Thread: How to focus: controlling creativity

Originally Posted by Russ H

Interesting replies.

PEERless, I can completely relate to your not wanting to miss anything.

I spent 17 years (from 18 to my mid-30s) being VERY productive (world famous, even) and getting an extraordinary amount of things done.

But didn't have enough focus.

I helped found an industry non-profit that went on to rake in millions of dollars each year, and I helped grow that industry from a little winky thing to a juggernaut.

And I made millions in the process.

Which, sadly, are all gone.

Spent them 'cause I didn't have enough focus.

Notice I say "enough" focus. I had LOTS of focus, on LOTS of things.

I just never tied everything together.

It wasn't until I read "Your Money or Your Life" that I realized what I was doing.

And while I was having a BLAST (and making lots of money, and thinking I was building an empire), I realized that all of my "fun" stuff was actually taking me away from my goal of early retirement.

Here's the really scary thing: I started charting out a course, in earnest, around 1995.

'95-'01: Adjusted my course as I read books (Rich Dad Poor Dad) and encountered real world examples of RK's teachings.

Realized I didn't need to blaze new trails (i.e., build my own road, and/or be self employed, the path of an entrepreneur).

'02: Played Cashflow with some very smart people, who taught me a LOT. Realized I didn't even need roads (thank you, Doc Brown).

New PLAN (same goal): Use superior technology (and leverage) to "fly over the roads".

Once we did this, we reached our goal in only 20 months (Aug 2003- April 2005).

*******

eagle, it's great that you are learning focus, and that 4 hour work week is helping you do that.

And I applaud the fact that you're getting more results by looking at things 6 months down the road.

I did that too, from 18 to 35. Accomplished a LOT.

But never really got anywhere (kept changing direction).

It wasn't until we started really looking waaaaaay down the road that we started to really get somewhere.

Another advantage of looking down the road a bit:

You'll see detours/obstacles (like lenders not giving you $$) and be able to adjust your course to accommodate the upcoming roadblocks.

-Russ H.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqdJkFM3pSM&NR=1

I guess I'm just not understanding.

You obviously have a lot more skill than I first thought.

Me being just a noob maybe I'm not getting something.

My ebook is a long standing project that i have been trying to figure out how to market for some time. It's a cummulation of two years worth of searching and Since I started it in earnest i find That I am just as passionate about it as realestate.

I know the goal-- financial freedom and all the good stuff associated with it.

I'm building the car (e book, realestate) I will reveal the ebook and website as soon as I capture my number one keyword domain for everyone's critique.

I put in another offer on a great property at a great price today with great terms.

So what Am I not getting?

I'm not being facetious here. financial success has eluded me although I have been successful in other areas.

don't mean to hijack the thread mountain man!

eagle, you may want to create another thread where you can post your plan and have others give you feedback.

Originally Posted by ^eagle^

I know the goal-- financial freedom and all the good stuff associated with it.

I'm building the car (e book, realestate) I will reveal the ebook and website as soon as I capture my number one keyword domain for everyone's critique.

I put in another offer on a great property at a great price today with great terms.

So what Am I not getting?

I'm not being facetious here. financial success has eluded me although I have been successful in other areas.

The thing that is missing from both mtnman and eagle, at least from what I'm reading on this thread is a goal.

A goal must be clearly stated and measurable. There must be an element of time attributed to it.

I will have $5,000 in passive income, defined as income that I work less than 10 hours per month on, per month by 12/31/08.

That's a goal.

Now that you have a goal, you can measure against it. You have vehicles - an eBook and real estate - picked out, but how can you know if you've hit your goal if you aren't clear about it.

Once you have the goal, then pick your milestones. ie..in order to do that, you will need to have $100,000 invested in real estate earning 20%/year (realistic) and making $3,400/month from your eBook (that one might be a stretch...which means you mean need to have more vehicles, if this is your goal.)

