Bruce’s Wealth Blog

This year I resolve not to make a New Year’s resolution.  Of course, if I am as successful with that resolution as I have been in the past with other resolutions, then clearly I will make a New Year’s resolution.  In fact, you may have noticed that I already broke the resolution by making the resolution to begin with.  Don’t worry the rest of this post will not be as convoluted as the first paragraph.  I have resolved to keep this simple!  (oops!) 

The New Year is a very opportune time to take inventory of the past year, even the past several years, and to set goals and plans for the future.  When I say that, one of the first things that may come to your mind is how much money you want to make this year.  That isn’t a big shock since you are reading, “Bruce’s Wealth Blog.”  Wealth means money right?  Well, not necessarily.  To me, wealth means a particular lifestyle.  Quite honestly, the definition of wealth has changed for me over the last several years.  To explain this change, I need to be a little sexist and write specifically for the guys here, although there are some ladies who may also be just as guilty as I was.

When I started investing, it was about the money.  I was the man.  I had to provide for my family.  And, of course, the best way to do that was to sacrifice myself and my time to make sure my family had money.  To ensure we had the “things” that we thought we needed.  I wanted my wife and my daughter to have everything they wanted.  I worked long hard hours to provide those important things for them.  They didn’t see me much, but we had money.  It didn’t take me long to experience money intoxication.  I started looking at enterprises that were wildly profitable but morally questionable.  These enterprises had the winning combination of booze, sex, and rock and roll.  (I will go into more detail about these enterprises in my ministry blog in the coming weeks).  With these enterprises, I could have all the money, and the power it brought with it, as I wanted.  My family and I would never want for anything.

DISCLAIMER:  I am about to make some generalizations about wives and children. Your particular model may vary.

I was so blindly intoxicated by money and power that I didn’t see what my wife and daughter really wanted.  Sure, it was nice to have nice things, but what my wife really wanted was to cuddle up with me on the couch watching TV, talking, reading, or doing nothing at all.  My daughter was happier cutting up an empty box with me and playing in it with me than she was with the toy that came in the box.  As a rule, women and children would rather be broke and spend quality and fun time with their family provider than to have lots of money and things but little or no time with their “provider.”  Being the provider means providing them with security.  Security means a secure relationship and has nothing to do with money.

We are told that money problems are the number one cause of divorce in our society today.  The truth is that it is not the lack of money that causes the arguments that lead to divorce.  It is normally the arguments that arise because the husband feels like he is less of a man because he isn’t bringing in enough money, so he goes out to get more and practically abandons his family in doing so.  The result is normally that his family still doesn’t have enough money, and they don’t have the bond of a close relationship because they don’t see him either.  They argue, separate, divorce, and blame it on money.

While my situation with my family really was not a lack of money, it was very similar because of the fact that I was so driven to continue making more of it that I lost sight of what was really important.  After all, having money is better than not having money and having a lot of money is better than simply having some money.  More is better right?  My intoxication with money and my willingness to compromise my morals to get into enterprises that catered to a seamy part of our society cost me nearly everything, including my wife and my daughter.  I can tell you from personal experience that chasing after money can cost you all of your money, your family, and even your life and your soul.

So when you take inventory of the past year and start making resolutions for 2009, I urge you to think in terms of what is really important.  Is it the money, or is it the lifestyle?  What do you really need? What does your family really want from you?  What will improve the quality of life for you and your family?  Discuss it with your family.  You may be surprised at the answers.  And, finally, if you haven’t already done so, take Bruce’s Challenge.  It too will help you with your priorities.

I wish you a very prosperous New Year.  May 2009 exceed your dreams.  May you live the lifestyle that makes you and your family happy.  May 2009 be the year that transforms your future.

Bruce..

I was speaking to a dear friend of mine the other day and she made a comment that I thought was important to discuss.  She is a business owner.  As a business owner you are by definition a leader.  Even if you have no employees, you are a leader.  The purpose of your business is to earn a profit by providing a service or product to customers or clients.  Those customers or clients look to you as the business owner to provide them with what they need.  Therefore, as the provider you are a leader.

