That is a line from my newest book, “Freedom From Fear FOREVER” (www.ffffbook.com). It was a rock in my shoe for months until I did something about it! (The line actually was first attributed to Buckminster Fuller. He was a genius, a Renaissance man.)
In December 2004 I received a $10,000 check from my publisher. In the past I would have taken my family on a very nice vacation. There was one little problem. I had read one too many books. I had just finished Robert Kiyosaki’s runaway international bestseller, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.”
It was time to change. Have you ever had one of those “Ah-hah” moments?
You know, somehow you came across some unsettling information in a seminar, book, or conversation with a friend or mentor that leaves you a changed person. That was me just before Christmas in 2004. It was time.
Armed with the information from two books and a desire to change our long-term financial situation, we drove around looking for the worst house in the nicest neighborhood to flip (a real estate term that means you buy a “sow’s ear and turn it into a silk purse”). In one afternoon, we found our jewel in the rough. What a dump! We paid too much, (near full-price offer, it had been on the market a month and it was a sellers' market). The sellers said yes.
We went to work. Four months later, we sold it to a very nice woman going through a divorce. You see, real estate is simply another way to help people solve problems. She was so grateful and so were we!
Our net profit was more than $30,000! We were dumber than a bag of hammers. We did everything wrong and we still made a profit!
I was so excited, I kept reading every book I could find on real estate and all the biographies of people who had made their fortunes in real estate from the money they earned doing what they loved (such as the copy business, body building, acting and speaking).
I took another action that was central to the net worth goal achievement: I filled out a “Dashboard Decree” (see the free Special Report on my Website www.mattesonavenue.com ) and put it on the dashboard of my car, in my planner, in my journal and as a bookmark on the books I was reading. I also kept talking to friends and mentors that were already doing what I wanted to do.
I declared my new real estate decree every day, five to 10 times a day aloud. Then, three months later? Magic! You see the REASON I wanted the goal was to teach my three boys, Colin, Evan and Larod, “financial literacy” and how to be wealthy by age 30!
Since then we have purchased two single-family houses and rented them out.We recently invested in our first four-plex. Amazing.
Here is the point. If my wife and I can do this in less than three years, anyone can! Man, I love this country! I have told this story many times in my seminars. My passive income grows each month, right along with my net worth. How many days forward could you live if you stopped working today?”
Many of you have asked me for a list of the books, so here ya go! Good reading and remember to “Enjoy the Journey.” Life is short.
Below is a chronological list of the books that led to an entirely different attitude, perspective and belief system about investing, net worth and money. I dare you to read at least five, any five! Suggested reading for real estate investing:
- “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki;
- “The Instant Millionaire” by Marc Fisher;
- “Multiple Streams of Income” by Robert Allen;
- “How I Turned $1,000 into a Million in My Spare Time” by William Nickerson (1957);
- “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Ecker;
- “Copy This” by Paul Orfalea;
- “Fantastic” by Laurence Leamer (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s unauthorized biography);
- “Ball of Fire” Stefan Knafer (Lucille Ball’s bio);
- “The Real Estate Millionaire” by Boaz Gilad and Suzanne Gilad;
- “Building Wealth One House at a Time” by John W. Schaub; and
- “Billionaire Success Secrets” by Bill Bartman.
Mark Matteson of the Pinnacle Service Group can be reached by phone at 877/672-2001, by fax at 425/745-8981, by e-mail at [email protected] or visit his Website at www.mattesonavenue.com.