Episode 170:How This Professional Athlete Transitioned To Full-Time Real Estate Investor
The Profit First REI Podcast
April 6, 2023
David Richter
We’ve got Terrie Schauer joining us here at the Profit First for REI podcast. She is a champion in every sense of the word, as a single mom, 3-time, title-holding ex-athlete, Ph.D. holder, and real estate investor.
Her career in real estate began as a property manager before fully transitioning into investments. All the while, she worked as a professional athlete, competing in Brazilian Jiujitsu and even achieving world championship titles.
In this episode, she shares her real estate journey, and how she applied a lot of what she learned as a professional fighter to her career. Tune in to the discussion!
Key Takeaways:
[00:40] Introducing Terrie Schauer and Her Background
[03:55] On Mindfulness and How to Use It to Succeed
[07:54] On Her Sports Career and How She Found Mindfulness
[16:06] Juggling Her Sports Career, Being a Single Mom, and Her Work in Real Estate
[21:10] Why People Live Deal-to-Deal: Fear and Not Managing It Properly
[24:54] Advice for Real Estate Investors
[27:14] Connect With Terrie and Grab Her Book
Quotes:
[04:37] “Mindfulness is not mindset. It’s not positive affirmations. It’s not your morning routine. It’s not hustling at 5 am…Mindfulness is understanding how the human consciousness works, to be able to get the most out of the tool that is your mind.”
[21:52] “The number one biggest [reason why real estate investors get in their own way] is fear, [and] not managing fear properly.”
[25:27] “If you’re not executing on something, or you’re performing below the level at which you want to be in business, it’s up here, [in your mind]. [Work] on your mind…Mindfulness training has really allowed me to get kind of get the most out of that”
Connect with Terrie:
Mindful Landlord: How to Run Rental Property for Profit and Peace of Mind: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Landlord-Rental-Property-Profit/dp/1554832365
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrieschauer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrieschauer
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/TerrieSchauerInc
Real Estate Investors Club Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-estate-investors-club-podcast/id1530582814
Tired of living deal to deal?
If you are a real estate investor or business owner who is tired of living deal to deal, and want to double your profits, head over here to book your no-obligation discovery call with me. Either myself or someone from my team will hop on a short call with you to get clear on your business goals, remove any obstacles holding you back, and map out a game plan to help you finally start keeping more of the money you work so hard to make. – David
Transcription:
Terry Schauer:
You didn’t have to be doing that full-time in order to be elite level. The real estate aspect, like the great thing about doing real estate is that you have a really flexible schedule.
Outro:
If you’re a real estate investor who’s sick and tired of living deal to deal, then welcome home. Hear from everyday real estate investors just like you, and discover how they’ve completely transformed their business by taking a profit First approach. This is the profit first for REI podcast, where we believe revenue is vanity. Profit is sanity. It’s time to start making profit a habit in your business. So here’s your host, David Richter.
David Richter:
We have a world champion on this episode, Terry Showerer, who has won the Brazilian Jiujitsu title three times. And she tells about her journey from crippling anxiety at 25 and how a lot of these things mirror how she got out of it, the real estate investing journey cuz she’s also a real estate investor. She talks about the techniques that got her to be number one and she talks about what that takes. And I think this has a great parallel for your financial life as well too. You can learn a lot, but you can also listen to a great story of how she became the number one Brazilian jiujitsu person in the world. So this is time for the Profit First REI podcast. Thank you again for listening. Hey, this is David Richter of the Profit First REI podcast. Have Terry shower here today on the podcast. Super excited because get to learn about her business. She has a podcast as well too. I believe you’ve authored a book as well, so there’s lots of different things that we get to talk about here today. Terry, thanks for being on the podcast.
Terry Schauer:
Thanks for having me on.
David Richter:
So let’s get to know you. Let’s ha if the people don’t know you that are listening right now, just give a high level background of what you’ve done. Talk about the book, the podcast, like what’s your, you know, and what you’re currently working on and kind of where you’ve come from.
Terry Schauer:
Okay. So, uh, let me try to, usually somebody else does my bio, so this is my chance to do my own bio.
David Richter:
Oh, there you go.
Terry Schauer:
Um, yeah, so I guess like for me I started with the hat of a property manager, um, which I’ve been doing for like 25 years. <laugh>
David Richter:
Nice.