The comment she made was, "Leaders don’t make mistakes."  As I thought more and more about this comment, I realized that her view is probably held by the majority of other people in the world.  This should go down as one of the biggest urban myths of our time.  The truth is actually the opposite of what is perceived.  Leaders actually make more mistakes than anyone else.  What separates leaders from everyone else is in this regard is that their risk tolerance is also greater than non-leaders.

A leader absolutely must be a decision maker.  If the leader is not willing to make decisions, his company will stagnate and eventually collapse.  Actually, choosing not to make a decision is just as much a decision as making the decision, but we will not get into that here.  Leaders are charged with making decisions others don’t want to make.  How many times have you gone into a business only to be told that the employee cannot make that decision, that only a manager can and the manager is out of town on business?  Let’s face it, most people don’t like making decisions even though we make thousands of decisions every day.  Some people experience great anxiety when they are faced with making a decision.  They get that terrified deer in the headlights look every time they are faced with a decision.  The anxiety we all feel when faced with a decision comes from our fear of being wrong.  What if we make the wrong decision?

Bruce’s Decision Rule:

"You will make bad or wrong decisions in your life."

This is just a fact.  Leaders understand this fact and are willing to tolerate the risk of being in a position to make decisions.  The only reason we don’t know they make mistakes is because they are making timely decisions to correct the mistakes they make.  As an employee you will probably never see the mistakes a leader makes.  Even if a leader personally comes to you and apologizes to you because they made a mistake, you will go about your day and will at the end of the day still make the statement that leaders don’t make mistakes.  Since leaders are making more decisions, they make more mistakes.

There is one more point I have to make before I close this post out.  If you are afraid to start your business because you are afraid you will make a mistake, let me leave you with these thoughts.  First, you will make mistakes.  You are not perfect, no one is.  Regardless of how much information you have, how educated you are, or how smart you are, you will make mistakes.  No amount of information will keep you from making mistakes.  The second is that your choice not to start your business because of your fear of making mistakes is a mistake in and of itself.

Bruce..

I was called today from someone to inform me that a friend of mine, Jim Booth, had died.  Jim had gone through quite a bit in his 61 years here.  He attended life’s seminars more than once.  While I had met Jim several times prior, I started really getting to know him when he attended my first class on being a foreclosure consultant in Maryland.  It was long before my Inner Circle days, so it cost him $795 to take the class.  He didn’t have it, so he borrowed it from someone else.  To the knowledge he got from the class, he added his determination, and his effort.  In his first year, he went from not having $795 to earning over $135,000.00. 

Jim had a strong sense of right and wrong.  More than once I would get an irate call from him asking what he should do about a rogue investor who was breaking the law and harming a homeowner.  The reason Jim did so well that year is because he didn’t make it about the money.  It was about two things.  The first was turning his life around.  Not only did this mean changing his financial position, but it also meant building relationships and doing something he felt good about.  The second came from another job he had where he was involved in taking houses away from people in foreclosure.  He told me on more than one occasion how awful that experience was.  So, the second thing that this was about was in his own way righting the wrongs he felt were committed when people lost their houses to foreclosure.  His reasons for doing so well were much more than money.  It was about the dash.

When you look at a tombstone, you see the name of the person buried there, when he was born, a dash, and then when he died.  You see, the name is not what is important.  The date of birth is not important.  And, neither is the date of death.  The only important part of the tombstone is the dash.  What did the person do between the day he was born and the day he died?  You can’t take your mc mansion with you when you die.  You can’t take a fat bank account with you when you die.  None of the "things" you treasured so much will go with you.  None of the physical earthly reasons why you started your business on your journey to great riches will go with you when you die.  The reason is because none of that stuff is yours.  It  has only been placed in your care for a very short time.  What does go with you when you die is the love you created during the dash.

