A Real Rich Dad, Poor Dad Story
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One of the fascinating things about Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad was the idea that the wealthy teach their kids different things than the poor or middle class.
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If You Run Your Business Like a Hobby, Expect a Punch in the Face
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Have you heard people espouse the idea that you can be successful if you turn your hobby into a business? Or how about the concept that your chances of success are greater if you can turn your passion into a business idea.
Read MoreAre You Living Now?
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My girlfriend gave me The Power of Now: a Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle a couple years ago. At the time, I’d just read my first book on Stoicism and was intrigued by the idea of a philosophy that would help me find tranquility in life. She’d read a review of Tolle’s book and thought it might be something I’d find interesting.
Read MoreHow Driving for Dollars Can Improve Your Wallet and Your Soul
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How do you get to work? If you’re like me, you are one of the multitude who needs to get to an office via car. I’ve taken steps to work remotely a couple days a week so those necessary trips have been reduced.
Read MoreA Refinance That Cleaned Our Clocks
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In 2012, as the market struggled to improve, interest rates continued to fall. They were in the mid 4% range at this time. I was keenly aware of this, especially since we were paying 6.5% interest on a seller-financed contract for a little office property that housed a janitorial firm.
Read MoreWe Lead Interesting Lives
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Recently, we were having dinner with my friend, Keith. He had returned the day before from China where he had spent the previous three weeks training a group how to use a new piece of industrial equipment. Keith works for an aluminum casting system manufacturer and he travels the world teaching people how to use the equipment.
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A Deal That We Cleaned Up On
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In the summer of 2010, my investing partner cold-called the owner of a small office building. It was located on Trent Avenue and had a small, clean warehouse with it. As the area changed over the past forty-plus years, it had become eclectic. Industrial users are mixed in with ethnic restaurants, specialty retailers looking for cheap rent sidle up next to little office buildings.
Read MoreHow I Avoided Soul-Crushing College Debt
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I screwed around in high school. All it takes is a look at my report cards. If there was one consistent piece of feedback that teachers gave, it was this: “Is not working to potential.” I found some old report cards recently and was embarrassed by the dismal remarks from my teachers.
Read MoreLifestyle Design Update #3 – the Good and the Bad. No Ugly.
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In mid-March, I wrote about testing some concepts of Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek. I’d experimented with some of them for one week and wanted to share what I had found. The article was full of optimism and excitement.
Read MoreThe Purple Book That Opened My Eyes
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I first read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad about a decade ago. I got fired up about the ideas that Kiyosaki presented, but my personal financial habits were a mess and the idea of getting into real estate investing seemed so far away.
Read MoreTwenty and a Day
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If you’ve read this site with a keen eye, you’ve probably caught the fact that I spent a handful of years as a police officer. During that period, I had the opportunity to meet Frank Scalise, a sergeant who became a friend and writing partner. While on the department together, we shared and edited each other’s work while encouraging each other to keep putting words to paper.
Read MoreThe Little Property That Could – Part III - Time to Expand
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Bruchi’s Cheesesteaks is a local favorite. Serving subs and cheesesteaks since 1990, they’ve grown to seventeen locations and recently opened a store in Sacramento, CA. Bruce and Susan Greene have done a great job with the company, especially with new competition from national sandwich franchises coming into the market.
Read MoreEveryone Has a Journey
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Several years back, I helped run a Kenpo Karate school. Part of my responsibilities were leading classes, both for adults and kids. As I interacted with various students, I sought to understand their motivation for learning Kenpo.
Read MoreThe King of My Castle
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I’ve gotten a good handle on my personal debt. For years after I climbed out of my debt hole, I didn’t use a credit card at all. I really didn’t want one, again. I no longer liked them.
Read MoreThe Little Property That Could – Part II - A Partner Needs Out
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We owned the little property on Northwest Boulevard for years and it was humming along nicely. Our tenant, The Medicine Shoppe, had accepted a renewal and was happy. We had painted the building and seal coated the parking lot in an effort to protect it and enhance its curb appeal.
Read MoreThe Little Property That Could – Part I - The Initial Purchase
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It was a small building with a single tenant, The Medicine Shoppe. My investing partner, Kevin had cold-called the owner and asked if they wanted to sell.
Read MoreWinning Through Intimidation
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I love that title. It’s also the title to Robert Ringer’s 1973 classic about selling commercial real estate. It’s the first book that I found to discuss the realities of being a commercial broker. However, the book deals with much more than that subject.
Read MoreDo You Know Where Your Starbucks Comes From?
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When a retailer moves into a market or neighborhood, most people tend to get excited. At times, this excitement can be good. When Trader Joe’s first moved into our market, the city seemed to lose its collective mind. Everywhere people went, there was talk about Trader Joe’s and the inevitable question, “Have you been?”
Read MoreFor the Boomers - Did Travis McGee Have It Right All Along?
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My dad turned me on to Travis McGee when I was in the Army. This was probably natural since he discovered McGee while he was in the Navy during the Viet Nam war.
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