Nineteen years ago today, I closed my very first real estate deal.

Back then, I didn’t dream of making millions—I just wanted to prove to myself (and maybe someone else) that I could be more.

My journey started with heartbreak.

My girlfriend of four years broke up with me, saying she wanted to “date someone with status, someone that makes money.”

At the time, I had no clue how to make money.

The Turning Point

One sleepless night, I turned on the TV and stumbled across an infomercial about flipping houses with no money down.

Something clicked.

“This is it! This is my chance,” I thought.

I was living in a 300-square-foot apartment, paying $275 a month in rent.

With about $700 to my name and zero experience buying houses, I decided to go all in.

The Sacrifices

I sold everything I owned to fund those first deals:

• My TV
• Furniture
• Motorcycles
• Truck
• Four-wheeler

When my apartment was empty, a friend gave me an old bed from his grandma’s garage so...

 In real estate circles, "no money down" is a buzzword.

It's appealing, especially to beginners, because it suggests you can start investing without having much (or any) cash. But here’s the reality: the wealthiest people I know don’t talk about “no money down.”

Does that make “no money down” strategies wrong?

Not necessarily.

But just because you can buy real estate with no money down doesn’t automatically make it a good deal.

What Do the Wealthy Talk About?

The truly wealthy focus on business fundamentals and financial metrics like:

• EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization)
• Top-line revenue
• Margins
• Bottom-line revenue
• P&L statements

They’re running well-oiled machines.

Why?

Because a well-run business will always outperform a well-run investment in terms of monthly cash flow.

Business First, Investments Second

It took me years to understand this (I’m a slow learner), but it’s a...

How Did Jake Paul Land a Fight With Mike Tyson?

Jake Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer with a 0-1 record against professional boxers, somehow landed a fight with one of the greatest boxers of all time, Mike Tyson.

How does someone with limited boxing credentials pull off such a feat?

The answer is simple: social media.

The Power of Eyeballs

Jake Paul spent over a decade creating content, from Vine skits to YouTube vlogs, and he mastered one of the most valuable currencies of the modern age: attention.

While most spend millions on marketing to get noticed, Jake leveraged his relentless output on social platforms to capture eyeballs—the one thing every brand, business, and celebrity craves.

The result? He’s making $40 million for this fight, while Tyson—a living legend—is reportedly taking home half that.

Love or hate Jake Paul, you can’t deny his ability to turn online fame into real-world fortune.

From obscurity to headlining massive events, his journey is...

A decade ago, I spent countless hours speaking on stages across the country, teaching others how to seize opportunities in real estate.

Back then, the economy was in turmoil, and the recession created what I now see as the opportunity of a lifetime.

It was a time when many felt uncertain, but I found clarity and seized the moment.

Within 4.5 years, my personal real estate portfolio grew to 450 houses—without relying on syndication or fractional ownership.

And that wasn’t even the whole story.

The number of properties I flipped and wholesaled? Four times more than what I kept.

Those years of intense effort reshaped my future and accelerated my wealth-building journey beyond what I could have imagined.

Fast-forward to today, and I can sense those same opportunities on the horizon.

They’re coming again. SOON.

Are You Prepared?

Success in real estate—or any industry, for that matter—isn’t about luck. It’s about skill.

And in times of great...

The Power of Parkinson's Law

Your best friend calls you with an exciting invitation:

“We’re leaving in 2 days to go to your favorite city to have a little fun…wanna go?”

You’re tempted, but your schedule is jam-packed.

Five full days of work loom ahead, and you only have two days to finish it all if you decide to go.

Yet, you say, “I’m in!”

In this moment, you switch your internal “work throttle” to “get efficient and make it happen” mode.

Surprisingly, you complete all five days of work in just two days, with time to spare.

How did this happen?

Enter Parkinson’s Law. This principle states that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”

Essentially, whether you have one hour or eight, the same task will take the same amount of time if you allow it.

So, how can you harness this concept to achieve remarkable efficiency?

Here’s a roadmap to make it happen:

1. Create a...

Battery technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate, and the latest innovations could bring major opportunities for savvy investors.

