I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday filled with family, friends, and lots of food!
As I sit here surrounded by leftovers, I can't help but reflect on how fortunate we are to live in a place of such abundance. Yet sometimes, even amid plenty, we carry habits that reflect a very different mindset.
Case in point: My Mamaw's refrigerator was always full of plastic containers – butter tubs, sour cream bowls, etc.
But none of those actually contained what was on the label. Instead, they were filled with last week's mashed potatoes or green beans.
As a kid, I never thought much of it. Mamaw never threw out a perfectly good container – after all, why would you when it could store leftovers?
But looking back now, I realize this wasn't just about practical storage solutions.
It was a symptom of something deeper: a scarcity mindset.
The Sneaky Ways Scarcity Shows Up
A scarcity mindset is the deeply ingrained belief that there are limited resources, and you never know when you might run out.
And almost always, it leads to decisions based on fear.
This mindset doesn't discriminate based on income. I regularly talk with folks making six or seven figures who are convinced they can't walk away from their current job or business because "they'll never have an opportunity like this again."
In the investing world, scarcity thinking shows up in two dangerous extremes:
The FOMO Trap: Jumping into deals because "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" (Spoiler alert: it rarely is)
Analysis Paralysis: Being so afraid of making the wrong choice that you sit on capital far too long, missing actual opportunities while waiting for the "perfect" one
Scarcity Thinking in Syndications
Another place I see this mindset is when talking to successful solo real estate investors about syndications. Many struggle with the idea of "giving up" returns to a deal sponsor/GP.
"Why should I share the profits when I could do it myself?"
But here's the reality: investing as an LP in a syndication often leads to higher returns than going solo because of access to institutional-quality deals, better debt terms, and professional management.
Sure, you don’t get 100% of the pie, like when going solo. But you make up for it by getting a slice of a significantly larger pie.
Breaking Free from Scarcity
Think about how you evaluate investment opportunities.
If you're like most people (myself included), you probably focus intensely on what could go wrong. Loss aversion is deeply wired into our brains.
But what if we flipped the script?
Instead of solely focusing on potential losses, what if we spent as much time visualizing success as we do worrying about failure? What if we considered the opportunity costs of playing it too safe and not investing?
On the flip side, if you find that you’re falling into the FOMO trap and constantly chasing the next big opportunity, ask yourself: Do you really need those 25% IRRs? Are you taking on unnecessary risk just to keep growing?
If you’ve never taken the time to define what’s “enough” for you, you force yourself into a scarcity mindset. You’ll always feel the need to continue growing, whether it’s warranted or not.
Morgan Housel talks about this brilliantly in The Psychology of Money (if you haven't read it, add it to your list). There's a whole chapter dedicated to the concept of "enough" and how the inability to define it leads to a whole host of issues.
Making the Shift
Want to start developing an abundance mindset? Here are two powerful approaches that have transformed how I think about wealth building:
First, start living in the gain instead of the gap.
Most driven, successful people (and I'm guessing that includes you) are always reaching for the next goal.
But when you intentionally flip your perspective to focus on your gains – the progress you've made, the wealth you've built – something interesting happens. You start seeing opportunities everywhere.
(If this concept resonates with you, I highly recommend picking up The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. It's one of those books that can completely shift how you view progress and success.)
Second, focus on creating value for others.
Zig Ziglar said it best: "You can have everything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want."
Take syndications for example. When structured right, everybody wins - passive investors get returns, operators build their business, tenants get quality space, and communities improve.
It’s abundance thinking in action.
Moving Forward
As we head into December, it's the perfect time to examine where scarcity thinking might be holding you back.
Where are you making decisions based on fear rather than endless opportunity?
The wealth-building journey isn't about hoarding resources or going it alone. It's about creating value and recognizing that opportunities are abundant.