N E W S

DEBT Sucks

from Steve Cook

N E W S L E T T E R F O RM I D - A M E R I C A A S S O C I A T I O N O FR E A L E S T A T E I N V E S T O R S

January 2016

What MakesYou Happy!

Is there really Good and Bad Debt?

C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S O FT H E S U P E R S U C C E S S F U L

9

PLUS

RE INVESTMENT

Lifeonaire RetreatIn Kansas City the first week in March.

SUCCESS

TOP 9 CHARACTERISTICSOF THE SUPER SUCCESSFULby Steve CookPhotos from GraphicStock.com

Learn much more about

what it means to be

successful to a

Lifeonaire in Steve's

best selling Book:

There are all kinds of lists, and this iscertainly not the first one that coversthe characteristics of successfulpeople, however this one just may bedifferent than any other you have seenpublished before. You see, I’m the kindof person that, if you ask me to give youa list of the top ten most successful Iknow, I would ask you to definesuccess.

I ask this because it isn’t always goingto mean the same thing.

I know that most of the world that we live inwould define success based off of financialachievement, or business accomplishments,but I define success differently. I definesuccess by the abundance of life onepossesses. There are many people that canmake the top income producers list, or thefastest growing companies, or the greatestnet worth, but if they do not possess thefollowing characteristics, I would notconsider them to be successful.

JANUARY 2016

“Lifeonaire,ProsperitySimplified.”

Steve Cook is a Real Estate Investor,Coach and Founder of Lifeonaire.

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3) Peace - I don’t look at people who areworried all the time as being successful. Doyou?

4) Patience - Truly successful people areunderstanding of others who try. Successfulpeople don’t have the time for someone whoexpects something for nothing, but theyalways exhibit patience with those who putforth their best efforts.

5) Kindness - Many people who areperceived as “successful” are simply mean. Ithink that this clearly shows their weaknessand it is a cover up for their lack of success. Ifyou are truly successful, being kind to otherscomes naturally.

6) Goodness - A super successful personwon’t be walked all over, but they will allowothers to get the better end of a deal. Theydo this because they desire the best for allthey work with and they will oftentimes dothings that others think are crazy. As aresult, the super successful person developsa great reputation among the people thatthey work with.

7) Faithfulness - Super successful peoplebelieve in something greater thanthemselves. They have a vision of somethinggreater than worldly success, and they live itin their lives.

8) Gentleness - Super successful people arenot harsh. They are firm when necessary, butthey are gentle in their dealings with all. Others want to work with them, and helpthem, whereas harshness is a means ofcontrolling and compelling people to workwith you. You will never get the best out ofsomeone when you are harsh with them.

9) Self Control - Super successful people areable to exhibit self control. They do what isright even when it is not easy. They take thehigh road even if it may cost them to do so.

I call these people Lifeonaires, likemillionaires, but someone who is full of life. Anyone can be a Lifeonaire. They have aclear vision of what success means to themand they pursue it with all they have.

SUCCESS JANUARY 2016

“I definesuccess bytheabundanceof life onepossesses.”

Here is my list:

1) Love - Without love, what do you have? Iknow of someone who made $875,000 in 90minutes and then he broke down and cried. They weren’t tears of joy, but instead tearsof sadness because he felt alone. He had noone to share his accomplishment with. Ismaking a lot of money without love success? I would say no.

2) Joy - Why do we strive to climb thecorporate ladder, or achieve great things inbusiness? Wouldn’t you all agree that it is sothat we can enjoy life? Without joy, you havenot arrived. If you find yourself constantlystriving, yet longing to feel fulfilled with joy, Iguarantee you that you do not FEELsuccessful no matter what the exterior lookslike.

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We all want a good life – to behappy but our beliefs about whatit takes to make us happy are forthe most part just plain wrong.

Economist have been obsessedwith this for a long time and thereis plenty of research around therelationship between money andwell-being. All of it says that therelationship we all believe iseither nonexistent or at best

terribly weak.

