Beginning with the end.

by Koran Campbell
(Orlando,florida)

Hi Colm,

More of a question than a story. How did you arrive at your retirement goal? Was it pre meditated that 1.2b was the optimum number to satisfy the life you want?


Also for major developers like your self, is that average or above?


Hello Koran,


It was neither.


But basically I truely believe that life is not a "Dress Rehearsal" and you only have one go at it.


So if you have already developed 1000 high rise tower apartments, is it fair to say that you know how to do it?


Next question; "do you want to keep doing the same thing over and over?"


Same question on big Office Buildings or Hotels.


Now there is nothing wrong with keeping on doing it, BUT you don't advance your thinking much eh?


It's a bit like being on a sophisticated assembly line ... but if you are just repeating what you know, it is still an assembly line.


So you ask yourself one of those 'life questions.'


On the question of size ie $1.2 billion ... there is the old joke about size does not matter; Ha.


However in this case it is the size of the elements that counts. For example, if I had done $1.2 Billion worth of land subdivisions, I think I would have put a gun to my head years ago.


Land subs are profitable, but they are at the lower end of the development challenge.


My turn on has been 'first' at doing something in my market place.


First International Hotel; First $400 million office building, before that the biggest was $100 million; First Strata Title Commercial Office Building and First Townhouse development.


The first to market always leads the thinking and the rest follows. Sounds arrogent; don't mean to be, but life is a competition.


In retirement I discovered that not one developer had ever left his knowledge behind to teach others to be better than he or she was.


I searched high and low and not one developer had ever written a word to pass on his knowledge, so I decided to do so about 7 years ago.


My teaching material continues to sell in over 100 countries and daily I get feedback from individuals thanking me for being the one to do it.


As I say in my courses, "the hardest work we have to do is "think" ... after that it's all "process." Thinking distinguishes one person from another.

Bye,

Colm