There is nothing wrong with having great earthly wealth.  But, what you do with it is important.  Great earthly wealth has been placed in your care for a reason.  So do you want the big house or do you want to cure cancer?  Do you want to buy the eighty-thousand dollar car or do you want to feed a village for a year?  Do you want to charge people thousands of dollars and simply teach them how to attract money or do you want to charge a small fee and teach people how to have true meaning in their lives while they become wealthy?  Do you want to make money the core consideration in your dealings with others, or do you want to build loyalty and trust by offering loyalty to them?  You will be surprised how much wealthier you become when you take your focus off the money and put your focus on the dash.

What do you want your dash to look like?  You had better make a decision fast and make it happen now.  Our time is short and we have no promise of tomorrow.

There is a cool video about the dash.  You can view it here.

Jim – Rest in peace my friend.  You will be missed.

Bruce..

I spoke to someone who is under a lot of stress today.  She is a business owner who I have a lot of respect for.  The conversation reminded me that when we think about starting a business we have visions of spending months in Tahiti lying on a beach with a drink in our hand that comes with its own little umbrella to shade it from the hot sun.  We don’t think about the work, time, effort, sweat, and sometimes even blood it takes to get there.  But the truth is that everything has a cost.  And, freedom, even financial freedom, does not come free.  The conversation also reminded me that I had endured similar struggles.

For me, the stress really started pounding me when I started adding other things to my business. It was really difficult to stay focused on one thing because I kept switching hats. One minute I was negotiating a short sale, the next minute I was an educator, the next minute I was a social worker, and then I was a landlord. I was doing the work of about 5 to 7 people. What really made me mad was that none of those 5 to 7 people were doing their job well. As a result, my business was spinning out of control. I was at a point where I didn’t even want to get out of bed.

After you start a business and start achieving some level of success you eventually learn that you have your arms around a beast of a business. It is bigger than you ever thought it would be.   It is starts to take on a life of its own, and you are trying to control it.   It is stressful and it is scary.   What adds to the stress and the fear is the fact that you are afraid others might find out how out of control your business really is.  You become paranoid about changes that occur in your business relationships.  You end up thinking even your close associates are out to get you and that there is no loyalty anymore.

If you haven’t experienced this yet, you will.  I did and most everyone I know who has started a business of any kind has.  So here are some things I have learned that may or may not help you. Please let me know if anything rings true here.

1. You need a “Sabbath.” It does not have to be a religious Sabbath. But the idea is that your life needs to be cyclical and part of that cycle is rest. You sleep part of the day, then you are awake part of the day, then you are asleep, etc. To have one day out of seven where you refuse to involve yourself in any form of business is crucial. It doesn’t even have to be on a Sunday. You can pick any day you want, but when you pick it commit to keeping it the same day and don’t ever let anything intrude under any circumstances. You would be surprised how critical rest is. When I was writing software or involved in solving hardware or software problems, it was often in the middle of the night when I came up with the solution. That was because I let my brain rest.

2. Identify the things you can control and control them. Let go of the stuff you cannot control. We spend too much time and energy on the stuff we have no control over. You can control the content of the stuff you send out. You cannot control the content of the stuff people receive, or how they interpret what you send out. You can control your behavior toward others but you cannot control their behavior toward you.  Often we spend so much time trying to control the things we cannot control that we lose control of the things we can.  It is best just to control the things you have power over.

3. Accountability is good if it is used correctly. Accountability should never be used to affix blame. Blame is never relevant.   Blame takes the focus off solving the real problem.  I have watched companies spend weeks investigating a problem so they could assess blame while the problem went unresolved.  It is better to focus on the solution and stop wasting so much effort on blame and retribution.  Accountability is different.  We think about, “holding someone accountable,” as being synonymous with, “if it breaks it is his fault.”  But again, that is not accountability.  Accountability is a combination of responsibility and communicating results.  Accountability should be used to understand what is going on with your business so you can anticipate the future. Used correctly accountability will allow stakeholders to anticipate and allocate resources on the next phase of the project or to start a new project.   The challenge is to introduce that accountability without taking you precious time away that are needed to complete the project. Business owners have a responsibility to know what is going on.   That should not be confused with micro managing.  A simple reporting mechanism should be enough.   But I have to admit, while I believe accountability is important, I find it difficult to hold myself accountable. I think that is normal with entrepreneurs. I think we all find it difficult to keep ourselves accountable. But our businesses depend on it.

