Real estate investing is the single most powerful avenue for creating wealth. It's a natural fit for women. Yet few have entered into this field. Why? I think mainly it's because women simply are not aware of the powerful potential real estate investing holds for them.

The truth is, with a small investment of time women can open the door to the dreams they hold most dear: college education for the kids, a secure retirement and time to savor life. The first step is to stop thinking a pay check will secure your dreams - it won't. The focus of most people is money - as in a job. This kind of thinking, although embraced by the masses and accepted as convention wisdom, is a severely limiting mindset.

Money is simply a vehicle....Don Loyd weaves a safe, sound strategy for women to create wealth using little or no money out of pocket.

Introduction
John Corso, MD
Internist, Real Estate Investor
Author of Stupid Reasons People Die

My friend, my patient and possibly the most generous man I know, Don Loyd has long given his time, energy and vast business experience to improve the financial, emotional and ultimately the spiritual health of budding real estate investors. I know. I’m one of them.

A self-made multi-millionaire, Don created his success by keeping to the basic principles he outlines in this book, a simple, reliable set of rules to create wealth and happiness. Chief among them is the principle of giving back to others – often giving until it hurts.

We, his local students and friends of the past decade, have shared the great luck of working with Don first-hand. But even with Don, there is only so much of him to go around. So for years he has been threatening to commit his strategies, business values and investment wisdom to paper, specifically to reach the most under-represented segment in the world of real estate ownership and wealth. That would be women.

Don has carefully studied the mental and financial barriers which have intimidated and excluded women from the financial independence and personal accomplishment born of real estate investment. He has gone on to successfully coach dozens of women (and some of us guys) through a transformation – from frightened “new-bees” to seasoned experts. He’s taught us how to act in a booming real estate market and what’s better, how to thrive through the inevitable market slumps.

Unlike most of us, Don has never let fear of failure (or actual failure) stop him from diving into the fray and taking action. But that’s Don. And Don’s unstoppable personality is not the kind of thing a person can become just from reading a book. The good news is that Don has already done it all, right and wrong, so that we don’t have to. He’s taken the big risks to learn his trade and has been well-rewarded for his efforts. But he will also quickly point out that the greatest risk to your financial security is to do nothing at all for fear of failure or financial loss.

Creating Wealth for Women is the bridge that thousands of women will cross to overcome the fears and “apparent” financial obstacles that now exclude them from the greatest wealth-producing business there is. The power of real estate investing has long been the sole secret of a small minority who have grown amazingly wealthy. The sad thing is that success has always been available to anyone who wants it. It is not hard! Trust me on this! And it does not even require that you have any cash. It just takes generous leaders like Don Loyd to show us how it's done.

*   *   *   *   *

My first memory of Don is of a friendly, unassuming gentleman who was gracious and complimentary of those around him. We met at the gym, both part of what we refer to as "the morning gym crowd". Don and I spoke briefly on a frequent basis, and then one day he informed me that I was his hero. I looked at this man who seemed to know a lot of people, and who I had been told was a very successful real estate investor, and quite honestly did not believe him. Of all the people he has known, met, and read about, it is quite an honor for him to see that in someone like me.

What I have discovered while spending more time with Don, is that this seemingly simple person is really a multi-faceted and dynamic individual who can be a tough businessman on one hand, and yet kind and nurturing on the other. He is very adept and committed to developing his own business portfolio, but he is just as interested in teaching others his "tricks of the trade". In fact, Don hosts two free real estate investment groups per week, and is very proud of the fact that he encourages his employees to be investors and to create their own wealth.

There is no question that Don is qualified to pass along information about and give tips for being successful. His professional resume includes business owner, real estate developer, investor, mortgage broker, teacher, writer, and public speaker. He can tell you about overcoming difficulties in your life and using your challenges as building blocks for creating a stronger, more fulfilling life. So the question becomes, what qualifies Don to write about overcoming difficulties? As Don and Paul Harvey have so eloquently put it, you have to know "The Rest of the Story."

Don was barely nine years old when he began his sales career. First was apples at a roadside stand, then greeting cards, TV Guides – ultimately the coveted paper route. What sets Don apart from other youthful entrepreneurs is that he could not speak one clear intelligible sentence.

Yes-Don had a terrible speech impediment. You would never know it to watch him speak now, but for the majority of his early years he stuttered so badly that in his own words, "even the Army rejected me – and that was during the Viet Nam war when they were taking almost any young man with a normally beating heart."

"As hard as my speech impediment was to endure, I determined not to let it, or other people's reaction to it, stand in the way of my dreams. I decided I was in charge of my life, not those who poked fun of or ridiculed me. My success, if any, was up to me." And successful he became. Today Don has built a "success team" that has enabled him to achieve many business successes. But success is not what matters to Don in the long run.

This is the basic principle for our message. Our lives, our dreams, our success, are determined by our choices. We are responsible for creating our own happiness despite what happens to us, or what others think of us. "Success is a fickle thing that is defined differently in different cultures and to different people," said Don. He continued, "significance, on the other hand, is what one does with his or her success. It is about giving to others and contributing to something bigger. I would rather be significant than 'successful'". It is this that I find to be the essence of Don.

At one point, when faced with the choice of life sustaining surgery or immediate death his answer was, "let me think about it." He was not afraid of death, on the contrary he is very close to God. He had accomplished great things in the realm of business and success. For a moment, it occurred to him that death would not be such a bad thing. But what he thought of was his family, in particular, his six grandchildren. He wanted them to grow up experiencing the joy that grandparents bring to children.

I have enjoyed the privilege of getting to know Don, and of learning from him. I am honored that he considers me a colleague. He is a shining example of overcoming struggles and he has a fantastic formula for success. I hope that you will not only learn from his experience, but enjoy being a part of his significance.  

*   *   *   *   *

Sign up for Don's CREATING WEALTH Newsletter and receive 2 FREE gifts! "How To Wipe Out Consumer Debt" - This is must reading for anyone who wants to break free of the stranglehold the credit card companies and banks put you in - and start working towards complete financial independence. Plus! Sign up today and you'll also get Don's newest e-book titled - "Success Begins with a Dream"