Terry Schauer:
Um, and then along the way that turned into buying a first investment property when I was 26 and then that turned into a second and a third property. I then stagnated there for 10 years until I began to understand how to scale and how to do more multi-family stuff. Oh,
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
As, uh, I’m in Canada and so we like have a real line between residential and uh, commercial property. And so like learning to move from one market segment to the other, uh, took me a long time. Takes some people, never make the transition.Then in parallel, I also have a background as a competitive athlete. I have won some world championships in Brazilian jujitsu through the combat sport world. I really learned about mindfulness, uh, as a way to hone your mind for performance and just kind of get the most out of what your mind can do. And I became so excited with that, that I just like, you know, apply it to everything. And so that then turned into my book, which is called The Mindful Landlord, which is basically about how to apply mindfulness techniques to a real estate business and the podcast. So I’ve been protesting for a couple years. It’s uh, called the Real Estate Investors Club podcast. So I’m in Montreal, Canada. So it’s uh, a podcast that’s kind of Canadian focused, but we try to have conversations that are not super common in the investment world. So
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
Bringing in, you know, topics that people are not always discussing other than what I call the three this deals, doors and dollars. We kind of try to look at the holistic picture that’s around that to uh, bring it into focus in a way that’s not focused on the IG feed
David Richter:
<laugh>. That’s great. Okay, cool. I like that. And that’s awesome about being a world champion and uh, as you said in Brazilian jiujitsu. Awesome.
Terry Schauer:
Yes.
David Richter:
So I’m glad we’re uh, across the screen here and now like in the same room cuz she could take me down then
Terry Schauer:
<laugh>.
David Richter:
But uh, so mindfulness talk about that so that it seems like that’s the center core piece cuz was that the name of the book too as well?
Terry Schauer:
Mindful Landlord? Yeah,
David Richter:
Mindful Landlord. So that’s way you’ve got this philosophy that’s helped you become a world champion. So can you break that down for us? What does it mean to be mindful? Like what does that word embody to you and like what do you, that message that you get across to people?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, a hundred percent. And like you’re right, that is kind of the central thread of everything that I do because it’s been such a powerful force in my own life. And so I’ll try to break this down into a nutshell. So in the real estate industry we talk a lot about mindset and everything mental gets collapsed into mindset and it’s something that like, it really drives me nuts. So let’s start out by saying that mindfulness is not mindset.
David Richter:
Okay?
Terry Schauer:
It’s not positive af affirmations, it’s not your morning routine. It’s not hustling at 5:00 AM like it’s none of those things. Mindfulness is understanding how the human consciousness works in order to be able to get the most out of the tool that is your mind. And I’m just gonna like break down sort of the fundamentals of that for you like in two minutes. So,
David Richter:
Okay,
Terry Schauer:
For example, my mind, there’s my thoughts and my thoughts are kinda like the radio. They’re always going, I can’t turn ’em off, but I can choose to not listen to them.
David Richter:
Hmm.
Terry Schauer:
Underneath my thoughts are my emotions. And so like my emotions, basically they’re messengers. Um, if you feel fear, it’s to alert you to something. Where we run into trouble is when we allow ourselves to be consumed by emotions or we begin to identify with them. So for example, if I say I am depressed, I am scared. No, I’m feeling sad, I’m feeling fear, but I am not those emotions, those are a process that’s running in my mind, but like I don’t need to identify with them. And then the basic sort of fundamental of mindfulness is to understand that you are basically presence. Like we can call that, you know, in mindfulness practice we call that the watcher or pure presence. And the more that I’m able to identify with that aspect of my consciousness, the more I’m able to become intentional about how I use those other tools. Because like if we take emotions for example, like where we run into trouble is either if we find them not useful, we repress them. So you’re like, okay, I’m just gonna like not feel fear, I’m gonna like disregard the fear signals or else you’re like, I’m so scared that I can’t behave appropriately. Neither of those two reactions is good. You need to be able to like take the information that the fear is giving you, choose the appropriate action and then move forward. Right? Like maybe the fear is maybe you actually do need to respect what’s going on. Maybe you need to not proceed. Like maybe that’s the purpose of that message, but it’s not the emotion that’s positioned to make the decision for you. The presence needs to make the decision for you. And okay, thoughts are the same thing, right? Like, you know, very often when we have anxiety-provoking thoughts or you know, sometimes I have like mean thoughts or like aggressive thoughts and it’s very easy to like let that freak you out and be like, man, why did I just think that’s like so dysfunctional? But like it’s just the radio talking and it’s normal that some of that stuff like self-limiting thoughts, it’s normal that like some of that stuff comes out. But I am not my thoughts. I am the watcher and I can choose, I wanna tune into this conversation in my mind or I wanna just let it keep playing and I don’t have to listen.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
So that in like in a nutshell that’s kind of what underlies mindfulness and then you know, there’s techniques that you can use to get better at that. And then there are like specific, like if you’re working on fear, there’s like gonna be kind of a specific way of doing that. Working with sadness, working with like all these other kind of different things. Like there’s little sections on that, but that’s the fundamentalist to understand that your mind, your consciousness is separated into these different things and learning to toggle between them when it’s appropriate is the ultimate performance tool. And it’s not positive affirmations or my morning routine <laugh>.