My new goal on http://www.BusinessToInvestment.com is create $1 mill in 2 years or less using underutilized business assets. I'm blogging about how it's going. But, my plan is pretty simple, or at least it was at the beginning, 25 websites with an average income of $2K/month. And I know that doesn't work out to a million dollars in 2 years (it's actually quicker than that) but that gives me a margin of error and the time needed to get sites and landing pages up.

This is just my two cents...but this is how I approach a challenge. I create a measurable goal, figure out the plan and then execute. Check back, see what how it's going and tweak as necessary.

I appreciate everyone's comments and help. You guys have been spot on with many of your comments (esp. Russ and Diane with the details), I've just been busy over the weekend to make a detailed post. I also have been giving everyone's comments a lot of thought and reanalyzing my own.

I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding regarding some aspects of my particular situation. This was my fault, as I never posted detailed thoughts with specifications as to what I meant.

I do have destinations (exact specified goals) written in stone...that's how this all came about for myself. My focus and choices for development of my plan seemed to be getting whacked out by my creativity. In regards to this, it seems I may have come across wrong or misleading about scratching my plan and changing directions. Sometimes you can talk kinda funny when you're deep in thought about something. lol

So, it's looking like I need to go back through this thread and clarify questions/responses for myself and others. I should also post some details of my plan so you guys aren't riding a blind horse here. Separate thread preferred?

Thank You Everyone for your responses!

[Look who's back to play devil's advocate!]

In my research for my eBook about creating your own luck, I found an entertaining interview with English psychologist, Richard Wiseman. When asked if one needs to be less focused to be more lucky, he responds:
"This is one of the most counterintuitive ideas. We are traditionally taught to be really focused, to be really driven, to try really hard at tasks. But in the real world, you've got opportunities all around you. And if you're driven in one direction, you're not going to spot the others. It's about getting people to have various game plans running in their heads. Unlucky people, if they go to a party wanting to meet the love of their life, end up not meeting people who might become close friends or people who might help them in their careers. Being relaxed and open allows lucky people to see what's around them and to maximize what's around them."

Enjoy.

Originally Posted by Diane Kennedy

The thing that is missing from both mtnman and eagle, at least from what I'm reading on this thread is a goal.

A goal must be clearly stated and measurable. There must be an element of time attributed to it.

I will have $5,000 in passive income, defined as income that I work less than 10 hours per month on, per month by 12/31/08.

That's a goal.

Now that you have a goal, you can measure against it. You have vehicles - an eBook and real estate - picked out, but how can you know if you've hit your goal if you aren't clear about it.

Once you have the goal, then pick your milestones. ie..in order to do that, you will need to have $100,000 invested in real estate earning 20%/year (realistic) and making $3,400/month from your eBook (that one might be a stretch...which means you mean need to have more vehicles, if this is your goal.)

My new goal on http://www.BusinessToInvestment.com is create $1 mill in 2 years or less using underutilized business assets. I'm blogging about how it's going. But, my plan is pretty simple, or at least it was at the beginning, 25 websites with an average income of $2K/month. And I know that doesn't work out to a million dollars in 2 years (it's actually quicker than that) but that gives me a margin of error and the time needed to get sites and landing pages up.

This is just my two cents...but this is how I approach a challenge. I create a measurable goal, figure out the plan and then execute. Check back, see what how it's going and tweak as necessary.

although I have not written it down quantatively, My goal is passive income equal to my current income at my job. $50,000/year. I have not set a deadline as of yet on this.

Originally Posted by ^eagle^

although I have not written it down quantatively, My goal is passive income equal to my current income at my job. $50,000/year. I have not set a deadline as of yet on this

That's the start of your roadmap, eagle.

1. Where you want to go ($50,000/yr in passive income)
2. What route you will take (i.e., what kind of fastlane vehicle you will use)
3. How long will it take, based on your estimates.

