You’ve probably done it at a football game, a concert, or any large public event. Just before the event has finished, you head for the exit a few minutes before it is officially over. Those few minutes give you a tremendous head start. Those few minutes are the difference between getting home half an hour or even an hour earlier than if you had waited just a bit longer to leave. Those few minutes put you into the parking area ahead of the crowd. Instead of having to wait in a traffic jam, you zip out onto an uncluttered roadway. Quickly and safely you make your way home. You arrive at home relaxed with fond memories of your outing.
I have done this hundreds of times and saved countless hours. Hours that I have used for better things than sitting in parking areas or backed up on city streets or highways. I always try to be a few minutes ahead of the crowd.
Greg, a man I first met about twelve years ago had a saying which he repeated several times almost every time we met which was: “Timing is the essence of life.” I’ve always remembered this and it really is so true when it comes to investments.
On the weekend, my wife and I visited some friends at a lakeside location north of Sydney. They told us that they had just purchased a house on waterfront land near where they were living. They talked about the development proposals that were being undertaken in the area over the next three years and why they believed they had made a good investment. They had a vision of how the place would look after all the work had been carried out and they had the courage to back their vision with action.
So many people fail to take action and then years later they are the ones to say: “I had the opportunity to buy such and such, but I didn’t do it. Now it’s worth three times what I would have had to pay back then.”
Often the people taking action are labeled as “lucky.” In fact, luck has nothing to do with it. All of us are presented with many opportunities during our lifetime. It is our choice whether we recognise them and then decide to act upon them or just let them slip by.
Some people seem to attract more opportunities than others because they are looking for opportunities while others don’t recognise opportunities because of their overwhelming fear of taking action.
Let me give you a specific example that relates to real estate investment.
Before a new freeway is constructed there is usually quite a lot of publicity surrounding the project prior to and during its construction. Environmental impacts need to be considered, the community consulted and protests dealt with before the project can go ahead. During construction, the activity is obvious and sometimes traffic needs to be diverted around the construction zone. Consequently no-one could reasonably say that this new freeway has just snuck up on them. The reality is that it is a very public event usually taking place over a number of years.
What happens to real estate prices after such an announcement? In reality very little. Those investors who are just ahead of the crowd will work out that once the freeway is completed, new areas will be more accessible and real estate prices will rise. They will buy into areas they have identified as having growth potential and position themselves ahead of the masses. They may have to hold their properties for a few years during construction and then they will enjoy solid increases in value.
The crowd on the other hand does not start to move until after the freeway is completed. They only start to move when they see the prices rising and the newspapers talking about the great growth potential of this newly opened up area. When the prices rise, they complain that real estate is getting too expensive and that they should have bought earlier. They see the traffic moving along the freeway and suddenly work out that this will be good for real estate prices.
The difference is that the investor who is ahead of the crowd, who leaves the football game a few minutes early, buys wholesale and sells at retail. He buys low and sells high. He or she is the astute investor who is just a few minutes ahead of the crowd. These are the people who understand that timing is the essence of life.
To invest ahead of the crowd takes courage. It means analysing the risks and backing your convictions with actions. It's not easy because you'll have many detractors and armchair advisors who will want to talk you out of it. You may not always be right and from time to time you may make mistakes, however, it’s also a case of “the early bird catches the worm.”
About Hans Jakobi
Hans Jakobi is an educator, author and investor. He is the author of six best-selling books including, How To Be Rich & Happy On Your Income which is available at:
www.supersecrets.com and the presenter of the Super Secrets® to Wealth do-it-yourself real estate home study course. Join Hans Jakobi’s FREE Super Secrets® Online Newsletter
© 2002 Hans Jakobi. All rights reserved worldwide
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