One of the most exciting developments in this space comes from Samsung, which has recently unveiled groundbreaking progress in the field of solid-state batteries.

This could revolutionize the electric vehicle (EV) industry and open up some lucrative doors, particularly for those with a keen eye on precious metals like silver.

Solid-State Batteries: A Game-Changer for Electric Vehicles

A little over six years ago, I bought my first Tesla, and it’s been hands down the best vehicle I’ve ever owned.

However, despite all its benefits, there are a few challenges that electric vehicles still face today:

• Charging Time: Long road trips are a pain because charging the car can take significantly longer than refueling a gas vehicle.
• Range: EVs still don’t get as many miles on a full charge compared to a full tank of gas.
• Battery Longevity:...

In my 19 years in the real estate business, I've noticed a consistent pattern: June, July, and August are the hardest months to get houses under contract.

Conversely, December, January, and February are the easiest.

This phenomenon, known as seasonality, can pose a significant challenge for many in the industry.

The summer months can feel like navigating through a storm, with fewer deals and increased competition.

However, there are ways to weather these "summer storms" and keep your business thriving.

One of the most effective strategies is to focus on the leads you already own, especially those that are "closest to the hole."

If you're actively marketing and using a CRM (and I highly recommend you do), here are three main tactics to stay on top and keep leads coming in:

1. Re-engage Sellers Who Cancelled Contracts

Often, contracts are cancelled due to a price reduction request.

These sellers can still be converted back to new contracts at the price you initially asked them to...

Let me explain...

This is a powerful lesson that made total sense to me the first time I heard it.

When a crab fisherman sets a trap, they put a little bait in the bottom of the trap.

Then, crabs flock to the trap and eat the bait.

Here’s the crazy part...

Crab traps don’t have a top.

So, when the bait is all gone, do the crabs just crawl back up to the top and leave?

Well, they try.

But they are unsuccessful.

Here’s why...

As soon as another crab sees a crab trying to leave the trap, they reach up and pull the escaping crab back down.

The other crabs will not allow them to leave.

It can even get violent enough that the crabs will tear the legs off the crabs trying to escape if they need to.

It’s an easy catch for the fisherman.

As long as you have two or more crabs in a crab trap, they will never escape.

What does this have to do with you? A lot...

Anytime you try to accomplish anything “out of the ordinary” and leave the “crab...

Most people underestimate themselves.

And not by a little... but by a lot.

They don’t realize what they're truly capable of.

Let me give you an example.

Think about something you’ve been wanting to accomplish for a while but haven’t.

It doesn’t matter what it is.

It could be something big or small.

Either way, you haven’t done it yet.

Why?

Probably because there are one or two parts of that you don’t know how to do or you’re afraid it might not work out.

When I talk to people about their goals, it’s always the same things tripping them up:

1. Fear of failure
2. Not exactly sure on the “how to”

Let’s break it down.

Fear of Failure

Make a list (write it down) of everything bad that will happen if you fail:

1. People will laugh at you.
2. You might lose money.
3. You’ll lose time.
4. You might lose friends.

Was death one of them? 99.9% of the time, it’s not.

I used to ride motorcycles.

Mainly because I liked doing wheelies...

In 2009, I decided to escape the harsh Illinois winter and moved into a hotel in Tampa, Florida, for 3 1/2 months.

What I anticipated would be an enjoyable retreat from the cold turned into a much quieter experience than expected.

I quickly found myself with plenty of free time on my hands and a burgeoning curiosity about the hotel industry.

The hotel’s owner, a kind and approachable man, became my impromptu mentor.

We spent countless hours at the front desk discussing the ins and outs of running a hotel, especially during a recession.

The economy was in free fall, and the insights I gained during these conversations were invaluable.

The owner had purchased the hotel at the peak of the market in 2004.

His purchase price was based on an optimistic projection of 90% occupancy at $200 per night.

Fast forward to 2009, and the reality was starkly different: occupancy had plummeted to 30%, and room rates had dropped to $70 per night.

The financial impact was devastating.

It...