4. Focus is critical. We can only focus on one thing at a time. It is important that we don’t dilute ourselves too much by following the next shiny object. That is where I have made major mistakes in my business and why I have run into the financial difficulties in the past.   As a result of those costly mistakes I retooled my business and adjusted my mission to one that is clearer today.

5. Taking a page from Jim Collins, I have to say it is critical to get the right people on the right bus and in the right seats, and to get the wrong people off the bus. This is tough because we don’t want to fire good people. But good people aren’t any good if they are not in the right seats.  It also means firing a client.  That is right, sometimes the client is in the wrong seat or even on the wrong bus.  When we recognize that we need to fire them.  Even more difficult is when the business owner learns that it is he who is in the wrong seat or on the wrong bus.  Sometimes that means the business owner needs to get off the bus completely and let someone else drive.

6. Change is sometimes good. Change for the sake of change is often not good. But, change is inevitable. If your business is flexible and adaptable to change like the amoeba, then your business will thrive in many different economic environments. If your business is not flexible and adaptable to change it will become extinct like the dinosaur. Be the amoeba.

You may be able to relate to some or all of these things.  If you do, you are not alone.  I would not be writing about them if I had not attended life’s seminars on the subject.  You have a choice.  You can think you are different and that these things will not happen to you.  If that is the case, then chances are that you will be sitting in one of life’s seminars learning that these things will indeed happen to you.  Or you can learn from my experience in the seminar of life.  The only thing I can guarantee is that attending life’s seminar will be more expensive.

Take care and happy investing!

Bruce..

As we look at stock portfolios, job losses, and our current economy, it is easy to feel sorry for ourselves.  But tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  And, on Thanksgiving we should be counting our blessings instead of the things that are wrong.

If you live in our country during this harsh economic time, regardless of your income level, you are still wealthier than 90% of the rest of the world.  I learned this year that in Cuba, income is limited to about $20.00 per month.  Just try living on $20.00 per month.  After you tried it, you can start counting your blessings.  The folks at the intersections of our country with cardboard signs make more than that in a single day.

If you wanted John McCain to win the election, you may be down in the dumps.  But since you live in America, you can now enjoy the privilege of complaining about Obama for the next four years without fear of death or being thrown in jail.  You may also be thankful that congressional elections are only two years away.

Maybe this is the year you planned to quit your job, but you couldn’t.  Guess what.  Like it or not, you still have a job that is paying most of your bills and is probably providing you with insurance.

Warning – Shameless Plug – Maybe you spent $20,000.00, or $30,000.00, or $40,000.00, or even more on a guru’s course and found the reality did not live up to the promise.  But as luck would have it, you can still join my Inner Circle for only $19.97 per month.  You could spend the rest of your life as a member and still not spend the big bucks you are paying to other "gurus."  Imagine how much education you could get from me during that time.  End Of Shameless Plug

Regardless of where you are and your perspective, there are things to be thankful for.  So, for this Thanksgiving spend some time counting your blessings.  Fill your belly full.  Then, have a wonderful nap!

Take care and Happy Thanksgiving.

Bruce..

As we dissect the campaign that got Barack Obama elected as our next president, and compare that to John McCain’s campaign we will see that while there really was not much substantive difference between the two platforms, there was a huge difference between the two campaigns.  Over the next several weeks I am going to dissect the structure of Barack Obama’s organization and the role it played in getting him elected.  As I do that, I will relate it to the organization of our businesses and discuss how to use that model to help us accomplish our goals and dreams.  But before I start, I will say this.  The decision America made was a result of one undeniable fact.  It had nothing to do with race.  It had nothing to do with party affiliation.  It didn’t even have much to do with the economy, the war in Iraq, or even President Bush, although they did play minor roles.  The one thing that got Barack Obama his mandate from the American people is this:  John McCain was doing his best to look presidential.  Barack Obama simply was presidential.

