REAL ESTATE FOR BREAKFAST

TRANSCRIPTION: Growing up in Michigan, I spent many summers with my family in a motorhome. My Dad loved to travel “large” each summer throughout the United States and Canada. The motorhome was 32 feet long.

He’d put a 16 foot canoe on top of it and would tow an 18 foot boat. In the motor home, we’d shoot over rickety wooden bridges way up in the Smoky Mountains, drive down long ocean piers in New Brunswick, or climb narrow winding roads in the Rockies. Looking back, I don’t know how he maneuvered this “behemoth on wheels” through the mountains, but I distinctly remember that my sisters and I would hide under blankets to avoid looking out the windows.

One of my favorite memories in the motorhome involved a parking lot in a National Park. My sisters and I were in the back of the motorhome, where there was a large “picture” window. My Dad was backing up the motorhome and yelled to my sister Staci (who was about six at the time) to cry out if there were any cars behind us. She turned around and looked out the window. He then put the motor home in reverse and slowly backed up.

Moments later, there came a terrible “screeeech” from the canoe up top, and the entire camper rocked as items throughout the camper crashed to the floor. Then the motorhome swayed to a stop. My Dad yelled back to my sister, “I thought I said to tell me if there were any cars back there! “You did,” she said. “Then what did we hit?” he asked. “A tree,” Staci said innocently.

There are all kinds of help. The Dalai Lama is reported to have said that “our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” So it seems, then, that there are different degrees of “help,” ranging from “being very helpful” and “just trying to help” to “no help at all.” One would think that almost any type of help, from the most experienced help to even misguided help, must only come with good intentions, right? Not really. Consider the declaration, “we’re from the government; we’re here to help,” which is no laughing matter since it’s usually conditioned on some type of performance or even non-performance.

I prefer to work with “experienced” help, usually on a collaborative basis. Those who know me know that while I don’t wait for help to do something, I always mind my limitations. With “self-help,” I’ve learned that positive outcomes depend on knowledge, skill, and the quality of execution. It’s a shame that some people don’t recognize their limitations.

Regarding help, I’m reminded of a story about a farmer who was tending to his draft horse named Buddy when along came a stranger who desperately needed the farmer’s help. The stranger had lost control of his car and drove it into a ditch. The stranger asked the farmer if his draft horse could somehow help pull the vehicle out of the ditch. So the farmer brought Buddy to the ditch. The car was small, and so the farmer took a rope and fixed it so that Buddy would be able to pull out the car. The farmer then said, “Pull, Casey, pull,” but the horse would not budge. The farmer then said, “Pull, Bailey, pull,” but the horse would not budge again. The farmer then said, “Pull, Mandy, pull,” and again the horse would not move. Then he said, “Pull, Buddy, pull,” and the horse pulled until the car was free from the ditch. The stranger was grateful but asked the farmer why he called the horse by different names. The farmer said, “Buddy is blind, and I had to make him think he had help with a team pulling the car out of the ditch, or he would not have pulled.”

Don’t wait on others in order to accomplish something, or you may always be in a ditch. Then again, some people wait on the help of others to take any action.

Dedicated to your success,
David Soble

About David Soble: David is a seasoned real estate and finance attorney with more than 35 years of experience, combining his background as a “big bank insider” with a commitment to demystifying complex legal issues for his clients.  As the founding attorney of Soble Law (also known as Soble PLC / Proven Resource), he leads a specialized team in Michigan and Ohio that handles real estate transactions, contract disputes, probate, and financial litigation.  Known for a practical, no-nonsense approach and peer-rated excellence (Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent), Soble and his team strive to protect clients’ property and financial interests with clarity, integrity, and experience.

Disclaimer: You should not rely or act upon the contents of this article without seeking advice from your own qualified attorney.