How I Became “Millionaire Mom”
This was definitely not my objective when I first started out in real estate investing. My intent early on was first to gain enough knowledge to intelligently invest our savings for the future and to no longer hand our money over to people that likely wouldn’t remember my name. Within a short period of time I saw that building a portfolio could be my new career but wasn’t really thinking about teaching others to do the same. There was definitely an interest there but also an internal turmoil of… this stuff that I do is soo simple, so easy, I believed much of it was common sense. It became simple for me because I loved it and, frankly, couldn’t get enough of it.
News flash Susan:
Not everyone sees real estate investing as fun. It has taken me YEARS to realize that if you are not living it, breathing it, every day, it isn’t common sense and might never be common sense.
There was this point where I felt an incredible draw to do more. I had jumped on a plane to Calgary, Alberta with the intent of building a team in Calgary to provide me with all the tools I needed to invest out there.
I get asked all the time, “Why Calgary? Did you live there?”
Nope.
“Did you have a connection there?”
Nope.
The only thing I can say is that I was ready for a challenge and had convinced myself if I wasn’t going to be managing them anyways, why not go to the hottest part of the country, which Calgary definitely was at the time.
I booked an entire week there, attending as many meetings as I could fit it. I went with the intent that I would have everything in place to buy properties by the time I left, and that is exactly what I did. So I found a team that was building them as a packaged deal, and then taking them over from the property management perspective once complete. I put my first offer in on the way to the airport home.
While I was there, it just so happened that Oprah was there doing a speaking engagement at the Saddledome. I bought myself a ticket. It was a night that I will never forget as long as I am alive. An awareness came over me that night I can’t even describe with justice. Let’s just say for over half of her talk I was bawling my eyes out. Thank God the arena was dark.
Perspective
To put this into perspective for you I pretty much do not cry. I didn’t cry at my wedding, at any of my kids births, you might see me with watery eyes at a funeral but this was SOOO different. It was this feeling going through me that I have this gift, and I need to share it. They were tears of gratitude to have such a gift. I can’t say it was what she said, as I don’t remember most of it. What did stick out in my head was her reference that life will guide you in the direction you need to be going, paraphrased: If you miss the whisper, you might get a soft push, if you miss the soft push, you might get a shove, but please make sure you don’t get the full knock down.
The feelings that night were crazy strong but so has been my mental talk of “You are really not that special, anyone can do what you do.”
There was fear in being responsible for others, or worse being found out that everything I do is not a success, in fact far from it. As far as real estate investors go, I figured most people would surmise that I was pretty average.
Here’s the thing….
Real estate investors are pretty incredible as far as achievers go. It has taken me years to accept that I have something of significant value to teach others. True investors that have made this their business have a passion for this stuff, and willingly and easily share their knowledge.
But it goes beyond their knowledge of real estate investing. We are decision makers, action takers, solution finders, opportunity creators and calculated risk takers. We do a better job than many seeing where the potential is as opposed to focusing on the pitfalls. This is truly our competitive advantage (not that we are at all competing).
I had this embarrassing crying experience two more times. The next time, I was listening to Tahani Aburaneh of Tahani International speak at a real estate investing event. Again, I had this feeling of, “Susan, you need to be doing more. As a woman, mom and full time investor you need to be sharing your way. You need to be inspiring what is possible, the potential that life can bring.”
The Voices
But alas, again the voices of unworthiness spoke loudly in my head.
The final time was the summer of 2018. I had been training with Bob Proctor of Proctor Gallagher Institute, searching for what challenge to do next. I had 45 minutes with Bob discussing where I should take my business. He sort of looked at me like I had two heads and said “Susan, you need to teach this stuff”.
Gratefully, I made it off the hot seat before the tears came a flowing…OMG it was uncontrollable. The sniffling, the shaking as I look back I can’t describe how embarrassing it felt. It seemed to go on for an eternity and the harder I tried to stop, the stronger the tears came, this time in the full light of a brightly lit seminar room where everyone could see. So, see? I’m not the stoic, got-my-shit-together persona I was trying to give off.
It was at that event, shortly after the bumbling tears, that a member of Bob’s team asked me if Millionaire Mom would be a better company name for me. Instinctually, I knew that was it. I
