The light at the end of the tunnel

I finish up the semester from hell in 13 days. In which time I have 3 papers totaling 28 pages, 2 advertising design final projects due and three mid term tests. I also have a house on the market, and just purchased another house a week ago, today.

In much of my research, I have come across many reoccurring themes. One of these being significant in my life right now. When things seem too difficult to endure, you must push on. Napoleon Hill, in "Think and Grow Rich" refers to this theme in the section titled "Three Feet From Gold." He describes this theme as "One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat."

I snuck away snowboarding for two days just after Thanksgiving, and the snow gods were very good to us. Great early season conditions, and 4 inches of powder overnight! This trip helped me remember all of the great times that I have to come in my life, but I must first make it through this very busy and difficult time.

Prosperity Consciousness

After shoveling 16 tons of gravel into the front yard of my rehab project, I listened to an audiobook by Frederic Lehrman titled "Prosperity Consciousness." I thoroughly enjoyed it, and actually took detailed notes into his banking system to develop wealth. In his book, he also encourages the listener to teach what they are learning to help better learn it themselves. Pretty much gonna outline it here for you.

You are to have two types of savings accounts. The first type include accounts in which we can put money into and pull money out of, whereas the second type we deposit money into and never take out. This is, to paraphrase the 6 hour audio set, how you create wealth.

He suggests you open 5 accounts. 1) Income account 2) Large Purchases 3) Annual Income 4) Investments 5) Financial Independence (the money you never take out!)

He stresses that it really is not too difficult, logistically, which I agree with. It is going to be a "new way" of doing things and will take some time to get used to, but it is taking that little extra time is spent creating wealth!

1)Income account: This account is to keep track of how much you are earning. Rules:Whenever you earn money or receive money, you deposit it into this account first. This will keep a concise income record and be the source of your living expenses (rent, food, gas, etc). Here is another part of that whole creating wealth bit. You must take a minimum of 10% of that deposit and distribute it into the remaining 4 accounts. Of these 4 accounts, you decide what portion of the 10% min. redistribution.

Put all money in here first, immediately transfer a minimum of 10% to other accounts, live off the rest. Simple

5) Financial independence account: Rule:Any money deposited in here is to never ever be taken out. My personal take on this is to use this account to fill your IRA and other tax deferred investment vehicles, and reinvest those in real estate to let that money grow! The interest you gain on this account you can feel free to spend freely, he adds. *Financial independence means having an income sufficient to live on which continues forever if you work or not. Personally I figure $10,000/month residual would be financially independent.

2) Large purchases account: Polar opposite of financial independence. This teaches you how to spend money freely, with out guilt or anxiety. You can either spend the balance of the account on a said time period, like monthly, or you can spend it when you reach a certain amount. Then when your hurdle has been cleared, you simply go out and spend the money. He does elaborate on this point a ton with a very insightful game, which for that, your gonna have to buy his set.

3) Annual income account:This is my personal favorite account, designed to give you the time and confidence needed to embark on your entrepreneurial endeavors. You first select a figure which will be sufficient for you to live on for a year, for example, 36,500. Then divide by 365 to get it to a daily figure, one the mind can more easily grasp. For my example, it is 100$/day.

When you reach one week's pay in that account, you pay yourself forward for a day. Before you go to sleep, you place $100 in an envelope and leave it for yourself in the morning. When you wake up, your day's pay is already there for you on the table. Your money is already made, and you can do as you please... Go back to sleep, see a movie, hit up the horse races... whatever you want to do.

When your account reaches one months salary, you can then pay yourself forward 7 nights in a row, to begin to taste what it is like to be self employed, or better yet, independently wealthy! At six months you can do a month, and after you hit the one year mark, you can take an entire year off if you choose!

4) Investment account: This is your capital. This is the portion of your income which you dedicate to creating more money. This money cannot be withdrawn unless it has an opportunity for a higher percent yield. I will be focusing this money on buying notes for cash flow. Thusly generating my residual income.

This is a lesson in both patience and discipline. The consistency in distributing the funds through the accounts detailed is it. You are to never borrow from other accounts, wait to find a solution which works for your current situation. If followed exactly, this method will ensure anyone under the age of 40 a happy retirement, and possibly an early one!

Three weeks of instruction left

Being 25 and still finishing up college can be nerve racking at times. Having lived and experienced much of what about 30,000 of my "peers" are currently going through leaves me excited about moving on with my life, and a degree. As the first in my family to earn a 4 year degree, I have began a tradition that will hopefully be followed.

Being around the college, however, has enlightened me to the opportunity there is with that demographic. Students live a life of leisure, generally are consumption driven, and are very passionate. Tapping into that passion and offering a way to consume a piece of that passion is another venture I am developing.

