What I wanted to do here is share some of my secrets on how success works and why it seemingly eludes you, especially around this holiday season where I know we're "supposed" to feel blessed, grateful, and in the "holiday spirit" even though many of us feel quite the opposite.
Let me share with you my TOP 3 TESTED-AND-PROVEN SUCCESS SECRETS so that you can realize just how easy it is to get everything you want and need in your life, starting NOW.
Here they are:
Success Secret #1: Stop Chasing and Start Attracting
Success and wealth absolutely HATE desperation. Just like you would hate talking to or having to do with anyone who is desperately hanging onto you at, say, a cocktail party. Wealth and success are both the same way. The more you try chasing it down, the more it escapes you. It's like running after a chicken at full speed in a backyard the size of an acre. Catching that little sucker probably won't happen. And if it does, it was at the great expense of wasting a lot of time while tiring your ass completely out in the process, making you think out loud, "Was this really worth the effort?"
Desperation reminds me of an oil drop in a cup of water. You'll notice that the drop repels the water around it, pushing it away. Yes, they "sort of" co-exist in the cup but not really. The water is under the oil, wishing it wasn't there since the oil itself is a burden upon it. You can't be that burden to success. You can't try fitting in somewhere that you don't belong. You have to BECOME wealth and success in order for it to want to infiltrate your life with its gifts.
So...what do you do? How do you stop chasing?
I think the answer is within the question. STOP CHASING. It's that simple. Sit down, take a breather, re-evaluate your life and what's important, and create a money-making strategy that you're passionate about where the strong desire overcomes the desperation for the money. You then focus on the passion, the project, and the business. The money will come because you've stopped chasing it. It's that simple. Remember, you can't do things just for the money because that's chasing it down. Chasing equals success eventually coming to you because you've stopped chasing and started focusing on the passion of the project. See how that works?
The basis of this is letting go. When I start getting stressed out about my businesses or something I really can't control, the secret is saying, "F*** it!" and just letting it go. When you've done all you can do, sometimes you have to let those invisible hands help you with things you can't do on your own.
Success Secret #2: Being Grateful for What You Have Now...AND a New "Twist" to Gratitude
I'm always sitting on the fence when it comes to trying to decide whether I want to write a metaphysical book...or not. One moment I think it would be unique because it'll talk a lot about my experiences with Heaven and how things are over there (or rather here but most people don't see through that thin veil)...or if I should just keep those experiences to myself. One moment I think it would help people but on the other hand, we're such a screwed up world that I think most people are beyond help. Then I internalize and keep everything to myself. I'm not sure if that's beneficial or not but for now it works for me. As messed up and violent our world has become, sometimes internalizing is the best thing to regroup.
One of the bases of success is being grateful for what you have now. I really am grateful...for absolutely everything. I'm grateful for my beautiful daughter and every moment I get to spend with her. I'm grateful for my dog (Sally) and my 3 cats: Pineapple, Scooby and Bobo. I'm grateful for my business, my students, my wonderful and supportive staff, and everything else -- good, "bad," or otherwise!
But it's not good enough to throw around the phrase "I'm grateful..." then adding a bunch of things to the end as if you're reciting what you're going to say at the Thanksgiving table this upcoming November. You have to believe it, know it, and feel that sense of gratitude in the pit of your stomach for it to count. When you're grateful for what you have, even if it's only a little, the universe wants to give you more or give you ideas (those "Eureka!" moments) on how to get more. You have to respect God and the universe for what's been provided to you already (even if it's not that much) and you have to PROVE that you have that respect otherwise nothing more will be provided to you.
It floors me at how many students I communicate with who complain endlessly in an email to me. Never once do they give kudos to what they have or how they got it nor do they give thanks for the things that will be provided to them in the weeks, months, and years to come. Yes, that's right. There's a TWIST to this. You can (and should) be grateful for what you have now and the experiences you've had that has benefited you to this point. You can (and should) also express gratitude for what the universe is about to provide to you from resources to ideas to money to...all of it! Then that throws the expectation ball into the universe's court and it works every time in attracting what you've been grateful for if you do it from a state of conviction, honesty, and integrity. So, do it. Each night come up with 5 things that happened that you were grateful for that day. The next day, list 5 things that you're expecting will happen to/for you that you're already grateful for. Do this for a solid 7 days and see how magically your life changes.
