I just spent New Years Eve in Biloxi with Beverly and Little Richard at the grand opening of their new theatre. He has just turned 74 and put on his show in spite of severe leg pain, a brother who had recently passed and mourning the recent death of his close friend, James Brown.
This guy has been going strong for over 50 years and still plugging. In the audience that night was George Jones, who I’m told just turned 80 and Tina Turner, age unknown, but gettin up there, and the night before we watched the 4 Tops and the Temptations, all old geisers still doing their thing.
Last week I saw Rocky, a magnificent production by Sly Stone who produced, funded and starred in another movie at age 60 and portrayed an aging fighter who got back in the ring and kicked ass way past a normal age to fight.
I can’t tell you the end, but I can say, it was another “feel good, you can do anything” movie worth seeing with your kids.
Zig Ziglar just turned 80 and celebrated his birthday on stage at a Dan Kennedy event, doing the same speech he’s been giving for over 40 years. He’s still priming the pump and impressing audiences everywhere. You oughta go see him while he’s still doing his thing.
I turned 60 a few months ago and here I am, still teaching and doing more real estate than I have at any point in my life. I got another jet after selling my last one and will spend about 100 days away from home this year.
In my case that’s a good thing. It helps sustain a 41 year marriage. When people ask Beverly how she explains staying married to me for 41 years, her answer is “It’s easy, if you take out his travel time it’s only been about 3.”
Just kidding! I hear the same flack for leaving home as most any husband does, but she knows it’s what I do and what I’ll continue to do as long as I’m able and feel like it. You see…
It’s My Fertilizer
Just as all those aging folks I discussed keep doing their thing, so must I if I want to stay mentally alert and have a purpose. I’m sure all of us could quit if we wanted. I know I could.
But then what?
Most people spend their entire lives getting to the station, trying to arrive at a given place at a given time.
If only I were 21
When I get married
When I graduate
When I get a promotion
If I were in business for myself
When I become a millionaire
When I retire
Then we reach these targets and make an amazing discovery…
OK, Big Deal, What’s Next? You see, at some point in your life you discover…There Is No Station. The station is the journey. It’s not the destination we’re after, it’s the thrill of the chase. So if that’s true, when you stop the chase you stop the thrill and life becomes mundane and boring and your personality changes and you may not even know why.
That’s why many wealthy people take on or form charities and intentionally look for things to do that are productive so they can get back or keep the feeling of achievement.
Geez! This stuff is really deep.
Too much Dr. Phil I guess.
Now I’m sure you young folks are thinking about now this stuff is boring and not applicable to you. After all you’ll never get old and if you do, you’ll worry about it then.
Oh contraire my young, cocky friend. It does apply to you, in fact more so than to us older generation.
You’re in the planting stage of your life, trying to get rich any way you can, as fast as you can with little thought to what happens after you reach your station.
Or put another way…when your seed pops up out of the ground, are you prepared to fertilize it until your harvest reaches its full potential?
You’re so lucky to be young in our society. You have so many tools us older folks didn’t get to use. The systems I’ve put in place over the last 25 years have made it so easy to get rich in real estate an idiot could do it, and many are.
My stuff has been knocked off, stolen, plagiarized, duplicated and replicated for many years now, but it doesn’t bother me much because thieves never prevail and what I know can’t be stolen. Because I’m always in the game and constantly spreading fertilizer over my crops, I don’t have time to worry about thieves.
Whether you’re young or old, what are you doing to fertilize your crop? Is everyday the same or are you taking on new challenges and learning new stuff? Are you playing not to lose or playing to win? Does your seed have a chance to grow and if it does, will it produce a crop worth having? Are you spending so much time making a living you can’t take time to get rich? If you are rich, are you complacent and bored or are you putting it on the line to stay in the game and win big? Do you look forward to tomorrow because you’re excited and can’t wait to get at it or do you dread tomorrow because it’s just another day full of problems? Have you had some major set backs with your finances or health that you’re letting take you out of the game or are you playing no matter what?
Every one of those people I discussed earlier has dealt with some or all of these problems and yet they just keep ticking. They keep fertilizing their crop and looking for a new harvest. They survive the test of time because they refuse to quit when things get tough and because they love what they do to the point it becomes their life…their station.
You never know at what point in your life a major turning point will take place that catapults you further in one year than all your previous years combined. I’ve seen that happen a lot lately with some of my students/clients and in my own life.