Once you start working on it this way, it gets much easier to focus on things. It also becomes MUCH easier to see what helps you, and what doesn't help you, get you where you want to go.

-Russ H.

Russ,

How do you choose your fastlane vehicles?

I feel like the vehicles have chosen me...and I do not like that.

Ever since B&P I've thought about Biophase's presentation and keep on wondering how he came up with the product!

I countinue working on my online biz and looking at real estate because we have been moderately successful with them, but truly not fastlane with either.

I know that I am lacking focus, but I feel part of the problem is that I feel that I have nothing to focus on yet...

Originally Posted by PEERless

[Look who's back to play devil's advocate!]

In my research about creating your own luck, I found an entertaining interview with English psychologist, Richard Wiseman.

When asked if one needs to be less focused to be more lucky, he responds:
"This is one of the most counterintuitive ideas. We are traditionally taught to be really focused, to be really driven, to try really hard at tasks. But in the real world, you've got opportunities all around you. And if you're driven in one direction, you're not going to spot the others. It's about getting people to have various game plans running in their heads. Unlucky people, if they go to a party wanting to meet the love of their life, end up not meeting people who might become close friends or people who might help them in their careers. Being relaxed and open allows lucky people to see what's around them and to maximize what's around them."

PEERless, you just make it too easy.

Is this the same Richard Wiseman (UK professor) who got his start as a magician, and now specializes in paranormal research? (one of his techniques was featured on a show called "The Girl With X-Ray Eyes! ).

He's also known for a search to find the world's funniest joke.

No mention that I can find, anywhere, that he has achieved substantial financial success.

His latest book is "Quirkology".

So if this is the same guy, you're giving us a quote from an ex-magician ghost buster, who is studying odd human behavior, while also trying to find the world's best joke.

And the reason I'd listen to wealth building/focus advice from this guy is . . .?

Again, my sincere apologies if I'm mixing this Richard Wiseman, Phd (psychology) with the Psychologist Richard Wiseman you quote.

-Russ H.

Originally Posted by Cactuswren

Russ,

How do you choose your fastlane vehicles?

I feel like the vehicles have chosen me...and I do not like that.

This is an *excellent* question, Cactuswren.

We chose our fastlane vehicle after months of research (with lots of help from the Richdad forums and a gal that used to hang out there long ago-- named Diane Kennedy )

Thanks again, Diane. I sometimes wonder how many lives you've changed for the better. A very cool legacy.

How we chose our fastlane vehicle:

I should start by saying that we didn't exactly fit MJ's fastlane definition of $10M in 10 years.

Our endpoint was simple: Have enough money for our family to live on. Not just subsistance living ($25K/year). We wanted to have enough money to have fun, and not need to track every darn penny like we do now!

So we settled on $100,000 per year. This is a decent sum today, but 20 years from now, it may well be the equivalent of $20K per year, subsistance level.

If that's the case, we'll be adjusting our PLAN to build more wealth as inflation increases.

*****

Once we had the $100,000/year goal, we needed to figure out a time frame to get to this point.

And we needed to figure out how we would be making our money work for us (i.e., our passive income vehicle).

Passive income vehicles are not typically "fastlane". They're conservative, hands-off investments that throw off a decent, consistent amount of interest or dividends.

Examples:

-30 year US Treasury Bills (5% per year)
-Triple net leases on commercial properties with VERY long term tenants
-hundreds of units of apt buildings w/great mgt companies in place

All of the above examples require a certain amount of monitoring-- some more, some less. The T-bills pretty much just sit there and you get checks (very, very low monitoring). The commercial props w/triple net leases need diligence to make sure your tenants (who pay for ALL repairs/maintenance) are keeping up with things.

And the apt buildings need a bit more diligence-- you need to keep an eye on the area (making sure it doesn't change for the worse, demographically), and you need to keep an eye on vacancy rates and the mgt company.

There are LOTS of other examples (stocks, bonds, CDs, etc).