David Richter:
Okay, so you didn’t get there being a world champion with positive affirmations. So
Terry Schauer:
<laugh> I did not good to know.
David Richter:
Well let’s do you mind, let’s talk about that then. Did that start as a kid that you wanted to be a world champion in Brazilian jujitsu? Like when did you say yes, this is the thing, I wanna become the best thing, you know, the best person in the world at this one thing?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, also like, I mean I’ve always been really competitive and uh, I’m Canadian so that started with ice hockey and like when I was 10 years old I was like, I’m gonna play in the N H O, doesn’t matter that like I’m a girl and I’m five four and I don’t know how to skate. Like I’m gonna make that happen.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
<Laugh>, that’s awesome. So that didn’t happen <laugh>
David Richter:
<Laugh>.
Terry Schauer:
But I did end up playing university hockey for one of the best teams in the country at the time because that’s was kind of the ceiling of what women can do. And then I kind of became disenchanted with team sports, got into martial arts and then actually ended up kickboxing and I kick boxed semi-pro for a while and then kind of that ran its course and then I found Jiujitsu cuz actually I had a, an ex-boyfriend who was doing jiujitsu. I started that and then like, it kind of like latched on, you know?
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
So I think like I always knew I wanted to be a world champion at something, but I think it took me a while to find the right place for that.
David Richter:
Okay. Well that’s interesting cuz I, a lot of people go through life and I, they don’t ever find their thing. And it sounds like you found like that I became the best in the world at Summit. So how long ago was that the championship for you?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, so I think the first one was, I think maybe like, just trying to remember, I calculated everything in my son’s age.
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
Um, <laugh>, so like five years ago I wanna say. Yeah. And so it’s um, so there’s like actually different like age divisions in, uh, in Brazilian jujitsu. So like it was always, I won three times, like each time in a different age division. Yeah.
David Richter:
Wow, that’s really good. So then where did you discover mindfulness on that journey? Did that help you go from being a really good Brazilian jujitsu to the best in the world? Like where was that connection with what you teach and preach today?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, it’s um, it’s a really good question. So actually when I was 25, I uh, had some serious anxiety problems.
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
So like I was not back then, the person that’s sitting in front of you on the screen, I was like had, you know, social phobia. I was in a, you know, a place I think where like a lot of young people get into where they just don’t know what’s their future. I had a lot of self-doubt, a lot of kind of like limitations that I placed on myself. The environment that I grew up in sort of didn’t encourage really what I wanted to do with my life, which was competitive sports.
David Richter:
Yeah
Terry Schauer:
Like I come from a, you know, a business background and a background that was like very into performance but more like in a economic social status thing. And so like the, you know, martial arts was really like not a thing.
David Richter:
Yeah
Terry Schauer:
In fact it was like kind of looked down on. And so getting my way out of the anxiety disorder, like I had three months when I almost didn’t dare to leave the house. Like I was having panic attacks and I needed something to pull me out of that. And that’s where I got into mindfulness meditation through um, I read Dan Millman’s way of the Peaceful Warrior and I actually started meditating as a way to like solve my anxiety disorder. And then I just got so obsessed with the ideas cuz like, once I understood like, okay, this is how my mind works and like this is what I have to do to really use these principles to like live my best life. And then it’s actually amazing cuz what happened is like, I was kind of like severely underperforming and then I went through this like incredible leap where all of a sudden like all the dreams that I had were became accessible to me because I was able to really implement those things in my life. So, you know, we talked about competitive sport, but like in business, like I really didn’t believe that I had the ability to own a business to exist outside of academia. I did, yeah, I studied for a long time and I thought I would be kinda like stuck in a dusty office somewhere for the rest of my life cuz I was shy.
