When I was in the United States Navy, “integrity” was a word that was thrown around pretty much on on a daily basis. There was an expectation of integrity in your run of the mill, daily actions.
Quick example: On my ship, we once had a guy remove a monitoring instrument from a pipe as part of routine maintenance. These instruments were swapped out every couple months for maintenance and calibration. Apparently in a hurry to get his work done and go home, he simply pulled the instrument out, replaced it, and took the old one out down to our division office to drop off for somebody to pick up to take to the calibration lab. He didn’t bother properly bagging the instrument, just carried it by hand down to the office.
Normally, not a big deal. Except this instrument was dripping wet with radioactively contaminated water. To quote one of my skating coaches, this would be “no bueno”.
Routine radiation monitoring of the ship the next day revealed a path of radiological contamination from the pipe system in engineering, straight to our division office. There was, of course, an incident report. Then an investigation. Then several people lying about certain aspects of it. Then a Captain’s Mast (Article 15 non-court martial proceeding) and some punishment handed down.
If the individual in question had exercised integrity from the get go, it never would have happened. If he had exercised integrity after his initial mistakes were uncovered, he would have gotten a slap on the wrist. Instead, his career was essentially destroyed.
In short, what happened here was a failure of his integrity.
What does this have to do with Personal Prosperity? Pretty simple, actually: Customer service has gone down the toilet. When a business, a co-worker, and many times even our friends, actually KEEP a promise to do something, we’re now in awe that they did it. It’s such a rare thing for people to actually follow through on the things they say they will do.
One of the biggest “aha” moments for me lately has been the realization that I don’t need to have the big, grandiose plans that I think I needed to. Recently, James officially gave me “permission” to not think so big. Why was this important to me, and why was it holding me back? Because I felt like I have to strive for huge achievements, but the stress of not being able to follow through on everything was holding me back, and locking me into “analysis paralysis”. In short, I was violating my own integrity by thinking big, because there was simply no way that I would actually follow through on everything.
In the tax resolution industry, failures of integrity are the number one complaint. Sales people outright lie to prospective clients, practitioners fail to maintain open lines of communication with their clients (I’ve been guilty of this myself in the past!). When I work with a client and don’t maintain proper communication, I can feel the frustration coming from my client, and I’m quickly reminded that this one thing (which has always been a challenge for me, no matter what I do) is probably the biggest key to my success in my profession.
The old saying of “underpromise, overdeliver” is just as true today as it was 100 years ago. With everybody these days automatically suspicious of big businesses and any conversation about getting ahead or creating an “unfair advantage” for yourself, it’s important to be able to follow through on what you promise.
When I look at Jame’s business, he has an obligation to clients. James has a business model that is different from any other real estate agent you will ever meet: He charges his a client’s a $2,000 up front retainer in order to work with him. This is credited against commissions at closing when that client buys a house, but by accepting that up front retainer, James takes on a huge commitment to his clients, all of whom are real estate investors. James has to deliver on his promise represented by that $2,000 retainer: To find investment opportunities suitable to that investors buying criteria. It is entirely a matter of integrity for him to deliver on this promise. In order to do so, James has built an incredibly complex system of property analysis, created numerous checklists to keep him on track towards his customer’s objectives every day, and works a well defined system to ensure he can deliver on that promise.
I came across this article in Fast Company about the concept of overpromise, underdelivering that exists in our world today, and it contains several examples that are worth reading: Under-Promise. Over-Deliver. And Your Brand’s Fans Will Talk.
How does this apply to your Personal Prosperity Plan™? Your personalized plan contains numerous promises to yourself and your family. If your plan contains a business element, which it most likely does, then you are creating promises to customers. In order to succeed in your Plan, you must have integrity. There is an awful lot of follow through you’re going to need to do, and integrity is required along every step of the path.
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Time for another one of my infamous 30-day challenges. It’s rare for me to actually finish one of these things, but for this one, I really have no excuses, because it’s actually pretty simple: 30 days of person reflection and a little bit of writing about one of Dan Kennedy’s wealth magnets.
Who is Dan Kennedy? And what exactly is a wealth magnet? Well, Dan Kennedy is the “millionaire maker”. He’s one of the single greatest contributing minds to the field of modern marketing that is still alive. He’s written probably two dozen books I’d imagine, has spoken on thousands of stages, and is the man-behind-the-man in numerous fields. If you come from outside the marketing world, you may have never heard of him, but within the marketing world, he’s basically treated like an idol. He is the marketing genius behind the success of many TV infomercial products, the most commonly famous of which is probably Proactiv acne treatments.
Dan Kennedy defines a “wealth magnet” as a habit or personality trait that helps a person to naturally attract opportunities to them. Described in full detail in his excellent book, No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy, available on Amazon, Kennedy discusses 28 different traits that, when combined, make a person a nearly unstoppable force for success, no matter what their chosen endeavor (not just business — the principles apply in athletics, spirituality, the non-profit world, politics, etc.).