*******

We decided on 30 year T-Bills (note that this may change when we get to this point).

T-bills return about 5% a year.

So if we wanted $100,000 in passive income, we needed:

($nest egg) x .05 = $100,000

$100,000 ÷ .05 = $2,000,000 nest egg

******

Let's say we had chosen NNN commercial props instead, that paid 8% net:

($nest egg) x .08 = $100,000

$100,000 ÷ .08 = $1,250,000 nest egg

******

The above example is very real world, and it's also important to note that if we have made our $$$ in real estate, we'd have to "cash in" the RE (sell it and pay the taxes) to use T-bills. Meaning we'd need to get MORE than $2,000,000 if we needed to pay tax when converting.

But w/NNN leases or Apt buildings, we could just 1031 our RE investments.

*******

Let's do another example:

-You generate RE equity worth $5,000,000 (after realtors commissions, closing costs, etc)

Putting this into 30-year Treasuries:

$5,000,000 x 70% (amount left after aggressive tax strategy) = $3,500,000

$3,500,000 x 5% Treasury bills = $175,000 year in passive income.

*****

Putting this into NNN commercial props w/8% annual net:

$5,000,000 x 99.5% (amount left after well planned 1031) = $4,975,000

$4,975,000 x 8% NNN leases = $398,000 year in semi-passive income.

******

Same nest egg ($5M). Different passive income vehicles.

And quite a big difference in annual income.

Which is why we may choose to do something else besides 30 year T-Bills.

******

Next post: Choosing our Fastlane Vehicle that would generate $2,000,000 (this was our original goal needed to get $100,000 a year if we put that into 30 Year T-bills at 5%).

-Russ H.

Originally Posted by ^eagle^

although I have not written it down quantatively, My goal is passive income equal to my current income at my job. $50,000/year. I have not set a deadline as of yet on this.

Initially, I had set a similar goal. Cashflow needed to equal my living expense needs. That quickly faded into a distant memory once the initial cashflow needs were met.

What I found was that cashflow was no longer my game. There was too much volitility in this plan. Capital building became my focus. The cashflow potential can go up and down rapidly once you get to certain levels.

Over the past 10 years, cashflow from operations has been less than 15% of the total wealth building. Focusing on net worth will allow greater cashflow to follow.

If you are leveraged at all. Small swings in gross income can have a rather large and dramatic affect on your cashflow. So, 50K in passive income could end up being 100K of 5K depending on the business environment.

Excellent post Russ!!!

That is actually part of my plan.

When I am done with the apartment game and ready to stop with the wealth building program, I intend to exchange into NNN deals. If you get into the right deals with high credit tenants, the income stream is steady. It may not appreciate rapidly but it will have a slow steady increase based on the lease terms.

Plus when I pass away, my children can have them with a stepped up basis (if that is still around).

Originally Posted by Russ H

PEERless, you just make it too easy...you're giving us a quote from an ex-magician ghost buster, who is trying to find the world's best joke...And the reason I'd listen to wealth building advice from this guy is . . .?

Again, I worship your Googling prowess. Wiseman studies some pretty "squishy" subjects. Even though his interests are off-the-wall, his science is sound. More here.

I was quoting him as an expert in luck, not wealth-building.

Carry on.

As I said above, I should have been more specific from the beginning. My apologies.

The conception of my plan is as follows....

Generalized goals and vehicles that started it all:
Goals:

• Free time
• Money for future technology investments (enjoyable for me personally)
• Financial freedom
• Increased leverage/power to help others
• Enjoy a ride different from the norm

Vehicles:

• Education
• VRE
• Self sufficient mentality and Be, Do, Have
• RE
• Self/co owned businesses
• Infopreneur (published books, info coaching of chosen road, etc..)

