The Zero Sum Game

“Those that panic at the thought of failure, who do not act with clarity and determination when the moment of crisis is upon them, deserve the limitations for which their fears committed them.” – Author Unknown

On the worst Thursday of my life, August 18, 2008, as I sat in my car about to lose my proverbial shirt, that quote was in my face. Taped to the dashboard, right where my son had left it, the words crashed over me like a wave!

I walked in the courthouse, waiting for my case to be called thinking, What’s happening here? How did I go from “Joe Sutton, Mortgage Lender” to “Broken-Down Joe”?  

In the months that followed, my transformation would be complete. Businessman Joe would become heavily-medicated-with-twenty-two-loans-in-default Joe! But on this Thursday morning, the worst was yet to come. I had become the owner of homes with nineteen loans in some form of default waiting their turn. How the hell had I gotten here?

Some people invest in stocks, mutual funds, and bonds. Not me. I had taken my life’s savings and invested them in mortgages. It’s what I knew best. The idea of playing in the big boy playground had been so alluring that Big Time Joe couldn’t resist. When the real estate and banking industry crashed, that other Joe nearly killed me.