Success Secret #3: Freaking Go for It Already!
Tire kickers are at the very bottom of my list of people I'd have a conversation with, usually involuntarily at that. Lazy people suck and I have no patience or use for people like this. I can't make someone be motivated. I can't teach someone common sense or how to be smart. There are a lot of limitations I have as a teacher and trainer without a working magic wand. But the basis of all success comes down to one single thing: ACTION. And you can't take action without deciding to go for it and just f****** do it already!
I love the notion of deciding on something. To me, it's quite possibly the single-most powerful action you can take without actually lifting a finger. And it's the prelude to where the magic happens. But to decide without doing, that's certain death right there. You can't say you're going to do something then waffle away into flakey-dom while binge-watching the latest season of The Game of Thrones while taking no action for your new idea. That is disrespectful to yourself and it's certainly disrespectful to the universe who, presumably gave you the idea to move forward with whatever it is you decided on to begin with. And when the universe passes out ideas that you get all psyched up about then end up doing nothing with, the ideas stop coming to you and are given to the DOERS in the world who will take action.
Fear is the biggest motivator for people to buy things. It's also the biggest action inhibitor ever known to man. Fear can physically paralyze someone into a complete stone-like state. This is why they call it being a deer in the headlights. Standing still will get you nowhere.
Let me share a little tiny secret to the universe that can make you all the difference in your life right now. The universe LOVES movement, even if you start on a path that turns out to be the wrong one, it'll quickly put you on the right path by throwing out new ideas, having different people come along with new resources, or whatever is needed to put you in the right direction. Here's what the universe hates: non-movement, stagnation. If you're going to stand still, the universe will help someone else who is in motion and in need of the assistance. It'll come back to you when you get off your ass and start moving in a specific direction.
This is why I don't worry about making mistakes. If I'm not sure of the direction I want to take but I have an "inkling" of what I want to do, I start the movement and then I'm further guided into what I really should be doing. It happens every time. You just have to TRUST the process and KNOW that this universal system will work for you...because it works every time.
I have a powerful business and investing direction to put you into RIGHT NOW that WORKS EVERY TIME. In fact, it's made quite a few of my students MULTI-MILLIONAIRES and it can work just the same for you if you're willing to roll up your sleeves and do it.
Just the other day my daughter was talking about her plans for college. And, in case you don't know, she's 11 right now. Already talking about college. AND she wants to start driving too. Can you believe that? I told her that she's very lucky because college is very expensive but that I've been able to put aside a six-figure college fund for her while most of her student cohorts will be leaving school, laden down with heavy debt that many will spend a decade or longer struggling to pay off.
I did, though, have to remind her that college wasn't a guaranteed means to a job or a career. I personally would love to see her as an investor or entrepreneur. But she has seen over her short decade on this planet how hard I work. And she's told me many times with the fiercest conviction: "I don't want to own a business and I don't want to be an investor." Fine. But that doesn't mean I can't set her up financially well while she does what she wants to do.
She wants to be a teacher. I told her that she'll need at least one college degree to get started and likely she'll have to get a master's degree to progress in her career. She doesn't seem to mind. But she was concerned about stuff that shouldn't concern her at this age: things like college loans, interest, and being in debt before one can even start their new life out into the world. She seemed really concerned about this seeming set-up for failure for the masses.
Welcome to the tip of the iceberg.
The whole system is a set-up for failure. The entire thing. Name any random topic and I can tell you how the cards are stacked against you.
Taxes? Pulleeeezzzzeee. Totally stacked against you. (You should know that already.)
College? Stacked against you in every way imaginable from getting into the right school to being able to pay for it in the first place.
Buying your dream home? Stacked against you. Just check out how an amortization calculator works and you'll realize how bad you're getting screwed on your home loan.
Getting a high-level excellent paying job? Stacked against you. Remember, it's not what you know it's who you know. So...whooosh! What was that sound? Oh, that was your college degree getting sucked out the window. Again, it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know.
And then spending your entire life working for somebody else...just to find that you have to start over at a new company in your 40s, 50s, or 60s? COMPLETELY STACKED AGAINST YOU! Even though many companies love being able to get someone seasoned and experienced to do the job, reality is...they'd prefer molding a youngin' to do it just the way they like it, and at a fraction of the salary.
