The Bush Brothers

My brother Michael’s words in his previous posts are kind and complimentary.

First, allow me to say that I provided this post to him to read, prior to posting it.  He responded to various things I wrote and to be fair, I decided to leave his responses in (they’re in blue), rather than modify what I wrote.  This was because some of the time, he’s right and for me to paraphrase his words might not do them justice.  The rest of the time, we might just agree to disagree.  Rather than posting only what’s agreeable - and, given that I requested his review - I elected to post it all.  One might think of it as a point counterpoint, even if only between brothers.

Also, I think we’ll agree that we want to welcome new readers that may have just been informed about, or discovered this web log.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do

————————————– 

Michael’s fears and mine are both significant and not insurmountable.  It’s important to gather enough information, education, and experience (if you can figure out how prior to actually doing something).  These are things that every business would be better off having.  I value Michael as a partner in business and in life for his careful thoughts and empirical philosophy.  Michael’s right about my #1 fear, though.  It is inaction.  See, I’ve set a goal for myself without knowing how to get there.  Sure, I could sit down and think about it.  I have, in fact.  But, when I’m “thinking,” there’s always the little voice in my head that’s telling me to stop thinking and start doing something – anything.

I told my brother that he’s the reasonable one and I’m the touchy feely one.  I believe in karma, as strange as it may sound, but during the days when I sent out 10 resumes every day right after college, I’d have a great job interview and be so sure I had the job that I’d stop sending out resumes.  Next thing I knew, “David, you were the third place candidate for two jobs.  Good luck, though!”  This didn’t happen once.  It happened at least three times!  Now, 13 years later, it’s still with me.  I can feel that if I’m only thinking and not doing something, karma’s only going to give me great ideas and let me languish in knowing that “I could have done that,” “I thought of that first,” etc.  
This sounds like you are making my point more than your own.  It’s “doing” without the “thinking” that left you with few job prospects after college (of course, the recession had something to do with it too, but a sound plan may have led to more successful action).  Simply sending out resumes is laughable.  Though I have done that myself, I don’t think that I’ve ever landed a job because someone received my resume.  As I mentioned below, “action” for the sake of motion may be the only way for you to make change in your life.  You’ll also have to learn and experience after you’ve put things into motion.
 My reasonable brother knows that with great ideas, I have to think about them and make educated decisions, preferably with wisdom and empirical knowledge to support my hypotheses.  I believe that’s one way and probably the surest way to succeed.  Somehow, I get discouraged each time I approach something that way.
  My most pronounced attempt of doing something in my brother’s way was with real estate.  Michael and I looked at least 100 houses and wrote offers on more than 20.  We met a realtor (that was meant to be for many reasons that I might explain in some other random post) that stuck with us through every low-ball offer.  He dedicated hours and hours to our need for the perfect house(s) with the perfect seller(s). We never found it.  We found some win-wins but they weren’t slam dunks for either party (at least not apparently).  Rather than accept some risk, we passed on them.  There were many of these houses where if Michael went on “a feeling,” as I did, we’d have become the owners of property and seen them come close to doubling in value during a 2 year span.  But, Michael wasn’t comfortable with making decisions based on unknown phenomena and I could not deny the voice of reason.  (This isn’t correct.  It wasn’t the “unknown”, it was most often my bar was to high regarding return on investment and I used inexperienced attributes to calculate the value of the investments.  Put this statement in here if you’d like to make your point on myth).  He’s told me that he feels bad that he didn’t listen but I feel bad that I didn’t give him anything to listen to.  I believe that in most cases, I could have said, “I’m buying the house, and if you’re not coming along, I’ll find some other partner to help me,” he’d have come along for the ride.  But, he’d have done so with a disclaimer that he didn’t think it was smart.  Again, I couldn’t argue with what’s smart from an empirical standpoint.  Both of us wanted real estate so badly that we could have talked each other into the risk required but instead we talked each other into the surest thing (that never was).  I’m not sorry about this experience – it was just that.  It was a great experience to add into our lives.  (I totally disagree with the story you use to make this point.  Our data was wrong.  It wasn’t the fear of the “unknown” or from a lack of motion.  We wouldn’t have written 20 offers if we were “afraid” or missing the “art of start”.  Again, I really feel like you are making my point for knowledge and experience.  I truly believe that good judgement often comes from experience and experience often comes from bad judgement; however, I also believe that motion does not mean progress and can be costly when motion is made for the sake of motion.  Again, motion may be the most important element for you.  Regarding real estate, I’m offering an opportunity for motion.  I’ve done the rationalization that makes for good business.  I’ve done this with the somewhat costly education we received during our multiple offer spree and my subsequent investment of time and money in the Long & Foster real estate course)
 The fact that we were so close so many times is encouraging to me.  I’m disappointed that we didn’t close one deal but we could have.  The market’s different now but that’s also encouraging to me.  Real Estate could be my thing again soon   The market’s definitely cooling off in our area but it’s not cold.
 

