Ten Core Principles of the Million Dollar Investor

Ten Core Principles of The Million-Dollar Investor

“My mind to me a kingdom is,” said the poet Sir Edward Dyer. In twenty years of running a real estate investment business, we have found that the most critical philosophy is to treat your mind with respect, like it’s a real kingdom. This is more important than any system of building wealth. In fact, we believe it so much we are happy to “give back (principle 10) by giving our ten core principles for free, even if you make a real decision (principle 7) to apply these principles on someone else’s real estate education course.

As Dyer finishes his poem “my wealth is health and perfect ease; My conscience clear my chief defense; I neither seek by bribes to please, or by deceit to breed offense. Thus do I live; thus will I die; Would all did so as well as I!”

Running a kingdom is a full time job, and since our mind is a kingdom to us at Stop Flipping, we treat it accordingly. When a section of our kingdom collapses, we do not blame those outside of our kingdom (principle 1). All great kingdoms since Rome knew it “wasn’t built in a day” (principle 2). No kingdom has ever lasted forever, and thus each must learn to use time wisely (principle 3). Which emissaries you allow into your kingdom is critical, for the wrong person whispering false prophecies can destroy everything you’ve built (principle 4). A good kingdom is centered around a singular discipline and avoids spreading itself too thin (principle 5). Kingdoms able to focus all their resources on a single task can move heaven and earth (principle 6). Whether in peacetime or wartime a kingdom must be ready to decide on a course of action (principle 7). Though a kingdom may have a king, all great kings have known the importance of a strong advisory council (principle 8). A kingdom must think beyond the life of its present ruler (principle 9). The greatest virtue of all kingdoms is how it treats those with no power (principle 10).

Below are what we call The Ten Core Principles of the Million-Dollar Investor. They have helped us make better decisions to build our inner and outer kingdom; may they help you building your own shining kingdom.

1.TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE

Million-dollar investors take 100 percent responsibility for what happens in their lives. They don’t blame the government, global warming, or other people for anything that happens to them. Not enough money in their savings account? Their spending choices are the cause. Fifty pounds over their ideal weight? They don’t blame McDonald’s, Burger King, and Coca-Cola. They point to the man in the mirror. Tired and cranky due to not enough sleep? They don’t blame Monday Night Football or Jimmy Fallon. Didn’t get the job promotion? They ask themselves, What can I start doing now to prepare myself for the next opportunity?

Even though it is very tempting to want to blame someone else for your life circumstances, million-dollar investors have learned the truth about taking full responsibility for everything in their lives: this is one of the most powerful practices you can adopt! When you can only blame yourself for things, you know whom to work on. If you had to fix the government and everyone else, there would be absolutely no chance of making your life better. Focus on becoming a better version of YOU by consistently educating yourself and refining your philosophy. It wouldn’t hurt to ask for a little help and guidance from the Big Guy upstairs, too.

One of the most debilitating things many people deal with is their childhood upbringing. It is sad that many people were dealt a bad hand as a child. As sad and rough as some people had it, use it as fuel to forge a much better future. The past does not equal your future.

Another truth in the same vain as personal responsibility is the subject of discipline. Million-dollar investors have learned the truth that you can’t fake success and that you can’t live a balanced, productive life if you don’t exercise discipline in all areas of your life. If you don’t take care of your health, your performance at work will suffer. If you don’t build and maintain loving relationships with your family, your work won’t be as rewarding. If you lie and cheat on your taxes, there is a good chance you will lie and cheat in other areas of your life. Jim Rohn teaches “All disciplines affect one another.” Million-dollar investors live with integrity and strive for excellence in all areas of their lives.

2.DAILY ACTION STEPS

Million-dollar investors understand that knowledge is not power. Knowledge put into action is power. They also understand the truth that momentum is real and even the smallest nudge can get things moving in the right direction. Million-dollar investors write down their goals and take daily action toward them, no matter how small and insignificant the action may be. The compounding effect of daily actions consistently moves them toward their goals and pays huge dividends over time.

3.THE VALUE OF TIME

Eighty percent of the money is made by 20 percent of the people in the world. The 20 percent have figured out how to use their time wisely and focus on things that will be high payoff activities. Million-dollar investors understand the truth that time is more valuable than money and is their most valuable resource. They focus on creating passive income and investing their time in being productive in both their business and personal lives. Television watching is usually at the bottom of the priority list for million-dollar investors.

4.THE POWER OF CHOOSING WHAT TO BELIEVE

There was a man who was terrified by the thought of speaking in public. Throughout his life, he avoided any situation in which he would have to get up in front of a group of people. He was convinced that there was no way he could ever do anything resembling public speaking. When his father died, his mother asked him if he would say a few words at the funeral. The man had been very close to his father and couldn’t say no to his mother. He was an only child and felt he had to do it. He wrote out a few paragraphs in preparation for the funeral and practiced every day for his first-ever public speaking experience. The day of the funeral, he was so nervous he almost passed out thinking about having to get up in front of the crowd. His father was a well-known businessman in town, and his family expected quite a crowd.

The time finally came in the service when it was his turn to speak. He walked up to the microphone with his notes in hand and started to read what he had written. He told stories of when his dad used to take him fishing and several other special moments with his father. He even told a few funny stories and got a few laughs from the crowd. After the funeral service, several people came up to him and told him how much they enjoyed his eulogy and what a good job he had done. The same positive message was affirmed to him over and over again. Even the priest came up to him afterward and told him what a great job he had done. Before this day, he would have never believed in a million years that he could do any public speaking. As he laid his head down on his pillow that night, he smiled and decided he actually enjoyed speaking, and the positive feedback was something he rarely experienced. Over the next few months he started looking for more opportunities to get up in front of people. He ended up joining a public speaking group and became a really good public speaker!