Submodalities:

• On 9/3/08 at 6 a.m., I will have $3,000.00/mo in semi-passive income and actively phase out all remaining negative time consumptions (remnants of a JOB, recurring clients, etc..) that effect my plan, and reduce expenses to $2,200.00/mo.
• I will deposit $10,000,000.00 on 2/20/2015, at 8 a.m.. This will be the result of my exit strategy for one of my internet companies or online ventures. (note-this is a completed deposit slip that I see in my office)

Intended actions for accomplishment:

• Ebooks
• Viral campaign of websites in the health niche, both b2b & c2b, and membership oriented & free
• Author and publish paperbacks
• Rinse and repeat, innovate, or introduce new investment vehicles to achieve a minimum of $100k/mo net
• Roll profits from ebiz into RE and T bills, preferably triple net leases

The purpose for my original post about controlling creativity may have been worded improperly for my actual stumbling blocks. The problem I saw was in my current action steps.

I began a more detailed plan for creating products, sites, and services to suit my chosen direction. In doing this, I would work on one area at a time, but in doing so, creativity takes over and I end up with a branch of a branch, that ultimately leads to a never ending road of innovation instead of sticking with my plan. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not. Technically, it is part of my plan in the sense that I am within my given industry, but the wandering will not lead to my goals and screws up my action steps, as I see it.

This is still not coming out in the right way. My mind seems to work on different levels of depth, and sometimes that doesn't include logic. I'm gonna go work out and repost with a clear head.

Originally Posted by SteveO

Initially, I had set a similar goal. Cashflow needed to equal my living expense needs. That quickly faded into a distant memory once the initial cashflow needs were met.

What I found was that cashflow was no longer my game. There was too much volitility in this plan. Capital building became my focus. The cashflow potential can go up and down rapidly once you get to certain levels.

Over the past 10 years, cashflow from operations has been less than 15% of the total wealth building. Focusing on net worth will allow greater cashflow to follow.

If you are leveraged at all. Small swings in gross income can have a rather large and dramatic affect on your cashflow. So, 50K in passive income could end up being 100K of 5K depending on the business environment.

Interesting distinction SteveO. I know the capital growth v. cash flow discussion has come up before. I was exactly where you were a year ago and my cash flow got out of whack, so I'm back building up cash flow right now.

I could be wrong here, but my experience has been that it takes either money or a lot of time to make passive in real estate. At least for me, I can make passive cash flow a lot quicker and easier with businesses. So, I'm back concentrating on businesses...and of course, missing probably the best real estate opportunities since 1989 - 1991, but so be it.

Guess the final question to all of this is that there are SO MANY vehicles, SO MANY opportunities, SO MANY chances to get wealthy, why the heck aren't we all just rolling in it?

Originally Posted by mtnman

This is still not coming out in the right way. I'm gonna go work out and repost with a clear head.

Gotcha.

I'll withold my feedback until you come back and add to this post.

-Russ H.

Mtnman, I'm struggling still to understand your initial question. I definitely misunderstood you and went off on a rant that tells you more about my frustrations with some other people, then answered your other original post...

So, as a very specific example, you're writing your eBook and suddenly solve the Rain Forest problem. Is that the type of thing you mean? Or is it more specific, you're writing your eBook Chapter 1 and have a brilliant idea for Chapter 10?

Okie doke. It's amazing what taking responsibility for your current state of mind when you're chasing your tail, and doing something about it will change....Fresh head, re read the thread. Lol. I'm cracking up a bit here because of how I explained a few things.

It's no wonder there was some confusion... Reading some of the things I was posting I would have been saying, "is this guy on drugs, this post is totally different from the last post."

What we have here is myself digging deeper to try and figure out my best move. I wasn't making sense to myself, so I took things to a habitual level to see if my core motives fit my actions. Every time I would post I was in a different stage of that. I have a decent amount of experience with hypnosis, self hypnosis, and altering current states. I often find myself in a different realm when analyzing my life at my core beliefs level. This is the reason (to me) it seems as though I was saying two different things throughout this thread almost. This may sound strange I know, but it is what it is.

