A confession: I was wrong


Once I thought that I would be rich, that I would be successful… because I worthed it.

It wasn’t that Hollywood crap about “work hard”, “American dream” and all that stuff.

I considered myself smart, and just because of that, I thought that the riches will come to me effortless.

I learned how to read at 3… just by myself. First some children books. At 5, the bible. At 6, the Quixote…

Top at school, university, MBA…

I was going in a right direction, you would say…

And you are wrong.

And I was wrong.

How smart you are, or you think you are, is irrelevant. Absolutely irrelevant.

Being smart won’t bring you anything.

Nada.

Absolutely nothing at all.

If you are really smart, you may end as a lab rat working for peanuts or, in the best case, working a 9-9-6 in a highly pay corporate trap… as a trapped rat in the rat race.

Sorry, but no… not for me.

To do great things in life. To leave a legacy to the world, to your children, you don’t need to be smart.

It’s all about attitude. It’s all about mindset.

Your brain can be just ballast.

Remember that.

Primitive risk aversion. Primitive loss feelings. Primitive sense of protection. Primitive finite games.

You are still wired as if you were living in the caves… and many things have changed since.

And I was wired like that.

Corporate chain. Good position. Good paycheck. Pay as much taxes as possible. Avoid bothering anybody, including the taxman. Don’t make too much noise. Just do your thing and you’ll be accepted and protected in your tribe.

Well…

I was able to break those chains… despite excess of ballast, I would say.

And you know what?

Anybody can.

Because, how to do new things, change your mindset and attitude can be taught and learned.

If you want to start with something interesting, I propose you this:

​Even you can make money in real estate​

​

PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day.

PD 2: If somebody has sent you this email and you want to receive emails like this yourself, visit vicentevalencia.com

PD 3: If you want unsubscribe, click the link below.

​

​

Vicente Valencia

I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | C-Suite Executive | Mentor, Coach, Strategic Consultant | Real Estate Investor | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇

Read more from Vicente Valencia

You can find horror stories almost everywhere. Not just developed countries. And successful ones too… as it’s not rocket science. Before 2010, the Philippines’ PPP program was infamous for all the wrong reasons: legal uncertainty, endless bid delays, weak feasibility studies, and risk allocations that scared investors away faster than typhoons. So they decided to stop, review, learn and repeat. They started to ask the market about what was wrong with the last projects. They noted. And decided...

You know that moment when a government says: “We’re launching a massive PPP program.” Or… “We are going to partner with the private sector to build roads”! Everyone claps like seals because… wow… private money, shiny highways, “international best practice,”. Re-election secured. Mexico did that in the early 90s. Fifty-two highway concessions. I repeat. 52 PPP fever everywhere. The “future” of infrastructure. And we’ll build Speedy Gonzales speed. Spoiler: It didn’t end well. Actually, it...

Last week I lost a dream villa in Auckland. In the most expensive neighbour in the country. Full renovation to be made to earn around 500k$ with the trade… although this one was for me. Amazing views of the sea and the Auckland Bridge… from the kitchen and dining area. Walking distance to downtown. I just needed to counter offer around 10-15k$ more and I got it. But I was weak. Hesitant. With lots of fears and doubts… Or maybe not that much. On reflection, I have my rules. Minimum discount on...