CONCLUSION
TO WRAP UP THIS BOOK, I’d like to tell you the quick story of
how I ended up here, as a champion for VRP. I want to explain my background, because chances are, we have a few things in common. Twenty years ago, I was in Minnesota, living in a condo downtown connected by a skywalk system to the Dain Bosworth tower. I was working on the 36th floor, and for several months out of the year, I almost never went outside. I just walked right from my condo through the skywalk system to work because it was so cold. During those cold snaps, I basically only went outside to check out a property, to take pictures of a snow-covered field for our next development, so I could submit them to the bank with a fi nancing package. It was miserable. I hated it. Like so many talented people I speak with today, I had pictures inside of my office of tropical beaches, just so I could stay sane. I would sit back, stare at these pictures of beaches with palm trees swaying in a tropical breeze, and I would dream. The next property we were going to do that year—1999—was in the Dakotas, so I had to drive north to check it out. It was midJanuary. As I drove, the temperature began dropping significantly and it was soon 38 degrees below zero. I had to drive for three hours to take a photo of a farm field and drive back. I was in a suit. Nevertheless, I drove up there and couldn’t even keep my windows clear.
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