Three Questions, all easily answered…

Why One Million Dollars?  Why not?  It’s sort of like running a marathon.  You start training a few miles at a time.  Before you know it, you’re running 5, then 10, then 15 miles.  When you can go out and run 15 miles without tons of pain, (I hear) you can go ahead and do another 11 miles to finish a marathon periodically.  If I can get to $1,000,000, I can create infinite wealth.

Why Money at All?  Well, money is the means to other things, even some intangible things.  Quality of life is important for my family and it enables us to sustain our habits.  Some righteous folks might argue that I don’t need “things” and I say they’re right.  I also say it’s okay to have them.  More importantly than “things” for the quality of life for my family, having money enables one to perform acts that without it might be impossible.  For example, I want to volunteer.  The only volunteering I do now is blood donation.  I can afford to do it because my employer allows me to do it during work hours.  They also sponsor it so the Red Cross comes to us.  It’s convenient.  What about active volunteering (e.g., serving lunch at a soup kitchen, teaching first aid - or job skills, or school)?  I’d like to do a little.  But, I work.  I have the day job that precludes me from certain activities.  I have the family that I like to spend time with and that needs me.  If I could volunteer during the times when the kids are in school and the wife is working (or joining me), that would be just fine!  Church?  I’d love to have enough money so that I could be a significant resource to the church.  It would bring me great pleasure to honor God through giving significant financial resources, especially while my children are young and my time is limited.

Why me rather than someone else?  Only because I’m motivated to do it.  We can all do it if we choose.  I don’t have believe I’m more deserving than others to be called a millionaire.  I just want it.  I want others to want it, too.  If anybody reading this is skeptical, please, PLEASE read One Minute Millionaire.  It’s about the simplest, book I’ve ever been so excited to read.  I couldn’t put it down.  Age doesn’t matter and neither does your current life.  Only your mindset matters and this book will set your mind in motion.  It’s up to you to keep your mind from congealing back into comfort.

And, if you want an example of somebody that’s made a life for himself helping others and doing so on his own terms, you have to check out Steve Pavlina.  The guy’s pretty interesting to say the least.  I don’t agree with everything he writes but I certainly agree with his motives.

During the course of my career, I’ve often found myself telling people aloud (and myself, quietly) that if they’d leave me in a room with a door for 6 months and nothing else to do, I could do that and save us tons of money.  Never once have I lobbied seriously for that position and I think there are two simple reasons:  1)  If someone were to say, “you’re on,” I’d have to give up a job I know and don’t mind for a new one requiring yet-unknown skills.  2)  I might fail.

I might have to learn something new and I might fail…

Wow…

Most people know that know me would not be surprised to hear me encourage them to try something new.  And, I might tell someone not to worry about being wrong, or failing from time to time.  I’m inclined to tell them to go ahead and fail but make sure they try.

But I just said that “I might have to learn something” and “I might have to fail” are the two reasons why I, myself, have not pursued opportunities that I believed in.

