I remember buying my first investment property thinking who do I think I am? I processed that thought over and over in my mind. I came to the conclusion that I want to be thought of and recognized as an investor by my Realtor, my Attorney and my Mortgage Broker. This transformation took place 4-5 months before I had my first investment property. I became a real estate investor just with no houses yet. Fake it till you make it. I would drive around looking at multifamily houses while everyone else was spending their weekends doing weekend kind of stuff! Why? Because that's what Investors did or at least that's what I thought they did. I didn't have a mentor or ChatGPT or a Skool Community. I had my realtor Arlene Longo that was gracious enough to entertain my BS title of "Real Estate Investor" long enough to actually get me to a closing table and sign a ton of papers! I found her while calling a listing of another 2 family house I was interested in. I think we looked at about 30 properties until I came up with my first purchase. I looked at this 2 family and liked it but the numbers didn't work. I drove to the listing agents office and asked the listing agent why I should buy this house. My realtor flipped out when she heard I went around her to gather some Intel information. Turns out the homeowner was going through a divorce and was sleeping in the basement of the 2 family and freaking out the girls renting the first floor apt. and he needed to sell fast! Perfect! I offered my number that worked and they accepted it. My first distressed asset of my life! Who are you willing to become? Drop a line below

What is the stupidest thing you ever heard regarding money?

My mentor Jack Miller was focused on retirement. Check this out. He used to drive around Florida and if he saw a tarp on someone's roof he would pull over and knock on the door. "Hey I see you have a tarp on your roof" yup the roof leaks. "How about I pay to have a new roof installed for you. Whenever you sell your house, we will split the profit" What do you mean? We'll get an appraisal done now, and if the appraisal comes in at $250,000 if you sell your house later for $275,000 we will split the difference, the $25,000. If it comes in less than $250,000 you pay nothing. Jack said they would process this and quickly say, well I don't ever intend on selling my house. "Well then you got yourself a free roof!" Using his self directed IRA to pay for the roof, Jack would cloud title recording a simple document stating the terms and boom done! On to the next tarp! Well, nobody knows how many of these deals Jack did, he passed away in 2009 but some huge check keep rolling in! That is focusing on his retirement. Is this extreme?

Have you ever passed on an investment opportunity and later wished you had taken it? Let's hear it! I'll start. My wife came home from work in 1987 and said some guy was looking for startup money to take his sub shop business and turn it into a franchise. Some guy named Cancro

Is this you? That was me... In 1988 I gave up my Aircraft instrument repair business and got back into manufacturing for a "steady paycheck" something I have always dreaded. That trapped feeling came right back to me as I had when I joined the workforce in 1977. Working for a fixed income week in week out. That long never ending tunnel. Just trying to make ends meet, trying to keep the cars running and most bills paid. That dreaded Sunday evening gut feeling. I didn't know any better and thought I was doing what I was supposed to do. Doing what I was taught. Get a job, work hard, do what you're told and keep your mouth shut. Work for that steady paycheck but there was absolutely nothing steady about it. They could kick me to the curb tomorrow morning! I can see why people get into trouble with gambling. But I promise you there is a way out! You don't need any special formal education or diplomas or certificates. We were all taught to think incrementally. Fifth grade six grade seventh grade. Never 9th grade to college or 10th grade to engineer. Never 48k in a year to 48k in a month! Don't be ridiculous! I can't work that hard! I can't work that many jobs! So why is it that there are so many people working those 48k per year jobs and then there are just a few that can make 48k in a day? That works out to $6,000 an hour! Who the F is gonna pay me $6,000 an hour? Only you. Only you will be generous enough to pay you $6,000 an hour.