Economist have been obsessedwith this for a long time andthere is plenty of researcharound the relationshipbetween money and well-being. All of it says that therelationship we all believe iseither nonexistent or at bestterribly weak.

What Will MakeYou Happy

In other words, if you are below thepoverty line, every additional $1000earned significantly increases thesubjective happiness score, onceabove the line, increases only addsthe tiniest bit to well-being.

Between 1958 and 1984, real incomein Japan went up over 500% andmaterial comforts increased similarlybut the reported happiness scoresover this period remain constant inJapan. This effect is so striking incontrast to what we believe shouldhappen it has been named the“Easterlin Paradox” after theeconomist who first discovered it.

Many economist and psychologisthave tried to explain away this datathat continues to accumulate yearafter year but none have made anargument that stands up to scientificinquiry. The problem is the worldsimply doesn’t work the way webelieve it should when it comes tomoney and happiness.

Chuck Bauman debunks what it is that makes ushappy in life.

AVAILABLE ONAMAZON.COM

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Perhaps some other factor ismore indicative of our happinessand more predictive in turns ofincreasing our well-being scores. One study of people whovolunteered once a weekincreased their subjectivehappiness scores by as much asmoving from $20K a year to $75Ka year would do.

Yet another study showed thatcharitable contribution had theequivalent of doubling one’sincome in increasing well-being. A third study showed that beinghappily married was theequivalent of earning anadditional $100k in terms ofreported well-being. And finally,having a trusted friend that yousee or interact with raised scoresequal to a $100k a year increasein income.

Those figures are staggering and Iwould say unbelievable but the

problem is that study afterstudy continue to pile up thatwe value a lot of things in oursocial life way more that we domoney, we just don’t want tobelieve the data. Once wereach a certain level of financialstability, more money simplydoesn’t move the needle theway having a great socialnetwork does.

So let’s suppose that we justchoose to believe this andexamine the difference it wouldmean in our life if we canconvince ourselves that theoverwhelming data is right andrepresents the truth. It meansthat once we reach a goal of$100k a year we should start tofocus on building betterrelationships and maintainingour health (I didn’t go throughall the research there but trustme it is very similar) if we wantto truly be happy.

People ask me all the time whyLifeonaire works, my opinion is acomplex one but I believe it works, atleast in part, because it focusespeople on what is truly important inlife….and that focus in on the thingsthat drive happiness and well-being,not on the things we believe drivethose, but on those things thatactually move the needle.

There is much more to Lifeonairethan just this piece, but after myresearch over the past severalweeks, I would say if you got nothingelse out of the program this piece isworth it.

When your coaches say, “Those thatparticipate the most get the mostout of the program.” It’s not idlewords, we know it subjectively andnow we have the data to back it upobjectively. Get involved and gethappier, seems simple and a littlecounterintuitive but that is how itworks.

Once we reach a certainlevel of financial stability,

more money simply doesn’tmove the needle the way

having a great socialnetwork does.

Chuck Bauman has extensive experience asan executive coach helping to developleaders and a documented background withhelping to develop profitable small andmedium sized businesses. His certificationsinclude SPHR, CPIM, SSMBB and CQM just toname a few. His insights are profound andoften shock those unfamiliar with his skillwith their accuracy and wisdom.

DID YOU KNOW?

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Attention Women of Real Estate!

In this group, we support, refer, help and advise one another onour real estate investing journeys.Whether you are new orexperienced, everyone hassomething to share, and we willall learn from one another.

Join us at: January 26th, 7pmPanera Bread10606 Shawnee Mission PkwyShawnee Mission, KS

THE CALENDAR

The City of Overland Park is drafting new rules

on Rental Property Inspection and

Registration. Next meeting January 6th at

7pm. City Council Chamber - 8500 Santa Fe,

Overland Park, Kansas.

