Courthouse

So, today I managed to wake myself up early and get over the courthouse. I already knew where it was, where in the building to go and what search parameters to use to get some foreclosure listings. I went through the Rich Dad Coaching program a year ago and one of the things my coach had recommended was looking for pre-foreclosure properties. I learned all the steps for finding them at that point and had even found a group. Then I found out that MD laws were changing a foreclosure consultant was going to be required for use for any transaction. That's when my interest faded and I moved in another direction.

This time I don't have to worry about that yet. Now I can just put together some leads from the information I took down and then pass them on to an investor. If they know what they're doing they will already have a consultant setup to use. So, I'm more hopeful this time around.

I did a search from 8/1 to 8/24 and there was a considerable number. I don't think there is anywhere near a daily flow, but I copied down the first 15 on the list before heading out to work. I'll try and do this every Friday moving forward, but I may add other types of searches and do it more than one day a week. It's right near where I work so it shouldn't be a problem adding it to my routine. I just have to adapt to getting up a little earlier. With the school year starting and the people I live with's schedules changing, that shouldn't be too hard.

So, with my lawn care pursuits, things are slowing. The lady I was working to setup a deal with misinterpreted what I wrote and I thought that I wanted $30/hr. I'm going to write her back and clarify, but first I'm trying to find some uses for sticks and branches that I clean up in her yard. If I can find a company that will buy them to sell as mulch then it won't matter how much she pays me per hour because I can get a bigger return from the later sale.

Even if things don't end up panning out, at least it got the creative juices flowing. I need to focus not on how much I get paid per hour, but rather finding ways to convert someone else's trash to my treasure. There are a lot of free natural resources or even stuff that people are getting rid of, that with a little creative thinking could be worth a lot more.

Last night I read this brief story about an old fiddle and bow. It was being auctioned off and was only pulling in low bids. Then an old man asked the auctioneer to hold on, went up to the stage and dusted it off. Then he sat down and started to play beautiful music with it. Once he finished he put it down and walked off. When the bidding continued, there was much more activity and the fiddle and bow sold for a much larger amount.

The idea portrayed was, "the value is greatly increased with the touch of the Master's hand". Also, I think it shows more that one man's garbage is another man's treasure. More specifically, with a little work, something seen as garbage can have it's value greatly increased. So I'm going to start trying to find more of these opportunities to convert something seen as worthless to something of value.

This goes along with the idea that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts", meaning that the combination of a few things will be worth more working as a whole than each was worth individually. That's why people can make lots of money taking felt and thread and a few decorations if they put them together in a way that appeals to someone else.

After yesterday's dream, I've decided I should start spending my free time developing some skills that could be useful in the future. A lot of people can play musical instruments or know how to dance. A friend of mine from my last job does a lot of wood working. All these things are very valuable and can lead to a lot of benefits as you grow in ability and share your talents and creativity. So that will be something I try to look into this weekend.