Comparing Billionaires

There are two billionaires that I talk about in this column, but truthfully, you’ve probably only really heard of one of them. The first, Donald Trump is, in many ways the complete opposite of our second billionaire. He is rich and famous. He seems to enjoy his significant wealth and is focused on cash—building it, investing it, growing it, and using it.
Trump’s show, The Apprentice is reflective of Trump’s tastes. He spends an hour each episode working on beating up some twenty and thirty-somethings who aspire to be his apprentice. Only the best will do for Mr. Trump and he quickly dispatches those who are not worthly of his apprenticeship. It is interesting, but perhaps it has something to do with their jobs. Trump, it would seem, from the beginning was focused on being a businessman.
Keeping Score
When it comes to business and finance, once the necessities of life are met, food, water, clothing and shelter, what I would term the supplemental luxuries come in. I think of these items as things that most people have, but are generally considered luxuries because you don’t need them to survive. A car, a house or condo that you own, and a computer, cable or satelite tv, and a cell phone are all examples of these supplemental luxuries.
Ultimate luxuries are things that are generally not even in the vicinity of “necessary” but are things that are fun to have. There is a line somewhere between supplemental and ultimate luxuries. Vacations, multiple cars, pricey dinners out, and investments are all examples of these types of ultimate luxuries. When you are a billionaire like Mr. Trump, it is all the same. Standards are different. And the way that a businessman like Trump measures himself is by comparing his luxuries to the next guy.Buying Happiness
It is not to say that Trump is unhappy. I think that people foolishly like to claim that money cannot buy happiness. However, I’ve seen very few people be unhappy about having too much money. But people who are poor are often worried about not having enough.
Our second billionaire’s name is David Cheriton. He became a billionaire by founding a startup in california and then investing some money in google when Google’s founders presented him with a search engine that already worked well even in its test phases.
Finding Similarities
Both billionaires have become rich as a result of business. Each of these men have a keen eye for opportunities and this talent makes them able to manage risk. Probably in a much more efficient way that we could. The takeaway here is that getting into business is the way to build serious wealth. It is not to say that you shouldn’t work as well. Both billionaires still work, but clearly it isn’t because they have to.Spending Silly
Trump, as documented on his show, spends incredible sums on luxuries. He flies and takes a helicopter and also is always taken care of by his staff. Cheriton clearly could afford that, but he is content with a 1993 Honda Accord and living in the same house he’s had since 1981. This type of living sets Cheriton apart from Trump. Cheriton still works, and if I had to guess, is doing what he really loves. The money doesn’t seem to be a score for him as it is for 100% professional businessmen. The upside for both billionaires though is that they’ve both achieved a position where they could stop working and easily support the needs of their entire families. What a great feeling that must be.
You Can, but Should You
The most interesting thing when it comes to people’s net worth to me is discovering how they handle their wealth. Some people choose to live lavishly like Trump. Enjoying the money that they have seems to be interesting to them and also part of a status. Others like Cheriton live simply, and essentially never really get to the point where they “need” their money to live their lifestyle. Neither one is moderate in my opinion. Each is at the far end of the scale.
Everything in Moderation
Sometimes, in an effort to gain riches we can become overly cheap and perhaps even a little stingy. In order to save enough for your goals, it is absolutely necessary to live below your means. However, how much below your means may be something that you are able to choose and regulate. Saving 50% of your income after your expenses and retirement while sacrificing nice things for others, yourself, and charity might carry an unpleasant stigma. Conversely, running up debt to spend 140% of your income is just as bad, if not worse.
Give yourself permission to spend, to donate, and to enjoy some of the wealth you’ve accumulated. As the addage goes, “you can’t take it with you” so wouldn’t it be a shame if you spent all your energies accumulating for ’someday’, when the day may never come? Perhaps if these two billionaires took some of this advice, we would have some better role models when it comes to spending money.
One thing is certain though, if there seems to be a lack of money in your life, it may be because of how you handle the money you actually do get. This is where Cheriton’s example is really worth something.

Read More......