I highly suggest reading the book, and making a personal study of it yourself. Ben Franklin had a list of 13 traits he wished to embody, and spent 1 week working on each of them in turn, and repeated the 13 week cycle for most of his life. Kennedy’s 28 traits would make for a 6 month cycle at one week each, and is probably worthwhile. However, it also fits nicely into a monthly cycle, and my mentor James Orr and I have discussed doing this several times, and repeating the cycle monthly as an exercise.
The past few days, I have been privately communicating some thoughts to James about the wealth magnet that corresponds to the day of the month, but he agreed that these would make great blog posts, so for the next 30 days, they will.
Each day, I will briefly explain my own viewpoints on the Kennedy Wealth Magnet, and how it applies to the overall concept of Personal Prosperity (I’m not going to replicate Kennedy’s thoughts — seriously, buy the book, it’s worth the $11). Then, I will briefly discuss how it applies to my life right now, and also how it applies to James’ real estate business. In all reality, these latter segments are really to better myself and for James to see my perspective on his business. While the particulars of how it applies to my business or James’ business may not be of immediate interest to you, the reader, hopefully seeing a day to day application of the principles to real businesses will help you see how you can readily apply the concepts to YOUR life, your business, your goals, your Personal Prosperity Plan™.
I hope you enjoy reading these over the course of the next month, and that doing so contributes to your own Personal Prosperity.
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There is a massive stigma about bankruptcy in our society. Most people are embarrassed by the very prospect of being on the brink of bankruptcy, and rarely discuss it even within their own families.
Personally, I consider bankruptcy to be one of the single most intelligent financial decisions I’ve ever made.
Yes, I’ve been through bankruptcy, and I’m happy I did it.
In the summer of 2007, I was flat broke. I was unable to pay my bills, including the mortgage. This was the beginning of the real estate bust, and definitely the end of my career as a real estate broker. By January 2008, I had swallowed my pride and accepted an entry-level administrative job at a tax firm in Denver (an hour commute each way). By April 2008, my home was foreclosed on, and I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection the next day.
For a divorced guy that eschewed material possessions, I had an enormous amount of debt. In my bankruptcy, I flushed a high six-figure amount of debt that I had amassed over the course of my adult life.
In August 2008, when my bankruptcy was discharged, I was floating on a cloud. Why? Because the burden of being massively in debt was suddenly lifted off my shoulders.
Also, by this time, I had made myself significantly more valuable at the tax firm I worked at, and was well on my way to obtaining my Enrolled Agent license from the IRS.
In other words, being broke and having to do what I had to do in order to stay afloat directly lead me to where I am today. In other words, going belly up directly set the stage for finally finding a career I truly love, and living a lifestyle that I wanted to live.
The single biggest benefit to filing bankruptcy is that the stress of dealing with bill collectors suddenly goes out the window, because they can’t call you anymore. Reduction in stress lets you focus on other things, and work towards being successful in other words.
If bankruptcy is something that’s crossed your mind, sit down with an attorney and discuss your options. It may be a discussion that you wish you’d had much sooner.
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Lights all bright,
Hips movin’ real slight,
Girl makin’ me fly like a kite,
Bella’s dancin’ be totally outta sight!
Just walkin’ down the street,
Doesn’t even need a beat,
Steppin’ to the walk real neat,
That girl got some awesome feet!
Ain’t all about the fame,
Knows life is just a fun game,
And if you wanna dance,
Well hey, here’s your chance!
Gotta take your dance floor with you,
Everywhere around you is dance space,
Just keep movin’ ’til your blue,
‘Cuz with your moves you be the ace!
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Most Americans have this ridiculous notion that extensive world travel is atrociously expensive. The reality of the situation is that the United States is one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to live. If you compare city living in the US vs city living abroad, or rural living here vs rural living abroad, the cost comparison is fairly insane.
While there are obviously expensive places to live abroad (Tokyo, Japan is the most expensive city in the world in which to live, as of January 2011 data), it’s possible to travel for far cheaper than you can live in the United States. Let’s look at some numbers.
Denver, the largest urban area in the Rocky Mountain region with a population of over 2.5 million for the metro area, is fairly representative of the average cost of living for the United States, with a cost of living index of 105 (3rd quarter 2011 data — the national average is set at 100). Since Denver represents fairly close to the national average, and is close to me, I’m going to use it as a baseline example for crunching some numbers.
A one bedroom apartment in Denver averages $977 per month (as of August 2011). The IRS National Standard (used to calculate allowable expenses in IRS collections cases, and also for bankruptcy proceedings and other legal purposes) for food, clothing, and household items for a single person in Denver is $534 per month. The national average car payment is about $400 per month, with operating costs (insurance, gas, etc.) set at $236 per month under IRS financial standards. Add in about $100 a month in utilities, and a $70 per month cell bill.
So, for a roof over your head, food on the table, clothes on your back, and transportation, a single person in Denver is sitting at about $2,136 per month to live. Add in about $100 a month in utilities, a $70 per month cell bill, and let’s just say $100 a month for entertainment, and you’re getting a good picture of what your typical single person in their mid-20′s to mid-30′s, living on their own, is spending to live in Denver: over $2,400 per month.
As a dummy check, I looked up the median per capita income for Denver County, which is just over $24,000 per year. The median household income in Denver is right at $40,000 per year. $2400 a month is close enough to $24k a year for our purposes, and meshes well with the household figure and splitting of expenses across two wage earners.