Is it time for a gut check?  I’m not sure.  I’ve challenged my brother to join me in a race to $1,000,000.  I did this without a well-thought-out plan.  So how do I get from there to here?  For starters, I realize that every single day is important.  I’m trying not to go through a single day without attempting to set wheels in motion or at least throwing a little money in my “Million Dollar Pile.”  As I sit and think of other ways to get from here to $1,000,000, I think about what I might need most.

Time.  It’s relentless and we all have the same amount of it but we don’t all make the best use of it.  Thinking about those that impress me, people that are financially independent, I believe they all have something in common - they don’t have day jobs.  Mine’s a commitment that remains necessary.  I don’t even dislike it but in order to reach my first million dollars, I have to make the best use of my time while I’m not there.  Those people that spend their days and nights working from home and hanging out with family, or travelling, or learning, have it good, don’t they?

Well, “leave me in a room with a door for 6 months and nothing else to do, I could do that.”  It’s not different in life.  I might have to learn something new and there’s a chance I might fail.  Look - I earn about $70,000/year working at my job.  It sure feels like if I didn’t have a job to go to but the paychecks continued rolling in for six months, I could produce new systems of earning.  My work would be near family members and perhaps it’s not 8 hours in a row but two hour spurts, 4 times a day.  Give me a year, instead.  Now it seems even more feasible - and more risky - and a deeper hole I’d find myself in if I fail.  But why not try?

Right now, it’d be a leap of faith but my confidence is only sprouting.  I’m growing every day.

Have you earned any money today?

A couple of nights ago, I set out to make some money at my computer.  Not knowing how this would happen, I read a little bit of Steve Pavlina’s blog about his wife’s new blog and got up.  I stood there, motivated by Erin Pavlina’s motivation, and noticed a box in my bedroom.

This was not a box that was recently put there.  It was placed in the same spot at which it rested only a year and four months earlier when we purchased our home in Calvert County.  I was trained by this week not to notice it.  What was in it?  35 Sports Illustrated magazines from 2000 and 2001.  I invested three hours in describing them the best I could before posting them for sale on ebay.  What do I need them for?  They should bring someone else joy (or more money, hence joy).

If I only make what it costs to ship them plus $10, I still got them out of the house and I’ve cleared out another square foot.  I can either utilize that square foot to make more money, or take pleasure in my simpler living   More likely, I’m expecting to sell these magazines for $15 or $20 but the demand may be higher.  There were some very current names of athletes in there who, at the time, were still in college.

When I set out to rid the house of some “stuff” and make a few bucks ($99.00 Buy it Now), I didn’t know what else I might accomplish.  I discovered (for myself although it’s certainly not a new phenomenon) that businesses can draw traffic from one another very easily.  Most obviously, I included tons of names in my ebay post which I’ll do on this site gratuitously   That reminds me, do you think Disney PAYS for those commercials during the Superbowl between the Seahawks and the Steelers?  It also helped me that some of the issues were on the Olympics (albeit 6 years ago).  Including names of folks that people have a healthy interest in will draw people to my listing.  I may not have the goods they searched for but they might like what I have.  The businesses in which these sought after celebrities thrive (or blunder) will have been the source of my income, unintentionally and harmlessly.  I love how that works!

As I sit here and write, I think I could link just about every one of my sentences to something I’ve read somewhere else.  I’m planning to go back and add some links in here now just so that you can view my SI collection and buy if you like!

Next up, what I think are the first 12 months of NFL Insider magazine.  Keep checking my ebay listings! 

I think I’ll suggest that people post ebay listing questions on my blog since I spend most of my time HERE

As you may have discovered by now, I’ve spent much of my working life wanting and wondering how to stop spending my life working.  I’ve read books about how to get rich quick.  I’ve read books about how to get rich slow.  Once, I even read a book about How to Want What You Have, just hoping - just wishing, that I could shake my undeniable quest for independence.