David Richter:
Nice.
Terry Schauer:
Um, but then, you know, I was to kind of just push out of that and transform my life in a way that it reflected exactly what I wanted. And you know, those ideas were so powerful that they just made their way into everything and that’s when I became a bit of like an evangelist for it because I can just see the power of like, once you begin to implement that, like every little thing that’s like keeping you down you can just really break out of it. So.
David Richter:
Okay. So it sounds like it did help you a lot on your journey. So it wasn’t those
Terry Schauer:
Yes.
David Richter:
Like we’ve been joking about those affirmations. It was the yeah, it sounds like you came from a really dark place to, and you, and it sounded like you leap forward like pretty steady. So at 25, is that when you were doing the jiujitsu at that point? Or was that later on past?
Terry Schauer:
No, it was later. So I like, I kick boxed from, I guess when I was 22 until I was, I retired when I was 30, 33, 34.
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
And I started jiujitsu like two years before stopping kickboxing.
David Richter:
Okay, Awesome. So then there was that journey. So then after that, did you find mindfulness while you were in kickboxing then? Is that when Uh,
Terry Schauer:
Yeah.
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, but I really found it because of the anxiety problem, you know, and like
David Richter:
Okay
Terry Schauer:
At that point, like I was ready to try anything. Like I went to go, you know, talk to some shrinks and they then like prescribed me drugs and I was like, no, I’m not gonna do this. And then I, and then I discovered like mindfulness practice and it took me, honestly it took me like three, four months to end the anxiety disorder. And then after that it became just like, wow, like the world is my playground with this stuff because
David Richter:
Yeah
Terry Schauer:
I’m not in my own way anymore. Like that’s all it was. Like I have to just not be in my own way. And like when I look at people, especially like now, you know, I coach a lot in real estate, but like people are just so much in their own way and they don’t even realize it and that the tools are there, you know?
David Richter:
Yeah. Well I, you’re preaching and teaching my language here cuz like a lot of people, what finances stop them, that’s what this all about is profit first for real estate, you know, like, but a lot of people don’t even have the ability to think about other things because they’re so bogged down with their finances and all of that. So I totally get where you’re coming from that a lot of people let them stop and it’s usually themselves, you know, stopping them from I still have more questions though because you went to, you know, from kickboxing to the jiu-jitsu, when did you know that you could potentially be the best in the world that you could go to the championships? Like was there a time where you were like, whoa, either other people were telling you or like, wow, this is really good and you were, you’re super competitive so like were you just like, what’s the best I’m gonna start here and I’m gonna try and get to the be the best in the absolute, you know, in the entire world. So I guess what was that journey going from kickboxing to Jiujitsu then realizing I have a shot at like the title?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah. Well I mean <laugh> it’s funny because like, so already coming from kickboxing, like when I started jiu-jitsu, like I was already far ahead of other people
David Richter:
Sure.
Terry Schauer:
And physically far ahead, but like mentally way far ahead.
David Richter:
Oh, okay.
Terry Schauer:
Because like when you have like ring f ring fighting experience, like if ring fighting is here, like jujitsu is like there as a stress level.
David Richter:
Oh okay.
Terry Schauer:
So like, because like when you’re ring fighting, like you can get knocked out, the person’s trying to knock you out. Whereas like in jujitsu, the worst thing that can happen is you’re just gonna tap.
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
So
David Richter:
<laugh>
Terry Schauer:
It’s when you’re not like
David Richter:
A little less stress,
Terry Schauer:
It’s a little less stressful cuz you’re not like worried so much about bodily harm, you’re worried about performance. So
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
You know that mental thing was already there and so like, you know, whatever I performed well in local competitions and then when I started going to um, you know, international stuff, then it’s like, okay, wow. Like the, you know, the girls are good. And then like I would say like, I just kept showing up and like, I don’t think there was a moment, you know, I knew that I was whatever elite level, like I, you know, I podium a few times
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
And was like, okay, like this is within my ability. But like there was always sort of something missing.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
And then I just kept showing up and you know, the funny thing with these sports is that like, it really depends on who shows up.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
Because you know, like a championship one year, like it can, a category can be stacked and then the next year somebody had trouble with their diet and then she’s like in a category up or somebody had a kid
David Richter:
Oh, okay.
