I wrote about this back in 2009. The idea was simple then, and it hasn’t changed: most people confuse activity with accomplishment. If anything, it’s worse now. We have more tools, more systems, and more ways to organize, track, and optimize how we work. You can build an entire environment around your productivity – apps, dashboards, workflows—and still end the day with nothing meaningful to show for it. That’s the trap. Busy feels like progress…
You’ll hear people say: “Nobody quits being a landlord after one bad tenant.” That sounds good. It also isn’t true. I’ve seen people get out after one. In Detroit. And in a lot of cases? They had no idea what they were walking into. What They Saw (And Why It Looked So Good) They saw the numbers. They saw the rent. They saw the return on paper. And the numbers looked spectacular. You can buy…
I’ve always loved this quote first uttered by a Prussian Field Marshal 155 years ago and often repeated: “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Everyone nods when they hear it. Then they go right back to treating the plan like it’s gospel. Especially the less experienced crowd. You see it all the time—perfectly formatted plans, color-coded timelines, dependencies mapped out like it’s a NASA launch. And underneath it, this quiet assumption: “If…
Let’s Stop Pretending This Is Harmless Here’s what most people tell themselves: “It’s just sitting there.” No it’s not. It’s deteriorating. It’s costing you money. And it’s quietly getting harder to deal with every single month. The reality is, vacant property costs in Detroit don’t stay flat—they stack. Fast. A vacant house isn’t paused. It’s moving, just in the wrong direction. And the longer you wait, the more expensive that movement becomes. TL;DR — Read This First…
Jobs are still awesome. I wrote that back in 2014, and if anything, I believe it more now than I did then. Not because I love jobs – I don’t by the way – but because I’ve now lived through what happens when things stop working. Not in theory, not in a podcast, not in someone else’s story. I mean when the market actually freezes and the deals disappear. Should you quit your job to…
I’ve been involved in real estate in Detroit for a long time. Long enough that I’ve seen just about every situation you can imagine around inherited houses. On paper, the process sounds simple. Someone passes away. The family inherits the home. The house gets sold and the proceeds are split. That’s the version you’ll read in most articles. The reality is usually very different. Over the years I’ve walked through hundreds of inherited properties across…