And it's SCARY. Really freaking scary, folks.
I didn't have Mom and Dad to help me with anything. That wasn't an option. So, survival was my motivation. In a lot of ways, it still is. So I keep moving forward. I keep going. And never once did I ever expect one single person to do a damn thing for me nor did I ever depend on a JOB for my survival.
And even though my daughter claims she wants a job as a teacher, I'm training my daughter to be A LOT different than your average Millennial. (She's actually Generation Z or iGen which gives me SOME hope here.) I'm teaching her how to go after what she wants no matter what it takes because so few young people want to do that. I figure that the percentage of lazy-ass, self-entitled, hand-out-expectant percentage in the Baby Boomer generation is probably below 5%. I think it may be slightly higher in my generation with the Gen Xers. Maybe it tops out at 15%. Maybe higher. But with the Millennials? I'm think that this lazy self-entitled attitude is somewhere in the 60% to 75% range in the United States.
And these are the kids that will be running our country in only a handful of decades from now. Can you believe THAT? Scary. Now you know why I'm concerned! I should be. So should you!!
The good news is that competition in the future will be NON-EXISTENT. If you're a Millennial, or a Generation Z like my daughter, doing any type of business or investing will be a piece of cake because...well, who will you compete against? The rest of her generation will still be playing video games while living in their elderly, barely-coherent Gen X parent's house in the 'burbs. Probably waiting for their demise so they can sell the house and live off the equity until something else comes along. Like winning the lottery, for instance.
This is why I labor into my students who have kids that are young...even teenagers. Teach them business. Teach them investing. Teach them how to sell. Teach them about marketing. If you don't know any of these things yourself, read a book or go to an event then pass the information onto them however you can.
One of the hings I resent about my meager Midwestern upbringing that I realize is still commonplace in those parts of the country is that some people in those areas who have kids think their ONLY job as a parent is to just get their kids "across the line," I call it. Just keep food on the table, keep them clothed and a roof over their heads. And that's it. Nothing else. Then at 18, tell them to start making plans to get the hell on.
But that is NOT the only job of a parent, especially in today's day and age. It's irresponsible to think that parenting is all about feeding, clothing and housing your kid. And that's IT. If you do think that's all it's about then you'll be paying the price down the road when they're 40+ years old still living with you because they've never been taught any useful life skills (other than receiving food, clothing, and shelter FROM YOU) that they can utilize to support themselves.
So, I have a couple of things for you to check out:
1) I have a BRAND NEW investing strategy that will knock your socks off. CLICK HERE for more info about it. This can not only give you the financial freedom you're looking for but it's something you can teach your kids and grand kids so they can ALWAYS be financially self-reliant.
2) Maybe it's time bring your kids or grand kids to an event so they can learn first-hand how to become a multi-millionaire. I have my Vegas Events coming up on September 13th - 15th for the Investing Secrets Bootcamp Seminar and September 15th - 17th for the Flip It Profit Bootcamp Seminar. If you want to bring your kid (age 18 or under) to teach these money-making strategies to, I'll (a) clean up my language and lose all the swear words, and (b) I'll make you an offer you can't refuse (but you'll have to call my office to enroll them at 661-295-5050 ext. 2) where it'll only cost them $97 to bring them along. CLICK HERE for the Investing Secrets Bootcamp Seminar and CLICK HERE for the Flip It Profit Bootcamp Seminar.
You can learn anything you want. Learning and education is REQUIRED if you're going to pull yourself out of your current circumstances to create a new life for yourself. I'm here, dedicated in helping you create the financial life you want for yourself. But it takes two to tango. You have to be willing to do the work which is LEARNING then APPLYING what you've learned.
Many of you may know the marketing "guru" by the name of Dan Kennedy. I've known Dan since the mid-1990s when I subscribed to a newsletter he had called No B.S. Inner Circle. And over the years, not only has he been a guru and mentor to me but I'd like to believe we've become good friends too.
This picture above was taken this past April when we went out to dinner in Cleveland after I was at his house taking part in some marketing consulting I wanted for a new business venture.
And I saw him again during his 3-day Cleveland annual Mid-Year "Dan Only" Event called Mail Box Millions 2.0.
So...it's a shock to tell you that he's DECEASED as of August 21st.
Yes, he passed away!
