Commercial Real Estate Investing…Are you a Lion, Cheetah, or Hippo?

Copyright 2010 By Earl Allen Boek  All Rights Reserved
Commercial Real Estate Investing…Are you a Lion, Cheetah, or Hippo?

Last night I watched a very disturbing video on National Geographic
Channel. 

It was so horrible to watch,  there should have been a warning issued
in advance of the showing.   My description of it should be enough
warning to you, not to even look for it on the web,  unless you too,
want to replay those visions over and over in your mind like I’m doing…
even as I write this down.

It was a home movie filmed by tourist somewhere in Africa and it starts
 with a viewing of a pride of lions.  I would say nearly a dozen, then it
zooms in on a mother hippo and it’s baby hippo, tagging along beside
it.

The mother hippo seems in shock and a closer view shows it has been
attacked repeatedly along It’s back and spinal area as it is covered in
blood with chunks missing from it, including the area on it’s blooding
rump behind and underneath it’s tail. The mother hippo appears to be
roaming aimlessly, almost stumbling as it goes. The baby hippo beside
her,  does not even appear to have a mark on it, yet.

Another  closer pan to the pride of lions shows their obvious interest
in the pair of hippos and you realize they are no doubt responsible in
someway for the plight and the shape we find the mother hippo in. 
Luckily for us we are spared the filming of what must have been hours
of multiple attacks and escapes by the mother hippo and it’s young
through the night.  This is confirmed for you as several of the lions get
up from the dirt and  begin stalking the hippos again, then finally
the entire pride joins in the stockings.

Quickly but carefully and mindfully avoiding the huge, hippo
mother’s teeth she flashes and bites out at each attacker,  but the
lions easily jump and avoid any damage to themselves and there
are far too many of them for her to concentrate on anyone of
them for long anyway.  They continue to bite what must be
huge mouthfuls out of the hippo’s  back as they try to destroy
her spinal column  in an attempt to bring the large animal to
the ground, even as she reacts, she still has the presence of
mind, or just in breaded nature, to keep her own body between
the loin attacks and her much smaller hippo baby.

Either one of the hippos might have been able to escape the
lions as the lions concentrate on the other, but neither would
leave the other alone.  It becomes more heart-wrenching to
watch as the mother finally gives up, her huge weight
slamming into the dusty earth,  and then to watch her baby
drop it’s head like a small bull and tries to fend off one of it’s
mother’s attackers, as she lies helpless under the combined
weight of several of the large animals.  The cowardly lion is
actually afraid and jumps away from the baby hippo’s attack
until the little hippo turns it’s attention back to it’s
mother than the coward lion returns and jumps on the baby’s
back from behind it.

Sobs from the tourist and screams from the animals and
gasps from those filming are recorded right along with the
video, as the baby hippos is filmed going down while
attempting to defend it’s mother’s life, finally,  the screen
goes blank.   I’m setting there in shock from what I’ve just
viewed.


Our cameraman then comes on  and tells us all the cameras
on the tour vehicle were shut off voluntarily, at that point,
as it was too horrible to even continue to film the remaining
drama, with all the horrible screams from the baby hippo
And the entire tour group, many crying and in tears,  and
watching the horrible spectacle play out.

Another short video on the same program shows a similar
attack by a smaller group of lions against a cheetah.  The
cheetah, immediately fell on it’s back to protect it’s spine,
as it fought multiple attacks by the lions at once, using
all four of it’s claws and teeth in the process.  Finally the
cheetah, about 1/3rd the size of any of the lion attackers,
actually bit into the lead lion’s face and locked on it with
it’s powerful jaws.  That lion was happy to release and
stop it’s attack at that point, as did the other lions and
the cheetah was finally able to escape, what at first
appeared to be sudden death. The lion stood there with
blood rushing down it's face and chin and a look like
"what the hell just happened here."

Switch To Our Commercial Short Sale Serengeti

 Then it hit me, being in the commercial real estate business
I am meeting “would be, but won’t be associates, who
behave a lot like members of this pride of lions. 

This new breed of businessman (and maybe women too)
the lazy, self indulgent, pride-full, full of themselves,
over confident and under talented, for sure,  in
communication and interpersonal management and sales
skills, lacking I’m sure in other areas as well, which I
refuse to explore in more detail, greedy, pack mentality,
dishonest, bull shitting, selfish,  cowards. (I  reserve the
right to expand on these ideas later.)

Frankly, attempting to work with these “self-proclaimed
lions”  of the RE industry is quickly becoming boring
and rather distasteful to me. Thanks to God I only need
a few good deals to succeed in this business and I'm
not in such a big hurry that I cannot treat my customer,
my associates with a little dignity, class and respect.

I would rather hang out with the cheetahs and work
with the hippos. Let the lions all fight over
their next meal, I don't intend to be it.  Smile.

So the next time Mr. Lion, you check your way too
full plate, notice I'm no longer on your menu.


Thank you. EAB