Back when I first joined my REIA, there was an experienced investor named Ralph who always wore these buttons that said YAFTAX. After perhaps 6 months, I finally worked up the courage to ask him what that meant, and he said, “sound it out”.
After a few tries, I got it: You have to ask.
His point was, don’t walk around being confused by my button. Ask me. Don’t walk around being confused by real estate. Ask someone.
So fast forward (mumble mumble) years to yesterday, when I had a really interesting conversation with a really new investor that FINALLY made clear to me the full meaning Ralph was trying to convey.
This new investor mentioned that at some of our 'deal' meetings, she'd listen in, write down any terms she didn't understand, and google them.
The example she gave was, "I didn't initially know what it meant when people said, 'I have a 3/2'."
I asked why she didn't just ask the question--this is a pretty open meeting, and people talk back and forth a lot--and she said something along the lines of "I don't want to interrupt/bother people/ask annoying questions."
My response was as it always is: "If you'd ask those questions, you'd be doing a lot of people a favor.
You'd give smart, helpful people the chance to feel smart and helpful.
You'd be asking a question that it's likely that other people have, and they'd get to hear the answer too.
You'd also be showing other people, who might not be familiar with the community, that they can ask their questions and get not just correct answers, but answers delivered with kindness and respect."
But the universe wasn’t done hitting me on the head with YAFTAX just yet.
I was telling this story this morning on a team meeting, with the purpose of trying to figure out how to get people who are confused but afraid to ask questions, to ask questions.
We talked about strategies for a bit, and after about 5 minutes, one of the team—and this is someone who’s made MULTIPLE real estate related investments over the years—hesitantly asked..."So what IS a 3/2?"
My partner and I laughed, not because she didn't know what a 3/2 was, but because we realized that neither of us immediately understood that particular shorthand when we first heard it either—and that (it being pre-Google), we just picked it up from context.
We didn’t ask either.
So, I was right, and Ralph was right WAY before me:
If you’ll brave up and ask a question about something that it seems like everyone else already knows, you're almost sure to be asking a question about something that other people there DON'T know, and you're doing your part to help educate your community.
So, stop thinking about it as “Feeling silly” or “interrupting” or whatever is stopping you, and think of asking questions as a way of helping everyone around you.