OVERLAND PARKRENTAL PROPERTY

COMMUNITY >

WIRENETWORKING >

Jason is going to share with you

how just about everything you

have ever learned about investing

in the past has been wrong. Well,

let me clarify… It’s not entirely

wrong, but even the right things

in the wrong order is a recipe for

disaster.

.If you’ve ever wanted to quit your

job, work less hours, travel the

ST LOUIS FLIPPER, JASON ROBERTSMEETING >

MARE I .ORG /CA L ENDAR

1STSATURDAYS

Networking Coffee 1st Saturdays February 6th10 am to 12 pmPanera Bread7070 Martway, Mission

world, have the freedom to give a

lot of money to excellent causes

you believe in and absolutely love

what you do every day, then DO

NOT MISS this month’s meeting.

Tuesday January 12th

6 pm to 9 pm

Holiday Inn - Top Floor

8787 Reeder Road, Overland Park

Pre-Register at www.MAREI.org

R E I N V E S TM EN T N EWS | 9

A Lifeonaire is someone who is fullof life. Many people equate livinglife to the fullest with their financialmeans to do so; they think thathaving more money willautomatically enhance their lives. At the root of a desire for money isactually the desire for what peoplethink money will give them: agreater quality of life. That focustypically results in the opposite ofthe goal, causing people to funnel

their energy into earning moremoney rather than living anincredible life.

When someone is very“successful” in their career andspending a lot of time making alot of money, often times theynever really get around toexperiencing the fullness oflife for which they are working sohard. This is evidenced by the

LIFEONAIRERETREAT

broken families, damaged friendships,forgotten hobbies and interests,crumbling marriages and troubledchildren that result from neglect -- allbecause their primary focus is onbeing more financially successful.

The first step to becoming a Lifeonaireis to determine what you want your lifeto look like. (Creating a Lifeonairevision) Believe it or not, 98% (or more)of people don’t know specifically whatthey want their lives to look like. Mosteveryone says they do, but very fewpeople have any amount of specificityto their answer, nor have they takenthe time to put it in writing. Instead,what they know is that they don’t likethe way it currently is, and theymistakenly believe that more moneywill be the solution. This first step iscritical, since your Lifeonaire vision willbecome the foundation thatsubsequent actions will build upon.

Most people think of success this way: Start a business, focus the majority ofyour time on making it growfinancially, and then try to figure outhow to live life in the time leftover (ifthere is any). For a Lifeonaire, we dothe exact opposite; we spend ourprimary time on what’s reallyimportant and then fit our businessinto the remaining time. This meanswe must learn to design ourbusinesses to serve the life we want tolive, rather than serving ourbusinesses, hoping that one day it willprovide the freedom we so desire.

Many won’t admit that life didn’t quiteturn out the they had hoped it would. Instead, they present a facade ofenjoying success, when deep insidethey’re frustrated, tired and feel likefailures. Why are they frustrated? Because they’ve been playing by allthe rules our society dictates toachieve success. The problem is,they’re playing the wrong game.

Entrepreneurs tend to be the worstculprits since most of them play thegame of accumulating the mostwealth, yet don’t have a life. (Many of

What is a Lifeonaire Event? First, you need toknow what a Lifeonaire is.

W O R K S H O P

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LEARNMORE

MAREI.org/Life

which are business owners,authors, national speakers, gurus,internet marketers, people youlikely already know or have heardabout…) We have to get them tochange the rules.

We teach them to setthemselves up to win byrewriting the rules they chooseto live by.

I’ll let you in on a little secret… Inthe end, most discover that whatthey want is to experience life andrelationships. Currently theirmindset is that it takes money toaccomplish this, but as theyexplore it further they come torealize that it takes time, which isthe one thing that most trade awayin pursuit of money.