The Message

One of the reasons Barack Obama was presidential during the campaign was the fact that he had a message, and with few exceptions he stuck to that message.  Consistency is one of the most important qualities of a leader.  The message was that President Bush started a war he didn’t need to start, let those greedy business owners suck all the money out of the economy, America has lost its way and has lost the respect of the rest of the world, and Americans are hurting as a result.  The second part of his message was that John McCain would do the same.  Much of the message was not true but that didn’t matter.  Barack Obama stuck to the message like a locomotive sticks to the tracks while pulling a train along the track.  And, just like he was coming down off a mountain side the Obama locomotive kept going faster and faster along those same tracks.

If we compare that to John McCain, McCain was not a locomotive.  He was a jet ski on the water.  He would go one direction then flip around and go somewhere else never hitting the same water twice.  When a hurricane hit Louisiana, the jet ski postponed the convention so he could look presidential.  But the locomotive kept chugging down the hill and was presidential.  When the economy crashed and congress was thinking about a bailout package, the jet ski "suspended his campaign" to look presidential.  But the locomotive kept chugging down the hill.  Even though the engineer of that locomotive needed to participate in bailout discussions, the assistant engineer kept the locomotive chugging down the hill.  The locomotive was still presidential.  In the days leading up to the first debate, the jet ski wanted to postpone the first debate so he could look presidential.  The locomotive just kept chugging down the hill and was presidential.  On November 4, 2008, the jet ski found himself sitting on the tracks, and the locomotive just plowed right through that jet ski because the locomotive had to be on time to its next stop.  The next stop was the White House, because the locomotive was presidential.

How does this pertain to our business?  What on earth does this have to do with being an entrepreneur?  Well, it pertains because the entrepreneur is a jet ski.  Entrepreneurs notoriously have short attention spans.  As soon as we start one thing, we see something shiny and follow it.  Then while we are following that shiny thing, we see something else shiny and follow it.  Sometimes we even find ourselves stranded on the train tracks watching a locomotive come closer and closer until it runs right through us because it has to be on time to its next stop.

American entrepreneurs are even worse off than most.  Not only should we be taking massive doses of Ritalin to treat our chronically acute attention deficit, but we live in a society that has little or no patience either.  Part of the reason we are in the financial mess we are in is because we are not willing to save up to buy the next thing.  We need it and we need it now.  If we don’t have the money, we just hand the cashier a little plastic card.  We are fickle, impatient, and willing to follow the next shiny object regardless of what it is.  When we hear the next multi-level marketing program is the best wealth making strategy we follow it even though it has nothing to do with our investing.  Then there is the new real estate technique that has never been done before making people millions.  So we follow that until we find out it is illegal.  Is it any wonder that most small businesses fail before they ever get started?

Step 1 in your journey to success is to find your niche.  Find something about which you are passionate.  Find out where it is needed, who needs it, and why they need it.  Then like the locomotive, build your tracks so you can deliver your passion to every station that needs it or wants it.  Then start chugging and don’t worry about the jet skis.  And when they are foolish enough to sit on the tracks in front of you, just smash through because you need to be on time to your next stop.  You will never have to look like a wealthy person.  You will be a wealthy person. 

And now we can truly say this:  If your passion is the White House, then regardless of your race, religion, or anything else you won’t have to worry about looking presidential.  You will be presidential.  America is the land of opportunity for everyone.

Be the locomotive.

Bruce…

I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the historic election of Barack Obama.  I will be back on topic at the end of the week.

To All:  Whether you voted for Barack Obama or John McCain, you exercised your responsibility to vote in record numbers.  President – Elect Obama has broken barriers and in doing so is deserving of our respect and admiration.  Maybe the racial chasm that has been ever present in our country is a little narrower – a little shallower today than it was yesterday.  We have given him a mandate to lead our nation to a better place than it is today.  It is up to us to give him the support he needs to do so.

To President – Elect Obama:  You did not earn my vote today.  But you did earn my respect and admiration.  You have done a great thing.  You have been given a mandate from what I think is a more united America.  You have been given a mandate to lead us back into prosperity and to do so with integrity, honesty, wisdom, and discernment.   I hope that you can heal the deep wounds that exist and divide this country.  I also hope that you can set an example that will help us as a people to regain our trust in our government and to strengthen the moral fiber that is critical for the future of our country and our society.  Maybe, just maybe, in four years you will also earn my vote.  Good luck and Godspeed.

