"No one is really going to help you or give you direction [on their own]. In fact the odds are against you. If you desire an apprenticeship, if you want to learn and set yourself up for mastery, you have to do it yourself and with great energy. When you enter this phase, you generally begin at the lowest position." - Robert Greene, Mastery
"Where'd Ryan go?" I asked with sweat pouring down my forehead.
Ryan was a personal trainer at my gym, and I'd noticed he'd been M.I.A. the past month or so. We were acquaintances at best - triceps competition rivals at worst.
"He quit," replied my spotter. "He started buying and selling houses, and he doesn't really work anymore from what I hear."
"Are you effing serious? Grab this weight before I drop it on my trachea and cause a scene."
I had been trying to figure out how to make money in real estate for years. First I bought the Carlton Sheets course from TV. Brilliant. I figured that would be all I'd need and I could be on the yacht with Tommy Vu and the girls by the summer.
…
… one second …
as soon as I stop laughing I'll keep writing this article …
…
…
I may not be able to write this article.
…
Ok I'm good. Sorry. I was just picturing that infomercial. Click play for a good laugh. I think he's out of prison now, I'm not sure …
The boat ride with Vu and the girls never panned out. So I read books, attended seminars, went through more random courses, joined local real estate investing associations … you name it, I did it.
Hold on, something just occurred to me … please don't think for one second I haven't paid my dues the same way you possibly are right now. I'm not like a trust fund baby or anything.
I'm a Due Fund baby.
My middle name is Due; I changed it after I got done paying my last one.
I'm naming all my kids Hewey, Duey, and Louie, and I'm going to like Duey the least but still pay attention to him. I got to where I am through blood, sweat, and dues.
"Whatever luck I had, I made." - Chuck Norris
There are no shortcuts. You want success?
There's a price: Pain via DUES.
Decide RIGHT NOW whether you're willing to pay them. Otherwise you'll quit in the middle, and that's the worst thing on earth.
So I find out this acquaintance of mine, Ryan the Trainer, has apparently cracked the code, quit his job, and found freedom. Fantastic. There was only one sensible thing to do in my mind: track him down and bribe him into showing me how he did it.
I had just taken a $10,000 credit line out on my condo that - no lie - I was planning on spending on a month-long vacation in South America. That's how stupid I was back then. But all that was about to change. I suddenly knew what I had to do. I got someone to give me Ryan's cell number, and I called him.
Ryan: Hello. (It wasn't a question. Millionaires declare phone greetings I learned.)
Me: Ryan, how are you sir? It's Preston from the gym. How's your triceps sonny?
Ryan: Hi Preston. (Millionaires typically ignore frivolous questions. They don't even hear them.
Me: So listen man. I heard you're flipping houses now. I want to give you $10,000 just to let me ride around with you and learn what you're doing. Plus I'll work for you for free. You won't regret it.
Ryan: That's [expletive] impressive. Save your money. Meet me at Starbucks tomorrow at 10am.
Long story short, I ended up bird dogging deals for him, flipping his inventory to other investors, and learning the business in the process. I first became his apprentice and eventually his business partner. And most importantly, I still got to go to South America (twice) because I made so much dang money that continents no longer existed to me. I was just living on a big floating ball that I could fly all over and just flip the whole dang planet to a space alien if I wanted to it seemed like. I was literally printing money.
The printing presses are still running to this day. I've tried to turn them off just to try and remember what regular life is like. It's impossible. Darn things just won't stop. This will happen for you as well if you're willing to put yourself through the process.
There are a few things you need to understand about this whole thing …
1. I didn't get lucky Finding Trainer Ryan. God presented a mentor to me when the time was right, when I was right, and the proper dues had been paid.
There is a lot of truth to the whole "when the student is ready the teacher will appear" thing. I have had people tell me I was lucky to have mentors before. There is no such thing as luck. Just ask Chuck Norris. But ask him right or he will freaking destroy you.
2. Even when the opportunity presented itself, it was somewhat camouflaged in common circumstance.
"Ryan quit because he started buying and selling houses." A lot of people would have just shrugged and said, "Wow, good for him. I hope I can do that some day too. I'm trying." Not me. I was on a clearly defined mission at the time I heard those words, and the code came through loud and clear.
"A decent boldness ever meets with friends." - Homer (not Simpson)
3. Boldness was key. Keep in mind, I barely knew Ryan. All I knew were my tri's were like a capital "V" and his were lowercase - though he disputed this vigorously (and erroneously).
But I didn't ask someone to try and get permission for me to have his number or tip toe around the situation in any way. I just got his number and called him.
Would you like to know how to get people to do things? Simply tell them to do them.
"Hey do you think Ryan would mind if I called him? Can you check with him and see if it's ok if you give me his number?"
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Preston Ely is a successful real estate investor, information marketer, serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, life coach, musician and philanthropist. He has also produced a dozen home study courses and membership sites on topics ranging from personal development to creative wealth building. Go to http://WakeWealthy.com to read more free articles and get yourself on the track to finanical freedom today!
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