Terry Schauer:
And she’s not there. And then, you know, if you just kind of keep showing up long enough
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
And putting in the work one day, it’s gonna be your day, you know?
David Richter:
Yeah. That’s pretty good. I like that. So you went on that journey and then became the best in the world. I have a couple questions around that too. Were you working at that time or like, was this all consuming? Like what did it look like on the personal side? Because you know, you hear about either professional athletes or Olympic athletes, you know, those type that you know the world the best in the world and you know, just not having any home life. Like did you have a home life during this time?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah. Also, I mean this is actually like the really interesting part of the story. So, uh, my son is now seven. I was competing like, you know, from before, like before he was born.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
But, um, like I was a single mom for the first two years of his life I was running a business and that was when the World First World Championship happened for me. Yeah. Um,
David Richter:
<Laugh>
Terry Schauer:
So, you know, that’s a thing about showing up. But you know, I think also Juujitsu is a sport. Like it’s not, um, it’s becoming more of a professional sport, but when, you know, this happened, which was like seven, eight years ago, like it was an amateur sport and so,
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
Like a lot of the people who were super competitive, now it’s changed a little bit but back then, like most of the people like weren’t even professionals. Right. And like, especially the women, like the ones who are most professionals, cuz they married a gym owner and so they can train all day long.
David Richter:
Right.
Terry Schauer:
But like, you didn’t have to be doing that full-time in order to be elite level and um
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
The real estate aspect, like the great thing about doing real estate is that you have a really flexible schedule.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
And so, like I didn’t, you know, normal Canadians get a year of Matt leave when they had a kid. Like I didn’t have Matt leave, I had one week in the hospital and then I went right back to the office.
David Richter:
Hooop, Yeah
Terry Schauer:
Um, but <laugh> Yeah. No, but I mean it’s, that’s cuz I, it’s what I wanted to do, you know?
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
And then when you own a business you care enough about, but to juggle those things and um,
David Richter:
Yeah, to juggle,
Terry Schauer:
You know, the flexibility of this life, uh, means that you can have the financial freedom to be able to pursue other things and the time to do it as well, which is just an incredible luxury.
David Richter:
So then you were in real estate at that time?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah.
David Richter:
Uh, was that the business you were running that I’m assuming that,
Terry Schauer:
Yup
David Richter:
Okay. So what were you doing in real estate during this time?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, so, um, I’ve always had the property manager’s hats. So like I’ve been managing properties ever since I was about 20. And then, you know, I started investing in residential property, uh, and to the point when I got three trip Lexus so that in Canada’s qualified as like reside like residential as opposed to multi-family. And I just like managed the hell out of those and attained financial independence with nine doors.
David Richter:
Wow.
Terry Schauer:
Initially.
David Richter:
Awesome.
Terry Schauer:
So when I was like able to, you know, spend most of my time on, on sport, like that’s kind of where my business was as an investor. And then like, I would say in the last, you know, five, six years I learned more about multi-family investing and kind of started scaling things. So it’s gotten a bit bigger. Um, but that’s kind of where I was for most of my
David Richter:
So let’s talk about that though.
Terry Schauer:
Yeah.
David Richter:
You said you got to nine doors and you got freedom. What did you do?
Terry Schauer:
Financial freedom,
David Richter:
What did you do? Did you pay the properties down? Did you cut expenses? Well, you said you manage the hell out of ’em. So like what does that mean so that people know like, how can I manage the hell out of nine doors and become financially free?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah. So I mean I had a great business model basically like I took, I bought in really crappy area. I, uh, found a way of renting those units to foreign students. So I was running, renting them by the room furnished. And because we created this like great community, like people were paying to be in there in the same way they would almost pay to be like in student dorms because it was just so much fun, you know? And
David Richter:
Huh
Terry Schauer:
At the height of this business model, like, so I owned those nine doors, but I was managing 50, 50 rooms total. Like so, cause I managed buildings for other people with the same business model.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
And so like, it was really cool. Like we had a whole community of people. Like every Saturday there was a party in this house, a party in that house. And so,
David Richter:
Yeah,
Terry Schauer:
Like it was really, um, a good way to kind of make money because people were willing to pay to be a part of that community.