Bruce..

Anyone who has heard me speak live has heard me say that we are not in the real estate business, or the money business.  We are in the people business.  I truly believe that tenet.  Our success is based on the relationships and networks we build.  Our very existence as investors is based on solving the problems others need solved.  On Monday, I had a meeting that was set up by a Pennsylvania Realtor® I had forged a relationship with.  The meeting was with an investor with very deep pockets.  This investor gets about 30 sellers who need short sales every month.  He needed someone to work the short sales so he could buy.  That someone is the Realtor® who set up the meeting with me providing all of the back office support.  This will take our typical short sale load of 90 to 120 short sales on our desk at any given time to between 150 and 180 short sales or more.  Not only will my short sale volume increase, but the investor himself is now a resource I have to help my Inner Circle members.  It is all about the relationships.  If I had not formed a relationship with the Realtor® in the first place, none of the rest would have happened.  The best marketing I have ever done, is the same as the best marketing you will ever do – Network and build relationships.

But now, it is confession time.  As much as I teach, preach, believe, and live the truth that this business is about people, I still find myself regressing back to the money.  I caught myself doing this last week when I welcomed some new Inner Circle members.  As soon as I saw them sign up, I started making a mental calculation in my head.  You know, the one where you start spending money you haven’t even received yet.

Don’t get me wrong.  I do have a personal interest in seeing each and every Inner Circle member find the success they want and to reach the dreams they want to reach.  I am very devoted to them.  But the fact that I made that mental calculation told me something about my heart.  It revealed something to me that I didn’t want to see and am embarrassed to admit.

After the meeting with the new investor client I started picturing what that additional $30K to $45K per month income would look like for my business.  Again, the investor and Realtor® will make more money on these deals than I will, and I will do everything I can for them.  But that mental calculation said something about my heart. 

This is something that we all struggle with whether we want to admit it or not.  We are lured into real estate investing with the promise of big, quick, and relatively easy money.  Some investors get out as quickly as they got in.  But for those of us who stay, we eventually come to understand the truth that this is not about money, it is about people and relationships with those people.  Yet, even with that realization there is still a part of us that reduces those relationships down to a dollar amount.

You may be thinking why this matters if we are doing good things for other people.  If they are better off because of the things we do for them, why does it matter?  If you are better off because of the things I teach you, why does it matter?  It matters because it goes to motivation.

A close investor friend of mine came to me a couple months ago complaining that some of the people he is associated with have not been loyal to him.  I told him that the reason people aren’t being loyal to him is because he has done what most of the rest of us have done.  Even though he was teaching ethics and honesty, he was luring them with the promise of big money.  He was teaching them how to make more money.  He had reduced the relationship he had with his students down to a dollar amount, and then he expected loyalty from them.  The focus was on the cash not the relationship.  Is it any wonder there was no real sense of loyalty there?  The reason why there was no loyalty was because there was no strong basis for a loyal relationship.  It was a result of his own doing, and he is not alone.

I have a student in Texas who was complaining about the Maryland law.  He had no idea how anyone could make money if they could not collect the fee up front.  He was shocked to learn that I had no trouble collecting fees after the services were performed.  The difference?  He was focused on the money.  I was focused on the relationship.

Many national speakers have been teaching (and some still do) to grab the deed.  Create a situation where the homeowner cannot back out of the deal.  This is dangerous, unethical, and downright wrong on so many levels.  But I bring it up for this reason:  The reason investors feel the need to do this is because they are focused on the money, not the relationship.  The truth is that if the seller wants to back out, it is a bad deal.  The other truth is that if there is a relationship established between the seller and the investor, the likelihood that the seller will back out is near zero.