Success & Failure

Success is all there is. Failure is Success misunderstood.
There are only two entrepreneurial emotions… Success and failure. Ultimately, Success is all that exists; but for some reason mankind has decided to confuse the business-person’s mindset with the possibility of failure. Please believe the following truth before reading the rest of this piece…
The illusion of failure is a manufactured emotion that exists in a world of only Success. If you feel that failure exists within your entrepreneurial mindset, you have Success completely misunderstood.
All of us entrepreneurs were born into this business world with loving goals of success in mind; therefore, Success is our natural state of being, since we were born believing in it. Success is all there is, all there was, and all there ever will be. If this is so, then where did the idea of failure ever come into existence?
Just like the monster underneath the bed, we completely fabricated the illusion of failure.
The most counter-productive operation of your business is how you mis-perceive your natural levels of success. Know this right now… You are successful! Your company could have just gone under, and yet you are still a success! Success is always hidden beneath failure, if you will only take a moment to recognize it. Remember… Success is all there is; and failure is simply Success misunderstood.
Since failure is merely an illusion, it had to have been conceptualized into your life via some particular occurrence, right?
Often times, the idea of failure is initially manufactured within your being after you have witnessed another person stumble in their pursuit to “create” success (Remember, Success can not be “created” because Success is naturally all there is). What has happened is that you’ve either perceived this individual to be less than successful in relation to your own standards, or been told by the individual, their self, that they are a failure. As soon as you perceive another individual as a failure, or experience someone else deeming their self a failure, you potentially materialize future illusions of failure into your own business’ life. It’s amazing how reality can so easily be thwarted by something that doesn’t even exist!
This can’t be stressed enough… Success is all there is, and failure is a man-made illusion! Your business’ state of being is always determined by one brand of thought… Your perception towards it. There are actually entrepreneurs out there who perceive them selves to be failures, while at the same time having millions of customers and even more dollar bills in their bank account. How well do you think these businesses would be doing if their owner thought of their self as a success? Perceiving your self to be a failure does not breed Success; but Success always, in all-ways, breeds Success. If you truly believe that you are pure Success, and always will be, then you won’t ever have to fear the possibility of failing; because in reality, failure doesn’t even exist as an option.
The perception you have towards your business must always involve the natural emotion of Success. If you don’t, you’re simply going against Nature’s will – And Nature’s will is that Success is the only emotion an entrepreneur can ever feel; because after all, Success is all there is…
Wishing you continued success…

Read More......

Can't Sell Your Home – Start Investing In Real Estate!

So you’ve been trying to sell your home for quite a while, with no success. Oh, sure, you’ve had a few people through, maybe even a lot of people, and every time your life was disrupted… all for nothing. No offers, not even a nibble. It’s getting frustrating. Since life has given you some lemons, why not make lemonade and use this as a springboard to start investing in real estate? You may be wondering, “How can this be an opportunity for me to start investing in real estate?” Glad you asked. Since you’re having trouble selling your house through conventional means, maybe now’s the time to go a bit unconventional, and learn a creative real estate investing technique in the process… a technique that you can use over and over again to create wealth for you and your family. If you use this technique to sell your home, you will be following in the footsteps of thousands of other homeowners who have followed this same strategy to start investing in real estate. I’m talking about the lease / option method of selling your home. What is a lease option? Simple… instead of selling your home outright, you’re going to lease it to someone, and at the same time give them the option to purchase it at a fixed price within a fixed period of time. Why does this work? How can this allow you to sell your home faster and easier? The answer has to do with the type of people that will respond to your “lease with the option to buy” or “rent to own” ad. They will be people with bruised or damaged credit, but don’t let that scare you. Often these are good people who are back on track after a tough period in their life. They’re not deadbeats… at least not the ones you’ll be putting in your home, because you’ll be carefully screening them. You’ll want to check their story, and verify employment and income. Trust your gut, but verify everything. Select carefully, and realize that it may take two or three tries before you get to the end result you’re looking for- a tenant who becomes a buyer. The other great reason to use the lease/option technique is price- you can often sell for full market value… even more! What a great way to start investing in real estate. There are three important terms you will need to negotiate with your tenant/buyer in order to enter into a lease/option agreement with them… price, option term, and monthly rent. Once you’ve learned to do that, you’ll be well down the path many others have followed to start investing in real estate. Price is the price you will sell them the house for when and if they exercise their option. The option term is the length of time the option to buy is open to your tenant buyer. This is often one year, but could be longer. It’s up to you. I’ve seen option terms as long as five years, but in my mind that’s too long, unless you just want to be a landlord. Finally, the monthly rent should be enough to cover your mortgage, taxes, and insurance, plus something left over to give you a positive cash flow every month. After all, there is a little hassle involved, so you should get something for your trouble. Now, here’s the icing on the cake. You can and should collect a non-refundable option fee from your tenant/buyers, and you should get it upfront. The amount is negotiable, but generally about three percent of the value of the home is appropriate. So, on a $150,000 property, the option fee would be between $4,000 and $5,000. This shows good faith and commitment on their part. Hopefully by now you can see that this is a great way to both get your home sold and start investing in real estate. You make money three ways… when you collect your option fee, when you sell the house, and every month in the form of positive cash flow. Plus, the home remains in your name until they exercise their option, so you still get all the tax breaks associated with homeownership. Listen, I know there’s a lot more to say on the subject of lease option, and there’s certainly a great deal more on how to start investing in real estate. This is just a primer, but hey… we’ve all got to start somewhere, right? Want to start investing in real estate? Try http://www.dealfiles.com. Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. © 2007 by Tom Dunn.

Read More......