I'm still in shock. I just talked to his long-time assistant Vicky on the phone yesterday morning who was still talking as if he was alive in hospice care, living out his final hours. Maybe she did or didn't know that he had passed the day before...or was living in denial...or maybe didn't want to tell me because I was already in tears when I was talking to her.
Dan was a diabetic but, as far as I could tell, he kept the disease under tight control. But...something happened just in the past couple of weeks which shook his health off balance in a way that could not be balanced out again. A variety of illnesses that, perhaps, could have been easily dealt with and healed one at a time, hit him all at once and his body wasn't able to recover.
He went from doing fine at the beginning of this month to dead only 3 weeks later.
Oh, and I should mention that he's only in his 60s. Pretty young to die of "natural causes," if you ask me.
This just goes to show you that you never know when you're time is going to be up. And for all of you who are waiting for a "better time" to do something -- whether it's to start your new business, start investing, or start taking some more time with friends and family, maybe traveling -- start doing it NOW, for crying out loud!! What are you waiting for? Your life here can end at any moment without notice. STOP MESSING AROUND AND START DOING THE THINGS YOU'VE BEEN PUTTING OFF!!
Because...
Life is too short to be dickering around, making excuses, and telling yourself the "someday I will" monologue as you get ready for work to fight traffic for yet another day...another week...another month...another year...and another decade waiting to live your dreams.
Your dreams don't come to you. You go to your dreams. Period. That's just how it works. And if you're waiting for your dreams to come to you'll end up passing away before you know it, not having done any of the stuff you wanted to do.
Don't let that happen to you! Please!! Start living now. Start living TODAY!
On Monday night I found out that my long-time mentor and friend Dan Kennedy is in hospice care. As of today, he only has days -- maybe only mere hours -- left to live.
What a SHOCK that was to me! I had just seen him at his annual mid-year event (which takes place over my birthday each year) in Cleveland this past June. I was at his house in April. He seemed perfectly fine to me.
But I guess the part that none of us knew that he had been battling a number of ailments, most stemming from his lifetime battle of diabetes. IN the end he decided he didn't want to be hooked up to machines to prolong his life...so he elected to be admitted into hospice where he's not living out his final moments.
What's sad about this whole thing is that he's only in his 60s. He was born in December 1956. But he did live a hard life and that probably did him in decades ago, long before he realized it.
I've been so heartbroken and sad all this week because I feel like I'm losing someone who has had such a huge impact on my life in ways I cannot even express. Dan and I go way back...to the mid-1990s. So, more than 20 years. He's one of the key reasons I'm as successful as I am in business and marketing today. Without him and his knowledge, I would not have been as successful in direct marketing and business as I have been.
It's amazing that one single person can have such immense impact.
It's also sobering to realize just how short life is. And that one moment you can be completely fine, the next...on your deathbed.
The thing about Dan is that he loved to work. He'd work 12 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week...BECAUSE HE LOVED WHAT HE DID. It wasn't work to him. To me, that is a blessed life. To do what you love and to get paid well for it. And even though some have criticized him for being all about work and having little to do with friends and family, that's the life he chose. That's the life he wanted. And that's the life he got.
What kind of life do YOU want for yourself? Have you ever stopped to think just how SHORT life really is? And that death could be looming at your door any time now?
I've thought about that a lot lately which is why I'm doing more things with my daughter, I'm branching out into different businesses and investments, and expanding my wings with my book that will be coming out on November 5th.
If you're not living the life you want to live, ask yourself this: "WHY NOT? WHAT IS HOLDING ME BACK?"
If it's the lack of money, I think I have the perfect solution for you.
Over the years people have asked me to summarize how to become a successful real estate investor and are usually sorely disappointed to find out that I cannot stuff all of these "secret strategies" inside one short paragraph, or on the back of a Chinese fortune for that matter.
But I can give you some overall strategies that will clearly pinpoint how to become a successful cash flowing real estate entrepreneur. Five to be exact.
Here they are...
#1. Decide on some type of Passive Income Asset that can keep giving you a positive cash flow month after month, year after year. This means narrowing down your type of what we call an "asset class" down to something that can give you this type of income. This also means avoiding those other pesky types of real estate investing opportunities that I put into the Aggressive Income category such as flipping property because this robs you of (a) long-term cash flow, and (b) valuable tax write-off benefits. I recommend investors new to the Passive Income game to think about and seriously consider residential-commercial acquisitions, namely apartment building investing or mobile home park (MHP) investing since this type of investing can give substantial monthly cash flows while helping you weather through recessions unlike other types of Passive Income Assets such as office space or industrial/warehouse properties.