Often times I’ve felt like I should be able to do it.  I’m smart enough.  I’m college-educated.  I know it’s in my blood.  Then, in a matter of weeks, or months if I really mean it this time, I go back to being thankful, but ashamed for settling on, the blessings that have become mine:  Income for a job that is not bad if I have to do it - even stimulating at times, two awesome children, Joshua (4 1/2) and Jacob (almost 3), my always-more-beautiful wife of almost 10 years, Carol, friends that accept me with all of my quirks, too many to list by name for the risk that I’ll exclude some, an opportunity to live a brisk 5 minute walk away from my brother Michael and his wife and daughter, a short one-hour drive or less to any of my immediate family members’ homes, less than a day’s drive to my in-laws’ families who’ve most graciously and unconditionally accepted me, just to name a few

This morning, Jacob came in our room and climbed into bed with us.  He laid there quietly for about five minutes before starting to complain for his thirst, and the downstairs that needed him, and before long, he would need a snack.  I roled over to see if I could get a little more sleep while Carol lovingly endured Jacob’s picking and whining - but Jacob saw me!  I could play dead no longer.  His attention immediately shifted to my side of the bed.  I was his new hope for salvation this morning.  Here he’s thinking, “Maybe Daddy will get up with me.”

He started out very peacefully.  He put his soft two year-old hand on my neck and whispered something, audible only to him in his mind.  Still, I could hear loud and clear.  I want to experience that every morning until he’s no longer interested.  Minutes earlier, I laid in bed thinking of how we were going to turn this blog into something that interested readers and into a place where others might experience the same feelings of desire and want - so that we might motivate each other in ways planned and unplanned.  There was my motivation.  What’s yours?  I plan to live that experience, or to take my kids to school, or to go get my haircut with them when they get theirs cut.  I plan to have lunch with Carol on days when she’s not busy with her own endeavors.  I intend to go on every field trip with my kids until it’s no longer fun for them to have me tagging along.  I plan to write, here and elsewhere, for as long as it pleases me.  All these things are mine to enjoy.  If I just choose to enjoy them.

How will I do these things?  That’s not nearly so important as my will to do them.  I intend to make it so and the how comes to me in opportunities that I create.  But please stay tuned, for I will share my journey with you.  For one thing, I’ll be signing on to Steve Pavlina’s Million Dollar Experiment.  I plan to increase my earnings through this dedication and people like him serve to motivate me, without hesitation or reservation.

This time it’s different.  I don’t know if I’ve said that before or not but this time, I declare it’s true.  I declare independence from that rat race that binds most families to society’s expectation of 9-5, five days a week.  From hereon, I shall use the generous income that I earn 5 days a week as the means to live while I pave another road for us.  Like many of my role models, I’m destined for a different life and I believe in my big heart that a previous lack of confidence is all that stood between me and prosperity.  Now, confidence is mine and so shall be the life I’ve been longing for.  I will generate passive income with ease.  I will do so morally, helping as many others as I can along the way.  Creativity abounds within me and ideas never imagined flow through me like water in a river.  I can no longer be satisfied spending more waking hours with colleagues than with those I love most.  In one year’s time, if independence is not yet mine, it’s light will shine brighter than ever and my drive toward it will be faster and more glorious than today I can imagine.

I finally finished Moby Dick.  “Huh?  Why does David keep talking about Moby Dick?”  For a couple of reasons.  For one, it’s a blog and I can write about whatever I want, right?  Seriously, though - Whenever I read anything, I try to draw a correlation between it and my life.  Yes, even fiction.  And it’s true, I’m 34 years old and just read the book.

In the case of Moby Dick, throughout much of the book I imagined that the elusive whale might have been fictitious.  Maybe Captain Ahab didn’t really lose his leg to a whale and he only made it up because it sounded better than, “I got an in-grown toenail that infected my entire foot so they cut it off.”  I was thinking then, that the good Captain was living a lie.  Perhaps he was like many of the people today that drive nice cars, live in nice houses, and always seem so perfect.  On the interior, many of them are one paycheck away from disaster.

