Page 173 - Midas Touch

dinner crowd. He is in bed by 11:00 p.m., ready to begin the next day. He
does this six days a week.

He complains about the long hours, taxes, rising food costs, government
regulations, and the struggle to find and keep good employees. He is also
upset because none of his five children wants to take over the business.

He believes it is his personal touch—selecting the ingredients, greeting
every customer that comes in, his white tablecloths, generous drinks, and
fair prices—that keeps his customers coming back. And he may be right.

But it’s also his small thinking that keeps him working long hours and his
earnings low. What he thinks are the little things that count are really an
example of thinking small.

My friend is not poor. He makes enough money. But he’s doubtful that his
business will ever grow or attain much wealth. I know that it won’t unless

he stops thinking small and begins thinking about the little things that
count.

Example #2: Thinking small, and getting smaller

I have another friend who is a very successful real estate agent. When the
real estate market crashed in 2007, so did her business. Rather than change

her thinking, she chose to close her office, let most of her staff go, and
work from home. She downsized, just like the economy.

At a recent party, she came up to me and asked, “Have you lost your real
estate investments?”

“No,” I replied with a smile. “In fact, 2010 has been the best year of my
life. Kim and I have purchased five large apartment houses for a total of
nearly 1,400 new rental units, including a resort hotel and five golf courses
for about $87 million.”

“Why didn’t you call me if you were looking for investments?” she asked
in surprise. “You know I sell real estate. I’m still in business.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” I replied. “You know I invest in real estate.”

“I just assumed the real estate market was bad and no one was buying,”
she grumbled back at me. “How did you get the loans? How did you find
the money for the down payments?”