Most of you know that I’m a voracious reader and I love to learn about all sorts of topics – nutrition, physiology, endocrinology, language, investing and so much more! After finishing my manuscript at the end of September, I was most excited about having more time to listen to (and read) books!
If you’d rather listen to this blog than read it, please click play. Otherwise, keep reading below.
The other day, while listening to a book about real estate investing (a personal passion of mine), I heard something that I was immediately excited to share with you!
Let me set the stage. This guy wanted to get started with real estate investing but he didn’t have any money. In fact, he was struggling to pay his bills each month. One of his biggest bills was his truck payment. He owed more on his fancy truck than it was worth. He decided to sell the truck to reduce his monthly expenses. But…
He didn’t know how to sell a truck he didn’t own (the bank still owned it). In money-speak, he was upside down on the truck. He owed more than he could get for it.
He wanted to do a private sale because he’d get much more money for his truck than if he traded it in. But, he felt stuck because he knew he wouldn’t get what he owed for the truck. Without paying off the loan, he couldn’t get the title. Without getting the title, he couldn’t sell the truck to a private buyer.
He didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t throw his hands up and decide it couldn’t be done. Instead…
He told himself, “I don’t know how to sell this truck when I’m upside down on it, but I know how to vacuum the truck and that’s free.”
He cleaned it out and cleaned it up.
Then he thought, “I don’t know how to sell this truck when I’m upside down on it, but I know how to take some pictures of it and that’s free.” He took the pictures.
Next he thought, “I don’t know how to sell this truck when I’m upside down on it, but I know how to create a Craiglist ad and that’s free.” So, he did.
He proceeded on like that, doing the next small step and not worrying about how to figure it out first.
Sure enough, he learned as he went and he sold the truck.
Trucks and loans aside, his point is much greater than the truck.
You might not know how to lose 40 pounds. That doesn’t matter. You can eat one fat loss friendly meal.
You might not know how to get out of your funk, but you can choose gratitude right now, in this moment.
You don’t have to figure it out. You just have to take the next step.
I didn’t know how to write a book, but I knew how to come up with a list of topics.
I didn’t know how to write a book, but I knew how to summarize the message I wanted to deliver with a book.
You can take your next step, right now. Stop holding yourself back because you don’t know how to complete the 4th, 7th or 200th step.
Stop holding yourself back because you anticipate some future obstacle.
Just do the next thing right now. Vacuum the truck.