“How come that idiot’s rich and I’m not?”
Chapter 5 Rich Idiots don’t get rich alone
written by Randy Ramadhin
Robert shares with us that most of the successful people in our history like Thomas Edison did not discover the light bulb on his own. Did you know that he had a team of 21 assistants!?
A lesson from Donald Trump at a Wealth Expo in the speaker’s lounge was that one of the speaker’s phone rang and he answered it. Donald went up to the speaker when he was done his conversation and said “You don’t make enough money”. The speaker replied that he did not make as much as Donald but made plenty and Donald replied “You don’t make enough money; if you did you wouldn’t have to answer your own phone.”
Robert suggests us to think about using O.P.’s (Other People) in our life because we can always make more money but we can’t make more time.
OP’s to stay away from are the “I mean well” group that thinks they know it all but never tried it. The “Tried it and failed” group that will tell you all the reasons why it won’t work. The “Dream stealers” are secretly jealous every time you succeed. The “Ouch it’s me” group is our own self-sabotage which we need to check in the mirror every once and a while. The “Comfort zone” group is all those buddies we hang out with and are comfortable with but do not push or support us to take the leap in becoming a Rich Idiot.
-“Hang out with Rich Idiots and you’ll get rich. Hang out with RUB’s and you’ll stay a RUB”-
I use the five finger rule. I raise my hand and tell someone, show me your hand. Then I ask them to point to the palm and I say that is YOU. Then I ask that person to tell me who each finger represents. “Who are the five closest people in your life right now? If you had to tally up the hours you spent with everyone in your life over the last year and pick the top 5, who would they be?” The result is that YOU are the average of those 5 people- simple. Their wealth, their health, their attitudes and beliefs. Did you want to make a change? I know I sure do.
The following enablers are the OP’s that we should be striving to attain:
- The OP E.xperience group
- The OP I.deas group
- The OP T.ime group
- The OP M.oney group
OPE have done it and are willing to share their experiences with you. OPI is akin to using other systems and ideas that are created for me to leverage to help me build wealth. I see this as similar to Network marketing opportunities as they are systems that I can join with little cost and use to create wealth, learn from and build a network of like-minded people. OPT are all the service providers that we can hire so that our time is spent doing what we LOVE. A maid, a landscaper, a supplies delivery company, a mailing services. DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND DELEGATE THE REST.
OPM is using other people’s money and Robert shares that if you think it is hard to lose your own money, try to lose someone else’s money so he says check, double check and triple check the proposal before you are looking to raise money.
Robert uses an example of not asking for money but asking for advice on an investment that you found. From this consultative point of view you ask a banker for his feedback on what you have found and then ask them, how do you think I can get the money for this? If what you have is good, the banker will truly try to find the money for you. Robert takes it one step further and shows you how to “shop” the deal between different money sources.
Finally, Robert talks about building a Dream Team of experts by asking for referrals to these experts that are paid what they are worth. This dream team would consist of a good accountant, property manager, lawyer, mortgage broker, etc.
About the author: Randy Ramadhin is a professional real estate investor, has an honours degree from the Rotman School of Business in Toronto and possess both the real estate brokers and mortgage brokers licenses in Ontario. Randy is also the Chair of Condominium Committe of the Building Industry and Land Development Association, an Accredited Mortgage Professional and a member of the Commercial Division of the Toronto Real Estate Board. Randy and his wife Loretta are proud parents of one child living and serving as Rotarians in the community of Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
I remember a quote from that Ronald Regan had in the Oval office
“You can accomplish anything you want in life, as long as you don’t care who gets the credit for it.”