Here’s proof: When we ask peopleto tell us the names of all thepeople they know personally(Notice I said personally, notsomeone you read a book about orheard about…) who are living thelife according to the way they wantto live, most people can’t name asingle person. Many don’t knowanyone who lives the lifestyle theyso strongly desire. Some may beable to name a few friends oracquaintances that have a lot ofmoney, but very few can name

people they know personallywho are truly free in every senseof the word. And yet, all of themare following the same recipe forsuccess that everyone elsearound them is following.

The sad truth about the AmericanDream is that it is a sham. Itenslaves people. They pursue itthinking that it is synonymouswith life, but it results in tradingaway life to attain and maintainthe dream. We’ve sold ourselves(our time and our freedom) forthis dream that has no power togive us the life we truly desire. Totruly live life to the fullest, wemust replace the prison of debtwith the lifestyle of prosperitythrough simplicity.

So, in essence, a Lifeonaire eventis about winning the game of life. But in order to win the game, youmust know not only consciouslychoose the game you wish toplay, you must also write therules. Most people are playingsomeone else’s game entirely,following rules they never wroteor consciously agreed to in thefirst place.

Take back the game. And thistime, win the right game. We’llsee you at the event.

March 3 - 5NEXT EVENT

KANSAS CITY METRORegister Now - MAREI.org

R E I N V E S TM EN T N EWS | 1 1

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We’ve all heard the theory behind “good debt” and “bad debt,” right? According to Robert Kiyosaki from Rich Dad Poor Dad, bad debt involvesborrowing money to buy stuff on credit cards, car loans, vacations, etc…(bad debt is considered debt will never actually make you any money…)and good debt is supposedly things like rental properties that are beingpaid for every month by the tenant. (good debt is supposed to actuallyhelp you make money.)

But what happens if you have a rental property and your tenant doesn’tpay this month? What if they move out of the house? Do you still have tomake a payment to the bank even though you didn’t get any income fromthe property until you get it filled again? Or do you get to call the bankand say, “sorry guys… can you wait a couple of months until I get anothertenant in the house?”

Um yeah, it doesn’t feel so “good” on months like that, does it?

By the way, speaking of rental properties, we’ve been taught to believe thatrentals are passive income, right? Are they really “passive” though?

DEBT SUCKSDo we really just do work one time, getsomeone in one of our rentals and thensit back and collect checks the rest ofour lives without ever having to doanything ever again?

Here’s the truth… you’ve been sold alie. Actually, you’ve been sold awhole series of lies.

Don’t believe me? Think about thisfor a minute… I’ve been speaking allover the country for the past 7 yearsnow, teaching people how to make akiller income in the real estateinvesting business, and I have yet tomeet a single person that ever said,“You don’t understand Jason… debt isa big part of my vision! I LOVE beingin debt!”

Have you ever said that? Ever metsomeone else that said it?

Ever met a debt free real estateinvestor that went out of business?

Ever heard of a couple fighting at theend of the month because there’sjust too much money leftover?

I didn’t think so…

Yet most people today are in debt upto their eyeballs. Most real estateinvestors borrow money every timethey do a deal, whether they'reflipping houses, buying up rentals,whatever. The fact is, no one everwanted to be in debt, but mostpeople don’t know any other way tohit their investing goals without it, sothey continue to choose to go intodebt every month, trying to make itbig in the real estate game. That’s allfine and dandy until something goeswrong, (like a tenant moves out, therehab takes longer to sell than youthought it would, or about a billionother things that could go wrongactually do go wrong.)

Jason Roberts shares why it's not really a gooddebt vs a bad debt - its all DEBT!

W O R K S H O P

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What if everything you learnedabout good debt/bad debt was abunch of garbage? What if therewere other ways (vehicles) toaccomplish what you originally setout to accomplish, only this timearound, you could do it withoutever borrowing so much as a singledollar? That means no monthlypayments… almost no downside… Would you be willing to learn?

