Many instances of my life I have found it very challenging to be in a situation and actually enjoy the ride. What do I mean by "the ride"? The time that passes by when you're worrying about the outcome. The outcome that, if I look back with a bit of insight — or let's say enlightenment — was clear from the beginning.

In recent times I had emptied a low-budget apartment complex filled with sex offenders, heroin addicts, and other of society's finest. I had no issues managing that for many years. Lots of evictions, lots of different drama. There was an apartment there that used to become a daycare of sorts for more than ten little children. The space was no more than 450 square feet, and we had little kids running around barefoot on the shared driveways and parking lot throughways.

Then comes the epiphany. Oh yes. The "what if" moment. It's always the kicker. The end is already defined at exactly that point. I wanted to empty the complex, renovate it, and make it into a cool boutique hotel-type place — stories of travellers, that kind of thing. And an idea was born.

Execution for me has always been jumping into the unknown. Jump first, feel later. And during execution is where my breaking point usually comes in. Here it was the reality of revenue streams removed — a big empty 20-unit structure to keep safe month to month. The stress of short-term income loss. It's always a difficult decision for me. I had the climax of that stress, and I told my friend Feroz at the mosque that I felt like I was dying.

I want to take a moment with that. Dying from stress that I created myself. What a difficult feeling to swallow in the moment — and yet such a simple line to type on a keyboard when I think about it now. Ha. Such an amazing exercise, learning from your own experiences.

The result? Amazing. I did not give up.

It's the perseverance and the class during the journey that I want to keep building. The journey is there the moment you take the first step. They say Rome was not built in a day. It's a work in progress — but the enjoyment of an idea, the enjoyment of that feeling when Roberto Ruiz first answered with "another day in paradise." That's what I want. Enjoy the feeling. Enjoy the moment. The moment of excitement, of not knowing what cards you'll have and how you'll maneuver to play your best game. It's a gamble, isn't it? But with intentions.

Asad Halai

Real estate investor, author, and occasional observer of things that don't add up. Based between Canada and Texas.