10 years ago today my dad took me to a free weekend teaser seminar hosted by Russ Whitney.
The market bubble was in full swing and I was pretty much broke. I had no car, no job & a recently bankruptcy. Thank God I had Dad.
I remember being so excited and thinking, “Wow! I could do this” and then deflating that hope when they presented us with the option to proceed with “Advanced Training” for 3 days at a cost of $2,000. I knew better than to even ask my dad to cover something so expensive. I knew we couldn’t afford it.
Imagine my astonishment when Dad turned and said, “We’re doing this!” I have chills now as I write this post just thinking of that moment-that turning point in my life when my dad’s decision changed everything for me.
That wasn’t the end of the story. The “Advanced Training” turned out to be an extended pitch for even more training. Once again I was blown away when my dad struck a deal with another attendee at the event for he and I to split the package. I figured my dad would go and bring back the knowledge.
Then my dad turned and said, “This real estate business is for you. I’m staying back and you’re going to the training. I’m an HVAC guy-not a real estate guy” And he still is.
Off to Florida I went to learn how to invest in real estate (without any of my own money). Diamond Equity Investments (D.E.I.) was born a short while later. That was 2006. Fast forward to 2016 and I’ve closed more than 400 deals and now flip houses and wholesale contracts in Chicago, Philadelphia, & Florida.
I didn’t realize this was 10 years already-this weekend-until Dad called and reminded me yesterday. I remember how it was the year before 2006-before real estate. I couldn’t seem to get a job since I had no college degree and no transportation.
The summer before real estate, in 2005, since I really had nothing to do, I would take the bus to my dad’s house to work on his house. I’d bring my daughter and she used to think it was this great adventure-taking the city bus-because she was only 4 at the time. I wasn’t really working for my dad-there was no negotiated pay or anything. I just had this urge to go do the work. By the end of the summer my dad and I have renovated our first house-HIS!
When I was growing up, my dad always used to tell me that you have to put the wood in the fire before the fire will give you heat. What he was teaching me was to add value-to provide service-in faith before expecting better results. You can’t stand before an empty fireplace expecting to get warmth. You’ve gotta go out to the yard, chop the wood, fill the fireplace and then light the fire. THEN you get the heat.
I didn’t do the work on his house with any expectations. I didn’t expect a payday at the end or even wages for my time spent. He gave me just enough money to eat. Six months later is when he made the investment in the real estate education on my behalf.
It wasn’t until a year or two later that Dad told me he made that investment because of my actions that summer before. My work without any future promise and no guarantees. My diligence in sticking with that renovation day after day even though I wasn’t getting paid. Because I put the wood in the fire, he provided the heat-or my entry point into the real estate investment business.
Thank You Dad for believing in me before I believed in myself. I know I couldn’t have gotten to this point without you!
Dad working on one of the Diamond Equity Investments houses
This is the year of Happy Holidays. 2015 was a great year for the Diamond Equity Investments team. We welcomed new partners, new buyers, & many new wholesalers in Chicago, Philadelphia, & Tampa. The economy is stable, if not, growing, and the general feeling is that things are good in real estate again.
I’m celebrating the good times with a Trump Style Christmas:
Helicopter ride to check out the Chicago Christmas lights, check.
Big huge pile of Christmas presents for friends and family, check.
Drones for the upcoming drone show, check.
Now I just need to build a few buildings and put my name on the side-in the most prime pieces of real estate that exist in the country. A man must have a strong vision of the future to wake up and work as hard as I do, right?
Will the Good Times Roll through 2016? This is the big question on everyone’s mind. I’ve invited Paul Sloate, an economic forecaster & financial advisor to high net worth individuals, to give his prediction for the state of Real Estate in 2016. Keep an eye out- this episode will be published early in January.
Lessons I’ve Learned in 2015 2015 was a big year for me personally. I’ve had a few new life experiences and watched as my business has taken flight to new heights-thanks to people like you who continue following our progress, buying & selling deals with us, lending us money, & just being here and a part of the Diamond Equity Investments family. You’re appreciated.