Million-dollar investors understand the process and power of belief. How can you become a million-dollar investor if you have never done one real estate transaction in your life? The answer is to convince yourself you can by telling yourself you can and then acting “as if” you already have become one. Think of this process as planting seeds in a garden. If you plant lots of seeds, water them, and weed the garden, chances are those seeds will germinate and grow. If you plant seeds of belief in your mind by telling yourself you are a million-dollar investor, for example, and start acting as though you are, you will slowly start to see yourself in that way. It’s almost like you have to convince your brain by affirming what you want. If you tell yourself something over and over you will eventually start seeing evidence of your desired belief. The more you affirm your belief and take action “as-if” you already have the belief, it will start to materialize.

It’s not that you tricked your brain into believing something that is false. Your brain never had any evidence that you were a million-dollar investor, so it did not believe it. When you start affirming a belief, it’s like the brain says, “OK…I now have evidence and will start moving toward making that belief true.” What actually happened is you helped that seed grow by acting as though you already were a million-dollar investor, and slowly but surely, evidence for the belief starts to appear. Anyone who has been successful at anything in life had to first believe. When you affirm something over and over again, you bridge the gap between nonbelief and belief.

Affirmation is the equivalent of water and sunshine to the planted acorn. Exactly how it works is a mystery. All we know is that the brain works that way. Go with it…write down “I am a million-dollar investor and am in the process of becoming an expert at real estate investing.” Write it down and put it in three places: on your mirror in the bathroom where you brush your teeth, on the nightstand next to the bed, and on the dashboard of your car. Make a commitment to read it out loud five times a day for thirty days, and watch what happens. You WILL believe it and be well on your way to becoming a million-dollar real estate investor.

5.MASTER ONE RECIPE AND BECOME AN EXPERT

The million-dollar investor has learned that you don’t make any real progress in life being a jack-of-all-trades. Being an expert at something and mastering the recipe is where the money is. When we were flipping houses in all price ranges, buying mobile homes, renting houses, and also trying to do traditional real estate brokerage, we were working our tails off and just barely getting by. We were jacks-of-all-trades. When we decided to focus on producing real estate notes within a specific price range, our business exploded.

6.THE POWER OF FOCUSED CONCENTRATION

Million-dollar investors have discovered the truth about focused concentration. Just like holding a magnifying glass in the sun to burn a blade of grass, the same principle applies to focused thought. When you need to solve an important problem or are trying to deal with an important issue, picture your mind like the magnifying glass. Close the door, silence the phone, turn off the TV, and forget multitasking! This is a skill that must be mastered if you are serious about building wealth. Think of focus as a muscle. Just like when you go to the gym to lift weights, practice focusing on the important people and issues in your life. Don’t let distractions get the best of you and steal your wealth. Practice the art of focused concentration. It pays big money.

7.THE POWER OF A REAL DECISION

Million-dollar investors understand the importance of making real decisions. The word decision literally means “to cut off from.” In other words, when you make a decision, you are cutting off your other options.

There was a military commander in ancient times who decided to attack an island. He knew the island would be the ideal location for a strategic port, and he had to have it. He had three ships full of soldiers sneak onto the southern shore in the middle of the night and then he ordered his men to burn the ships. The commander wanted to have no other option except to win or die. Retreat was not an option. The battle ensued and they won decisively. Practice the art of making real decisions. Make thoughtful decisions and be slow to change once you make one.

8.THE POWER OF A TEAM

Million-dollar investors understand the power of building a team of like-minded, focused people. Once again, this is a truth that has been revealed in nature. When multiple like-minded people work together, the group dynamic produces results that no individual could create. It could be likened to logs being thrown on a fire together. When the logs are close to one another, they burn extremely hot and produce a beautiful fire. If you take the logs and lay them individually on the ground, they slowly fizzle out. Find someone who wants to go on the wealth journey with you and enjoy the ride. You will get there much faster with someone by your side.

“The Mastermind principle consists of an alliance of two or more minds working in perfect harmony for the attainment of a common definite objective.

“No two minds ever come together without a third invisible force, which may be likened to a ‘third mind.’ When a group of individual minds are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual in the group.

“No man can become a permanent success without taking others along with him.”

—Napoleon Hill

9.GETTING RICH SLOWLY IS THE WAY OF THE WEALTHY

Million-dollar investors have the ability to think long term. They are focused on the direction they are going in but are not overly concerned about when they arrive at their destination. They understand that building significant lasting wealth takes time. They view themselves first as investors and are always cognizant of how they spend their money. Million-dollar investors are not impulse buyers. They are focused on creating passive income and have mastered the art of enjoying the ride while in pursuit of their financial independence.

10.GIVING BACK

Jim Rohn taught us that “giving starts the receiving process,” even though intuition tells you that by giving you will have less. The truth that has been discovered by million-dollar investors is that giving with a pure heart actually brings more abundance into their lives. There is a higher power at work here, and the mind of man cannot totally comprehend why nature works this way. When you give of your resources, it demonstrates to the universe that you believe in abundance and you are being a good steward of the resources you have been entrusted with. It really is true that giving is better than receiving. Ancient Bible scripture has numerous verses illustrating this truth:

“Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”