Lessons From The Dragon’s Den’s Robert Herjavec Part 3

November 30, 2010

Going “All In” On Yourself And Your Real Estate Business

One of the most incisive points Herjavec makes about successful entrepreneurs is their willingness to bet heavily (often everything) on themselves and their success from day one.  In poker terms they go “all in” on themselves.  That is, they go so far out on a limb toward their business, devoting every resource they have or can get their hands on, that they place themselves in a “do or die” type of situation.  If they succeed they’ll do so spectacularly.  If they fail they’ll crash and burn in a major way.

Herjavec brilliantly recalls a historical event where the “do or die” mindset was forced upon a group of people and how massively it motivated them toward success.  The story is about Hernando Cortez and his Spanish conquistadors in their quest to conquer the South American Aztecs centuries ago.  He writes:

“Despite being outnumbered by a hundred to one by some estimates, the Spaniards achieved victory thanks to their leader’s audacity in ensuring that everyone in his party was as dedicated to victory as he was.  Cortez believed that he and his men would defeat the Aztec nation no matter the odds.  The challenge, of course, was to inspire the same confidence in his followers.  It would be a difficult achievement, so Cortez didn’t even try.  Instead of building confidence in his men, he injected them with desperation.  It was a stroke of twisted inspiration.

After landing at Yucatan in early 1519, Cortez ordered all the soldiers, sailors and horses off the eleven ships that had carried them there from Cuba, and set fire to every vessel.  “If we are going home,” Cortez reportedly told his men, “we are going home in their ships””.

Think for a moment of the idea of burning all of your own “ships” to succeed with your real estate business.  Really ask yourself if you’re willing to sacrifice ALL of your resources toward your business (plus the ones you can beg or borrow if necessary) to such an extent that retreating back to the relatively safe position you came from isn’t feasible or even possible.  Moreover, you can’t go back because you REFUSE to go back.  Going back means declaring utter defeat and hopelessness for yourself and the same for your relationships: friends lost, creditors denied, family alienated, and despair.  You are putting yourself in a desperate situation that requires immediate action.  Do or die!

Are you willing to live that way?  If you are, then Herjavec and I are agreed: your mindset includes one of the key ingredients for great success in real estate!

Filed under: Inspiration

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