from those efforts and lost more than $ 50,000 . But I don ’ t regret it . I always learn from my mistakes . It wasn ’ t a bad idea — it just wasn ’ t executed correctly .
These mistakes often lead to amazing successes . For instance , following the failure of the newspaper , I created a publication for real estate agents . Now I can showcase my listings to the 4,000 real estate agents in my community . I have a tool with which to sell my listings that no other agent in the valley has . I ’ ve tweaked it and changed it over the years to make it more effective , and now it ’ s one of my best tools for selling my listings .
As a real estate agent , my goal is not to be the top-producing agent in my community . However , I do desire to be the most effective one . I desire to find new ways to help people in my community . I desire to pass on what I ’ ve learned to as many agents as possible so they can do the same . It feels amazing to help others succeed , whether they ’ re my clients or fellow agents . Helping others is what fuels me . I don ’ t believe that will ever go away .
I often wonder how different my life would be if I hadn ’ t picked up that book . It changed the course of my life . Without it , would I likely have continued to find interesting jobs ? Yes , I think so , but I wonder if I would be in the position to help others that I ’ m in now .
I sometimes feel like the luckiest man on the planet . I have an amazing wife and two daughters whom I cherish . I get to help people every day . I get to implement my new ideas and learn something new every day . I reinvest most of what I make back into my business , so we live fairly modestly . But I feel wealthy . Even though I often work 12 + hours a day , I feel like I retired early .
We spent a night in this amazing tree house in the jungles of Brazil . This picture doesn ’ t do it justice . It was amazing .
This past summer , I passed on the Retire Early , Retire Rich book to a family friend who just graduated high school . I told him that he didn ’ t need to read it now , but if he ever felt like he was at a crossroads where he couldn ’ t decide what to do next , it might be time to read it . Maybe it will change his life too .
Me and my two girls , Emilia ( 8 ) and Ivy ( 6 ), on small skiff going out on an adventure in the Amazon this past winter .
Here we are , my wife and two girls on a boat we chartered for a few days to go deeper into the Amazon . We played a lot of UNO on that
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