Result: Diane and Russ were spot on in their own respect, to an extent. (No harm done Diane with your posts; I'm more than happy for your contribution no matter how they come off. Same with you Russ. If I need to be laid out, then call it how you see it.)

So, enough of all the blabber, this is what's on the table....

A bit of self sabotage going on here. I have the goals, the tools, and am WAY MORE than capable of conquering what I set out to do.

I don't know how to spell this out literally, but I think people like myself, that like to create, can spin in that mode forever. What ends up happening is nothing. All the potential gone to waste. What you yourself think is focus, is really not. If there is no team in place to carry out everything else, then getting knee deep in cow dung is very necessary.

All of my action steps are not in line with my destinations. This is relative to the amount of focus day in and day out.

I need to work on this and much of what I said in the beginning will be solved, it's that simple.

I think I do need to wipe my current plan and start over. And no, I don't mean drop everything and change course to a different industry. I meant reform and build on my previous thoughts from a fresh outlook, not change industries and wipe the slate clean altogether. You guys are right, that would be ridiculous, and it would probably happen again and again.

Originally Posted by Diane Kennedy

So, as a very specific example, you're writing your eBook and suddenly solve the Rain Forest problem. Is that the type of thing you mean? Or is it more specific, you're writing your eBook Chapter 1 and have a brilliant idea for Chapter 10?

In reference to the last half of the thread, this has about got it. Not specifically, but as an example, when writing the first chapter, creativity takes over and branches. The result is finding needs and creating ideas to solve them deep within that subject or industry, which leads to another branch of a branch. That's great and all, but when you end up so far away from your original intent, you end up in industries far far away from what's defined in your plan. There is value in that marketplace just as there is value in the marketplace defined by your plan and that can be very deceptive.

What does it mean? Kind of back to what Russ was saying with simplicity...You can't change the world with 100 ideas all at once. Instead, change 100 countries with one idea at a time. This path will zero in the focus, and ultimately productivity is higher.

So, in a nutshell, I think I formulated a plan that spread myself too thin. An ebook promotion would seem like the start, but often to increase credibility first through other methods will result in a more successful launch.

So I have determined I did not pin point the best starting location in my plan, and was not detailed enough with the order of execution. In doing this, I would shoot off in one direction, seeing the potential. Ultimately, I wasted "x" amount of time being "creative" when I could have focused on one thing (maybe not what I thought or seemed to be the "best"), completed it, and moved on to the next.

I think by reforming my plan, much more detailed than before, along with some extra dedication for one task at a time, will result in much better performance. I would like some help with this so I execute better this time around.

There is one other thing going on here. Eight months ago, I didn't even know what a fastlane was, let alone that definition for it. In the beginning, I was going through such a transition in mindset about business and my paradigms. I think I tried so damn hard for a while to recognize "needs" in the marketplace and change my old "making money" ways, that it seemed like an abyss. Well, it shifted. This isn't something that you just wake up and see on your face one day, like a zit. lol You become a different person, and before you know it, the needs are everywhere! Just look around, and you can add value anywhere you apply your attention. I think this can add some confusion in the immediate future of these events and takes a bit to recognize and see how you can use them to snowball your life's purpose. I hate McDonald's, but I'll use their line here...."I'm Lovin' It"!

Originally Posted by Diane Kennedy

Guess the final question to all of this is that there are SO MANY vehicles, SO MANY opportunities, SO MANY chances to get wealthy, why the heck aren't we all just rolling in it?

Ya kinda summed up a lot of this with that right there... There's one hell of an amount of truth.

My own answer to that is: everyone is on their own personal journey in life. Some choose to challenge their boundaries and go for what they want, others do not. It's all one big learning journey. If you don't love it, learn to. In my own life, I'm loving every second of this stuff! The personal growth and challenge is awesome! I think I'm getting more excited about my life than ever before! Attitude is everything.