David Richter:
Oh, that’s pretty neat. So you were managing, but then you also had your own doors and that, you know, it gave you the flexibility and time to do the other things in your life and go figure, right? It’s like you figure out what you want from life and then you go out and take it and it’s right there. You kept showing up. It sounds like you showed up in real estate, you kept doing the things
Terry Schauer:
That’s it
David Richter:
You need to do. And then you showed up there. And then you also during this time too, had the mindfulness, like actually going through and getting yourself out of your own way. Let me ask this, since you found that, you know, years ago mindfulness, that’s kind of been your core pillar. Have you ever relapsed and gone back into
Terry Schauer:
No. I mean it’s, you know, like, how can I explain this? It’s like, um, you know, those pictures were like, you know, you have to stare at it for a while.
David Richter:
Yes.
Terry Schauer:
And then all of a sudden you see something and it’s like once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
David Richter:
That’s awesome.
Terry Schauer:
Definitely. Like there, you know, there’s been challenging moments in my life where, um, you know, I had to draw on all the resources that I had since I discovered the mindfulness thing. But I never, like, it’s like I couldn’t go back to seeing things the old way. It’s just not, which just wasn’t possible. It’s like when you discover the truth, like try to believe the untruth again.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
It’s not gonna work.
David Richter:
So now I love that because then it’s like once you see it, it’s over. It’s game over,
Terry Schauer:
It’s over done <laugh>.
David Richter:
I know. Yeah. It’s over. Like I know that this is the way. So then from here you said that most people are in their own way and that’s probably why a lot of investors, you know, I, because on here we talk about living deal to deal. Like what is it, you know, like why are the finances hurting you so that way you can’t accomplish what you really wanna accomplish through real estate. What would you say are some of the biggest reasons that people are in their own way? Like why do they think that way? Or like, cuz I think you have a very unique perspective and I like your framework. So like why would you say that a lot of real estate investors get in their own way?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah. So like the number one biggest thing is fear.
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
And it’s not managing fear properly. And like if we kind of flip back to the initial part of our discussion, like it’s our relationship with our emotions, right. Because fear is a message. It’s uh, it’s an a warning system. It should be like the light that shows up on your dashboard.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
Right?
David Richter:
That’s good.
Terry Schauer:
And where people go wrong is either they become consumed with the light, light, they’re like obsessing about the light to the point where they can’t even find the gas station. Cuz like all they can see is the fact that they’re scared.
David Richter:
Yeah
Terry Schauer:
Like, oh my God, oh my God, I missed the exit. That’s how scared I am.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
Or like, I’m just gonna ignore this. Like, here’s this warning signal. But like I don’t feel it. Like I’m not, I’m not scared <laugh>.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
You know,
David Richter:
That’s great
Terry Schauer:
And like both of those reactions are dangerous for different reasons and the optimal places to be in the middle. But in order to get there, you have to understand the fear system and how it works. And so like, basically like if you wanna get into like technically how this works is there’s the long-term fear system and the short-term fear system. So the short term is like fight or flight or like a panic attack. Right.
David Richter:
Okay.
Terry Schauer:
Is that like, I’m so afraid in this very second that I can’t behave properly, I wanna run away or I want to attack something. And like, let’s be honest, the most common reaction nowadays is not to attack, it’s to withdraw or to avoid
David Richter:
Fight or flight.
Terry Schauer:
And so like, yeah. Fight or flight. But like most of the time we end up fleeing and
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
In the real estate context. Um, what does that look like? Well, very concretely. I started with this like I didn’t network, I like lived in my own little world because I was too scared to put myself out there and admit my ignorance. I was too scared to like go and shake hands cause I was like a little bit, you know, socially phobic. And so I cut myself off from great connections and from the information that would’ve allowed me to take things to the next level. I think that’s one way in which fear can sort of keep you at a lower level.
David Richter:
Yeah.
Terry Schauer:
Um, the other one is just, it can paralyze you because now I’m sure you see this a lot in your practice, like analysis paralysis, right? Like,
David Richter:
Oh yeah.
Terry Schauer:
People think that, oh, it’s just like the next piece of data is gonna help me make my decision. But like, no, your decision is gonna help you make your decision and the data like decide to decide
David Richter:
Right
Terry Schauer:
And then the data is like something you need to take into account, but like the data’s not gonna help you, is not gonna make the decision for you. You have to make the decision for you.
