Some of the best books on real estate are some of the most common ones but for unrelated various reasons. Most books on real estate only give anecdotal information and, with the laws varying from state to state, can be difficult to apply to your career.
What I decided to do was to grab a few of these books, both hard cover and also on audio book. I picked up one from Gary Keller (of Keller Williams) Donald Trump & Dean Graziosi. I enjoyed them all but for different reasons.
First off, Gary Keller offers the most practical approach to any real estate agent getting started. He's one of the most popular real estate agents on the planet and has, in my opinion, one of the most successful brokerages in the US. All the information he provided in his book was applicable to me when I was getting started. His book is really for someone that maybe is a part of a small mom and pop office where there isn't much training. After one get's their RE license then few offices offer ongoing training. For the most part, you will have to go to your local board or MLS to obtain any relevant on going training. However, Gary's books are good and, like I said, give you valuable insight for getting started. I recommend his "The Millionare Real Estate Agent: It's not about the money … it's about being the best you can be!"
My next two favorites are Donald Trump and Dean Graziosi. Now, these are two polarzing individuals. Either you love them or you hate them. I happen to like them both.
For The Donald, I recommend "Trump Strategies For Real Estate". Now, if you are in a small market you won't find any real applicable strategies as most of the insight is from DT's experiences in NYC. The one thing that does irritate me about his books is that, from what I can tell, he does not put pen to paper and write the book. He co-writes with another author that he trusts. Now, nothing wrong with that but I want to hear the author talking to me. There was some valuable information in the book that I read and the insight gained from made me think in ways I had never thought of before. The way he structured and negotiated some of those deals is mind boggling. A very interesting read for sure.
Now, Dean is an interesting cat. If you look him up on line that guy is selling everything from cars to real estate. I like that he has a history selling informational products. One interesting thing I learned from him was that he shared with me how to buy tax liens. A very interesting concept and one that is easy to implement. Well worth reading.
All in all, none of these books gave a step by step process to getting started as a real estate agent and, honestly, I don't believe any book on the market will give you those tips and tricks encompassed in one book. However, I have found that they are practical in the advice offered. If I had to pick the best of the three I would recommend Gary's books as a first read. You really can't go wrong. Especially for the agent that is looking to brush up on some fresh concepts or the new agent looking to get started. The Donald and Dean are good for the real estate investor looking for additional strategies. I enjoyed those for different reasons that I applied to my real estate investing career.
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Dan Pink's DRIVE jumps on motivation and rides it like a motorcycle on a mountain road. There are twists and turn – but the more you ride, the hotter it gets. You know – that feeling of freedom, raw excitement and the sheer rush of being alive. Oh – didn't felt that way in a while?
It may be that your organization, team or family is using extrinsic motivators (carrot and stick) to motivate team members. You may want to pick up DRIVE and upgrade yourself up to Mr. Pink's three elements of intrinsic motivation:
While the book was written for workplace teams, the concepts can be applied to home, physical fitness, charity and any other dimension of your life. First, autonomy means that you have the freedom to make decisions. Mastery means that you are striving to conquer an area of interest, skill or subject. Don't forget purpose , knowing 'why' you get up every day! Mr. Pink is encouraging management to adopt a new operating system that gives individuals and teams the freedom to make decisions. New generations of employees want to make a difference in the world and promote causes, charities and a cleaner world. Extrinsic motivation (compensation, benefits, incentives) still matter, but adding intrinsic motivational components upgrades your team's internal energy.
Turn these into questions for your family, work team or for yourself:
There is sometimes a clash internally between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. If a person has several projects, time constraints may hinder new commitments. Taking a team approach prevents burnout and gets everyone involved. Getting new ideas from different team members keeps it fresh.
Re-wire yourself to 'Positive'
One of my favorite quotes from the book is that positive psychology has "reoriented the study of psychological science away from the previous focus on malady and dysfunction and toward well-being and effective functioning." [1] In other words, study the well-adjusted, successful people if you want to be happy, healthy, wealthy and wise. Look at the habits of high performing people and replicate these behaviors. Get in touch with the values, morals and beliefs of the people around you. What do they care about? Set your compass to a positive outlook based on autonomy, mastery and purpose. Refuse to be negative and inspire your friends, family and team mates with a new outlook on life!
[1] Drive. Pink. Penguin Books. 2009. P 73
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