Most students don’t believe me when I tell them that networking is the best marketing they will ever do.  It is too easy and inexpensive for them.  I have built my entire business on these relationships.  Like everyone else I have made really stupid mistakes.  Yet I am still in business.  The only reason I am still in business is because of the relationships I have been able to form with others.  Even though I am good at building these networks and relationships, I will still sometimes make that mental calculation.  That mental calculation harms the relationships I am in and I am working to fix that problem in my heart.

So what about you?  Are you pursuing money or are you pursuing relationships?  Are you looking for loyalty but not building the foundation on which to base and expect that loyalty?  Are you focused on what you get from a transaction, relationship, or other event or are you focused on what you can offer to others?  I am not asking you to answer these questions on a superficial level.  I am asking you to go much deeper.  Most people would say my mental calculation is no big deal.  On the surface, I agree with them.  But when I look deeper, I believe it is a big deal and one worthy of change.  Are you willing to dig deep, see the truth that you may not want to see, and then work for change?  If you do I believe you will reap the rewards.

Take care and happy investing!

Bruce..

I was just about to write a post about the presidential election when I got this email quoted below.  It is a story that is not uncommon and it moved me to change the topic of this post.  Here is the text of the email:

I always felt kinda cheated being from the Phila. area (Ardmore -What they call the Main Line) when ever foreclosure came up it was always about Md.

I was in a coaching program (********* ****** ***** out of Naples Fa.) until I ran out of money.

They had Me sending first a series of 6 Mailings Then 12 Mailings with different messages Each one had a different Ex # to a !-800 #(so I had a 1-800 # with 20 EX) I had a skip tracer they recommended I rented and set up an office the way they told Me to get ready for the on slot I down loaded the list directly from the courthouse every wk.

Started a mail campaign

Used the skip tracer to get their #s

Voice blasted to let them Know an important piece of mail would be arriving And after all that I received 1 phone call to 1 of the educational messages Bruce I still think foreclosures are the greatest I thought Mr Foreclosure Had a great plan(but You are the expert) I have not done a deal of any kind I joined DC Reia for the Education I blew $20k on that coaching program I am broke but willing to work Would You be interested in going into a partnership I (but I don’t know any thing) think in an area like wear I live the average home is 750k to 1mil (I rent on the poor side of town)that the strategies that We heard last Sat. would work Thank You For Your time looking forward to hearing from You

Regards

 

I removed the name of the program because I don’t like to bad mouth my competition and because this story could have come from any one of a number of national speakers and programs that are available today.

Quite honestly before I created the Inner Circle program some of my students probably had similar experiences.  To be truthful, I don’t feel very good about this.  During the time I was teaching high cost boot camps, I was told that if the students didn’t spend the money with me, they would be spending it with someone else.  The sad thing is that it is true. 

I know some people who would go to one conference and spend $20,000.00 there, then go to another one and spend another $35,000.00.  Don’t get me wrong.  Education is important.  But, you need to use the income you get from doing what you are taught in the beginning to fund the rest of your education.

So how do you get ahead?  The first rule is not to go into significant debt learning how to become wealthy.  It makes no sense to me to go broke before you can start building wealth.  I know one speaker who has a two day wealth seminar.  On day one they teach the students how to increase the credit limit on their credit cards.  The second day, they teach the students how to spend that increased limit.  This is just wrong in so many ways.  The fact is that you are starting a new business.  While it is possible to get your first deal done within the first 45 days, it is not the norm.  It takes time to start and grow a business.  It also takes some money.  It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money but it does take some.  If you spend all of your money learning how to start your business, you then don’t have the money you need to start that business.  As a result, you end up with an expensive education and no place to use it.

The second rule is to start building relationships.  It is through these relationships that you will do the majority of your business. You will need to do some marketing, but the relationships you build will end up being the core of your business.

One of the relationships you will need is a mentor.  You don’t necessarily need one on one mentoring, but you need to plug into someone who is already had success doing what you want to do.  For most people teleclasses, webinars, and forums provide enough personalized education to help them be successful.  While I have done personal one on one mentoring, I think it is more cost effective and just as beneficial for most students to rely on web delivered content, teleclasses, webinars and forums.