1. How to Be a REAL Dad-Up until this year, my daughter lived in Chicago; 700 miles away from me back in Philadelphia. As a result of a few key people joining my team-Jon Potter, George Beatty, Howard, & Craig-I was able to move to Chicago and finally become a real Dad.
Before the move, being a father was a part-time, few times per year piece of my life. When she visited at holidays, and over the summer, I could try being a dad. It was great that I could have her in my life then.
But now that I’m here, I am just 15 minutes up the road from where she lives with her mom. She comes over on the weekends and I see her 5-6 days per week. Because I’m now present, I’ve learned quite a few lessons in fatherhood and am blessed to finally have a much more fulfilling & active presence in her life.
2. I Don’t Need to Physically SEE Houses to Make Deals-For a long time, I believed that I needed to see every house in order to make the deals. Once I opened up my mind to invite other people to participate in my deals, my vision and my ability to work many more deals exploded.
In the beginning, I didn’t want any partners. I thought I could do everything myself and didn’t trust other people to get the job done. Thank God the RIGHT PEOPLE came into my life and I learned to trust & guide them to better results. They have also brought their high intelligence to the table and guided me to better results. I guess I finally understand Napoleon Hill’s mastermind principal. The efforts of multiple people committed to the same cause creates a multiple of the results, not a sum.
3. The True Value of High Caliber People-This year I’ve been blessed to forge new
relationships & even realize some relationships I’ve had with High Caliber people. I used to think of everyone as though that had equal capabilities. As though with a little guidance, anyone could become a great performer in their field.
Now I realize that the great people in my life MADE A DECISION TO BE GREAT. It didn’t happen by accident, they built their skills, networks, and abilities to the degree which they are now considered great.
This is very rare in the world-to find truly great people. Now when I meet a high caliber person, I do my best to add value-to bring something to the table-in order to build my relationship with that person.
In the past, I am embarrassed to admit, I used to think that the only thing I needed was private money. It was always the burning question in my mind-“Could this person fund my deals?” How crass. Now the question burning in my mind is “How Can I Add Value, or Do Something to Help this Person become Even More Successful?” Which brings me to my next lesson:
4. The Power of Tithing-I learned the power of giving away money years ago. At a mentor’s suggestion, I donated money to church & charity-even bums on the corner. This was supposed to be a signal of prosperity to the Universe-“I have so much money that I can give it away freely-with no fear of running out” It was also taught to me that I would receive the money back in another form. Like the donation was a seed and the harvest was the return-of that donation-by God. And that’s exactly what happened. I donated $300 and low and behold-I receive an unexpected check for $10,000 on a deal I was working. A check that wasn’t due to me for another 8 months!!
This year I learned the power of giving my time, energy, & information. The power of giving value. This is why I created the REI Diamonds Podcast-to create more prosperity within the REI Diamonds family. I am constantly receiving feedback thanking me for the great advice, tips, & strategies that are discussed on the show.
I sell nothing on the Podcast. My guests and I are freely giving away valuable information-like a tithe. As a result of the Podcast, I’ve been contacted by several high caliber successful people and built relationships as a result.
People contact me about funding my deals using their IRA accounts/investment accounts as a result of hearing the REI Diamonds Podcast. Interesting how that works-I used to look for people to fund my deals, and now that I look for ways to add value to as many people as possible, the people who fund my deals come looking for me.
It’s been the Year of Happy Holidays!! The one size fits all, politically correct statement for this time of year. Happy Holiday’s & Happy New Year 2016. May your Holiday Season be filled with Joy, Prosperity, & Peace and you Achieve ALL of Your Goals in 2016!! Thank you for being a part of the REI Diamonds family!!
-Dan Breslin
P.S.-Below is a Short Clip from the Trump Style Heli-Ride over Chicago. ( I know-Donald Trump’s Helicopter is a whole lot nicer-but the views were absolutely stunning !!)
P.P.S.-Ready to Download “Become a Wholesale Real Estate Master”? The download
instructions are in the Atomic Buyers List Audio. Go to www.AtomicBuyersList.com & listen to the audio to claim your copy now. Limited to 25 downloads-not trying to create too much competition!
