This is the first of the series of posts reviewing the book, Fix ‘em Up, Rent ‘em Out: How to Start Your Own House Fix-up & Rental Business in Your Spare Time. The author, Terry Sprouse is also the blogger behind the blog, Fix ‘Em Up.

It is quite refreshing to see a book on creating rental income written in a fresh and honest manner that provides you with thoughtful insight into this type of real estate investment opportunity.

In the first chapter, Focusing on What Gives Life Satisfaction and Meaning, Terry provides us with a short introduction into the motivation behind our purposes.

Right away, you can tell the book is full of quotes, something writers appreciates so I can tell Terry appreciates quotes in his book. The majority of us work as an employee for someone else which may not be as fulfilling as we would like it to be.

Terry talks about the book, Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow: Discovering Your Right Livelihood written by Marsha Sinetar where the author poses a few questions.

• What do I want to have accomplished when I look back upon my life in old age?
• What habits would I need to cultivate and what would I have to delete from my present life to live out my true purpose?
• What activities would I do if I lived as if my purpose meant something to me?

These are all very good questions each of us should be asking ourselves. I know from past experiences that I have learned to grow in my own way and have come to appreciate different things in my life more now than ever. I have a feeling these are the questions each of us will be revisiting time and time again to help us maintain our focus.

While we agree to work for our employers, trading an agreed set number of hours in exchange for an agreed amount of income, we do have to make the choice how we want to trade the remaining hours of our week. There are many ways to do this, all varies depending on each individual’s present situation. One thing I learned in life from living all over the country is that it is possible to change careers when we find something that is more fulfilling to our personal nature.

While taking the path of working on fix-up homes may not be fulfilling to you, Terry advocates this path because it is fulfilling to him. He mentions an important desire many of us have to become independent business owners of our own businesses that allows us to start with a small amount of money and “gradually accumulate money” over time.

How does one start doing something they have a passion for? Simply put, Terry explains that all we have to do is start meandering in the direction we want to go. He provides us with examples for the fix-up path by turning our attention to anything related to real estate. Snip magazines and newspaper articles on the subject that interests us, borrow or buy books on the subject, talk to people you know about how they made their purchases, the pros and cons of making such a purchase, attend classes and seminars. In this age of the Internet, virtually everything you need to know is easily accessible.

Terry finishes out the chapter by explaining that there will be negative energies in your life, whether it is at your place of employment or elsewhere. By channeling these negative energies, or your frustration, into a positive outlet, you are allowing yourself to become motivated. While I have been doing this myself, one thing I did not realize is what Terry mentions here.

Life may be trying to teach you something.

If your boss wasn’t such an aggravation,

you might never have the motivation to strike out on your own.

What would aggravate you so much to strike it out on your own as an entreprenuer or a business owner?

Read more to find out how you can win a free copy of this book.

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