It Isn’t Always About the Money
I talk a lot about creating wealth on this blog because, honestly, making better money is a major goal for many people. However, not everyone wants to be wealthy, not monetarily at least. Some people have a different currency they want to invest and see grow.
Take, for instance, Daddy Bruce Randolph, a philanthropist and restaurant owner who, at the age of 60, after many years of hard times and failed businesses, scraped together enough money to open a BBQ joint in Denver. A year after he opened, not that much better off financially, he started serving free Thanksgiving dinners to the down and out in his community, a tradition that would last almost 40 years. He would also give away what he could to help the less fortunate on Christmas, Easter, and even his own birthday. Every year his generous events would get bigger and harder to finance but he’d still keep doing it. It gained him admirers all over the country, many of whom jumped in to keep the charitable events going as they grew well beyond his means. Because of his generosity, he had to live modestly but still, he was happy.
When asked why he gave so generously, Daddy Bruce said, “You can’t beat love. Nothin’ beats love. If you give one thing, you get three things back.” He was, in the truest sense of the phrase, a very successful investor. He invested in what he believed in most and gained the love and appreciation of thousands of grateful Denver citizens as well as the admiration of people from all across the country. Not that he was after the admiration, I’m sure, but if he was getting three times what he gave, he was certainly one of the richest men of his time, living a full, passionate life through bettering the lives of others.
I understand that kind of passion. I may have amassed significant personal wealth but the real joy in it has not been what I can buy but how I can use what I have to help make positive changes in other people’s lives. It’s why I wrote my book “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living”. It doesn’t matter whether your dreams involve increasing your monetary wealth or enriching the lives of others, the key is to live well and let your passion lead you.
The Never Ending Goal: Networking
If you are heading out into the world to make your fortune, build the life of your dreams, or simply become healthier, you probably already realize that it will be easier if you have some help. You have probably already done some networking and have started to surround yourself with supportive, passionate people who motivate you. That’s great. Keep it up. Not just for the time being but always. Expanding your network should not be a short term goal but rather an on-going and constant goal. You will never know just how much help you can get, or how much you can help others, if you aren’t out there meeting new people and exposing yourself to new ideas.
No matter what kind of goal you are working on or how far along you are, there is always someone out there who can make it easier, help you accomplish it quicker, or simply make the process more enjoyable. Networking, at a minimum allows you to expand your circle of supportive friends. It also gives you access to new ideas as well as views that offer insight into yourself and even your goals. Many times, a solution you are searching for comes to you through someone you meet incidentally, someone who has access to the people or resources you need. There are also those serendipitous moments where you end up meeting your next project collaborator, investor, or coach all because you reached out a hand and said hello. Networking is an amazing thing.
What’s more amazing about it is the impact you can have on others. You could be the good friend, solution resource, idea person, instigator of change, or next business partner someone has been looking for. But none of these wonderful things can happen if you don’t get out there and let fate and chance play their part. You don’t need to have a specific idea about who or want you want from your social networking, you just need to go out and see what pops up. The interaction alone will enrich your life. The opportunities you will open yourself up to could be invaluable.
Getting into the Real Estate Game with the “Hansen Model”
Last week I talked about the 10% method for building the capital you need to get into what is today’s top investment opportunity—real estate. The only issue with the 10% method is that it will take some time to pull enough from your paycheck to have the seed money for your first real estate investment. So how can you take advantage of the great opportunities out there right now?
Simple. You have other people put the money in for you.
The best “super leverage” method I’ve seen is what I call the “Hansen model” after a particularly ingenious investor by the name of Dell Loy Hansen. You can read about Dell and his method in detail starting on page 184 of my book How to Ignite Your Passion for Living, but I’ll give you the gist of it here.
To start, you need a few people looking to invest in a safe, reliable project that will give them a regular and consistent return. Get them to collectively fund a down payment of 20% or more on the property you want to purchase and promise a reasonable return–say a 10% APR, an amount that is presently 500% higher than the best CD can offer. If you can put in some of your own money as well, it makes the investors feel much more secure as you’re backing your confidence in the investment’s potential by also putting your money at risk.
Then when you flip that house or rent those office spaces, get the best return possible and get the money back to your investors with a higher than expected rate of return. When they see that you not only lived up to but exceeded their return expectations, you will have created a enthusiastic group of investors for future projects as well as getting wonderful word of mouth that could bring even more money flocking to you.
There are plenty of people out there right now who have cash to invest but don’t want to bank on the unpredictable stock market and aren’t getting anywhere with the meager CD returns. So start working on cultivating those investor relationships and get access to the “leverage” you need to gain financial freedom sooner than you thought possible.
Become One of the Influential People
I know I have been talking a lot recently about keeping the influential people in your life close to you. But what I may not have gotten across is just how important you are—or can be–to the people around you. You have run into people throughout your life that had amazing talent and wonderful gifts and were willing to share them with you and help you live a richer, fuller life. Well, you too have gifts that you can share with others that can help and inspire them. You probably influence more people than you know already and you can influence and enrich even more lives by just being aware of what you have to offer.
Take a moment or two this week to think about your gifts and talents. Ask your family and friends how you influence them. There may something you’ve said that you had no idea inspired your daughter to take a chance that landed her the great job she has now. Your best friend may have watched you reach your fitness goal and is now getting on the treadmill at home every day because of what you accomplished. Perhaps witnessing your kindness and generosity with the new guy at work, encouraged others to do the same with the next new hire. It’s hard to say how you can enrich others’ lives until you find out what you have done and start paying attention to what you are doing today. Then, once you know, you can look for more opportunities to do the same great things again and again.
The pay-off of being a great influence is not only knowing that you had a positive impact on someone else’s life but it is also an energizing and motivating way to live. Seeing the encouraging effect your actions and words have on others will boost you through the hard times as you struggle to reach your goals or deal with your own personal dilemmas. Working on being a positive influence is a win-win situation, good karma, and the ultimate way to pay forward all the great, motivating influence you receive from the great people in your life.
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Surround Yourself with the Right Kind of People
Just a few weeks ago I attended the “life celebration” of my dear friend Joe Land. At this gathering I was reunited with many wonderful and influential people including some of the people that went on speaking tours with Joe and I. Guys like Hal Morris, John Childers and Steve Thomas—hard working men of integrity and wisdom. I had not been very good at keeping in contact with these amazing people over the past few years but I was so grateful to have the chance to spend time with them again. It made me realize how much richer my life was because of them and could continue to be if I just kept in touch with these good, honest, and inspiring people.
That day, I decided to recommit myself to keeping connected with these people, the kind of people that motivate me with their ideas and their own ‘Passion for Living’. No matter where you are in life, you need to have the type of people around you that support what you want and what you do with their words, actions, and energy. But too often, our busy lives distract us and we drift away and lose contact with these precious friendships and business partnerships. We need to realize just how valuable these relationships are in our lives and hold onto them now before we lose them, maybe forever.
Who are the people in your life that inspire and energize you? Who are the people that drain you and hold you back? You only have so much time in a day, a week, a year … in your lifetime. So choose to spend it with the right kind of people and cultivate relationships with those you admire and know you can learn from. Let go of the people that bring you down or hinder your efforts. Commit to living your life with passion and surround yourself with those who can help you do it.