What if debt was really just avehicle that people use to try tobuild wealth, but what if I couldshow you a different set of vehiclesthat accomplish the exact samething without the down side ifsomething doesn’t go exactly asplanned? Would you listen? Wouldyou spend 90 minutes of your lifeat our next REIA meeting to savetens of thousands (if not hundredsof thousands) of dollars of wastedinterest payments this year to findout how to do it?

If you want to learn how to run areal estate business 100% debtfree, then you better not miss thenext MAREI meeting coming up onTuesday January 12th. I’m going to

show you how I run my businesscompletely debt free. That meansnever borrowing money again. That means, when you makemoney, you keep it. It no longergoes to the lender. And if youalready have debt, I’m going toshow you how to get rid of all of itonce and for all.

Listen, if you like makingpayments every month tocreditors, this meeting isn’t foryou. Or if you’re one of the guysthat thinks you absolutely MUSThave debt in order to have writeoffs on the books and not pay asmuch in taxes, that’s fine… goahead and continue the mentalitythat spending $1.00 in interestmakes sense so that you can save$.30 cents in taxes. But if you’resomeone who’s sick of debt andwould rather live without it beingin your life, don’t miss thismeeting.

Do whatever you have to do to bethere. Get a babysitter, call in sickto work, bring the dog, whatever.

I’ll see you there.

R E I N V E S TM EN T N EWS | 1 3

Jason Roberts: Having built amultimillion dollar business at a youngage to losing that same business andeverything he had worked for all by theage of 30, there isn't much in thebusiness world Jason hasn'texperienced. Since being exposed toLifeonaire and its teachings in 2010,Jason specializes in helping others to create new, or improve existingbusinesses to serve their ownersinstead of their owners serving them.His students benefit from his ability totake something that could normallytake a 40 hourwork week to accomplish and turningit intosomethingthat oftenproducesbetter resultsin just a few hours per day.

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A C C U R A T E T I T L EA Full Service Title CompanyDavid Greenwww.AccurateTitleCo.com913-338-0100

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A P I AAsset Protection Insurance AgencyLindsay Griffinwww.APIAProtects.com877-752-2742

A Z U R E W A T E R F R O N TLuxury Waterfront Property InvestmentBrad Reddickwww.AzureWaterfront.com800-240-3606

Find out more about each of these associates by visitingtheir website.

Or go to MAREI.org and click on Business Directory.

CROSSROADS INVESTMENT LENDINGInvestor LendingBritton Asbell and BarakTschirhartwww.KCLend.com913-766-2900

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DIRECTORY

J A M I E S O N H O M E T E A MRealtor & Property ManagementKevin Jamiesonwww.KevinJamieson.ReeceNichols.com913-384-8331

K C I N V E S T O R F U N D I N GHard Money LenderJJ Pawlowskiwww.KCInvestorFunding.com816-916-4593

K C I N V E S TInvestment Property SellerKim Tuckerwww.KCInvest.com913-735-0018

K C M O H O M E B U Y E RProperty BuyerDon Tuckerwww.kcmoHomeBuyer.com816-200-2198

REALTY RESOURCEReal Estate BrokerageScott Tuckerwww.RealtyResourceKC.com816-406-0701

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M E R C H A N T S M O R T G A G E

Real Estate ProfessionalsMarcus and Matt Braywww.PrideProperties.com913-213-5370

Real Estate Finance CompanySusan Aubinwww.MerchantsMtg.com720-554-9480

I N V E S T O R S C H O I C E F U N D I N GThe Flexible Funding SolutionL. Scott Ficinuswww.InvestorsChoiceFunding.com816-668-7223

L O N G H O R N I I I I N V E S T M E N T S

Private Lending PartnerLawrence Hopkinswww.LonghornInvestments.com214-420-7329

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ARE YOUREALLYLIVING LIFE,OR ARE YOUJUST PAYINGBILLS UNTILYOU DIE?Quote from Lifeonaire.com