Momentum is an amazing thing. Keep it going.
I tell a story sometimes about a man who was a great great real estate man. He was a man who was admired for real estate all over the world actually but all over the country.
He built Levit towns. He started as a man who built one house then he built two then he built five then he built 20 then he built a thousand then he built 2,000 and 3,000 a year and he got very big very big. He was great at what he did. You see him all over the country still Levit really big homebuilder. And he became very rich. Okay. A very rich man.
And then he decided to sell. He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate Gulf and Western big conglomerate They didn't do real estate. They didn't know anything about it but they saw the money he was making. They wanted to take it a public company. And they gave him a lot of money tremendous amount of money more money than he ever thought he'd get.
And he sold his company and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce. Found a new wife. Could you say a trophy wife I guess we can say a trophy wife.
It didn't work out too well. But it doesn't and that doesn't work out too well. I must tell you a lot of trophy wives doesn't work out. But it made him happy for a little while at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat and he got a big yacht. He had one of the biggest yachts anywhere in the world. He moved for a time to Monte Carlo and he led the good life.
And time went by and he got bored and 15 years later the company that he sold to called him and they said the housing business is not for us. You have to understand when Bill Levit was hot when he had momentum he'd go to the job sites every night. He'd pick up every loose nail. He'd pick up every scrap of wood. If there was a bolt or a screw laying on the ground he'd pick it up and he'd use it the next day in putting together a house.
But now he was spoiled and he was rich. He was really rich. And they called and they said "This isn't for us. This business he do other things. Would you like to buy it back we'll sell it back to you cheap." And they did. He bought it. He bought it. He thought he made a great deal and he was all excited.
But it was 15 years later he lost a lot of momentum. Remember the word momentum and he lost everything. It just didn't work. He lost everything. And I was sitting at a party on Fifth Avenue one night long time ago and he had the biggest people in New York the biggest people in the country all in that party and they were all saluting each other how great they were. They're all telling each other "I'm greater than you." Gets me really gives you a headache sometimes. But they had all these people. They're telling their own stories about how fantastic a cocktail party and I looked over and I was doing well. I was I don't know. I was invited to the party. So I had to be doing well. I was very very young. But I made a name in real estate. And I looked over and at the party sitting in a corner all by himself.
Nobody was talking to him was Mr Levit. He had just gone bankrupt lost everything. He had lost everything. His home everything.
And I went over and talked to him because he was in the real estate business and I loved real estate. And I said "Hello Mr Levit. How are you?" He said "Hello Donald It's nice to meet you." He knew me from being in the business. I said "So how's it going?" Goes "Not well It's truly not going well as you've probably read. It's been very very tough period for me son. I said "So what happened?" I says "Anything you can do?" He goes. "No there's not a thing I can do." He said, I'll never forget he said "I've lost my momentum. I just didn't have it. I used to have it but I lost my momentum." So it's a story I tell.
And you have to know when you have the momentum but sometimes you have to also know when you've lost the momentum. And leaving a field sometimes leaving what you're doing sometimes is okay but you got to have momentum. But you have to know if that momentum is gone. You have to know when to say it's time to get out. And it's a very sad story. I remember that story so well like it was yesterday.
>Momentum is an amazing thing. Keep it going.
>
>I tell a story sometimes about a man who was a great great real estate man. He was a man who was admired for real estate all over the world actually but all over the country.
>
>He built Levit towns. He started as a man who built one house then he built two then he built five then he built 20 then he built a thousand then he built 2,000 and 3,000 a year and he got very big very big. He was great at what he did. You see him all over the country still Levit really big homebuilder. And he became very rich. Okay. A very rich man.
>
>And then he decided to sell. He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate Gulf and Western big conglomerate They didn't do real estate. They didn't know anything about it but they saw the money he was making. They wanted to take it a public company. And they gave him a lot of money tremendous amount of money more money than he ever thought he'd get.
>
>And he sold his company and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce. Found a new wife. Could you say a trophy wife I guess we can say a trophy wife.
>
>It didn't work out too well. But it doesn't and that doesn't work out too well. I must tell you a lot of trophy wives doesn't work out. But it made him happy for a little while at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat and he got a big yacht. He had one of the biggest yachts anywhere in the world. He moved for a time to Monte Carlo and he led the good life.
>
>And time went by and he got bored and 15 years later the company that he sold to called him and they said the housing business is not for us. You have to understand when Bill Levit was hot when he had momentum he'd go to the job sites every night. He'd pick up every loose nail. He'd pick up every scrap of wood. If there was a bolt or a screw laying on the ground he'd pick it up and he'd use it the next day in putting together a house.
>But now he was spoiled and he was rich. He was really rich. And they called and they said "This isn't for us. This business he do other things. Would you like to buy it back we'll sell it back to you cheap." And they did. He bought it. He bought it. He thought he made a great deal and he was all excited.
>
>But it was 15 years later he lost a lot of momentum. Remember the word momentum and he lost everything. It just didn't work. He lost everything. And I was sitting at a party on Fifth Avenue one night long time ago and he had the biggest people in New York the biggest people in the country all in that party and they were all saluting each other how great they were. They're all telling each other "I'm greater than you." Gets me really gives you a headache sometimes. But they had all these people. They're telling their own stories about how fantastic a cocktail party and I looked over and I was doing well. I was I don't know. I was invited to the party. So I had to be doing well. I was very very young. But I made a name in real estate. And I looked over and at the party sitting in a corner all by himself.
>
>Nobody was talking to him was Mr Levit. He had just gone bankrupt lost everything. He had lost everything. His home everything.
>
>And I went over and talked to him because he was in the real estate business and I loved real estate. And I said "Hello Mr Levit. How are you?" He said "Hello Donald It's nice to meet you." He knew me from being in the business. I said "So how's it going?" Goes "Not well It's truly not going well as you've probably read. It's been very very tough period for me son. I said "So what happened?" I says "Anything you can do?" He goes. "No there's not a thing I can do." He said, I'll never forget he said "I've lost my momentum. I just didn't have it. I used to have it but I lost my momentum." So it's a story I tell.
>
>And you have to know when you have the momentum but sometimes you have to also know when you've lost the momentum. And leaving a field sometimes leaving what you're doing sometimes is okay but you got to have momentum. But you have to know if that momentum is gone. You have to know when to say it's time to get out. And it's a very sad story. I remember that story so well like it was yesterday.