Later, I saw that Moby Dick was real.  The whale was unhappily hunted but actually didn’t seem antagonistic.  He was provoked.  Anyway, Capt. Ahab had Fedellah, an apparent prophet of sorts who predicted the death of Ahab.  Capt. Ahab genuinely believed that he would beat Moby Dick but he never prepared properly and he also couldn’t leave well-enough alone.  How does this relate to my life?  I can’t leave well-enough alone, either.  I’m persistant, to a point - Just not a fine enough point as of yet.  People warned Ahab, including his right-hand man, a prophet, other crewmembers, and even passing ships, but to know avail.  I admired Ahab for pressing on, forsaking the naysayers (the Yabotts as One Minute Millionaire refers to them), pursuing his goal of Moby Dick’s demise - even though, in real-life, I don’t think revenge is necessarily a good motive to succeed.

In the end, he succombed to the prophet’s vision.  Fedellah told Capt. Ahab that first, Ahab would see Fedellah die, then he would see two coffins, followed by a hearse and lastly before Ahab died, he’d see Fedellah (dead as he was) again.  I forgot what the first coffin was but the second coffin turned out to be Ahab’s ship going down with men in it (albeit, Ahab was on a little boat, off the main ship).  That got Ahab thinking maybe Fedellah was right.  I think he shrugged it off but then he saw Fedellah - half of him anyway!  The poor man was wrapped up in lines that were unsucessfully used for corralling Moby Dick.  These lines were tangled around Moby Dick, the hearse.  Ahab witnessed these things and and I believe self-doubt finally took over.

In my world, self-doubt has corralled me into a nice secure J.O.B. with the Government.  From a young age, I’ve been conditioned to believe that was all-important.  I even had people telling me that private industry jobs were not secure enough.  Unlike Ahab, I listened from the start.

Something inside of me is burning to set new rules - to claim my independence from the “conventional work-week.”  Who ever made it 5 days, anyway?  While he was driven from the start and finally came undone, I believe I started undone but now, the drive is alive.

All of this leads me to one more thought - a topic that I’ll just leave as questions, for now.  Ahab was wildly obsessed with his mission to defeat Moby Dick.  Some would also argue that he was a little bit “crazy.”  Was he?  Must one be a little bit “crazy” to take the risk of independence?

This story will grow, I’m sure of it.  I just want to share that I’ve been turned on to Steve Pavlina’s blog, thanks to brother Michael.  This happened because the other day I told Michael I needed a blog to document my progress in Asset Challenge 2006.  Still no documentation there but where I’ve been over the past 3 days personally is fascinating.  I don’t expect everyone to understand but I know some of you do and more of you will, over time.

I’ve been turned on to self improvement for many years - intellectually, financially, emotionally.  My wife, Carol (God bless her!), often thinks I’m crazy but I sure need her to keep me grounded.  Since she’s known me, I’ve gone through a few career choices and way more possibilities.  I’ll be grateful to her for my whole life.  When I read Steve Pavalina’s blog post on polyphasic sleep, I was fascinated.  For one reason, I’ve often thought that sleep was overrated and underproductive.  In college I could back that up with proof (sort of) but as recently as three weeks ago, I was reminded that without it, I get sick, unpleasant, and uncomfortable in general.  Anyway, the more I read about Steve Pavalina, the more motivated I’ve become to be more of myself.  That polyphasic sleep is really cool, though

There’s a couple of other thoughts following this writing that I just wanted to ramble about but the point of this post, right now, is that tears came to my eyes when I read the end of Steve’s wife’s post about his exploits with polyphasic sleep and in general.  I wanted to tell the world how thankful I am for the support of my own wife.  Thank you, Carol.

