces of the top. We imagine the unobstructed wind, at the summit, where there are no trees to block it. blowing our hair and clothes in a forceful draft. We imagine feeling the intensity of the sun warming our cheeks and exposed arms and legs, and even through our clothes. We see the incredible view of the clouds in the sky, the other mountain peaks connecting in a line far off into the distance in two directions. We also see the many valleys below and the tiny tree tops, paths, streams and trails below.

      Many of the scouts had never been there before, but their belief that this experience is there at the top is very strong. They know that it is there. They have already lived it in their imagination. The excitement, even love for the natural sun, wind and sights motivate them into action.

      In a Boy Scout troop, the older boys lead, coach and mentor the younger, more inexperienced scouts. To further instill a faith in the attainment of the desire, they plot out the course necessary to begin the journey. One of the older scouts pulls out a map of the available trails, and a selection is made.

      Leaving our homes by bus, the entire journey to the camp site was accompanied by excited discussions of being on that summit. One boy was even working on carving and painting his initials on a stone he planned to leave behind on the summit, marking his achievement. He was confirming his faith that he would be there. There were other plans for more and better pictures by other scouts (and leaders). Better because WE would be in these.

      The day we arrived was overcast and rain was threatening. We set up camp, dinner preparations were begun and all the while excited discussions of our hike the next day continued. Even though we proclaimed "lights out", many could be heard contributing to a din of banter long afterwards and the words hike and summit could be heard as well.

      The next day, after careful review it was determined that the forecast was mild enough that we could still venture upon our journey on this day, without danger. We spot-checked that all were equipped with the tools necessary for the journey: rain gear, trail mix, plenty of water, walking sticks, proper shoes, at least one camera and the like, and of course the initial-carved and painted rock. Then we set out for the first trail marker.

      Step by step we ascended the mountain. Overcoming and clearing fallen branches, carefully navigating the wet rocks that were slippery; small measure by small measure making progress upward, all the while focused on the experience at the summit. The occasional shower didn't dampen our faith.

      The summit was more incredible than any of us imagined. The top of this moutain was above the clouds which were dripping below. We were overcome with the grandeur laid out before us. It brought goose bumps to some and even tears of joy to others. If it wasn't for the faith instilled long before, many of the boys would have found reasons to stop or even turn around and go back, the warm fire and sleeping bags beckoning them. Instead, our entire crew ascended to the summit and still celebrate the accomplishment as a measuring stick upon which all future objectives are measured.

with gratitude and in service,

Tony, Lisa, Michael and Amanda Koker

Image credit: CanStockPhoto.com

Economic Recovery - Act NOW

Everyone, the world over, has been effected by the current economic conditions. Most people have scrambled for a good position. It's just like a unpredicted storm has hit. And, although we all have that in common, that's where it ends. Even the position we've established, or are attempting to establish is different. First we do a quick damage assessment. We all wonder why none (or few) of our boarded-up windows survived; even when we thought the storm was over, another wave of fury attacked - and no one is really sure it's over, even now.
Once we finished (maybe just our first of many) damage assessments, we then chose our next stance - do we hunker down for the next wave? Or, what? Are we so battle-weary? Not only are we attacked by news we intentionally hear, watch, or read, the attacks are also insidious - they sneak through commercials wrapped around everything from our coffee cups to our recreation; an unrelenting bombardment of snippets of sound, pictures, words and ideas. They are all trying to rent space in our head - slowly eroding any sense of control, we thought we had.
But, we don't have to abrogate our authority to them. We don't have to willingly submit to the beating; to give up the power, they're actually afraid of. We are not as weak as they'd like us to think we are. We're not perfect, by any means, but we're okay, just the way we are. We have to gain strength, not acquiesce and give it away. We have to build ourselves up, individually, and, as a team.
We have to build our own master-mind alliance; a team of like-minded thinkers and doers. Knowledge of this is just the first step. Knowledge is NOT power, but the action, put into play, through the use of that knowledge - THAT is where the power is!
We cannot hunker down, any longer. We have to stand up. We have to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, hands joined together. We need to silence the lies. We need to turn down the noise level. We have to take action: 30-day Mental-Cleanse link sent upon request.

Desiderata

- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --
Not "Found in Old St. Paul's Church"!

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata