The Secret to Raising Children Who Are Leaders

Many different explanations have been made for how a parent can raise their children to be leaders.

First of all, leadership itself can mean many different things to many people. But I would define a leader as a self driven person who inspires her people through her will and deeds (rather than the threat of punishment).

So as such, it is important to begin by fostering in your children a sense of independence. Encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves as early as possible. They must know that trying to do things for themselves is important. Some kids take to this more easily than others, but most kids have natural inclination to try new things if they haven't had this instinct trained out of them.

Early on, of course, they will fail. This can be mitigated by giving them good explanations of what to expect and how to deal with this. Even as adults, we find that the best teachers will not only instruct on how to do something, but these great teachers will also explain what to expect and what to look for (indicating that they are experienced in what they are teaching). In addition, they might even share their own failure or mistake. This is the most precious information of all.

Knowing what to expect and what are the potential pitfalls gives children the proper guidance and preparation, allows them to proceed confidently, and allows them to reach success faster. 

And when they succeed earlier, it will rapidly build their self-confidence.

This is also a golden opportunity to teach them that failure is part of the process leading to success. Never make them feel bad about their failure. Reinforce that failure is part of the process and that trying and failing is better than not trying.

This golden cycle of trial, failure, try again, succeed, and build self confidence is quickly self-reinforcing. They not only build up their own confidence, but also their confidence in you as their mentor.

This leads to the final secret of raising children who are leaders. YOU!

At the end of the day there is no substitute for the profound effects of modelling. If you want to raise children who are leaders, you must invest the time to cultivate leadership behaviors in yourself. When your children model themselves after you, it simply multiplies the investment you have made in yourself. So DO IT!

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CREATIVE REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS: Assume the Existing Mortgage

I'm looking at buying a real estate deal today in one southern metropolitan area, but it could very well be anywhere in the United States.

The deal is that, despite a robust annual rental income of nearly $130K, that after operating expenses and debt service, last year, the owner made $491.

Yes, you read that correctly. $491.

I hate to kick a guy when he's down, but that is incredible. And not in a good way.

To say that this is a prime example of property mis-management is an understatement.

Am I still thinking about buying it.

Of course!

After crunching the numbers, there is a lot of potential in this deal.

I also think that anyone that has over a million dollars of debt tied up in a deal that is throwing off a measly $491 is someone that will be willing to listen to some creative options for alleviating his burden.

After obtaining as much information as I could, I think that I would consider getting into this deal by asking the seller to allow me to assume his existing mortgage.

Going to be walking this property and meeting with the real estate agent this weekend, so I will let you know how it goes!

STAY TUNED for more WEEKLY UPDATES from an Entrepreneur Dad with a Lovely Wife, 4 Kids (3 under 5 years old), and a passion and a dream of running a successful home-based business!

MOVED IN FINALLY! (Plans vs. Kids)

In case you were harboring thoughts that it might be different, let me pop that bubble for you right now.

You've got KIDS now! Your shit will never be perfect again!

And when I say shit, I don't just mean your physical belongings.

I'm talking about your short, medium, and long term plans for anything.

So, we are finally completing a cross-town move into our new house, and it only took all of more than three whole weeks.

And while there were some extenuating personal circumstances that went into making this one of the most frustrating moves ever, it can't be denied that one of those factors were those little ones we love so much and worked so hard to find this perfect house for.

It was a real endeavor to try to find someone to watch the little darlings while we moved an endless parade of hastily-packed boxes using what little space was left in our cramped cars after the three car seats occupied the entire back row.

And when we couldn't get help, what seemed to work best was letting the sweet dears play in the moving truck as we shoveled more things into boxes. This ceased to be fun when we found ourselves still moving things after the electricity in the house had already been turned off, and the kids you had to bring along are either trying to "help" or are afraid of the dark.

To add to the frustration, our old landlord, while doing the walkthrough after we got all our belongings out, took a u-haul truck's worth of trash and recycling of the premises, and then cleaned the crap out of the place, still had some harsh critiques about the condition of the place in an attempt to keep the security deposit. She, it seems, did not appreciate the Van Gogh-esque crayon doodles on her walls left by our darling son, as well as, the efforts at oragami he tried using several slats of the blinds.

Anyway, with our new garage packed to the gills with those hastily-packed boxes, we will probably end up slowly replacing all those things we will only find when the last of the boxes is finally opened, in thirteen or so years.

In the meantime, the wee ones love the new house (and so do we) and despite the massive frustration that we experienced as a part of this move, we'd probably do it all again.

STAY TUNED for more WEEKLY UPDATES from an Entrepreneur Dad with a Lovely Wife, 4 Kids (3 under 5 years old), and a passion and a dream of running a successful home-based business!