The most common question I'm asked on YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat..."what advice do you have for me? What tips can you give me? What suggestions can you give me?” It’s so generic that I have a hard time answering them because, I mean, how am I actually supposed to answer that? To any of you watching this who have asked me this - THANK YOU for asking, because you’ve inspired this video.
Because I hate clickbait bullshit, here are my suggestions:
1. Save as much money as you can. In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter how much you make, it’s how much you save and invest. The guy saving $50,000 per year on a $100,000 income can be much, much wealthier than the guy making $500,000 and spending $500,000. Don’t spend money on useless crap, either. Often it’s the small things that add up - those $8 beers, those $5 Starbucks drinks, the monthly porn subscriptions…it gets expensive 😉 Live frugally, save while you can, and invest. It’ll put you in a very financially comfortable spot and when you hit a certain point, you’ll start doing things because YOU want to do them…not because you need the money.
2. When you’re first starting out in business, WORK WITH EVERYONE. You can’t afford to be selective or picky with your clients. Even the really bad, nasty clients are the best to work with in the beginning - this is the best training you’ll ever receive. You need to learn to deal with everyone. Patience is your friend.
3. Surround yourself with people who are better than you. During the day, I’m probably one of the least accomplished people I’m around. Seriously. I’m around people making MILLIONS of dollars per year…my clients are buying $2,000,000-$7,000,000 houses. You think I’m on their level? Hell nah…well, not yet 😉 But seriously, compared to them I’m a chump. I learn from them, see what works, and incorporate that into my own style.
4. Don’t let people get to you, don’t let them discourage you. People will always want to give their thoughts, play victim, tell you how hard something is…usually it’s not coming from a healthy mindset. Realize this and move on.
5. Be open to criticism though. I REALLY value the people who give me honest advice, even if they dislike what I’m doing. I take it to heart and see if I can make changes to better myself and what I’m doing. Sometimes it’s a difference of personal preference and that’s totally cool, and sometimes it’s on me to make a change for the better. Sometimes you can learn a thing or two.
6. Trust yourself! Don’t second guess yourself. I do it too much…I’ve had things I’ve wanted to do, but haven’t, and later looked back and thought “I should’ve done that.” So if you have an intuition telling you something, DO IT. But if something sounds too good to be true, trust that instinct as well.
7. Always be expanding, growing, and bettering yourself. Improve slightly each day, just a little more than the day before. The concept is that if you keep doing a little better each day, you’ll start growing exponentially as a person.
8. Do the above CONSISTENTLY. It’s not about doing this for a week and thinking you’re the next Elon Musk. Nah. Do it every single day…for the rest of your life. It’s about growing yourself as a person.
9. Please pass it on and help others. I started this channel purely as a hobby because I thought it would be fun to make videos about real estate and finance, and share my thoughts and perspectives. It’s been an eye-opening experience to be able to have the outreach I now have, so I intend to take full advantage to share what’s worked for me and what I’ve learned along the way. I don’t need the money. I’m not doing this for money. I’m not selling anything. I don’t do one-on-one coaching. I’m not looking to mentor anyone individually. I don’t need an assistant. I don’t want you to split your deals 50/50 with me for my advice. I don’t want your investments, stakes of equity in your companies, or anything like that. I just enjoy making videos and replying to your hundreds of comments, as weird as that sounds. It’s been one of the most amazing experiences to see how much I’ve been able to inspire other people. I do this out of passion, as I think you’ll see by how much time i spend responding to you guys (there will be a time when I won’t be able to do that, though, depending how big this gets…)
10. You better have clicked “SUBSCRIBE” if you actually read through all of this 😉
Feel free to add me on Snapchat and Instagram: GPStephan
My favorite books:
The Compound Effect: https://goo.gl/zMK59z
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: http://goo.gl/TPTSVC
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor: https://goo.gl/sV9xtl
How to Win Friends and Influence People: https://goo.gl/1f3Meq
Think and grow rich: https://goo.gl/SSKlyu
Awaken the giant within: https://goo.gl/niIAEI
The Book on Rental Property Investing: https://goo.gl/qtJqFq