Interesting Material

It was Christmas time, I was 18 years old, and I got a call that a package arrived for me.

I wasn’t overly excited to rush home and see what it was. The next day the package was waiting for me.

I opened it, and it was a book. My initial thought was, “What the hell am I going to do with a book?”. I hated reading.

In high school, I always picked books that had a movie made about them.

I'd watch the movie, write a very vague book report, and get whatever grade I deserved. I read one book cover to cover in my high school career, and it was the story of Robin Hood. I was fascinated by this concept and how people thought that “stealing from the rich and giving to the poor” was an accurate way of thinking. That's a story for another day. 

I took my Christmas gift and put it in a drawer in my bedroom.

Every now and then, I'd open the drawer, see the book, and go about my day. It took me weeks to finally pick it up and read a page or two. To be honest, I was lost. The book was a business book but broken down into a story. I didn't understand it, so back in the drawer, it went.  

By this point, I knew I wanted to be in real estate.

I had family members who were real estate investors, and it fascinated me. I loved the idea of being able to buy a property and rent it to someone. I did as much research as I could, but most of it I didn't understand.

I was 18 or 19 years old by this point, and the only thing I could concentrate on was hanging out with my girlfriend and getting drunk on the weekends.

Time went on, and my interest in real estate grew. I was slowly learning different vocabulary words and talking to different investors, and so on. 

One summer day, I found that book that I got for Christmas. I pulled it out and started reading it. One page led to two, one chapter led to another. Before I knew it, I’d spent a few hours of that summer day reading that book.

I was in a trance. I loved the story and what it was teaching me.

But there was one problem. I had an issue retaining the information. I flipped back a few pages and couldn't really remember the lessons I was supposed to learn. It was like I was reading the words on the page but not paying attention to them.

So I got a notebook and a pen and started the book over.

From that point forward, I started taking notes on what I read. I wrote down things that sounded cool, new vocabulary words, business concepts, investing strategies, etc. I even re-drew the diagrams and graphs on my paper that I saw in the book.

I started learning!

I was studying more information after high school than I ever did in high school. I found something that interested me. Honestly, It didn't feel like studying at all, and the more I read, the more I wanted to put it into practice. 

That one book forever changed the direction of my life.

That one book was one small step that eventually turned into a big leap. I read that book multiple times, and every now and then, I pull it out and read a few pages just for fun. That book is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.

That book led me down a path to want to read more books. If one book had that much of an impact on me, what else was out there I could read and learn?

What else was out there that interested me?

To this day, I know my interest level. If it doesn't interest me right out of the gate, it won’t have my full attention, and I'll cut ties quickly. If it does interest me, I become obsessed with it. 

Rich Dad Poor Dad taught me about assets and liabilities.

That subject, because of that book, led me down a path of business and investing. Today I have more opportunities than I know what to do with. To follow my own advice, I turn down the opportunities that don't interest me. 

My Advice: find something that interests you and stay on that path.

It will begin to open other doors and opportunities for you.