David Richter:
No, that’s really good. <laugh>, I love that you’re bringing this up because I think fear is what stops a lot of the real estate investors from taking the dive into the financial aspect of their business too. Like, they’re good at making the deal happen. They’re comfortable with that. They, like you even said like, I wasn’t comfortable with some of these areas, so I didn’t, you know, I didn’t go out there. It was made me afraid. And a lot of people have a fear of the financial side, like, what am I actually making what I do? I get to keep any of it. Like, am I, what am I spinning out the door? Like they don’t wanna look at it. And I think it’s exactly right here. It’s like, it’s either that fight, fight fee, a flea, or it’s paralyzed. You know, they’re paralyzed. So there’s a lot of parallels there. That was really good. I only have a few last questions here. This has been awesome. I think we’ve really dove into it, but I want them to be able to get like all your stuff too and like hear more of what you have. So I’ll save that for the last question. But, so you gave us a good technique there, like for fear, but what is, do you have any other advice for real estate investors or anything else? You know, like to kind of wrap up the conversation?
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, I mean, you know, I’m gonna end up being a little bit redundant, but you know, I think like the power of mindfulness tools and you know, I always come back to diet, right? Like we all know what we need to do to be at our ideal weight. Okay? It’s not cause we don’t know, it’s because we keep putting the wrong stuff in our mouth, right? And that’s up here. And like real estate is the same thing. Like you can’t today say there’s not enough information, there’s like more than enough information. If you are not executing on something or you’re performing below the level at which you wanna be in business, it’s up here. And so like really working on your mind. And for me, you know, the mindfulness training has really allowed me to get, kind of, get the most outta that. So I would say if I could name some resources, the first book I read was, um, Dan Millman’s, uh, way of the Peaceful Warrior that’s kinda like the Rich Dad, poor Dad of mindfulness.
David Richter:
Awesome.
Terry Schauer:
And then from there you can kind of move out like any sort of like Buddhist, uh, stuff, anything, learn how to meditate, um, you know, that those resources and obviously my book, um, you know, marries the mindfulness aspect to real estate. So if you’re looking of how that applies specifically to real estate investing, like obviously my book,
David Richter:
That’s the Mindful Landlord, correct? The name of your
Terry Schauer:
Yeah, that’s right.
David Richter:
Is the name of your book. Okay. So then that you’ve provided a ton of value here. I love this. This is where you took us through what mindfulness is and what if it is not. Thank you for being open about when you had that anxiety and what helped you come out of that as well too. I think a lot of people would connect with that. And this can help you on the other end, you know, like there are tools and techniques. This, there is the mindfulness. This is, this has been so good then from, I love what you said too about the nine doors then equally framed because of what you did and what you set up in your business. Gave some great tools there. And then fear being the number one killer there of just a lot of our hopes and dreams and not managing it correctly. It’s more a sign. I like that you said that too. That fear is more of that dashboard light and we either focus too much on it or we tape it over and say, no, everything’s good. You know, so I love that too. But this is really great. I also liked how you said you didn’t want to admit ignorance, and I think that’s a lot of people do that as well too. Just said, I don’t want to even look at this. And that’s definitely what it comes down to on the financial side too. But this has been awesome. Where do people find you? How do they get the book? Is it on Amazon or like, is it on your website or where do we go to learn more about you and the mindfulness movement that you’re starting here in the real estate world?
Terry Schauer:
Uh, sure. So my book is available on Amazon Mindful Landlord. Super Simple. And I’m available, you have my name there, Terry Showerer. You can, uh, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. LinkedIn is probably my favorite social media. Um, but either of, none of the any of those will work. And if you wanna connect with me, shoot me a message, I will answer you.
David Richter:
Awesome. So that’s how you connect with Terry. Terry, thank you so much for being on here today. And I wanted to also say, if you’re listening to this and you’ve got any of those roadblocks as a real estate investor and you need to, and if money’s one of those big ones, it is stopping you. If you are just so afraid of it that you can’t knock that pillar down, reach out to us. It’s simplecfo.com. We can help you walk through that. Make sure that we can at least remove that stumbling block for you and guide you through that if you need that. And if not, we have other good people in this space. We just wanna provide value to you. Just like this podcast episode, remember, make profit a habit in your business. Terry, thank you again so much for coming on and telling about your journey and then the mindfulness movement.
Outro:
This episode of the Profit First for REI podcast is over, but there are plenty more where that came from. Are you ready to learn how David and his team can help implement the Profit First system in your business? Schedule a discovery call at simplecfo.com right now. We’ll see you next time on the Profit First for REI podcast with David Richter.
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