My net worth rose in 2005 to at least five times higher than what I was able to achieve in all my previous years combined. In 2006 it rose at least five times higher than 2005. Just for the record, I was doing OK in 2004.
So what causes such a quantum leap?
I think there are several things that contribute. See how many apply to you.
1. I never stop learning. The more I learn the easier everything gets.
2. I focus on the deals that can produce the most value. It doesn’t take any more time or resources, in fact it takes less.
3. I’m always in the game, if not physically, certainly mentally. Anyone who tells you “you can turn it off” is not an entrepreneur. They’re probably selling a book.
4. I never quit. I do what it takes to get the job done right up to the last minute. Some of our best deals were gigantic problems to get them closed and frankly I know few who could have pulled it off other than me. I know for certain none of our deals would have gotten done if I weren’t involved and they all come with their share of grief even after they have been bought. I expect it and prepare for it and will keep plugging until each and every one comes to a conclusion. Frankly, that’s not normal. If you possess this trait alone you’ll probably enjoy a great harvest. Grow some guts.
5. I expect things to go wrong and prepare. Every promise made to you by people involved in your deals is a lie until they come through, and few will. You should always have a plan 2 or 3 or 4. If I hadn’t, none of our deals would have closed. Almost all the lenders who didn’t come through lied. Fortunately I have some students with capital available to invest at a high rate of return or my quantum leap would not have been so dramatic. But, where did they come from? The answer is I’m always in the game and give them what they need to cement our relationship so we can grow together. Fertilizing my crop.
6. I don’t listen to the morons. I can’t tell you how much advice I get about making money from broke people who have little. Some of them I actually pay. My attorneys, CPA’s, appraisers, engineers, contractors or relatives are not qualified to advise me on how to get rich. None of them are and actually none are morons either. They’re all good at what they do, but it ain’t making money. Choose your advisors carefully.
7. I share the wealth. All my deals and companies have partners. I’m giving away a fortune in income and equity. Several actually. If I chose to keep it all I’d have little. Besides, who wants to get rich alone? It’s more fun when others come along for the ride when they earn the fare. You can only do one or two things at a time yourself and do them well. I choose to do many things simultaneously so I have no choice but to turn loose and let others grow their own business. It’s fun for me to have multiple businesses. It’s not for everyone. It requires a reptile brain personality and a willingness to make mistakes and a few other traits previously mentioned that most people don’t have. But here, it’s fun to be me. (Most days).
8. I make decisions quickly. Sometimes it’s the wrong decision and I pay the price, but the right ones outweigh the wrong ones so I can live with my bad choices. What I can’t live with is indecision. I have no patience with people who can’t decide on anything and I have none near me and if I did they wouldn’t last long. When it comes to a real estate deal or a business, the decision is easy for me. It’s mostly about the math. If it has a good chance to make a lot of money, I’m probably in. If it doesn’t, I’m out. That kills about 90% of the things that could consume my time and energy.
9. I keep my promises, or at least I do my damndest to do so. I hate it when people make me promises and don’t keep them and I assume they feel the same way. No one keeps every promise they make, but most people keep few they make. I get accused of not keeping promises made by others on my team sometimes and I can take the heat, as I should. I think most people intend to keep promises they make, but they are so disorganized they forget. A properly used planner will fix that. If you write it down in your planner it becomes part of your daily activity and easier to keep. If you rely on your memory you become a liar who can’t be relied on. Nobody’s perfect, but a simple system will make you better organized than 95% of your circle of influence.
10. I implement quickly. Deciding to do something gets nothing done. You must take the first step and that’s where delegation comes in handy. I delegate hundreds of tasks to my staff every week. Without a PA to take the load off me I couldn’t get much done and I’d be normal, God forbid. I’d have a PA if I were in a nursing home with no businesses to run. At least she could bring me books to read and type my memoirs. I suggest you consider it yourself. It’ll change your life. We discuss all these issues and more at the Business Management Boot Camp I teach twice a year. Perhaps you could join me there this year.
So, how many of these traits do you possess or even want for that matter? You don’t need them all to be mega successful, but if you study the super rich you’ll find a lot of them possess the same traits. There is a common denominator among them. I hope your New Year is the best you’ve ever had. Keep spreading the fertilizer. Your crop is coming.
Ron
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November 10th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
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