Using this data as a baseline, let’s compare it to the cost of spending time overseas. I’m going to compare it somewhere I’ve actually been recently: Tokyo. Do recall that Tokyo is considered THE most expensive city on Earth in which to live.
Or is it?
I’m a big believer that one of the greatest joys of traveling is the people you meet, and I don’t think there is any better place to meet people abroad than in hostels. Some hostels are dives, some are very nice places that are basically somebody’s house, such as Jimmyz Backpackers in Sapporo, where I stayed for about 3 whole weeks. Hostels are also really cheap – $15 to $50 a day around Japan, depending on where you are and how nice it is. Most hostels give discounts for longer stays, and so I was averaging about $25 a night to stay in hostels.
$25 times 30 equals $750 per month. That’s already cheaper than our one bedroom apartment in Denver.
On top of saving a couple hundred a month on rent already, consider this: No utilities. Most hostels have free wi-fi. If you’re only spending a month or two in a country, Skype quickly becomes your communication friend. I chose not to have a local cell phone in Japan, and it worked out just fine. But let’s say you want one: $50 a month for basic communication (Tip: Get it at the airport when you arrive!).
So, we’re at $800 a month.
Let’s look at transportation. Tokyo probably has the most efficient mass transit system on planet Earth. Subways and buses take you anywhere you want to go, and surface trains go just about everywhere else in Japan. Japan also has an incredible domestic air transit system, and if you want to travel on open water, you can go long distances on the cheap by taking a ferry.
Using discounted tickets for foreigners, weekend and seasonal deals, and the discounts you get for using electronic tickets, getting around Tokyo becomes a $3 or $4 per day thing, if you go places EVERY day. Call it $100/month. If you commute on particular routes, you can get monthly passes (teikiken) even cheaper.
So, we’re at $900 a month to live in and get around in the most expensive city in the world.
Whoops, I guess we need to eat, don’t we?
All over Tokyo you can find these awesome little family restaurants, usually down weird alleys and twisted back roads, where you can get a bowl of rice with beef strips and vegetables, for example, for about $5. Fresh fruit is expensive in Japan, but staples of the Japanese diet are fairly inexpensive in markets. If you love rice and fish, you can eat even cheaper. Eating out for *every* meal does get expensive – I was pushing $20 per day on average just to eat, but that was by choice. You really can eat for $5 or less per day if you cook for yourself, even in Tokyo.
So, $150 to $200 per month to eat in Tokyo. Let’s add a party night once a week, and give ourselves a $100 per month entertainment and booze budget. Now we’re at $1200 per month.
Did I miss anything? $1200 a month to live in the most expensive city on Earth, and have the time of your life doing it.
Let’s look at airfare. Round trip airfare for me to Japan was about $1600. An American can stay in Japan for 90 days on a single entry tourist visa, so amortized over 3 months, airfare is $533 per month. If you plan to continue traveling around Asia, you can just buy a one-way ticket, which ranges anywhere from $600 to $1000, depending on the time of year. But even at the round trip price, added to monthly cost of living, we’re at $1733 per month.
Yup. $1733 per month. And I mentioned we’re living in the most expensive place on Earth, right?
I realize that this grand equation doesn’t take into account the fact that our example single person has to work a job back in Denver, and that’s not possible when you’re just traveling. I’m fully aware that most people don’t have the luxury of working from anywhere, via the Internet (although I have a firm belief that just about anybody CAN put themselves into that position, but that’s a subject for another post).
So, let’s look at things a bit differently. Our 20 or 30 something single person in Denver makes $25k to $35k per year doing whatever they do. Instead of that $997/month apartment, let’s get them in a house with two other people, and paying $400 a month for rent and utilities. Let’s also ditch the car payment, and let’s ride the bus, live within walking distance of work, buy a beater of a car, or ride a motorcycle (the option I choose — a motorcycle can cheaply be stored when abroad). Let’s also cut back on out cell plan, use Skype when possible to avoid eating up cell minutes, and pack our lunch to work every day.
In other words, let’s live in Denver under a similar lifestyle as we could live cheaply in Tokyo. All of a sudden, we’re not spending $2400 a month to live. Instead, we’re spending $800 or less, and saving $1600 per month.
Do this for a year. That’s $19,200 saved up, cash in the bank, in ONE YEAR.
$1600 airfare, $17,600 remaining. That buys TEN MONTHS living in Tokyo. Your visa won’t last that long. So, you stay 3 months, then go to South Korea. Then Taiwan. Then Hong Kong. Then Manila. Each of these places is far cheaper than Tokyo. All of a sudden, ten months turning into 18 months abroad.
Some people are going to look at these numbers as unrealistic. However, these are real numbers, based on real cost of living norms. For foreigners reading this, YES, that is what Americans blow every month to live the American lifestyle.
Is it worth drastically dialing down your American consumption and materialism for one year so that you can save up the cash to spend a year, maybe even two years, abroad?
Only you can answer that question. But for some of us, the answer is an unequivocal YES.
See you at the airport…
-Jassen
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