That’s about the closest I care to get to a golf course.
We were up at Blue Mountain last weekend and while walking our little million dollar dog, I found myself right next to the 14th hole at one of the local courses.
That’s a picture of the fairway as I cruised by on foot.
I know golf holds a magical spell over many. But for me it’s the biggest waste of time in the world.
I don’t enjoy it at all.
The trash talking between friends I enjoy…but that’s about it.
There’s probably something wrong with me, LOL, but that’s OK.
Maybe when I’m 65 I’ll begin playing in earnest. For now, my two rounds every three years feel like the right mix.
Put me under a tree with a good book for 4 hours instead and I’m in heaven.
Alone with my thoughts, reflecting on life, bright and early as the morning dew rises over the grass…perfection.
It was during those moments of reflection that the plan was hatched to change my life from working in the corporate world to venturing out on my own as an entrepreneur.
Days, weeks, months and years of thinking, planning, learning, and scheming how I could change my life to craft it into something that I wanted for myself.
Luckily, my little brother Nick was on board and we launched Rock Star from those early morning compounded moments.
We went from personal development books, to website building books, to real estate books, sales books, and eventually marketing books.
And funny enough…it wasn’t the real estate books that gave us the confidence to quit our jobs.
Although real estate earned cash flow and built equity…it was the marketing books that gave us the confidence to walk away from our jobs and “go it alone”.
Once you understand the universal principles to “earn a new customer” for any business…your life changes forever.
I would say that understanding direct response marketing was life changing for us.
You see most people play life like a Monopoly board.
They go past GO every two weeks and pick up their $200.
If you’re good at the game, you understand you need to save that up and buy assets like railroads and properties without over extending yourselves.
But in the real world there is this extra feature that Monopoly doesn’t have.
You can create new $200 events for yourself over and over again. And you can get really good at doing that with proper marketing knowledge.
You can do this as a side hustle or with a full-time business.
And then if you layer on real estate and asset building onto that you can really create a life of freedom for yourself.
We’re living proof of it.
Understanding marketing and how subjective value works with humans is a cheat code of some sort.
In a world of growing Artificial Intelligence, robotics, 24/7 “lights out” factories, and self driving cars (the Tesla full self driving is very, very good)…there are a few things I’m telling all new graduates to focus on to stay ahead financially.
1. Understand marketing. The tactics and implementation may be replaced by A.I. but the strategy and principles will have a longer life.
Book recommendation: Magnetic Marketing by Dan S. Kennedy
2. Learn about income vs. assets. Most graduates finish school and then get a job. They then layer on debt in the form of cars, houses, or Visa expenses and live a life of playing catch up. It handcuffs them.
As soon as you have some income, just like in Monopoly, figure out how to buy assets or build your own (see point #1).
Book recommendation: Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
3. Learn about the money system. Even the highest levels of bankers don’t understand how our money system works. If you spend time figuring it out you can create a wonderful life for yourself by front running the system.
Book recommendation: The Creature from Jekyll Island (it’s super long, sorry, but it’s the context required that will set you free). If you want a shorter one try Layered Money by Nik Bhatia…the audio book is good.
In Monopoly, the banker is a silent part of the game and they hold a lot of power (creating money out of thin air has that quality). Just like in real life. Understand banking and central banking and your world will make a lot more sense.
4. Nurture your relationships with family and friends. When crap hits the fan, and it will, your family is there for you. Keep them close. And keep a good group of friends around. You need them to socialize, vent, and laugh with.
Spend your mornings on these topics over the next few months and years and magically you will set yourself free from debt, from the corporate rate race, and from a mundane daily routine.
True freedom in the world exists if you set your mind to creating it.
OK, enough with all that…
We have TWO big announcements for you!
It covers one of the most misunderstood topics in real estate right now, How to Sell Your House With Tenants in Ontario, you can check it out right here:
Almost everyone we meet is doing this incorrectly. There is gold in that video above.
You’ll learn:
The class will be held LIVE on Zoom on Thursday, July 11 at 12:00pm EST.
Because we’ve never done a class like this before, spots are super limited.
So if you’d like to attend grab your seat now by clicking here.
Hope you’re enjoying the summer, everyone!!
Tom & Nick
p.s. Why do I refer to our dog as the “million dollar dog”? I once heard one of our mentors, Dan Kennedy, call his dog that and I always thought he was stretching the truth.
But now after dealing with vet bills, food, boarding, toys, blankets, car accessories, snacks, and did I mention vet bills??...I know first hand that dogs are super costly!! But we love the thing…just don’t tell anyone I said that, thanks.