#2. Find your ideal "farming area" or area in which you will be building your real estate "empire." This will be ONE area only and CAN be 1,000+ miles away from where you live. (I'll explain in a minute why you don't have to be anywhere near your assets.) Most newbie real estate investors start local to where they live. This is natural because they want to see the properties and have more of a hands-on approach to their property management. Plus, since most newbie investors get involved in flipping, they kind of need to be local to the property if they're going to do minor or extensive rehabbing on the property. Since you're getting involved in Passive Income Assets, you don't need to be in the same city in which you will invest. This gives you the freedom to literally go anywhere in the country to invest. I originally discovered this freedom back in 2001 when I realized that investing in my tri-county area (Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) were just not that profitable. And forget about venturing down to Orange County or up to Ventura County where properties were ultra-expensive, giving no cash flow even if I were to give up 50% cash down to secure the deal. This is when I started investing on the gulf side of Florida then expanding upwards through the middle portion of the state...until I ended up in Georgia where some of my most profitable deals have come to fruition. You have to go where the cash flow is. Plain and simple. It's smart and definitely a manageable strategy IF you know how to pull it off.
#3. Getting the money and financing for your deals is quite possibly the most challenging aspect of real estate investing, especially for new investors who don't have any contacts or access to private investors. This is the secret to breaking into the business: getting the financing, getting the credit, getting the loans, and getting these fiscal resources together. Many people don't realize that they have access to more resources and contacts than they know. Others just need some doors opened up for them to get them started. The ideal way to acquire a cash flowing property deal is to have the 20% cash down and to have decent credit (720+ FICO) to be able to get approval for the mortgage financing. This is why I have extensively taught my Aggressive Income Strategies throughout this entire year (to this point) because it has allowed my students to raise this cash to get involved in these deals. But even I don't like using my own money for deals if I can help it. And that's when the benefits of understanding the art of raising capital becomes extremely valuable. For my students who think raising capital is hard, think again. It's much easier than you think once you understand the simple steps behind it that are required.
#4. Create or find a good management company to manage your out-of-state assets. This is HOW you're able to invest anywhere. You have somebody else doing it for you whether it's your own management company that you created or a management service. Many of my newbie students freak out when I tell them to buy property out of state. They're first questions are about looking at the properties and managing them. Okay, so you will have to get on a plane here and there to look at and acquire your properties. (Most escrow and closings can be done via FedEx.) You'll want to look at, say, 12 to 15 properties at a time when you fly out until you quickly realize that, since this game is all about the cash flow, looking at properties becomes a complete waste of time. (You have contractors and property inspectors who are professionals in their field look at these properties since, chances are, you are not an expert in state building codes in the state you will be acquiring properties nor are you an expert on determining if there is structural viability to the properties you are viewing...nor are you an expert in the neighborhoods in which the properties are located. It takes a few trips to your farming area to realize that you really do have to rely on EXPERTS to do this work for you and that you looking at properties yourself really does nothing valuable in the process at all.)
#5. Understand the reality on what it takes to get rich in cash flowing investments. BUY AND HOLD FOREVER. Yes, that's right. Buy the property and hang onto it until you're 6 fee under and it doesn't matter to you anymore. You only need a handful of small apartment buildings to get rich. Between 5 and 10 properties is all you need to be set for life. Rents typically will DOUBLE in most areas of the country every 15 to 18 years. And by flowing more of your profits back into each property by paying down the principle of each mortgage, you'll be able to pay each property off within 10 years. Imagine your cash flow in 15 years with doubled rents and no mortgage! Exactly. THIS is why you never let those properties go. Not ever!
The hardest part of the 5 secrets listed above is #3. Getting money for deals is the most difficult "hump" to get over. But I have a solution for you. I have a RESOURCE LIST that was given to me by one of my long-time investor partners who decided to make 2019 his year of retirement. I have his entire resource list which BLEW MY MIND! For a short time and ONLY for 24 SERIOUS students, I want to give you this powerful money resource list...which includes resources for down payments, rehab, new construction, and a BRAND NEW investor partner opportunity!