Left Coast Cartel (LCC), is a promotions company funded by the sales of merchandise. As a promotions company, it focus on assisting individuals in accomplishing their dreams. In doing so, LCC will receive word of mouth advertising from influential persons within our target market. A simple enough plan, but the logistics of fully executing this plan are incredible.

This venture will also allow me the opportunity to travel both domestically and internationally. From locating manufacturing plants world wide, to attending nation wide events, this hobby of mine will be a way for me to give back to the community that has helped shape me into the successful person I am today. Hell, it may prove to be a pretty handy write-off down the line, too.

Entering the holiday season

It really has hit me these last few days, with the leaves turning bright yellow, and the cool, crisp air that cuts through the sweatshirt you thought would be warm enough. Thanksgiving is around the corner, and unfortunately this year I will not be able to spend it with my family. This is because business is booming, and with school stacked on top, it is just not a good time. But, business is booming!

About 3 months ago my real estate investment company purchased an investment property in a very good neighborhood, great freeway access and close to both uptown and downtown business centers. Comps in the area have been pushing $240,000 and we will probably list for $229,500 for a quick and easy sale. We were able to purchase the property for $160,000 and are within our budget of $30,000. This puts our total investment (minus personal time investments) at $190,000 and $40,000 profit for 3 months work is adequate while I am in school. We are having our open house next weekend (weekend before Thanksgiving) and fully expect to receive multiple offers. While this deal wraps up, I have just had my first offer on a short sale accepted.

This is great, haven't graduated from college yet, and already purchasing my second house! This particular house is in an even better location, but is in way worse condition (minimum repairs $50,000 not including any additions) and is only a two bedroom one bath. The problem with 2/1 houses is that there is much less demand for these properties and we generally try to stick with 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom houses. I found this property by simply driving around my "farm" area and spotting a vacant, old, run-down house. This was in July, and since then I have contacted the owners, got the authority to speak with the bank about their ensuing foreclosure. Here it is, middle of November and my offer of 78% of the current appraisal value was accepted.

With this short sale we just acquired, our exit strategy is simple. Get out before any physical work begins! We will market the property to other investors who have the capability of expanding the house to a 3/2, leaving from $50-$80,000 profit in the approximated After Repaired Value (ARV). We are able to pull about $20,000 for finding, negotiating, and networking the deal to someone else. This is what you would call "wholesaling," and is one of the quickest ways to build capital within a real estate investment property.

It will be a very merry Christmas this year, because both of these deals will have cashed in, and I will get to go back and spend some time with my family! With the financial goals I set for myself, these are simply secondary goals, as my true goals are in having ample time to spend with whom I want when I want and for how long I want. Money is just the means to that end.

Never going to learn how to make money in college

As I am a senior in college at 25 yrs old, I am very excited that I will be having 30+ hours per week freed up once I finish my bachelors in May. Just after I obtained my associates degree I realized that I was never going to learn how to make money in college. Never was I going to go to a class which would teach me how to support a family. I felt that was pertinent information and have been devoting my time to educating myself on subjects such as personal development, real estate investing, entrepreneurship in general, topped off with marketing and design classes at my University! Not a bad place to be exiting college, except for the 50 g's I owe in student loans.

Over the weekend, I read "Absolute Wealth" by Robert Leonetti and have embarked on the idea of developing cash flow and selling the notes at a discount to generate cash. I do not want to end up real estate rich, but cash poor. I am looking for a balance that will allow me time to travel!

Tonight I have begun to read "Invest in Debt" by Jim Napier. This book is to some real estate investors, the holy grail. A 'good 'ole boy' who decided to leave his job and get into real estate. Turns out he really mastered this whole 'buying paper for cashflow' method and amassed a fortune. The bright orange hard cover book which is faded and completely retro, blended with the 1950's typewriter serif gives this book a mysterious allure to which I am now going to return my attention.

I've decided to keep a journal...

Luckily for you, I have also decided to make that journal public. I am full time professional college student, 25 yrs old, a 4th year senior at my fourth school. I have become a firm believer in goal setting, and have given myself the goal of obtaining my first million before my 30th birthday.

As an entrepreneur with 8 months of student loan support left, I am focusing my free time on learning the in's and out's of real estate investing, note buying, personal development, time management and developing a pseudo-clothing company. This on top of my current semester of 21 units. On top of all this, I decided I need to keep a journal and share that with other individuals who may be in a similar situation, or are looking for motivation or inspiration. I will become a millionaire within the next five years, and I will explain what I am doing as I am doing it.

I do not see becoming a millionaire a difficult task, and I have uncovered one of the most powerful secrets in the universe. The secret that Napoleon Hill writes about in "Think and Grow Rich." Some call it "divine guidence" or "intuition" and whatever it is revolves around the simple fact that you can do anything you put your mind to and take action on. It's that simple, and I will document my personal path, because I will become a millionaire before I'm 30!