I’ve been a deep thinker for most of my life.  I didn’t realize it until I was in college but even now in my mid-thirties, I think back to my days in grade school, sometimes staring in the mirror at my image, actually willing myself to change who was inside of me.  Once I had a problem with tattle-tailing.  That’s when I’d say, “Jane [my dear step-mom and the source of much of my confidence], Michael hit me!”  I gathered after a while that she didn’t care too much.  As long as I was conscious and so was Michael, we were doing just fine.  With three boys, a baby girl, classes, and a husband with dreams as big as Alaska, who had time for petty problems?  I wanted to handle my own problems and I set out to do so.  Eventually, I stopped tattle-tailing.  Sometimes, I’d find a way to hit Michael back but more often than not, I’d do what I could to avoid conflict in the first place.  At that age, I’m thinking 8 years old, maybe, I think I was ahead of my time.  I’ve always been sensitive to others’ feelings, often to a detriment but that too goes with deep thinking.

Enough for now.  More to come all over this site, for sure!  Thanks for reading.

I just thought new readers might like to know a little about my reading habits.  It’s mostly non-fiction and to some it’s rather boring.  I’m enthralled.  Currently, I’m finishing up Moby Dick.  That’s written by a man named Herman Melville (of course I’m kidding - as if you’ve never heard of him [unless you haven’t, then I’m serious].  A wild imagination, had he - or did he?  I understand he really did spend some time at sea.  Anyway, last year I picked it up thinking other than my first full novel, Catcher in the Rye, that’s probably a must read.  After Moby Dick, I’m going to finish up Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki.  There’s a man with a pretty good head on his shoulders (I think).  Then, on to The Richest Man in Babylon.  All of the financial books I’ve read always quote it and praise it.  The other two I just ordered were from a recommended list by a lady named Kim Snider.  She has this investing strategy that she doesn’t share unless you pay her a lot of money.  I’m dying to know what she’s up to without paying it.  She said of The Great Mutual Fund Trap: An Investment Recovery Plan, “If I wrote a book, this is exactly what it would say.”  Fooled by Randomness : The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets appeals to me on many levels.  I’m often astonished by my good fortune of “random” events.  Once I heard that “Success is where preparation meets opportunity” and I wonder if I’m just exceptionally prepared sometimes or if a higher being is at work, here.  That’s a conversation for another day   In the year 2005, I read many books (for me, anyway).  I read The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth by Robert G. Allen and Mark Victor Hansen, the guy that started Chicken Soup for the Soul.  Anyway, that was an outstanding book!  I loved it and most people that take the time to read it should love it as well.  I read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.  That was entertaining and helpful to see money in a perspective different from any that I’d learned in the past.  It inspired me to teach my children about money since the public won’t do it for whatever reason.  It even makes me want to teach other children about money.  Credit my brother for his gift of the “Investomatic Piggybank,” whenever my older son gets a gift of money or finds some, he wants to “invest it” and he wants me to “match [his] my contribution.”  I read Start Late Finish Rich by David Bach.  This is meant to inspire one to cut out “the Latte Factor” and quit spending money where you don’t need to - quite fascinating, really.  He doesn’t chastise the late starter for starting late, but he does an outstanding job of helping those in their 20s and 30s to see that the early one starts, the better!  Early in the year, I read Money for Life by Stephen B. Smith.  This is a book that teaches the art of budgeting through the use of a spending plan and shares stories of fictitious people and how they put this practice to work (and some that don’t but should).  They have an accompanying workbook out as well which I bought.  I have to admit that I didn’t fill in the workbook as religiously as I read the book but I can’t emphasize the importance of the book enough - if you’ve ever had trouble with a spending plan or simply don’t have one, please read the book!  I also read a book called The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  This book is one that I should read about twice a year, given my propensity to forget how to relate to folks in ANY  Love Language.  I actually bought this book for my wife but come to think of it, I might need my own copy   Of course, I also read countless Family Handyman magazines and articles online…  Anyone that knows me should be impressed by my late-blossoming embrace of written words.  I got a 440 on my Verbal SAT scores and that’s the second time I took it  !  Re-reading this, I’m impressed myself.  That’s a count of five different books in one year!  I might even be forgetting a few.