If you are a land agent, how do you do that?

In winter holiday, I met a very successful land agent. Though young, he has his own big company. He told me something about him and his company. Several years ago, in the city, where he lived, there was a land to be exploited. This was a deserted land, attracting no one’s interest. The place was an entire gutter, and you could see no reason to input any investment. Nonetheless, this land agent decided to do this business after he saw this land. He knew how difficult to exploit this land, but he still foresaw this land would be the center of this city. And the government gave him free tax for encouraging him. After finishing the whole project, he gained more than $ 13,000,000. And now, this land is really the center of this city. But this land agent didn’t tell me why he made this decision and how.
So, I want to ask you, if you are a land agent, how do you to think about this project? What can influence your decision?