Does the Right Solution Lie Somewhere in Between Individualism and Socialism?
I had heard it many times, especially when I completed some significant task or achieved a big goal. “It takes a village” — but does it really?
Here is what the Oxford Dictionary says about Individualism: “the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant. A social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control. Encouragement has been given to individualism, free enterprise, and the pursuit of profit”.
We also hear that America is about “the pursuit of happiness.”
In comparison, socialism is defined as “a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.”
I am not going into a discussion about what’s better, Individualism or Socialism. As often is the case, the truth and answer are probably somewhere in the middle.
As the founder of Ideal Wealth Grower, I often help people who feel alone in the investing world. They want to use the money they can siphon off from their income in an effective way.
Effective in this context means oriented towards a specific goal. I call this goal — and it is my personal goal as well — Time Freedom Point. How can a goal be a point, you ask?
Well, the Time Freedom Point is a date on the calendar somewhere in the future where my passive income, or that of others who have that goal, reaches or exceeds the amount of money I need every month to cover all my expenses.
I have been following our OOS SFH Residential TK (out of state single-family home residential turnkey) investing strategy for many years and am approaching my Time Freedom Point. If things go well, I should get there in 2022.
Many people who contact us at ideal Wealth Grower are still pretty far away or have not even started the journey.
They are typically conditioned to believe that it is all up to them as individuals to make their dreams and goals happen. They have to fight. They have to work hard. They have to pull themselves up on the bootstraps — I am still looking to see anybody who can do that.
They ask me when we first speak with each other: “How did you do that? How did you start, and how did you buy all these properties?”
Some actually say, “I bet it took a village to get all these houses.”
Is success really the result of one individual accomplishing everything it takes to reach a goal?
Not really, and we intuitively know that. Still, even when we are aware that we are talking about a group or a team, we apply what we have been told as little kids, and in school, in college, and at work: “It’s up to you.” And: “You just need to be better than the next guy.”
Most people like sports, and when you think about football in 2021, you can point to a very prominent example. We all know that a football team has 53 players, but if you add the reserves, the staff, the coaches, it’s probably closer to 100 individuals.
Before and during the last football season, one question dominated the news media about the sport.
“Did the New England Patriots win all the Superbowls because they had a superior coach or because they had a superior quarterback in Tom Brady?”
If you look at the result of the 2020 season, New England did not even get into the playoffs even though they had their coach. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Superbowl with Tom Brady as the quarterback, even though they had the lowest winning percentage of any sports team (not just football) in previous years.
The answer is obvious — it is Tom Brady.
What’s wrong with the entire premise is that no team wins the trophy because of one individual — coach or quarterback. It makes for good TV and great storytelling, but it’s false.
Does it take a village? There are probably villages with 100 people, but in most cases, villages have more people than that, so that the answer would be — No.
How about the investment strategy I use and help people learn to apply?
Definitely “NO” on that one. Not even close to a village.
Here is what it takes:
- A good turnkey provider who meets all the criteria for renovation, sales, and property management
- A good nationwide lender that specializes in residential real estate investment funding
- A good insurance company that offers investment-optimized policies
- A good 1031 exchange administrator in case a property is exchanged for another
- A good inspection company to make sure you get what you were promised
- A good appraising company (triggered by the lender) to make sure that you buy at the proper value
- A good title company to make sure you get a property with a clear title and great closing administration
That’s it. Not a village. Not even a football team — it may be a basketball team.
How does socialism play to this?
We can’t succeed if we want to do everything by ourselves. We don’t need a village either. Socialism advocates that the government regulates and mandates, and organizes everything.
In America, we have been conditioned since the Reagan years that government is bad and the government has no clue how to organize and administer things. The notion is that private entities and individuals can always do it better.
Sadly, that has led to a situation where we as individuals have no rights to anything anymore. Even the fundamental things that any individual or family needs are only available to succeed in the economy.
To me, we have taken it way too far.
A good example of a collaborative approach is housing. Without being socialistic, the US government is providing support for housing through HUD. At the same time, it provides incentives to you and me to invest our money and provide housing to the public. In return, we receive tax incentives, depreciation of our houses, and other opportunities. It’s a collaboration.
That’s what I mean when I said that the truth is in the middle. If you try to do everything on your own, you will not be successful.
If the government were to own and do everything under socialism, it wouldn’t work either.
It’s doesn’t take a village, but a dedicated team of experts who all want to accomplish the same goal, and success is within reach. If you don’t already have access to a team, please join ours or seek one you like.
All you need is a small group of people who know their stuff and enjoy the relationship with you to be successful.