A man, who we’ll call John, was sitting on his couch browsing Forbes magazine and came across an article about another man, who we will call David. The article featured a large image of David wearing a classic, tailored suit and a headline that read, “The Man With The Golden Touch.” The article stated that in addition to completing his third successful multi-million dollar development deal, David was now creating a foundation in his old neighborhood to teach kids about real estate.
15 years after graduating from high school, John lived in a one bedroom apartment with his wife and three kids. After being laid off from his job, John strived to find a way to make some quick money. John was greatly impacted by the Forbes article not only because he was inspired by David’s story, but because he actually grew up with David and knew him quite well.
David and John went to the same elementary, junior high, and high school. They rode the same school bus and lived in the same neighborhood. During their first year of college, John decided to drop out and play professional poker while David continued to struggle through college. A few years later, John, in addition to playing poker, started purchasing lottery tickets while David managed to land his first real estate development job.
Eventually, John started losing both all of his own money and the money that was loaned to him. John relied solely on “get rich quick” schemes and continued to spend money on lottery tickets. David, on the other hand, continued to work his development job and invested in real estate on the side. The work and spending habits of both parties continued over a few more years resulting in outcomes that reflected their actions. For example, John became extremely financially burdened and ran out of “get rich quick” schemes which led him to finally seek a job while David began developing million dollar properties.
The last time John saw David, John asked him how he was able to afford those multi-million dollar projects to which David responded by saying most of the time, people come to him to invest in his projects and because of this, he doesn’t have to use much of his money at all. Finally, John realized that he spent the last 15 years chasing money whereas David spent the last 15 years attracting money. David, unlike John who became broke because of his love for money, understood the scripture in the Bible that says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, I will never leave you nor forsake.”
No comments:
Post a Comment