Finally, you need to keep focused.  Keep your eye on the ball and never give up.  Most people who try to do something new will quit just before they are about to achieve some success.  Stay focused, be tenacious, don’t listen to anyone who has not achieved the success you want to achieve, put off non-essential purchases, never quit voluntarily, and never spend so much money you have to quit.

You can do it.

Bruce..

I have been getting a lot of emails lately about why I am no longer teaching the high priced courses I used to teach.  They have also been asking if I really expect them to believe that my Inner Circle – Bronze members paying $19.97 per month are actually getting the same high quality content I was giving my $5,000.00 boot camp students.

I am going to answer both of those questions right now.  I am going to use this space to open a part of myself to you that I don’t normally open in a business setting.  I will not volunteer this in a strictly business setting again, but will discuss it when asked.

The short answer to the second question is, “Yes.”  I am giving the same high quality content to my Inner Circle members.  In fact, they are probably getting better content because it is not static.  The truth is that boot camps are static events.  You go to one, get the material, and they send you on your way with limited follow up if you are lucky.  Most home study courses are the same way.  You pay your money and you are on your own.  Instead using that model, I am constantly adding content and making changes.  In addition, my Inner Circle members are getting more courses.  I am in the process of creating a short sale course, note buying course, and courses that teach various exit strategies.  So, the Inner Circle members are not getting the same value for their money.  Instead, they are getting much greater value.  Not to mention that they would have to be Inner Circle members for more than 20 years to have spent the same amount as my original students who paid $5,000.00 for one boot camp.

The answer to the first question is not as easy to explain.  While I believe one’s faith should guide their business practices, I don’t believe they should use it as a calling card.  For that reason, I don’t volunteer it in most business settings.  In fact, the only time in a business setting I do volunteer it is when I am speaking live and invite people to stay later if they want to hear about my relationship with God.  There is too much evil done in the name of religion and faith.  I believe in the principle of the fruit on the tree providing the evidence of what kind of tree it is.  In short, you should be able to tell I am a person of faith based on my deeds.  I should not have to tell you.

That said I began my journey with Christ on December 17, 2006.  So far, it has been an incredible journey that has turned my world view upside down.  If you are interested in the details of my journey, you can read my other blog at www.brucesministry.com.  In the late summer / early fall of 2007 I began to look at what I am doing to teach others about real estate investing.  Some students would take the information and run with it while other students would let their peers talk them out of it.  Unfortunately there is no test to see who will work to make it happen and who will not. More and more, I started having trouble with the idea that people would pay me that kind of money and then not be intentional about using the information.  I would discuss it with other national speakers and they would all tell me that it is not my responsibility to make others use the information I teach them.  And they are right, but the Holy Spirit seemed to be taking me in a different direction.  In fact, if you went to the summit, you may have noticed that I did not have the excitement and zeal for promoting my $20K private coaching program that I did providing you with information and doing my talk about God at the end.  Quite honestly, my heart really was not into it. 

It was through much prayer, thought, and discussion that I was lead to the business model I am using right now.  I have always thought that it was important for my students to benefit more from the information they get from me than I do from the tuition they pay me.  Now, trusting in Him, I am really putting my money where my mouth is.  He has changed my heart in dramatic ways.  I look at what is being taught to those who are still paying $5,000.00 for courses and I shake my head.  Some of it is good, some of it is mediocre, and some of it will land you in jail.

I should have seen it sooner.  My best marketing has always come from networking.  It has always been about building relationships.  Now, I have come full circle.  My eye is on the ball.  It is still about relationships – my relationship with Him, my relationship with my students, and the relationships between my students.  The Inner Circle program is the beginning of a movement where we build relationships – a community where we help each other to get to a place where we can enjoy an abundance of wealth of all kinds so we can do good things for our families, for others, and if we are people of faith, for Him.  On a side note, if you are not a person of faith I will not push anything on you.  It is just what guides me.

So those are the answers.  I am not teaching the high priced courses based primarily on where my faith has led me.  And, yes, what I am teaching is at least as high quality as when I was teaching the high priced courses, but I would argue the quality of teaching and the value has increased dramatically.

Happy Investing!  This is an exciting time for all of us.

Bruce..